Happy Feast of The Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Oh Mary Immaculate, you assumed into heaven

You are the Divine Ladder brought Son of God into the world

You are the living Ark of the Covenant 

The living Tabernacle, the womb carried Jesus 

St John Damascene wrote: It was right that she who had kept her virginity unimpaired through the process of giving birth should have kept her body without decay through death. It was right that she who had given her Creator, as a child, a place at her breast should be given a place in the dwelling-place of her God. It was right that the bride espoused by the Father should dwell in the heavenly bridal chamber. It was right that she who had gazed on her Son on the cross, her heart pierced at that moment by the sword of sorrow that she had escaped at his birth, should now gaze on him seated with his Father. It was right that the Mother of God should possess what belongs to her Son and be honoured by every creature as God’s Mother and handmaid.

Oh Mary, today you were taken into heaven

Jesus has carried you in his arms  

And lifted you up into heaven 

Presented to The Father in Heaven 

Heaven and earth rejoiced today 

God has lifted you up in the Spirit 

You are sitting beside Him,

Blessed by Trinity, made you Queen of Heaven and earth 

The Angels and Saints rejoice today 

Men on earth to have a Mother in heaven to intercede

Ave Ave Maria !! 

Mary Mother of God

                                                               

                   

3rd Jan 2025 

The Word of Life

Virgin Mary

Mother of God

1st Jan Feast Day of Mary the Mother of God 

On 1st Jan 2026, I felt so blessed as I was attending a Mass in Chempumukku St Michael's Church in Ernakulam. The youth Choir of the parish sang so beautifully and was exemplarily outstanding. The songs were lifting the souls of the whole congregation. The priest conducted the mass in English, and very devotedly he did the Sacrifice of Holy Mass. I was so moved by his homily about Mother Mary as it was the feast of Mary the Mother of God. 

The priest discussed the significance of the Council of Ephesus, which created new dogma in the Catholic Church and other Apostalic churches and proclaimed Mother Mary to be the Mother of God(Theotokos). 

He was describing the Doctrinal Note released by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Mater Populi Fidelis from the Vatican. Father was describing how important the title of Mary the Mother of God is. The Council decided to install the Dogma. Declares Mary as the Mother of God(Theotokos in Greek) because she bore Jesus, who is truly God and truly man man (the Hypostatic Union)He explained this doctrine of faith by adding that, the Word became flesh in the womb of Virgin Mary, the Word is Jesus, in human nature and Divine nature of God and the Word is from God the Father. So she became the Word bearer, the mother of Jesus the Lord, so she became the Mother of God. Father said quoting St Augustine is, ‘Mary was so humble and pure the Word of God slipped into the womb of Virgin Mary and Word became flesh and she conceived Jesus, the Son of God’ 

He also said, according to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith, issued a major doctrinal note in late 2025 approved by Pope Leo XIV titled Mater Populi Fidelis(Mother of the Faithful People) to use the title Co-Redemptrix. He said the Church considers the devotion to Mother Mary as she is not a mediator and she cannot be called Co-Redemptrix, but we can ask for her intercession by praying Rosary or Novenas. The Church never declared or made any decree or Dogma about this kind of devotion to Mary. He said the Church cannot give equal divinity for  Mother Mary along with Jesus. Jesus is Lord and he is the only Redeemer in the mystery of salvation and no other fourth person in the Trinitarian God. 

I was just thinking about how humble she was going to receive God's message from the Archangel Gabriel: Luke 1:28–38, which states that even though she was a virgin, she would receive God's favour and bear a son who would be known as God's son. Without original sin, she is going to become pregnant by the power of God through the Holy Spirit. Mary believed this message in a very humble way even though the consequences were so harsh and she may get the death penalty. Her submission to her husband Joseph is another illustration of her humility. The Lord's angel appeared to Joseph in Matthew 2:13–14 and instructed him to send Mary and the infant Jesus to Egypt. This was a challenging voyage, but Mary followed Joseph's instructions without questioning him and spent time in Egypt. The angel Lord appeared to Joseph once more in Matthew 2:19–20, instructing him to return to Judaea with Mary and Child Jesus. Mary respectfully followed her husband Joseph's instructions and accompanied him to dwell in Nazareth. Mother Mary's humility is seen in the fact that she always paid attention to Joseph's instructions and followed them. She is the best example of humility and has received God's highest favour by giving birth to Jesus, His only Son. 

