Rosary...FAQs

THE ROSARY -Questions and answers --------------------------------- There is much prayer power in the Rosary, because you are offering up the sacrifice of your time, sending it into the Immaculate and Loving Heart of the Blessed Mother of Christ, who adds her prayers to yours and sends them to His Sacred Heart that was pierced for love of you. Jesus then intercedes for you in unity with the Holy Spirit and the Father, all of Whom love you dearly and care about your prayer requests much more than you do! As you pray, trust God and let Him decide the best way and timing to respond to your requests. Q: Why pray to Mary when we can go directly to God? *********************************************** A: Think of how often you ask your friends to add their prayers to yours. Mary is a friend you have in Heaven. She is closer to God than anyone else, because when she was conceived in her mother's womb, God created her to be full of grace so that Jesus could live in her womb years later (God cannot dwell where sin dwells). This is called Mary's Immaculate Conception. Therefore, while enlisting the prayers of your sinful friends here on earth, why not also ask for the prayer support of one who is closer to God than any other human being? Q: When was the Rosary invented? It's not in the Bible. *************************************************** A: The command to pray is in the Bible, but there are endless ways to pray. The Rosary relies on prayers that come from sc<x>ripture: the "Our Father" taught by Jesus, the two basic parts of the "Hail Mary", and the meditations upon the life of Christ, for example. The Rosary is a "prayer of the people", designed to be easily adopted by both illiterate and educated Christians. The method of praying a formula of prayers using beads for keeping track evolved from pious devotions very early in Church history. In the fourth century, a Christian ascetic named Paul the Hermit made a habit of repeating 300 prayers, according to a set form, every day. To record his progress, he gathered up three hundred pebbles and threw one away as each prayer was finished. Other ascetics devised similar ways of numbering their prayers. In monastic orders, monks began reciting all 150 chapters in the Book of Psalms, sometimes dividing them into three sets of 50 Psalms each. Lay brothers, most of whom were illiterate, substituted a simple form of prayer, usually the "Our Father". Counting beads on a string became popular by the 11th century. In the mid-12th century, the Hail Mary as a salutation (not a prayer) came into widespread use, accompanied by genuflexions or some other external act of reverence for Christ. The additional practice of meditating on certain definite mysteries about Christ and our redemption began with Dominic of Prussia, a Carthusian monk and ascetical writer (1382-1461) and, by the end of the 15th century, many varieties of meditations prevailed. Eventually, the mysteries were narrowed down to three, to teach our most important doctrines, and were promoted by popes; Pope John Paul II added a fourth set. The word "rosary" comes from rosarius, meaning a garland or bouquet of roses. An early legend says this name came from Mary herself during an apparition when she took rosebuds from the lips of a young monk as he recited the Hail Marys; she wove them into a garland and placed them upon her head. Q: Why say the same words over and over again? Isn't this babbling?************************************************************* A: It can be babbling, but it doesn't have to be. Repeated words make it easier to meditate meaningfully; we can focus on the mysteries of God's Kingdom while also being aware of the words we're using to connect with that Kingdom. We can use the time to learn from the mysteries or we can allow our minds to wander and see where God leads us. Q: What are the mysteries of the Rosary? *************************************** A: There are four sets of mysteries. The first (the Joyful Mysteries) draw our attention to the beginning of Christ's life on earth. The second (the Sorrowful Mysteries) help us realize the immense passionate love Jesus had for us as He suffered and died to heal us and set us free from sin. The third (the Luminous Mysteries) covers the earthly ministry of Jesus. The fourth (the Glorious Mysteries) teach us about the resurrection power of the Christian life. In each set, there are five mysteries or lessons for learning about the Kingdom of God, so that we may be inspired to receive more of God's love and open ourselves more fully to His miracle power. Q: Why ten Hail Marys for each mystery? Why five mysteries for each Rosary? ************************************************************* A: The numbers come from the book of Psalms. There are 150 Psalms, and we pray 150 Hail Marys (ten for each mystery, times five mysteries, times three sets of mysteries). Q: Must we do the prayers exactly the way they are written?***************************************************** A: No. God is not a legalist. The Rosary is not a magic formula. God answers our prayers because He loves us and the people for whom we are praying, and because what we ask for is good and in line with His promises in sc<x>ripture, not because we do a Rosary. If you want to add some of your own, extra prayers to the Rosary, let yourself be moved by the Holy Spirit and add those prayers! Holy Mary Mother of God.. Pray for Us Sinners.. Now and at the Hour of Our Death.. so let us always seek Mother Marys assistance.. Have a wonderful day... God bless With luv and prayers, Jeffie John Parackal "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phil 4:13

The video is now in YouTube...The address is clearer in this mail

Hi dear family,


             The video we made on social committment and presented in the techfest has been uploaded in YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny4_j8EwNw0 
      
             The film has been named Monuments of Love....By grace of GOD,we got second prize for that...some people saw that tooo...hope the message was conveyed atleast in a minor level.....Actually,we had thought that film wud be disqualified as it had less amount of video content and more of pics and captions...But the audience and the judges accepted it as it was!!!!..                   

