Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Today’s liturgical celebration is called Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. With this liturgy we begin our recounting of the most monumental events in human history, the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a celebration marked by sharp contrasts. For the past five weeks we followed Jesus on his journey towards Jerusalem. Today we join the crowds who spread their cloaks on the road and scatter cut branches before Jesus as he enters the city. We wave our palm branches and sing “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest” (Matt. 21:9). Our commemoration of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is full of hope and joy.

The tone of the celebration changes as we move into the Liturgy of the Word. Hearing from St. Matthew once again, we listen to the betrayal and desertion of Jesus by his disciples and followers. We follow Jesus from the Passover table to Gethsemane, from Gethsemane to Caiaphas the high priest, from Caiaphas to Pilate, the governor and from Pilate to Golgotha. The joyful crowd is gone now, replaced by an angry mob shouting, “Let him be crucified!” And we, like the mob, shout, “Let him be crucified! Crucify him!

How many times have we betrayed or abandoned Jesus? How many times has our “faith been shaken” by events or the cruel and unfair actions of other people? How many times have we cried out “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me”? During this next week, Holy Week, we all have an opportunity to unite our hearts, our sadness and our suffering with Jesus. We can renew our commitment to service in the washing of feet and celebrate the last supper on Holy Thursday. We can walk with Jesus towards his crucifixion and death by participating in the Station of the Cross and the Good Friday Liturgy. Finally, we can celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, renewing our baptismal promises, our faith and our spirit of hope and joy.

God our Father,

in the passion and death of Jesus, your Son,

you make us aware

of how deeply you love us.

Make us also conscious of how evil sin is

and help us to keep believing in your love

when we have to bear the cross of suffering.

For after the cross follows the resurrection,

for Jesus and for us.

Give us this firm faith

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Grace

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace, it's a name for a girl
It's also a thought
that changed the world

And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything

Grace, she's got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She's got the time to talk

She travels outside of karma
She travels outside of karma

When she goes to work
You can hear her strings
Grace finds beauty in everything

Grace, she carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips

She carries a pearl in perfect condition
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings

Because grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things
Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.
Grace finds goodness in everything.

Lyrics: Bono

The Sign

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.

When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling; and even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it.

Presence

"Where shall I look for enlightenment?"

"Here?"

"When will it happen?"
"It is happening right now."

"Then why don't I experience it?"
"Because you do not look."

"What shall I look for?"
"Nothing. Just look."

"At what?"
"Anything your eyes light upon."

"Must I look in a special kind of way."
"No. The ordinary way will do."

"But, don't I always look in the ordinary way?"
"No."

"Why ever not?"
"Because to look you must be here. You are mostly somewhere else."


Fr Anthony de Mello, SJ​

What Goes Around Comes Around

One day a man saw a old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough.

Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things ht could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger.

Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it. With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."

5th Sunday of Lent

Today's gospel, John 11:1-45, is one of the most significant passages in all scripture. St. John's story about Jesus raising Lazarus demonstrates Jesus’ power over death. It sets the stage for Jesus' own death and resurrection. And it offers all of us who believe in Jesus the consolation that even when we die, our spirits will live forever.

Like the stories about the woman at the well and the man born blind, this encounter between Jesus and Lazarus was a transforming moment for Lazarus, for the disciples, and for many people who witnessed the miracle. Jesus told the disciples as they prepared to go to Bethany, "Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him" (John 1:14-15). As I reflected on this story, it occurred to me that we have no idea how Lazarus felt about being brought back to life. He never said a word that was recorded. But the miracle clearly had a profound impact on other people. St. John tells us that “many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in [Jesus]” (John 11:45). In fact, Lazarus became almost as much of a celebrity as Jesus. Large crowds gathered “not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead” (John 12:9). And Lazarus became as much of a threat to the Pharisees as Jesus so “the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him” (John 12:10-11).

Although most of the attention in this story is on Lazarus, it is the interaction between Jesus and Martha that is the challenge for us. Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). He then asked, “Do you believe this?" Martha’s answer was confident and strong, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (John 11:27). Just as Jesus directed this question to Martha, he directs the question to all of us. “Do you believe this”? Do you believe that I AM the resurrection and the life? For the disciples and many others, faith came as they witnessed the miracle of Lazarus or they experienced the miracle of sight, or of healing. For us belief in the Resurrection is an act of absolute faith. It transcends time, history and the limitations of our physical world and our physical selves. It is the great mystery of Christianity.

