Shamshabad Eparchy Inaugurated with Mar Raphael Thattil as the 1st Bishop

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the second largest Christian grouping in India (after the Roman Catholic Latin rite) has officially instituted its 31st Diocese in Shamshabad (Telengana State) which was constituted by Pope Francis recently on 10th of October, 2017. In a magnificent and devotional ceremony held at CKR and KTR Convention hall in Santhom Nagar in Hyderabad, which was participated by Cardinals, Arch Bishops and many Bishops, Priests, Nuns and the public, the Major Arch Bishop of the Syro Malabar Church, Cardinal Mar George Alencherry formally dedicated the Diocese to Vatican and enthroned Mar Raphael Thattil as the first Bishop of this largest Eparchy of the Church, and entrusted him with the great and hard responsibility of overseeing the 'Mission work' spread across a vast and difficult area, which is the primary duty of the Church assigned by her Master.

As the construction of the new Cathedral Church for the Shamshabad Diocese is in progress, St Alphonsa Syro Malabar Church at Kukatpally in Hyderabad will serve temporarily as the pro-cathedral and Bishop's House. 

The responsibility of gathering and serving more than 1,30,000 faithful spread across 100 towns in the country (out side Kerala state) is vested in the Bishop. He is to cater to the spiritual needs of the faithful belonging to 11 operative and 7 under construction Churches, with the help of about 88 Priests and few hundred nuns now. 

"The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23). We can see in the history of the world and the history of the church, God has chosen, called and empowered some people as per His will depending upon the situations and needs. Even though the elections of people are proven to be wrong, God's selection never fails. To lead HIS Church on earth He has anointed Holy Father Pope Francis and to administer his vibrant Syro-Malabar Church, HE has weighed, called and authorized loyal and devoted Shepherds like Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, Mar Raphael Thattil, Mar Sebastian Vaniyapurackal etc to guide His Church in these hard and difficult days.

The activities of the dark forces are very prevalent in the world and in the Church also. satan is more cunning than ever. he takes attractive and enchanting guises to mislead everyone, if possible even the chosen ones. Nowadays we see in the Church, how he shows the sweetness of power and positions, and uses the servants of God as his tools to damage the Church who the Bride of Christ..! 

Dear fellow believers, do not be deceived by the vanity the world shows you. The only aim of every Christian in this world should be eternal Life in the Kingdom of God! Whatever the world can offer will pass away after a short period. If you can believe what our Lord has in store for you,  [1 Cor 2:9] nothing in this world can entice you and you will definitely gain strength of God and help of His Mother, through the recitation of Rosary Prayers regularly, to resist the traps of all evil.

Please be vigilant and pray for we do not know the time and hour!

Good News to Indian Christians! Persecutions intensifies in India!

(Priests and others made to sit on the floor of the police station)

Even though the latest incident of assault, atrocity and humiliation in Satna of Madhya Pradesh inflicted on the innocent Catholic Christian Carol-singing group consisting of Respectable Priests, Seminarians and faithful, by some Hindu militants and the local police is being condemned by the national and international community, it must be considered as a Happy News by the followers of Lord Jesus Christ, who are eagerly waiting for the fulfillment of the 'Word of God' and rewards in thousand folds!

Christians are the highly persecuted human race under the sun. Even though it is a painful fact, it must be regarded as a matter of delight for every Christian (believer of Christ) as he/she is getting a rare opportunity to get a small share of the Master's suffering for being and doing good and the reward for which will be unimaginably very high . The Church which received formation with the Precious and Holy Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ grew with the blood of many virtuous martyrs. With an intention to finish off the Christian faith many emperors, kings and principalities in the history of the world have very cruelly persecuted the early Christians whose innocent blood not only helped them receive their 'special rewards' in heaven, but also helped greatly in the spread of Christian Faith on earth. Had hired hit-man Samandar Singh of Madhya Pradesh not stabbed to death Sr. Rani Maria in 1995, how would have she received the great honor and title of 'Blessed Martyr' both in Heaven and on earth? 

Ever since Modi's BJP government came to power in India (though there were religious persecutions reported earlier too), the level of persecution on minorities particularly Christians has been rising steeply as per the statistics and reports.