        During the production,there were some stumbling blocks,such as unavailability of video cam to shoot(had to adjust with still cam) ,lack of video footages(the film has moreof pics and captions than videos!!) and for editing we didn't even have a standard software(and had to do the editng with Windows Movie Maker and Microsoft Paint).....But still,GOD's grace covered up all the lacks and shortcomings and enabled us to make it upto our best.....Hope the message does get conveyed by this humble venture....The team was named Mater Dei creations,as a tribute to our dear Mother Mary(Mater Dei means mother of GOD in latin).....Pls give us ur opinion ater viewing the video...GBU....

With luv and prayers, Jeffie John Parackal


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phil 4:13

Happy news...----->A JYMACEian in new KYCT...Congrats Chetta...

Dear family...........

 

 

                  HI family...............By grace of GOD,everything is going very cool here in college....Arts-Tech heat is on and hope everything will rock well,wothout any probs.....

 

                       I'm also happy to inform our family about the JYMACE presence in the new Kerala Youth Central Team(KYCT)...Our 2007 passout Midhun Paul chettan has been inducted in the KYCT..As we all know,he is currently serving Professional ministry as the coordinator of PCT,along with professional obligations as a lecturer in Illahia Engg College...And now a new responsibiblity has also been entrusted unto him by GOD Almighty....Lets pray that he be able to shoulder all his responsibilities and let the guidance of the Holy Spirit be always with him...Please keep Midhun chettan,PCT and KYCT specially in your prayers...Amen...GBU...

With luv and prayers, Jeffie John Parackal


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phil 4:13

New guardians of JYMACE

Group coordinator: George Tharakan(S6C)
Asst.Coordinator: Bineesha Vinayan(S6C)
Ministries

Intercession - Isha Paulson(S6C) and Assa(S4C)
Bible -Manju Ann(S6E)
Audio visual -Joseph Peter(S6E) and Sumi Sam(S6L)
Outreach -Binumon(S6E) and Sebin(S4E)
Music -Tenish K T(S6E) and Merin Selma(S6R)
Finance -Meril Kailath(S6E)
Library -Bibin John(S4L)
Secretary -Ardhra(S4L)



With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

Initial retreat

Dear chettans and chechis

Our sub-region level initial retreat will be on 8,9,10,February.... So do keep all of us especially our first-years' in your prayers... May the Lord bless and touch each one of them. Also do pray for the sub-region team and all involved...

God bless you!!!!

Love and prayers
Sumi
S6L




2 Cor 12:9
My grace is sufficient for you because my strength is made perfect in weakness.

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JYMACE Updates 09/01/08

"Praise the LORD.How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!"(Psalms 147:1)

Dear family in Christ.....

All glory and honour be to the anointed one - Christ....Through the anointing He has passed on to us throught the Church and the strenghtening of our weak spirit through His Holy Spirit,we had yet another wonderful week here...Even in the midst of the exams,the group is strenghtened beyond all measures....

Te prayer meeting of 9th Jan was led by Deo(S5M) and Manju(S5E)...The theme centered on Psalms 147-> 'How beautiful it is to praise and worship Him'..Be it in your sorrows,be it in your joy,praise the God Almighty always,with whole of your heart,whole of mind and wholeof your strength...The prayer meeting started off with sharings on the strength and beauty of Praise,with experiences to quote...How praising God strengthened them in the moments of despair,how it enhanced their joy,how it removed any trace of doubt or sadness....

The Praise and Worship was preceeded by the action song "Oh!What a beautiful day,my Jesus.."....The P&W was sweet and strong,with strong praising,followed by a brief moment of silence to listen to His voice.Then we had the Word of God sharing from the Psalms,a break from the usual New Testament....

The Professional Ministry Newsletter is now put up in our Jesus Youth website(India)...It can be downladed from there...Both issues are uploaded....Please pray for the forthcoming issues of the newsletter..We are also searching for a nice name for it..If you have any suggestion,please convey it to jypmnl@yahoogroups.com...GBU...

With luv and prayers, Jeffie John Parackal


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phil 4:13

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JYMACE Updates 02/01/08

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)


Dear family.......

A very happy new year to you all from everyone here at the 'Kothamangalam chapter' of the 'international movement' that is JYMACE...How was the new year celebrations all around?...Also Lijo chetta, a very happy married life from every JYMACEian around the globe..The life in MACE is going very 'cooool' with the uni exams...Still,the Spirit of God is keeping everyone,especially the ones who attented the SAC,with a spirit and vigour.