As we complete the final days of Lent and prepare ourselves to enter into Holy Week, Let us join with Martha and the Communion of Saints declaring, “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Merciful God,

you showed your glory to us all

by sending your Son

to conquer the powers of death

and call us forth into life.

Break the bonds which bind us,

that we may believe and proclaim Christ,

the source of life,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

AMEN

A Reflection

When you see a sunset, do you say, “It’s too bright - not enough color, too much orange?”

Probably not. You just accept it and maybe thank God for the gift.

And when you walk through a forest, do you say, “The trees are too tall. The leaves on that one are the wrong shape. It has the wrong shade of green, too. Too many leaves on that one.

Probably not! You probably just accept it – and maybe say thanks for the gift of the forest.

We are God’s children. We are greater than any sunset, any forest. And we’re great because God made us and because God loves us. Maybe we should stop beating ourselves up and start saying thank you a few more times.

I have a hunch, by the way, that when we meet God, we will be asked, “How did you like those sunsets? What about the mountains and the streams and the sea-shores? What about balloons and roller coasters?

He probably won’t say, “Well you could have spent more time alone in the office!

Love is Always Open Arms

“Love is always open arms.” ~ Leo Buscaglia

There is a story about a boy who left home and dishonored his father by spending a large amount of money on fast and reckless living. When the boy's money ran out, he was faced with the prospect of returning home to face his father, knowing the father had every reason to be disappointed in him. Filled with fear and shame he approached his home, his mind racing with words of apology. Before the boy could say a word, his father rushed to him with open arms and hugged his lost son in joy and love.

Have we done this? Have we found it in our hearts to accept what a loved one does, even if we would have wanted something different?

Love like this is the highest kind of love. It finds joy in others no matter what, because it recognizes the freedom of those we love, and doesn't chain them to our own wants. It is the same kind of love God has for us.

Are my arms open today​?

St. Joseph, Our Patron of a Happy Death

Man’s necessities and sufferings on earth are many and manifold. One such trial is the lot of all. We all belong to the confraternity of death, just as we all are subject to sin. Death is the sad penalty of sin; no one escapes it.

Death is a hard and bitter lot for our poor nature. Above all it is the end of our corporal, physical life. The intimate union of soul and body that conditions and constitutes our earthly life is dissolved by death. The separation is violent and painful because the body, through weakness and dissolution, abandons the soul and forces it to leave its crumbling dwelling place.

The separation is furthermore a humiliating one because it is a punishment of sin, a sort of execution that separates body and soul, the two guilty associates in sin. The soul is handed over to eternity, the body to the earth, where by degrees it crumbles to dust and becomes something without a name. Death, then, is a bitter trial, a profound humiliation, the most stubborn of struggles, and the keenest of sufferings.

Death, moreover, is not only the end of our earthly life but also the beginning of the life beyond, the entrance into eternity and the commencement of our everlasting, unchangeable destiny, of the nature, greatness, and immensity of which, as regards punishments as well as rewards, we have no adequate concept. Death, finally, is the occasion of our meeting with God, before whom we must appear to be judged, punished or rewarded, justly, strictly, irrevocably, for all eternity.

In a word, to die is a lonely, helpless, and joyless thing. No one of our loved ones can help us. No human hand can penetrate into the inner sanctuary where the last, desperate struggle is being waged. We are alone, all alone. Only Heaven can come to our assistance.

Need For a Patron

At such an hour it is truly an important matter to have a kind patron who will aid and console us, and who can furnish us the means to die a good, edifying, peaceful, and holy death. Hardly a better patron than Saint Joseph could be found, for what deathbed was ever as beautiful as his must have been? All the conditions necessary to render his departure from earth a most happy and consoling one were united there.

The past showed the saint a life of innocence and purity; a life of the most genuine and sublime virtue; a life of untold merit in the service of Jesus, of Mary, of the Church, and of the whole of mankind; a life of labor, fatigue, and suffering, borne in the spirit of patience, of faith, and with the noblest love. This retrospect gave him no cause for regret or fear, but all was full of hope. We learn from his life what his death was. Does not everything combine to render his death not only good, but consoling and even joyful?