The Word of Life

 

24th May 2025

 

Meditating the Words of Jesus from Holy Scriptures 

Lord, teach us how to love You unconditionally

 

For I tell you, if your uprightness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:20, NJB, https://ref.ly/Mt5.20;njb) For the sake of God's kingdom, we are expected to live moral lives. We cannot enter God's kingdom unless we surpass the integrity of the Scribes and Pharisees. We needed the integrity of St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary's husband, who guarded the holy family through all the difficult times.Have any of the authorities come to believe in him? Any of the Pharisees? (John 7:48, NJB, https://ref.ly/Jn7.48;njb) The Pharisees never believe Jesus is the Son of God or he came from God. Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of corruption. 28 In just the same way, from the outside you look upright, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:27–28, NJB, https://ref.ly/Mt23.27-28;njb). Jesus, who is the Messiah, was requested for a sign by the Pharisees and Scribes. Jonah the prophet is the only sign that Jesus wishes to show them. God saved him in the belly of a whale after he disobeyed Him and was cast into the deep sea; on the third day, he emerged from the fish's guts alive. Jesus will die and in the same way and on the third day, he will rise again, as the Son of Man will rise from the dead on the third day. He replied, ‘It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. (Matthew 12:39, NJB, https://ref.ly/Mt12.39;njb)

The Word of Life

 

On 4th May 2025 [VM 3]

Meditating the Words of Jesus from Holy Scriptures 

Lord, give us strength, perseverance and grace to overcome the persecutions. 

Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  (Matthew 5:10, NJB) Jesus always says that the people will persecute us, but we have to pray for them. As he says: But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; (Matthew 5:44, NJB). We can see how St Stephen prayed for his persecutors. He did not resist while the Jews were throwing stones on him and beating him but was praying while he was dying.  As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ 60 Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And with these words he fell asleep.  (Acts 7:59–60, NJB) St Stephen prayed fervently for the persecutors and that was a special prayer he has done and many were repented and converted and among them was Saul the persecutor of the Church and he became St Paul the greatest Apostle. When we pray for for our enemies they will become our friends. What St Paul Apostle says about the persecution he has gone through is written in his letters. We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair; 9 we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us; 10 always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body. 11 Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh. 12 In us, then, death is at work; in you, life. 13 But as we have the same spirit of faith as is described in scripture—I believed and therefore I spoke * —we, too, believe and therefore we, too, speak, (2Cr 4: 8-13, NJB) What St Paul wrote is enough for us to reflect and meditate. Let us pray: Lord, give us strength, perseverance and grace to overcome the persecutions.

 

 

 

 

 

The Word of Life

 

On 30th April 2025 [VM1]

Meditating the Words of Jesus from Holy Scriptures

Lord, bless us with a pure heart 

Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8, NJB, https://ref.ly/Mt5.8;njb) Lord, haw can I keep my heart pure and holy. Lord, only by You can be is possible, not by my human effort. Jesus says: What goes into the mouth does not make anyone unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth that makes someone unclean (Matthew 15:11, NJB) Any dirty words coming out of the tongue are a sign of a corrupt heart. Thus, the Lord commands us to purify and sanctify our hearts. After then, the Lord will cause our tongues to speak His Word. He reiterates in the Gospel of Matthew that everything that comes out of our mouths originates in our hearts, and that if we ponder bad thoughts, they will manifest in our mouths as wicked words and deeds, rendering us filthy and causing us to commit numerous crimes.  But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and it is this that makes someone unclean. 19 For from the heart come evil intentions: murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander. 20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands does not make anyone unclean.’ (Matthew 15:18–20, NJB, https://ref.ly/Mt15.18-20;njb) Lord Jesus, make our hearts humble and holy.   

    Reason should be the basis for every activity, reflection must come before any undertaking. 17 Thoughts are rooted in the heart, and this sends out four branches: 18 good and evil, life and death, and mistress of them always is the tongue. 1 (Sirach 37:16–19, NJB Our hearts are filled with both good and wicked thoughts. Our Lord will talk to us when we reflect on Him or think about His statutes and laws found in the Bible. We are always able to join our Lord in His eternity when we pray with profound devotion. A pure heart is the source of the positive thoughts. Our innermost beings die as a result of our wicked ideas. We become impure in our souls and talk about bad practices when we think about them Controlling our tongue is crucial to our spiritual lives since it is one of the most dangerous things in our bodies, like a sword. The devil is quite alluring when it comes to his wicked ways, which include pride in material belongings, lust, worldly pleasures, and many more.