The prayer meeting of 2nd January, our first prayer meeting of 2008, was led by Edin(S5M) and Assa(S3C), the theme based on the 'Golden rule' of Christian life ->"Do unto others what you would have them do unto you"...Being the prayer meeting after SAC, the experience sharings filled in most part of it...Due to the exams, most of us couldn't attend, but many of dear first year could go for it and return with a new spirit... For all of them, this was their first Jesus Youth program in the central level... The kind of moulding they had over there was awesome....Especially the sessions on leadereship, fellowship and the Holy adoration hours....

The action song " Every single cell in my body is happy" once again managed to strike the chord and really made every single cell in our body happy.The Word of God saharing was based on the passage Matthew 7:1-12. The words of assurance "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."(Matt 7:7) and the Golden rule were quite apt for the moment( and throughout our lives...)..The Word of God never cease to hold up its magic!!!...


A scent of our core group reconstitution is the air over here...Please do pray that the Spirit of God leads us in the right way and choose the right people for the next team...The new coordinators and the new team;let it be what the group needs, as per the will of GOD, to carry forward the gift,the blessing,the family -> JYMACE ..... GBU....

With luv and prayers, Jeffie John Parackal


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phil 4:13

Group 19/12/2007

Dear family.....


Wishing my dear family a happy and prosperous New Year... May the Lord Almighty bless you all in this 2008,as He has been doing since time immemorial...
The group of 19th dec,the last prayer meeting of 2007, was led by Arun(S7L) and Jeffie(S7L), centered on the theme "Rejoice always,'cos you are in His mighty hands"...Being the last prayer meeting of the year and due to the ongoing uni exams, the group was filled with a special spirit..The group started off with the usual songs and an action song "I wanna clap,clap,clap"....The action song was followed by a brief outline of the history of Taize...The praise and worship was in the Taize form...Truly an amazing experience to all....

The word sharing was based on the passage 1 Thesslonaians 5:16-... After reading of the Holy Bible,everyone were paired with their neighbour and asked to share the insights among them...After the 'pair sharing', a few of them came forward and shared what they had shared in the pair.... The key insights included that we ought to respect our authorities and elders, as is mentioned in the scriptures...The classic hobby of a student, that is to ridicule his/her teacher , is not what God expects from them...Also the will of God for us is to always rejoice,pray without ceasing and give thanks to God in all circumstances.... Suppose we have a cabinet minster as our elder brother,do we have to worry about all the troubles encountered in our daily lives?...No, we just have to use position and power of our brother..So then why do we make a fuss over silly matters, even when we have Jesus,the king of kings ,as our dear brother and Saviour?.... God has called each one of us into His glory,majesty and richness... All it takes is the supreme faith and commitment to Him, to partake in His glory.If He has died, its for us to live.... So rejoice alwayz....

After the Word sharing, all of us sang out together "Our God is an awesome God..."... Before winding up, each one of the earlier pairs were designated as the Christmas friends for this season... A new concept, I guess.... After this, everyone departed, wishing a merry Christmas to all....

With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

Group 5/12/2007

"Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the Kingdom of God" (Mark10:14)

 

Dear family in Christ…

 

                                      Looks like everyone is excited about Rendezvous '07…Surely gonna be a great gathering of our dear family after a long time…. Now with the end of the semester and start of study leave, we r really gonna miss our college and prayer group for some time (only physically though!). This week, we had a really 'cute' prayer meeting, led by Sumi (S5L) and Bineesha (S5C), centered on the theme ' Be like a child'.  A child is always frank, cute, innocent and always speaks out his/her mind. As we 'grow up', we lose that innocence. But in front of our God Almighty, we r all tiny tots, each one still in his/her teething stage. The group started out with songs and the action song 'Who gives the faith….' This was followed by sharings by our dear Anna chechi (2006 civil) and Robin chettan (present Professional Ministry Fulltimer). We also had our dear Sherin chechi (2007 Computer) along with us.

 

                                                The Word of God sharing, which followed, was based on Mark 10:13-16; Jesus blessing the children. During the sharing, the need for calling up our Heavenly ABBA Father was emphasized. There is a story about a rich man (a very rich man indeed!!!). There was a rich man, who earned in excess of Rs.50k per month. One day he saw his youngest daughter sitting on the doorstep, all worried and tensed up. On asking what the matter was, he got a reply that she had to bring Rs.10 to school the next day and she was worried where to get it from. Just imagine how the loving Dad must have felt. Even in His richness, his dear daughter was worried how to find this small amount all by herself. Are we any different? In many a situations, we tend to find solutions for them by ourselves. We forget about our loving Heavenly Father, who is out there to remove all our sorrows and share His riches with us. We do sing, " I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my pain, I'm laying them down, For the joy of the Lord…. Yes Lord…."… But do we really trade them up? Can we really say a Yes to the Lord? Do we really call Him with the love and closeness befitting a Father and a son?