Joseph died in the arms of Jesus, his Son and God, and in the arms of Mary; both, especially at that moment, compensated all his endeavors for them with unheard of graces. They were helpers and consolers who not only supported his frail body, but who with powerful, soothing graces refreshed and rejoiced the heart and soul of the dying saint, while the Holy Spirit replenished him with a Heaven of consolation and joy.

The glimpse into the future reveals to our saint his happy meeting with his gloriously risen Son after a short stay in the quiet abode of Limbo, where the saintly souls of the Old Testament awaited their transfiguration; he sees the kingdom of eternal joy, where the Heavenly Father receives his worthy representative and faithful administrator, ministers to him, and sets him over all His treasures (Luke 12:37).

There was something extraordinarily grand and majestic in his departure from life, like the quiet effulgence of the setting sun, which at the end of a day’s work gazes back with rapturous joy on all it has accomplished and quietly sinks to rest in the bosom of God. There exists no more precious masterpiece of grace, no incense more fragrant before the Lord, than the death of a saint (Ps. 115:15).

Seeing Death Anew

Saint Joseph’s death is also a touching and desirable example for us. He can help us to make our death similarly beautiful, and that in a threefold way. First, the example of his passing encourages us not to fear a death in Christ and with Christ, full of faith, hope, and love of Him. The holy protecting powers that hovered near the saint’s deathbed and consoled him are at our command also in the means of grace given us by Mother Church, among these being Christ Himself in holy Viaticum. It was in the shadow of death that Christ had His Cross erected, and now He Himself comes to assist us mightily in our last struggle. With Him and in Him we are to make the last, hard sacrifices. He accepts them mercifully and unites them to His.

Secondly, Saint Joseph helps us to prepare for a good and consoling death by the example of his holy life, which teaches us the proper preparation for dying happily. The last act of our lives must be prepared just as carefully as any other work. Nothing is more certain than death and nothing more important, since at that moment our eternity is decided. Hence it must be prepared for in life and by means of our lives.

Death is not merely the end of life, but the echo of life. Indeed we should not only prepare for death, but should be always in a state of preparation; for death comes soon, quickly, and unexpectedly, and only once. The beautiful life of our saint, his freedom from sin; his pious, devout life; his constant, meritorious self-denial, filled with love for Jesus and Mary, teaches us in what this preparation consists.

Thirdly, Saint Joseph obtains for us a happy, trustful, consoling death by our devotion to him. These pious practices in his honor are so many compacts formed, indeed, in life, but having their efficacious reward and blessing at the hour of death.

Hence, it is well for us frequently to recommend our last hour to Saint Joseph. He will not be wanting in his clients on that important occasion. How happy we shall be to have Saint Joseph close our eyes in death (see Gen. 46:4)!

This article is from a chapter in The Truth About Saint Joseph by Fr. Maurice Meschler

Feast of Saint Patrick

Patrick’s Loricum or Breastplate has the famous Celtic prayer, centered on Christ:

Christ be with me, Christ surround me,
Christ be in my speaking, Christ be in my thinking,
Christ be in my sleeping, Christ be in my waking,
Christ be in my watching, Christ be in my hoping,
Christ be in my life, Christ be on my lips,
Christ be in my soul, Christ be in my heart,
Christ be in my sufficing, Christ be in my slumber,
Christ be in my ever-living soul,
Christ be my eternity.

Patrick prayed for the Irish people on the mountain in Mayo which bears his name (Cruach Padraig). 

Here’s a prayer for you on his feast day.

May you recognize in your life the presence,
power and light of Christ in your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,
for He is always with you;
that your soul, in its brightness,
connects you with the Lord and with the rhythm of the universe.

May you always realize that the shape of your personality is unique,
that you have a special destiny behind the facade of your ordinary daily life.

May you be able to see yourself with the same delight and expectation
with which God sees you in every moment.

And may the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and the rain fall soft upon your fields.

And, until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand

St Patrick 

Love

Even if I can speak in all the tongues of earth—and those of the angels, too—but do not have love, I am just a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophesy such that I can comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge, or if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give away everything I own to feed those poorer than I, then hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, and it is not snobbish; it is never rude or self-seeking; it is not prone to anger, nor does it brood over injuries. Love doesn’t rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices in the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.

Love never ends.