With such heinous incidents that are not condemned or dealt with firmly by the rulers or officials, the image of the country in the international arena is terribly being damaged. According to OpenDoorsUsa.org, the persecution rank of Christians has reached 15 in India since the present government came to power in 2014. It is quite surprising to note that the situation in India which is known as the largest democratic and secular country in the world is just few levels after notorious and trouble-torn countries with dictators like North Korea, Somalia, Nigeria, Pakistan etc. It also surprises that the persecution level on Christians in India is higher than China..! It is reported that an attack on Christians is recorded every 40 hours in India..!

Christians while being tormented on behalf of their Faith, must remember the Words of God listed below which will minimize their pains. If intolerant rulers like Narendra Damodardas Modi who is a product of right-wing RSS, and cowardly and corrupt officials do not support silently these fanatics, how then will the Holy Word of God accomplish?

Dear beloved persecuted Christian, please offer your sufferings for the sake of God's Kingdom. Pray for your persecutors as the Lord did:

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

The rewards the Lord is keeping ready for those who bear even a small amount of insult or pain is beyond our imagination. It is very very big...! 

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me..." (Matt. 5:11-12).

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first" (John. 15:18).

"Do not be surprised my brothers and sisters if the world hates you" (1 John 3:13).

Please ponder over these Holy Words of God through St Peter (1 Peter 4:12-17), the first Pope of the Church: 

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name".

Let all the Christians world-wide pray for their suffering brethren so that they may get grace to bear all the pains and also pray for their abusers for their conversion of mind like St Paul. Please avoid all sins that no one will be punished as a criminal, as the Divine Word above warns.

Pope says 'the Poor are our Passport to Paradise': World Day of the Poor 19-11-17

(image courtesy: catholicnewsagency.com)

The Universal Catholic Church observed the 19th of November 2017 as the first 'World Day of the Poor'. Hereafter the 33rd Sunday in ordinary time is to be commemorated as 'International Day of the Poor'.

Speaking on the occasion, the Holy Father Pope Francis said that the poor people are our passport to get into Paradise. Hence they are a boon to all as they are instrumental to attain our eternal goal. While giving message he quoted the 1st letter of St John from the Bible chapter “Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18). So to pave a shortcut way to the Paradise is very easy and it is at anyone's reach. Because more than half of the world's population are starving and about 80% of the global people are poor.

The Pope also said that it is not only the worldly bread that we must share with the poor but also the spiritual Word of God. The poor people represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Because HE left all His riches and was born as the poorest of the poor in this world. And the Good News of the Birth of the Saviour of the humanity was first made known to the poor people.
The Lord Jesus has categorically stated that it is very difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (Matt. 19:23). He has said that "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). Through His Holy Word, He is repeatedly issuing the warning message of possessing wealth and the dangers of having riches in the world. But many people including many chosen ones are seen amassing wealth which may be a dangerous hurdle for them to enter the heaven!

In the final judgement the Lord is going to reward only them those who rendered services to the needy with love and compassion. Like food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, accommodation for the homeless, company for the neglected, etc..

To get a passport to go to another country may be little difficult and expensive. But to get a passport to reach the Paradise in a shortcut route is very easy. One need to have only a liberal heart to share what one has with his needy neighbour. This act will take him to paradise as per the Word of Lord Jesus and His servant the Pope Francis!

Let us all strive hard to reach our ultimate goal, The Paradise!
God Bless you.

Miraculous St Anthony's Shrine Kottayam, Efficacious Novena Prayer

(image courtesy: holymassimages.blogspot.com)

There are many Christian Churches (mostly Catholic Shrines) in different parts of Kerala that are widely recognized by large number of people belonging to different religions, races, nationalities, and languages as the centers for occurrence of miracles especially that are impossible as per the human understanding. 

St Anthony's Shrine in Nagampadom of Kottayam in central Kerala of India is a sure spot for any devotee who approaches here with strong faith in the Almighty Lord God Jesus Christ and His Blessed Virgin Mother and His devoted servant St Anthony who lived in Padua of Portugal from 15-08-1195 to 13-06-1231 loving, pleasing, obeying and serving his Master with whole heart and strength. There are hundreds and thousands of people who share their testimonies of receiving  impossible matters or needs. Many of the miraculous favours received by the pilgrims from above are too good to believe for the medical science or the human imaginations.