 

                                      During this meeting, we had the first years outnumbering everyone else, in spite of their ongoing first series exams. Praise God…  Please do keep them in your prayers. We are also gonna have our Christmas celebrations on the coming Wednesday. Everyone's pretty excited about it… Our Uni exams are to start on this 18^th. Please keep us also in ur dear prayers. Another happy news is the launch of the second issue of the Professional Ministry newsletter… After a long delay of 9 months, the 'baby' is finally out. Hope it will be a light in the paths of many... The soft copy will be uploaded very soon.. Thank You very much for ur valuable prayers and support..

 

Together in Spirit,

With luv and prayers, Jeffie John Parackal


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phil 4:13

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10 Rules For A Happy Day

1. TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK...

If someone is rude, if someone is impatient, if someone is unkind, I will not respond in a like manner.

2. TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY 'ENEMY'...

If I come across someone who treats me harshly or unfairly, I will quietly ask God to bless that individual. I understand "enemy" could be a family member, neighbor, co-worker or stranger.

3. TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY...

I will carefully choose and guard my words being certain that I do not spread gossip.

4. TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE...

I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.

5. TODAY I WILL FORGIVE...

I will forgive any hurts or injuries that come my way.

6. TODAY I WILL DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE, BUT I WILL DO IT IN SECRET...

I will reach out anonymously and bless the life of another.

7. TODAY I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WISH TO BE TREATED...

I will practice the golden rule. "Do unto others as I would have them do unto me" - with EVERYONE I encounter.

8. TODAY I WILL RAISE THE SPIRITS OF SOMEONE WHO IS DISCOURAGED...

My smile, my words, my ex-pression of support, can make the difference to someone who is wrestling with life.

9. TODAY I WILL NURTURE MY BODY...

I will eat only healthy foods. I will thank God for my body.

10. TODAY I WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY...

I will spend more time in prayer today. I will begin reading something spiritual or inspirational; I will find a quiet place (at some point during this day) and listen to God's voice.

With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

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Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it.

ONE SENTENCE SERMONS

Be Fishers of Men.... You catch 'em, He'll clean 'em.

A family altar can alter a family.

A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

Don't put a question mark where God put a period.

Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.

Exercise daily. Walk with the Lord!

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

Give God what's right, not what's left!

Give Satan an inch and he'll be a ruler.

God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts."

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

Having truth decay? Brush up on your Bible!

He who angers you, controls you!

He who is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!

Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.

Never give the devil a ride! He will always want to drive!

Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.

Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

"Pray" is a four letter word that you can say anywhere.

Prayer - Don't give God instructions - just report for duty!

The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

This Church is "Prayer Conditioned!"

To be almost saved is to be totally lost.

WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning!

Watch your step carefully! Everyone else does!

We don't change the message; the message changes us.

We set the sail; God makes the wind.

We're too blessed to be depressed.

Wisdom has two parts: 1) Having a lot to say. 2) Not saying it.

 

*  *  *

 

~ author unknown ~

With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

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A Dialouge with Our Father

'Our Father who art in heaven ...'

Yes?

Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.

But you called me.

Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. "Our Father who art in heaven..."

There you did it again.

Did what?

Called me. You said, "Our Father who art in heaven. " Here I am... What's on your mind?

But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done.

All right. Go on.

"Hallowed be thy name..."

Hold it. What do you mean by that?

By what?

By "hallowed be thy name"?

It means... it means... Good grief, I don't know what it means.How should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?

It means honored, holy, wonderful.

Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what "hallowed" meant before. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Do you really mean that?

Sure, why not?

What are you doing about it?

Doing? Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there.

Have I got control of you?

Well, I go to church.

That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money--all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?

Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at the church.

Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example.

Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others.

So could I.

I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free.

Good. Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I'm proud of you.

Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. "Give us this day, our daily bread."

You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is.

Hey, wait a minute! What is this, "Criticize me day"? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.

Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to get across to you. You called me, and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep praying, I'm interested in the next part of your prayer...(pause). Well, go on.

I'm scared to.

Scared? Of what?

I know what you'll say.

Try me and see.

"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us."

What about Ann?

See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why, Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!

But your prayer? What about your prayer?

I didn't mean it.

Well, at least you're admitting it. But it's not much fun carrying that load of bitterness around inside, is it?

No. But I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood.

You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change all that.

You can? How?

Forgive Ann. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Ann's problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart.

Oh, you're right. You always are. And more than I want to get revenge on Ann, I want to be right with you....(pause)...(sigh). All right. All right. I forgive her. Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it. Some way, some how, show her the right way.

God: There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest.

You're not through with your prayer. Go on.

Oh, all right. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.

What do you mean by that?

Don't turn on the TV when you know the laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be picked up. Also, about the time you spend coffeeing with your friends, if you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for "keeping up". And please don't use me for an escape hatch.

I don't understand the last part.

Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get into trouble and then you come running to me, "Lord, help me out of this mess and I promise you I'll never do it again." You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?