~ I Corinthians 13:1-8

May You

Grace of God

A priest dreamed he had died and was standing in front of the gates of heaven. As it will happen in such make-believe dreams, he came face to face with St. Peter, who was holding a big book and was ready to decide if this man - a priest -was going to be allowed into heaven.

St. Peter gave him a surprise announcement. "You're going to need 100 points to get inside the gates."

"Well," said he said proudly, "I was a priest for 47 years."

"That's nice," answered Peter. "That gets you one point."

"One point?! That's all I get? Just one point for 47 years of service?"

"Yes, that's correct," said Peter.

The priest was concerned at the scoring system. He tried to think of other things he had done in life.

"Well," he said, "I visited shut-ins every chance I got."

"One point."

"I developed a number of recovery programs, and I took part in many civic groups in our city. People loved me!"

"One point. Now you've got three points."

"I worked with youth," said the priest, "and surely you must know what that's like!"

"One more point," said Peter, "and that makes four. You need 96 more points."

"Oh no!" the priest cried out in panic. "I feel so helpless, so inadequate. Except for the grace of God, I don't have a chance."

St. Peter smiled a big smile. "Ah . . . the grace of God! That's good for 96 points. Come on in!"

Humility

May I Have Courage Today

Smoke Signal

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, and soon there was nothing left. The worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. "God, how could you do this to me?" he cried.

Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain, and suffering.

Remember this the next time your "hut" seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

3rd Sunday of Lent

On the first Sunday of Lent, we followed Jesus into the dessert so we could confront our weaknesses, identify and then turn away from the things that separate us from God (selfishness, greed, materialism, desire for power) and rebuild our relationship with God. Last Sunday, the second Sunday of Lent, we followed Jesus up a mountain with Peter, James and John. There on the mountaintop we witnessed his transfiguration and glorification. We prayed that the light of His transfigured face might shine on us so that we could become transforming lights to one another. Then we followed Jesus down the mountain back into our world where he continued his ministry. Today and for the next two Sundays, we leave the Gospel of Matthew and move to St. John's Gospel where we witness three encounters between Jesus and people whose lives he transformed by the light of his presence and the truth of his word, a Samaritan woman, a man blind from birth and Lazarus.

St. John’s description of Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob is one of the greatest stories of conversion and evangelization in all of scripture. Like most of the people Jesus ministered to, the Samaritan woman was a dubious candidate. She was a Samaritan, a people despised by the Jews. She was a woman, rabbis and observant Jewish men were to avoid speaking to or even looking at women in public. And her morals were questionable, making her an outcast among outcasts. Yet Jesus reached out to her with mercy and love, challenged her and turned her life around. She, in turn, was so astounded that she wanted to share her amazing experience with all the people in her town. On the strength of her personal testimony, “Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him.” This woman became one of the first evangelists. In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI said, “the sure sign that a person has been evangelized is that they in turn become evangelizers: This is exactly what happened in the case of the Samaritan woman.”

The mercy and love Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman; he offers to us. Jesus invites us to drink the water that will become in us "a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). He invites us to eat the food of faith, food that enables us "to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work"(John 4:34). Then, Jesus, the Messiah, who lives in us and through us actually expects us "to finish his work" here in Peachtree City. Like the Samaritan woman, we are called to be evangelizers. We are called to share the mercy and love offered to us to others so together we can build the kingdom right here.

Creative and forgiving Father

you let people experience your mercy

when they encounter your Son, Jesus Christ.

Let Jesus, your living Word,

speak to us from heart to heart.

Give us an unquenchable thirst

for the things that matter:

for faith and for meaning in our lives,

for hope in a better world

filled with your justice and peace,

for a spirit of committed love

that knows how to share itself.

Generously give us all these things

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Keys to Holier Golden Years

1. Adopt a positive attitude

2. Trust in God

3. Appreciate the present moment

4. Accept God’s plan for you

5. Share yourself with others

6. Be aware of the love of others

7. Appreciate yourself

8. Pardon yourself and others

9. Accept change

10. Accept suffering

11. Find humor in your life

12. Validate your feelings

13. Pray often

Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil

Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, the priest who was kidnapped in 2016 and held captive for 18 months by terrorists in Yemen, said that his ability to persevere “was thanks to the prayers of everyone” who interceded for him.