All good things and blessing flow only from Lord Jesus Christ Who is True and only God and the fountain of all goodness. Some people may then ask, why should one approach His Holy Mother Mary or His Saints for intercession? Please be understood that it is the will of Lord Jesus to give glory to all His Faithful people who loved, served and glorified Him with their lives on this earth. He is very willing to glorify you and me too if we 'truly' love Him by keeping His Commands..!

St Anthony's Holy Shrine in Nagampadam is blessed to have the Holy Relic of St Anthony of Padua who is known as one of the greatest miracle-performer. Even though people visit this pilgrim center all days of the week, hundreds of thousands of devotees without any discrimination of caste, creed, religion or region throng this shrine every Tuesdays, being the special day of St Anthony. As it is located very closely just beside the Kottayam private bus stand at Nagambadom and near to the Railway station, it is very convenient for the devotees to visit from far off places also.

Holy Mass, Rosary, Benediction, Novena (services) timings:

Sundays:  

               4.15 pm Rosary of Divine Mercy, 
               4.30 pm Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mother, 
               5.00 pm Holy Mass 

Tuesdays:   

               5.15 am Rosary of Divine Mercy, 
               5.30 am Rosary of  Virgin Mother, 
               6.00 am Holy Mass, Blessing of the Holy Eucharist,
               8.00 am Holy Mass, Novena, Blessing of the Holy Eucharist,
              10.00 am Holy Mass, Novena, Blessing of the Holy Eucharist,
              12.00 noon Holy Mass, Novena, Blessing of the Holy Eucharist, 
               2.00 pm Holy Mass, Novena, Blessing of the Holy Eucharist, 
               4.15 pm Rosary of Divine Mercy, 
               4.30 pm Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mother, 
               5.00 pm Holy Mass, Eucharistic Procession, Eucharistic Adoration.

Fridays: 

               6.00 am to 5.00 pm Adoration of the Holy Eucharist.
               5.00 pm Holy Mass.

Saturdays: 

              4.15 pm Rosary of Divine Mercy, Holy Mass, Novena of Vimalagiri Matha

Note: Special Healing and intercessory miracle Prayers are held throughout all the spiritual services by the Spirit-filled Rector Rev Father Sebastian Poovathinkal...
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Efficacious and powerful Novena Prayer to St Anthony of Nagampadom, Kottayam, Kerala:
(to be prayed preferably holding a lighted candle in front of the statue of the saint for 9 consecutive Tuesdays. Most people get their prayers answered within 3 to 4 weeks prayers!)

Oh, merciful Saint Anthony, I, this humble devotee, offer you my soul, body and all I have for your complete protection. As an act of my full faith, I offer you this burning candle all these Tuesdays. Oh St Anthony, who never fails those who beseech you, console me, my family and my dear ones, from all sorrows and difficulties and protect us from all dangers, misfortunes and tribulations. Oh St Anthony I put all my trust in you and implore you for your endless mercy. I believe there is nothing impossible through your intercession. Oh St Anthony, good fiend of Child Jesus, be always our companion, intercessor and helper. I humbly plead you to get all the spiritual and earthly needs for me and my dear ones from the Almighty God, through your powerful intercession, specially our present and urgent needs (....mention your present/important needs here....). Please rescue me and my dear ones with compassion from all the sorrows, difficulties, troubles and tribulations that are surrounding us.

Pray the Lord Jesus' Prayer (3 times):

"Our Father in Heaven, Holy be Your Name. Your Kingdom come. Your Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not in to temptations, But deliver us from all evil".

Prayer to the Holy Mother of Lord Jesus (3 times)

"Hail Mary, Full of Grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among  women, and Blessed is the fruit of your Womb Jesus;

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the time of our death, Amen".

Glory be to the Holy Trinity... (3 times)

"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen".

St Anthony, pray for us (3 times)

[This Prayer was translated from Malayalam to English by a 3rd year B Tech student of Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kanjrapally, Kottayam Dt]

Please watch the brief Biography of St Anthony here: 

*May God bless you abundantly through Mother Mary and St Anthony.
*Please share this for the benefit of others and honour of St Anthony.

*Please add your testimony below for the greater Glory of God.

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