Yes, and I'm ashamed, Lord. I really am.

Which bargain are you remembering?

Well, there was the night that Bill was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, "Oh, God, if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again."

Did you?

I'm sorry, Lord, I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn't expect anything to happen like it did.

Go ahead and finish your prayer.

"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever." Amen.

Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?

No, but I'd like to know. I want now to please you. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers.

You just answered the question.

I did?

Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together.

By Ruth Carter-Bourdon (from http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net )

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With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

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Your Quiet Time With God

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You. Psalm 63:1

When you come to meet with God, you should have an attitude of:

1
Expectancy
Expect to 'give and get' from your time together. And make it a time of intimacy. It's impossible to have a love affair in a crowd or a public place; intimacy calls for being alone with the one you love. The Bible speaks about Christ as the Groom and us as His bride. Think of the anticipation and excitement shared in such moments.

2
Reverence
Don't rush into God's presence. Prepare your heart by being still before Him and letting the quietness clear away the thoughts of the world. Remind yourself Who it is you're meeting with - God! "You are worthy. to receive glory and honour" (Revelation 4:11).

3
Alertness
Get to bed early so you'll be in good shape to meet God in the morning. He deserves your full attention. Give God the best part of your day - when you are the freshest. Follow the example of Christ: "Very early in the morning, Jesus went off to a solitary place, where He prayed" (Mark 1:35). Hudson Taylor said, "You don't tune up the instruments after the concert is over; you tune them up before you start."

4
Willingness
This attitude is crucial: you don't come to your quiet time to choose what you will or won't do, but with the purpose of doing anything and everything God wants you to do. Jesus said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God" (John 7:17). So come to meet with the Lord, having already chosen to do His will no matter what!

 

Stephen Olford said, "I want to hear God's voice before anyone else's in the morning. And His is the last voice I want to hear at night." David and Daniel met with the Lord three times daily (See Ps. 55:17; Dan. 6:10). Whatever time you set, be consistent. Put it on your calendar; make an appointment with God as you would with anyone else. And keep it. Don't stand Him up! The question is often asked, "How much time should I spend?"

 

Here are some guidelines:

1. Don't start with a two-hour quiet time. You may get discouraged. You'll create memories of failure rather than memories of success. You must grow in this relationship as you do in any other. So begin with a few minutes and let it grow.
2. Don't clock-watch. That'll ruin your quiet time faster than anything else. Decide what you can do in God's Word and prayer during the time you've selected; then do it! Sometimes it'll take more time than you have set aside, sometimes less. But don't keep looking at your watch.
3. Emphasise quality, not quantity. It's what you do during your quiet time – whether 15 minutes or two hours - that's important.
4. Choose a special place. "Next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord" (Genesis 19:27). Your special place ought to be a place where: (a) you can pray aloud without embarrassment; (b) you're comfortable. (Don't have your quiet time in bed - that's too comfortable!) As the days go by your special place will come to mean everything to you because of the wonderful times you have there with the Lord.

Bob Gass

With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

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The Marks of a Christian

Galatians 2:1-10

Four marks of a Christian are set forth in the Book of Galatians.

First, a Christian is one who has the living Christ living in him. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).

Second, a Christian is one who has the Holy Spirit within him, for in Galatians 4:6 we see, "And because ye are sons [if we are born again into His family], God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts." He is the One who really begets us, or creates us anew, and makes us believers. He also creates in us the new character from which Christian conduct comes. Christian conduct does not make a Christian, but a true Christian, one who is born of the Holy Spirit, will have Christian conduct as well.

In the third place, a Christian is one who has shared the cross experience with Christ as the basic solution of his personal problems. We all have come under this experience of the cross although we may not all have understood it. The key text on this subject is "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me" (2:20). When Christ died, I died with Him, and when He arose, I arose with Him.

In the fourth place, the Christian is one who is possessed of a life that is so divine, so ideal, that it cannot be pushed into a mold of external regulations. We have a new life, a life from God, which is Christ Himself.

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves" (2 Cor. 13:5).

With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

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Unlocking the Convert's heart- Holy Bible as a key to Conversion:A forward from Holy Spirit Interactive

 

Dear family....

 

                   Recently saw this article in the website of Holy Spirit Interactive..Felt like sharing this article after going through it..Tells us about the conversion of a Presbysterian minister..God Bless You..

 

Unlocking the Convert's Heart - The Bible as a Key to Conversion

by Marcus Grodi

I was recently asked to give a talk on the biblical defense of Catholicism. Initially this seemed like an easy task, for the primary reason my Presbyterian heart was turned toward home was because the truthfulness of the Catholic Church was proved to me through the study of Scripture. Books upon books upon tapes upon CD s reiterate the sound biblical footing of our Catholic faith. Regardless, I encountered difficulties as I thought of my perceived audience.

