Light and Darkness

Part Part VII

Lord, enlighten our mind and heart by Your Living Word

  Working hard in spiritual exercises is very important to lead perfection spiritual life. We need certain discipline in our prayer life and sacrifice, then only we can sustain in our Charism. Keep our body and mind holy is the most important thing, and who can sustain in faith without sin? “How can a young man keep his ways spotless? By keeping his words, with all my heart I seek you, do not let me stray from your commandments. In my heart I treasure your promises, to avoid sinning against you.” Ps 119: 9-11. In these four years we spent our time in constant prayer and continual meditation on the Word of God. Then slowly by prayer and fasting, the darkness and all kind of evil will fade away, and the light of Jesus will guide us to the real truth. Fasting is very important in our spiritual life, and not normal fasting by avoiding the food and other things, but in prayer and in perseverance and be charitable by giving alms, avoid dirty talks, be kind to poor, visit the sick and help the needy, care about widows this is the way we should fast. The more we do, the more we will be strengthened. Then only the evil spirit will run away from us. ‘This is the kind that can be driven out only by prayer and fasting.’ (Mk.9: 29)The streams of living water will flow from our heart when we hearing Jesus’ Words with perseverance and wholeheartedly, “but not one who drinks the water will be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life.” Jn. 4: 14. We should drink this Living Water the Word of God in the day and night. Then we will grow slowly and gradually and start producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit: ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, trustfulness, and self-control.’(Gal. 5: 22) If we do not follow our spiritual fathers’ teachings and guidance, we will become the prisoners of the darkness instead of becoming the slaves for our Lord. Then eternal providence will be snatched away from us. 

The Light and Darkness

Part VI

Lord, give us holiness and lead us to the light of Jeus Christ 

  Before came to Christ I was thinking how it is possible to lead a spiritual life of holiness. It was very difficult to lead a spiritual life and even to think about it. Br. Victor says: ‘when we hear the Word of God, we get the conversion. When we get the conversion, grace will come abundantly without any measure. If we don’t hear the Word of God we never recognise Jesus and his kingdom. We should be born again in the Spirit, Jon.3: 3. Then only we will see the glory of His Kingdom.’ That’s why our Brothers say that we should stay four years in the Word of God and in intensive prayer, constantly attend the Holy Mass, frequent confessions and other spiritual exercises. 'Blessed is he who perseveres and attains a thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. Daniel.12:12', As a period of preparation for knowing the truth and attaining holiness in order to inherit eternal life. What we truly do these days is obey whatever our spiritual father says to us. We cultivate holiness by resisting and avoiding temptations and sins. These instructions will differ from one disciple  to the next based on their spiritual development. We should do whatever service our spiritual father requests of us in a modest manner. We must listen to, obey, and carry out all of our spiritual father's commands in a holy manner. ‘For those who in holiness observe holy things will be adjudged holy, and, accepting instruction from them, will find their defence in them. Set your heart, therefore, on what I have to say, listen with a will, and you will be instructed.’ (Wis. 6: 10-11) We should set our hearts to observe and ponder what our Lord has to say. We should open our internal eyes and ears to receive the instructions from our spiritual father. ‘The holiness is wholeness’ as Br. Brilly said in a talk. Even for some of us the four years are not enough especially in my case, it took me more than eight years to get the real knowledge of our Charism. ‘Blessed is he who perseveres and attains a thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.’(Dan 12:12) I feel still it is not enough and need many years for me to sustain in such a strong unwavering faith and to obtain the grace. 