“Prayer is the best thing that God has given us and can obtain everything,” he told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish language sister agency. “Surrendered to the Lord's will, during my captivity I prayed to the Lord that they would release me soon, but I also asked him to give me the grace to complete the mission that he had planned for me.”

A Salesian missionary, Uzhunnalil first garnered the world's attention when he was kidnapped March 4, 2016, during an attack on a Missionaries of Charity home in Aden, Yemen, that left 16 people dead, including four Sisters.

His international profile grew when rumors spread that he was to be crucified on Good Friday, which were later discredited. After that, numerous photos and videos were released depicting Uzhunnalil, thin and with an overgrown beard, pleading for help and for his release, saying that his health was deteriorating and he was in need of hospitalization.

The government of Oman and the Holy See had worked for the priest’s release. He was freed Sept. 12, 2017.

In an interview with ACI Prensa the priest recalled the experience he went through in Yemen.

“The churches in Yemen had been attacked and vandalized, but in the days prior to my kidnapping the situation had stabilized somewhat,” he said.

However, on the morning of March 4, 2016, when he was praying in the chapel of the Missionaries of Charity, he heard gunshots outside. He saw jihadists killing four of the sisters.

“I prayed for God's mercy on the sisters who had died and also for those who had killed them,” he said. “They then told me to come outside and asked me if I were a Muslim. I told them no, that I was a Christian. And they put me in the back seat of the car.”

“A little later they opened the door again and threw in something metallic wrapped in some cloth. I knew that it was the tabernacle that the sisters had in the chapel,” he explained.

While Uzhunnalil said his captors did not physically harm him, he did suffer psychological torture.  “They took everything away from me, although they gave me a little water and food,” he recalled.  During that time, they changed his location five or six times, and he said that he never knew the exact location where he was being held.

In the 18 months he was held captive, Uzhunnalil relied upon prayer for perseverance.

“It was thanks to the prayers of everyone who prayed for me that I was able to endure what I was going through. It wasn't because of my personal fortitude but because of the prayers of my brothers and sisters in the faith,” he said.

Uzhunnalil also relied on personal prayer during his captivity.

“Every day, I prayed the Angelus; three or four Rosaries; an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for the sisters who died; the Chaplet of Divine Mercy; I meditated on the Way of the Cross; and I celebrated Holy Mass spiritually - I didn't have any bread or wine but I said the prayers from memory,” he said.

“I prayed for my captors and I thanked God for the seed of goodness they could have in their hearts. Thanks be to God, I don't hold any rancor or hatred for them,” he added.

“God knew everything that was happening, because they should have killed me in the beginning, but they didn't. They kept me alive even though I said I was a Christian. Here I am now, free, to bear witness that God is alive, that he has heard our prayers and has answered us. I have witnessed the power of prayer,” he told ACI Prensa.

After his release on September 12, 2017, he met with Pope Francis, a moment that was “tremendously emotional.” 

“During the meeting with Pope Francis, I cried and I thanked him for the prayers he had prayed for me that he had asked to be prayed for me.”

Uzhunnalil encouraged all Christians who are suffering persecution today to be steadfast in prayer and in faith in God.

The priest currently lives in Bangalore, India, since Yemen is still at war. However, he assures that he is ready to go back to the country “if that's God's will.”

This article was originally published ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Surrender

One of the best ways of understanding surrender is this:

If you’re doing anything that moves you away from God – no matter what it is, no matter how good it feels, no matter how much you like it – stop it!

If you’re with anyone who moves you away from God – no matter who it is – change the relationship! Leave if you must.

If you’re in a place that moves you away from God, leave. Get out of there!

No matter what or who or where or when – whatever moves you away from God, change it!

On the other hand, if something brings you closer to God, it is holy. Do more of it. If someone brings you closer to God, they are holy. See more of them. A place that brings you closer to God is a holy place. Go there more often.

Prayer for God's Will

Dear Lord,

I thank You for this day,
I thank You for my being able to see
and to hear this morning.
I'm blessed because You are
a forgiving God and
an understanding God.
You have done so much for me
and You keep on blessing me.
Forgive me this day for everything
I have done, said or thought
that was not pleasing to you.

I ask now for Your forgiveness.
Please keep me safe
from all danger and harm.
Help me to start this day
with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and every day
to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.
Please broaden my mind
that I can accept all things.
Let me not whine and whimper
over things I have no control over.
And give me the best response
when I'm pushed beyond my limits.