Vincible Foes

First, I remembered that from which I came and the hoards of anti- Catholics who believe there is no biblical defense of Catholicism. They believe the Bible is their book and that if it defends anything, it defends their theological platforms. If this were true, my talk would have been very short and this article over.

But this isn't true. The Bible is not their book. It exists today first because of the grace of God, but secondarily because of the Catholic bishops, priests, monks, and laity who preserved, protected, copied, and venerated the canon of inspired books we now call the Bible. The entire biblical canon from Genesis to Revelation is a defense of the Catholic Church. From this standpoint, one talk or brief article merely scratches the surface.

Second, I remembered the many people who have been so swayed by the opinions of biblical critics that any biblical defense of the faith is useless, for the Bible to them is at best a collection of myths and fables. Again, this makes for a short presentation.

Third, I remembered the many lifelong Catholics who believe a biblical defense of their faith is unnecessary. From birth and baptism they have believed it all, and though they greatly revere the Scriptures, they need no proof. Yet, I know from personal experience where this attitude leads: Thirty percent of my Protestant youth groups and churches were made up of ex-Catholics who could not defend their faith against our biblical onslaught. Eventually they not only became convinced that the Bible defended Protestantism, but that they had been saved from "the whore of Babylon." It is very important, especially in this day of high-tech Internet evangelization, that Catholics rediscover the biblical defense of their faith.

But there was a fourth difficulty. As in sports, there is no one simple defense against all attacks. For example, in football the defense changes with each play to address the changing offense. So with the defense of our faith, the challenges are as varied as Protestantism itself. The verses that might unlock a Presbyterian's heart are radically different than those that might convince a Baptist or a Lutheran or a Pentecostal or Methodist or a Mormon. You get the idea.

So where does one begin? How does a Catholic use the Word of God to unlock the heart of a friend or family member outside the faith? My approach is what I call "The Verses I Never Saw." This is what sparked my own conversion, as well as those of hundreds of others we have worked with through the Coming Home Network International.

Scripture Says What?

Not unlike any average Evangelical Protestant minister, I loved my Lord Jesus Christ, I was committed to proclaiming and following His truth with abandon, and I believed in sola scriptura—that the Bible was the one inspired, infallible "firm foundation" of my life and faith. I also believed that I knew the Bible very well, from cover to cover, and that it held no surprises that could shatter my Protestant faith.

Then a long-lost seminary classmate introduced me to the first "verse I never saw." Scott Hahn pulled the same trick on me that someone had once pulled on him. He asked me, "What is the pillar and bulwark of your faith?"

My knee-jerk response—as had been his—was, "Why, the Bible, of course!"

"But what does the Bible specifically say is 'the pillar and bulwark of faith'?"

I was puzzled. I could not remember any place where this specific phrase was found in Scripture.

"Let's look at 1 Timothy 3:14–15, then," he said. Now, I had studied and taught through 1 Timothy many times and expected no surprises, so I read aloud without hesitation, "I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth."

For a second, I wondered whether someone had somehow secretly inserted that never-before-noticed text into my Bible! The apostle Paul tells Timothy that the pillar and bulwark of the truth is somehow the Church. I had no mental file folder for this idea. As a Calvinist, I believed that the Church was an invisible fellowship of all true believers, not identifiable with any one institutional communion. How could this invisible, universal hodgepodge of opinions be the "pillar and bulwark" of anything? And could my Presbyterian denomination qualify as this trustworthy foundation for truth? Hardly—nor in my opinion could any other denomination I knew. So, what did Paul mean by "church"? This verse left me weak in the knees, not yet leaning toward Catholicism, but shaken in my confidence in sola scriptura.

Traditions to Contend With

Then I discovered another "verse I never saw": 2 Thessalonians 2:15, "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter."

Oh, I had seen this verse before, but what I had not noticed before was that the traditions—or "teachings," as my Protestant Bible had translated this term—that Paul insisted the Thessalonian believers follow and adhere to were not merely the written documents that would one day make up the New Testament, but also oral traditions.

In fact, as I re-examined all of Paul's letters, several things became very clear: First, Paul's normal, preferred way of passing on the faith was through preaching and teaching; second, the only reason we have any letters at all was because he could not get to the people in person; and third, what he taught in his letters presumed upon the knowledge they had already received from him in person—much of which is never recorded in any New Testament document!

Then a third "verse I never saw" raised its ugly head: 2 Timothy 3:14– 17, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

I was certainly quite aware of this text, for it was upon the second half of this text that I taught and defended sola scripura. Whenever I quoted this text, I would hold up the Bible as the presumed equivalent of what Paul meant by "all Scripture." What I had not previously considered, however (already a bit wobbly from the first two surprise verses), was whether this was an accurate representation of what Paul understood as "Scripture." When he wrote this letter, the New Testament was not even entirely written, let alone collected into a book. The canon of Scripture would not be finalized for another 300-plus years by gatherings of Catholic bishops at the councils of Carthage, Rome, and Hippo. This meant that Paul could only have been referring to the Old Testament! Did I believe that only the Old Testament was "inspired by God and profitable for teaching"? No, of course not. So this verse not only did not teach sola scriptura, but the first half again taught the importance of oral tradition.