 

A Pilgrimage to the Church of Lady of Perpetual Help

 

On 3rd April 2025

A Pilgrimage to the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

  We went to Our Lady of Perpetual Church in Fujairah(UAE) on Sunday, March 30, 2025, as a pilgrimage to attend Holy Mass and for a holy hour of adoration. All of us had a unique experience. Since I could recall my conversion to Catholicism, it held great significance for me. Our Lord patiently waited for my soul during a protracted procedure. My conversion brought to memory how deeply Mother Mary cared about my decision to become a Catholic when I first began to meditate. She is a strong instrument or Co-Redemptrix of preparing people for Jesus and his kingdom, making them his disciples, and assigning every one of them a specific mission. The Holy Spirit reminded me of all my past experiences while I prayed in the church. The Holy Spirit was reminding me of all the earlier experiences I had with Mother Mary (Our Lady of Perpetual Succor) while I was praying in the church. She and I first interacted when I was a child, and my family would visit my mother's residence in a nearby village. We all sleep in the house's main hall, brothers, sisters, and cousins. On the majority of those times, I was able to sleep beneath the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor. I can see her face when I raise my eyes, and she might glance at me since she was dear to my heart, not me. Somehow, she never stopped staring at me, even if I didn't want to acknowledge this. I was reminded to pray Our Father, Glory be and sign of the Cross as she was staring at me, so I did so as I lay down to sleep. Since our church is known as the Marthoma Syrian Church, a sect that is distinct from Kerala's Orthodox and Jacobite churches, we never mention Mother Mary in our prayers at home or at church. At home, we never say the Rosary. The second incidence occurred in Muscat in 1979 when I was twenty years old. I was really depressed at the moment I lost my job. After noticing my predicament, a friend of mine who lived in my neighborhood called me to his house one day and told me to remain composed and pray to Jesus in perseverance. He was the one who taking me to Church on Sundays for to attend the Mass in Marthoma Church and he was a Marthomite. He was carrying a Catholic Bible, which I was unaware had two different translations; it was a POC Malayalam Catholic Bible, and since he was not a Catholic, he should never read it. What surprised me even more was that he had taken a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor from the Bible. "This picture of Mother Mary has had a great impact on my life," he said, adding, "I ask her for intercession for many of my sufferings and she never hates me, always hears my pleas, and helps me." Then I noticed that he was sobbing quietly and that tears were streaming from his eyes. None of these suggestions made sense to me or had any immediate impact. In order to alleviate my sadness, my roommates have taken me to a neighboring government hospital to see a psychiatrist. After speaking with the doctor, he told me not to worry and sent me on my way. I miraculously recovered and began working for a different multinational company.

   I was thinking why should I be honored by the visit of Mother Mary, as St Elisabeth said: Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?  (Luke 1:43, NJB) Later during the years of my conversion, I understood Mother Mary had healed me from the mental depression. The above two incidents in my life got a great impact in my life for the searching the truth of my faith. Then in 1990 I got married to a Catholic girl. After the marriage, in 1997 I got the conversion by attending two of the retreats. Lord has provided me the truth, through the Word of God, consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17, NJB) When I got the real conversion in 1997, I was recollected both the incidents of encountering Mother Mary. I make it short the intervention of Mother Mary in my life and its never ending. She has presented me to Jesus, and I thank her all that wonderful things she has done in my life.

 

Happy Feast on Assumption of Virgin Mary

 

The Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

St John Damascene 

On the Assumption of Mother Mary

Thus St John Damascene, who is the greatest exponent of this tradition, compares the bodily Assumption of the revered Mother of God with her other gifts and privileges: It was right that she who had kept her virginity unimpaired virginity unimpaired through the process of giving birth should have kept her body without decay through death. It was right that she who had given her Creator, as a child, a place at her breast should be given a place in the dwelling-place of her God. It was right that the bride espoused by the Father should dwell in the heavenly bridal chamber. It was right that she who had gazed on her Son on the cross, her heart pierced at that moment by the sword of sorrow that she had escaped at his birth, should now gaze on him seated with his Father. It was right that the Mother of God should possess what belongs to her Son and be honoured by every creature as God’s Mother and handmaid.