I know that when I can't pray,
You listen to my heart.
Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be
a blessing to others.
Keep me strong that I may help the weak.
Keep me uplifted that I may have
words of encouragement for others.
I pray for those that are lost
and can't find their way.
I pray for those that are misjudged
and misunderstood.
I pray for those who
don't know You intimately.
I pray for those that will delete this
without sharing it with others
I pray for those that don't believe.

But I thank You that I believe
that God changes people and
God changes things.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers.
For each and every family member
in their households.
I pray for peace, love and joy
in their homes; that they will be out of debt
and all their needs will be met.
I pray that every eye that reads this
knows there is no problem, circumstance,
or situation greater than God.
Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.

Amen

Samuel Morse

Wakefield tells the story of the famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn't know what to do. Morse responded, "More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding."

Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving: "I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me."​

2nd Sunday of Lent

Last week our Gospel recounted Jesus’ encounter with the devil and his temptations in the desert. The temptations occurred at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. This week we fast forward to the story of the Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-9. 

To put the story in context, it is important to know that several days before the Transfiguration Jesus told his disciples “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised” (Matt. 16:21). Upon hearing this Peter rebuked Jesus and Jesus dismissed him just as he did the devil in the desert because like the devil, Peter was attempting to divert him from his God-determined path. A few days later Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain where his appearance changed in their presence. His “clothes became dazzling white.” Moses and Elijah appeared and had a conversation with him. The three disciples heard the voice of God say: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." For Jesus the Transfiguration was affirmation that his mission was valid. For the disciples, it was an overwhelming event they would not understand until after the Resurrection. 

In his Lenten Message for 2023 Our Holy Father Francis said: “During this liturgical season, the Lord takes us with him to a place apart. While our ordinary commitments compel us to remain in our usual places and our often repetitive and sometimes boring routines, during Lent we are invited to ascend “a high mountain” in the company of Jesus and to live a particular experience of spiritual discipline – ascesis – as God’s holy people.” The Holy Father reminds us that, “Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross. This is precisely what Peter and the other disciples needed to do. 

To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of his salvation, accomplished in total selfgiving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity. We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice and concentration. “ Jesus received strength and courage to carry his cross from God his Father during his Transfiguration. The power of the transfiguration is available to us as well just as it was available to Peter, James and John. If we have confidence in God’s love for us, if we truly desire to fulfil God’s will in all aspects of our lives, if we trust God with childlike confidence and if we remember to give God glory for all that God has done for us, then we will have the strength to carry our own crosses. Not only will we have the strength to deal with our problems, our lives can be transformed. And, through the love of God that shines in us, we can transform the lives of others. 

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

it is wonderful for us to be here 

in the presence of your beloved Son. 

Let his radiant face give us light and peace. 

Do not allow sin to disfigure us further

 nor divide our communities. 

May the light of his transfigured face 

shine on all of us and give us courage, 

that we too may become lights to one another, 

until we may enter your everlasting light. 

We ask you this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen

Slow Down

An American racing enthusiast entered his horse in Britain's famous Epsom Downs Steeple­chase. Just before the race began, he slipped his horse a white pellet. The Duke of Marlboro, who was serving as steward, caught the owner in the act and objected. "I say, old man, really you can't do that sort of thing over here!"

"Just a harmless sugar lump," the Ameri­can assured him. He gulped one down himself. "Here, try one," he said.

The Duke took a pill, swallowed it, and seemed satisfied. As the jockey mounted, the American whispered in his ear, "Son, keep that horse on the outside and stay out of trouble, be­cause once he starts running, there ain't nothing that can catch him...except me and the Duke of Marlboro!"

Do you ever feel that way - running so fast that nothing can catch you? Our busy and full lives are too often like that; we rush here and hurry there. We eat fast food. We run our errands. We use e-mail and put off reading our messages until we have the time. We hurry through meals and can only give friends "just a minute." We live fast-paced and anxious lives. Too often, we run so fast we lose our center.

But, in the end, it's not how fast you lived that matters, but how well you lived. Are you taking time to enjoy? Have you left enough time for you? Is there time to listen to a friend or visit a relative in need? Are you leaving time each day to nurture your faith? Do you need to slow down? After all, the only race that matters goes, not to those who run it quickly, but to those who run it well.