The Spirit of Unity

A fourth "verse I never saw" was John 14:26, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Coupled with John 16:13—"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come"—this verse made me painfully aware of a contradiction in my life and ministry.

These verses emphasize how the Holy Spirit will teach the followers of Christ so that they know and remember all that Jesus taught to be true. So what happened? Why was there so much confusion and contradiction between those who love Jesus, who have received the Holy Spirit, and who diligently study His inspired, infallible Bible? What I had not seen in these very familiar verses is that Jesus was not implying that every Christian throughout all time would have this guaranteed knowledge of the truth: He was speaking primarily to His hand-chosen Apostles! They would be the ones to receive this special gift of the Holy Spirit to give them a special infused knowledge and wisdom so that they could initiate and lead the Church in truth. All Christians would receive the Holy Spirit (through Baptism) at differing levels according to the gifting of God (cf. Eph. 4:7, 11–14).

In time, a fifth "verse I never saw" crept up on me: John 17:11, "And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."

So where was this unity, especially among faithful Christians who accepted the Bible as the Word of God yet could not agree on what it said? In this prayer, Jesus was praying specifically for His Apostles, upon whom He would build His Church, and Scripture teaches that "the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (Jas. 5:16). In other words, unity is something that therefore must already exist, but where and how?

"Catholic" Verses?

The sixth "verse I never saw" startled me in a familiar spot. My favorite, most-preached-upon portion of Scripture was the familiar metaphor of the vine and the branches. I especially emphasized to my congregations the truth of John 15:4, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

For years I had given my interpretation of what it meant to "abide in" Jesus and how He abides in us, but as far as I knew, there was no place where He specifically defines what this meant . . . until a friend drew my attention back to John 6:56, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." Whoa! Jesus abides in His followers and we abide in Him not just through our diligent obedience but through partaking of Him in the Eucharist! Again, as a Presbyterian, I had no mental file folder for this.

The seventh "verse I never saw" was another one that I preached on often and assumed I had an adequate response to for any Catholic apologist: Matthew 16:17–19, "And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'"

There's much to discuss here, but in short I had always assumed that pointing to the original Greek undercut any Catholic proof for Petrine authority. The Greek word here for Peter is Petros, which can mean "pebble" whereas the word for rock is petra, which means "large boulder." Like so many other Protestant pastors, I explained that Jesus was obviously not building His Church on this "pebble" called Simon Peter but upon the faith he had been given from God the Father.

But then someone pointed out what was truly obvious: Jesus didn't speak Greek; He spoke Aramaic, and in both cases He would have used the same word, Kepha: "Thou art Kepha and upon this Kepha I will build my church." The differences in the Greek arose from the translators changing a feminine noun into a masculine name.

Unlocking Our Hearts First

These are only seven of the many "verses I never saw" that opened this convert's heart to the Catholic Church. Are these verses "silver bullets"? Are they the guaranteed keys to unlock the mind and heart of any non-Catholic friend or relative? No, I'm afraid not. I know many faithful non-Catholics who see these verses and others, who know all the Catholic answers to them, yet are far from ready to come home. Few conversions come about primarily through biblical proof texts and arguments, though these texts can be used by the Holy Spirit. All conversions come about by grace, and so the most important thing we can do to unlock the hearts of potential converts is to pray for them and love them.

So why learn these verses? For this we need to take some advice from the airlines. Whenever we fly, what does the flight attendant tell us to do in the event of a loss of air pressure? Are we to first put the air mask on our children or on ourselves? Ourselves. We cannot adequately help anyone unless we first take care of ourselves. We need to know our faith and why we believe what we do, and we especially need to know the wonderful truths of the Bible so we can pass them on to others. But in all cases, the first heart that always needs to be unlocked by the Bible is our own.

With luv and prayers,
Jeffie John Parackal.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Phil 4:13

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Pray for all lh inmates

Dear chetans and chechis

 

You all must have known by now that the college will remain closed till monday on account of food poisoning. It took a lot of prayer to get this much action from the side of the authorities... The problem started over two weeks ago but the authorities kept ignoring our complaints. Like Deo said about 75 students were affected, a lot of them being acute cases. 7 were admitted in the hospital and one student was in ICU for a day. Finally on wednesday we got to meet the management and got this much done. Getting the college closed was a huge relief because most of the students were too weak and kept missing classes in an already short semester. The entire hostel was vacated before four pm yesterday. Over the next four days the hostel will be disinfected.