Light and Darkness

Part V

Your Word is lamp for my feet, a light for my path

  We all should read and meditate the Word of God everyday especially listen to our spiritual fathers’ talks, at least one hour a day to grow spiritually in wisdom and knowledge. If we do not listen or obey their instructions we cannot grow spiritually or else  we will stumble down and this will be the result: ‘I would not attend to the voice of my masters; I would not listen to those who tried to teach me. Now I have come to nearly every kind of misery, in the assembly and in the community.’(Prov. 5:13-14) We will be thrown out from the assembly and even from our community. The wisdom comes from the Scriptures, so meditating the Word of God day and night will give us light in the darkness, that is Jesus himself. Psalm 119:105 (NJB): 105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. The obedience is the most important thing in our spiritual life, from the beginning and till the end of our days in this world. We have to get the corrections from the wise men (the spiritual fathers) otherwise we will be astray from the path of truth: ‘Correction is severe for one who leaves the way; whoever hates being reprimanded will die.’(Prov. 15:10) If we obey the instructions we will be respected in the community of the holy people. We should not be disrespected or neglected by our negligence towards the teachings of our teachers: ‘Whoever rejects correction lacks self-respect, whoever accepts reproof grows in understanding.’(Prov. 15: 32) The mocker cannot follow the wise: ‘the mocker does care to be reprimanded, and will not choose the wise as companions’ (Sir. 15: 12). When we respect and obey our spiritual father and our friends in Christ are the companions they are the wise people in God’s Spirit. There will be always their support and guidance through their prayers in our spiritual life. We cannot take it lightly and we will experience the blessing from God or else it will be opposite as well.

Light and Darkness

Part IV

Jesus, You are Light of the world. 

 When we get into the darkness all the doors of the Divinity will be closed forever. The evil spirits will guide us into that Gehenna the hell, the darkest place for the sinners; the snakes, vultures, jackals, hyenas, wildcats, owl, bats all kind of dirty animals or the evil spirits will be there. The numbers of demons are countless and every one of these demons has their own duty to destroy a soul step by step. They are very much faithful to their master, Satan! 

  Darkness is the veil which is blocking the light of Jesus to the soul. So avoiding such situation of darkness in the spiritual life a life in holiness is very important. The best way to get rid of darkness is seek the will of God in our life and lead a sinless life to become a real sacrifice to God. A  good soul will not oppose the truth and she always seeks the will of God in her life. “The retribution of God from heaven is being revealed against the ungodliness and injustice of human beings who in their injustice hold back the truth.” Rom. 1. 18. They know the way to approach the truth and God had revealed them every thing and His glory and might through His wonderful creations. “Ever since the creation of the world, the invisible existence of God and his everlasting power has been clearly seen by the mind understands of created things.  And so these people have no excuse.” Rom. 1: 20.

  Those who are not honouring God will be perished. By giving thanks and obeying His commandments, we are honouring the Almighty God. Our minds are darkened by the god of this world. They knew God and yet they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but their arguments became futile and their uncomprehending minds were darkened. Rm.1:21(NJB). We have to glorify God and honour Him because He is the only One to be honoured and be glorified. If we don’t honour Him we will be giving the place to other gods of this world. We should thank Him for His mighty deeds and blessings which we received. God has the glory in His Mighty presence and it cannot be compare with any earthly matters or anything in the sky or in the heavens. All creatures the existing and nonexistent are His creations and no one can create any new matter either living or nonliving by his or her intelligence. All the creations are hidden in His own Wisdom and knowledge. Whoever neglects this will be abandoned by God “in their inmost cravings to filthy practices of dishonouring their own bodies—because they exchanged God’s truth for a lie and have worshipped and served the creature instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen Rom. 1: 24-25. That’s why we should listen and obey our spiritual fathers’ instructions. Those who are not obeying the instructions and teachings of our fathers’ will be gone astray from our Lord. They will go into the depth of the darkness. If we listen and obey the teachings of our spiritual fathers’, our God will bless us. 

Light and Darkness

 Jesus is the Real Light coming into this world 

  The darkness is the kingdom of Satan. The darkness or the work of darkness is like this. Br. Victor once said ‘When you visit one place to give word of God, you can make out the difference of the place by the habitation of that place, like bats will roam everywhere, the owls will chatter awkwardly, the Jackals will scream and the eagles and vultures find the place everywhere to make a den for them, no nobles or prophets would be visited there before, to give the good news of Jesus Christ’. Some time it might be our heart, where these spirits will choose to reside and we have to be very careful. Different spirits produce different sins in us. We should not be half hearted. So we should pray unceasingly with strict constancy in prayer with full heart of repentance. As Br. Jacob said in a talk: ‘we should have the discipline and constancy in our personnel prayer and we should have the grace to do it, then it will come automatically.’ Grace is the most important gift, which God gives to those who are faithful in Jesus Christ. 