 

Now the major problem is that we haven't been able to pinpoint the source of food-poisoning. It's urgent that it is spotted fast so that the necessary steps can be taken. Only three of us are here in lh now to oversee the disinfection and cleaning up...me, hostel secretary and Manju(S5E) and Gigi(S5C), mess secretaries. All three of us are Jesus Youth. Do pray for us....may we be able to serve the Lord and our friends faithfully...

 

The experience was really amazing. All of us joined hands and prayed in front of the Principal's office before and after the meeting and also before and after meeting M.P. Varghese. We went in prepared to argue away to get our demands satisfied but once inside, things moved unbelievably fast. Praise God!!! 

 

So we request all of you to pray for the speedy and permanent recovery of all affected and for an effective tackling of the issue from the side of the authorities.....

 

As far as the one day programme is concerned, we believe that it being postponed will certainly be for the best. May the Holy Spirit BLAZE through MACE.....

BLAZE SPIRIT BLAZE,

SET OUR HEARTS ON FIRE!!!!!!  

 

Love and prayers

Sumi

S5L

 

2 Cor 12:9

My grace is sufficient for you because my strength is made perfect in weakness.  

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Proficuus

Hallelujah!!!!!

 

Dear family in Christ

 

Proficuus was conducted from 20th to 23rd September at Emmaus. It was attended by a total of 83 engineering students from all over Kerala.

 

There were a lot of wonderful inspiring sessions during these days. At first was the retreat and then we had the other programs. There were sessions on sin and repentance, inner healing, the rosary, about the Jesus Youth set-up. Most of the students shared that the adoration and confession were most effective. There were panel sharings, group-building activities, video presentations and a spiritual anointing session. We conducted an outreach on the last day.

 

Please do pray for all who attended Proficuus especially from MACE and also for those who couldn't attend..

 

Love and prayers

Sumi

S5L

 

 

2 Cor 12:9

My grace is sufficient for you because my strength is made perfect in weakness.  

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Group19/9/07

SING PRAISE AND BLESS THE LORD...

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

 

The meeting of the day was led by Lindachechi(S7C) and Merin(S5R). They shared about the need to surrender completely to the Lord...like we sing 'All to Jesus I surrender'. For He is the Potter and we are just the clay.... It must be our prayer...'mould me and make me'. Just as the potter gives infinite care to the clay so that is moulded in the way he desires, so too our Creator will do whatever it takes to mould us according to His will. Painful though the moulding may be, the result will be something beautiful beyond compare.

 

Jesus often taught in the temple but it was only after Hosanna Sunday that He cleansed the temple...after the people welcomed Him as King. So too, He will mould us only when we surrender all to Him and welcome Him as King of our heart and mind and soul. (Read Mark 11).

 

Then we had the action song 'blind man sat by the road and he cried'. The meeting was attended for the first time by some of the first-year students too..

 

Love and prayers

Sumi

S5L

 

 

2 Cor 12:9

My grace is sufficient for you because my strength is made perfect in weakness.  

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Group12/9/07

PRAISE THE LORD ALL THE NATIONS!!

 

Dearest chetans and chechis

 

Our new semester started on the 10th of September. This was the first prayer meeting in the new semester and it was led by Deo(S5M) and George(S5C). It was a wonderful meeting... Their theme was about reaching out to others and about being thankful even in the midst of trials. The Word for the day was from Luke 10.

 

Luke 10:27

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'^[c]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

 

They showed a video cd on two laptops to all who attended...it was a short documentary feature about a man who was born without arms or legs. It was very powerful...to watch him doing simple things that we take for granted like brushing teeth with so much effort. He says "I will allow no obstacle to stop me from doing what i wish to do..... Because the power of Christ is in me!!!" It was a blessed experience... Then we had a wonderful praise and worship session with thanksgiving...  All were exhorted to be motivated into reaching out to others... We then conducted an outreach on Saturday to Pratheeksha Bhavan. All the juniors who attended said it was an amazing experience..

 

Love and prayers

Sumi

S5L

 

 

2 Cor 12:9

My grace is sufficient for you because my strength is made perfect in weakness.  

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Group8/8/07

BLESS THE LORD MY SOUL

Dear family

With all the exams over, there were very few people left in Kothamangalam so the attendance wasn't much but in spite of that we had a great group...attended mostly by first years' and a few seniors including two Hindus... The Word for the day was from Mark 6:45-51..the Bible passage was about Jesus walking on the water.

We decided to hear the first-years' sharing about their experiences with the group over the past year...

Most of them told that they started coming because of their seniors' love and care. We pray that the love of Christ will make them stay! Some of them shared that their prayer lives had changed since they started coming..some liked the songs...some shared about the praise and worship.. It was really a refreshing sight to see the first-years' attending the group even on the eve of the exams..surely they must have felt that they would lose nothing by attending. God bless them!!!

Love and prayers
Sumi
S4L

2 Cor 12:9

My grace is sufficient for you because my strength is made perfect in weakness.  

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