   There are many hidden places of darkness are in this world. All kind of dirty spirits will be there in the darkness. The Lord has revealed to Isaiah the Holy Prophet, many of evil spirits will abide such places of evils kingdom. All this comes to such places because God has abandoned that place or country …………… ‘There will be no more nobles to proclaim the royal authority; there will be an end of all its princes. Brambles will grow in its bastions, nettles and thorn-bushes in its fortresses; it will be the lair of jackals, an enclosure for ostriches. Wild cats will meet hyenas there, satyr will call to satyr, there, and Lilith too will lurk and find somewhere to rest. The snake will nest and lay eggs there, will hatch and gather its young into the shade; and there the vultures will assemble, each one with its mate.’ (Is. 34: 8-15) Our heart will be like this place and will be the den of so many kinds of demons. There the evil produces so many kinds of sins in us, and it cannot be calculated. When we are in darkness the evil will never allows any nobles or prophets to approach us to give us the teachings of God’s Kingdom. Of course, the false prophets will approach us and will misguide and destroy us completely. They will use their all efforts to keep us away from our Lord.  Br. Victor said in a talk: ‘they are Legion and they are in thousands. When Lucifer came down from heaven these child demons also came down with him.’ Jesus asked the evil spirit who they are: What is your name? He answered; my name is Legion, for there is many of us’ Mk. 9: 9

Light and Darkness

Part I

  In a talk Br Brilly shared about darkness and and light and out of that one Word of God from Genesis were touched me a lot.  Gen 3: 1-13 Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’. Br said, why the woman talk to the snake. She should keep quiet for not get into trap of Satan. 2 The woman answered the snake, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. 3 But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, “You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.” ’ 4 Then the snake said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! 5 God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.’. Br said again, he twisted the Word of God,“did God said any of the fruit in the garden should not eat? God knows you will become like gods. This was the doubt evil put in the mind of Eve. 6 The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. Br said, Eve was looking into the things externally and not obeying the commandment of God. Her eyes and mind went into the darkness  of evil and he tempted her to do the sin against God, what a pitiable thing. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Br said, she gave this fruit to Adam also, her husband, when we sin, we make others also to do the sin. She thought it was the right thing to do. (Verse 7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths.  Br said, before they sinned, they were under the grace of God, the aura of grace were covering them and they felt no shame to each other as they were one flesh and one soul. 

 The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. 9 But Yahweh God called to the man. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. Br said, 10 ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden,’ he replied. ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ 11 ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked. ‘Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?’ 12 The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Br said, here we can see God has given many chances to repent for Adam and Eve to admit mistake and to tell the truth, but they never done that. Adam said: the woman You gave me tempted me to eat the fruit. So here Adam is just blaming both God and his wife Eve. God asked woman, 'why did you do that?' the woman replied "The snake tempted me and I ate it' . Br said we always blame others while we make mistakes and wrongs. We never realise what we are doing, is it right or wrong and never examine our conscious. 

The Light and Darkness

Part II

Jesus is the Light, which destroys the darkness

  God created the heaven and earth and everything in the sky, but there was darkness in the world. ‘In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.  Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’ and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day.’ (Gen. 1: 1-5) The God has created the light first and the darkness second.  God brought His only begotten Son; the true Light into this world is His Word, Jesus our Lord! John 1:14 (NJB): The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is the Word of God who came through Mother Mary into this world. There was darkness everywhere and Jesus came into this world to destroy the work of darkness. ‘This was the purpose of the appearing of the Son of God, to undo the work of devil.’ (1Jon. 3: 8.) The work of Evil is called darkness and the work of Jesus called the light. ‘The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world.’ ‘What was come into-being in him was life, life that was the light of men; and light shines in the darkness, could not overpower it’ (Jon1: 4-5, 9). The Word was real light and always shines in the darkness and evil cannot overpower Jesus.