And Life Goes On.....

After Easter we had the first wedding of our parish, again our shed was too small to accomodate everyone inspite of shamyana and extra chairs. Here is a picture of thec shed that was decorated for the wedding. Then it was the month of May and we had ten days of Bible Study for the children . The teachers and kids came enthusiastically every morning, They were served snacks and cool drinks everyday, sponsored by parishioners. Later on each and every child was given a small gift.

Our main aim was to build the church and this kept delaying due to some reason or the other. There was a house blocking part of the entrance of the land, so we decided to buy the house. After several attempts we finally agreed on a reasonable deal (22 lakhs) and paid the advance. Again we began going for collection house to house. It took us nearly six months to collect this amount, but we managed it and bought the house on the first day of Infant Jesus festival on January 10th, 2008.

Nature of God

GOD'S LOVE IS SO WONDERFUL..... ITS SO HIGH U CANT GET OVER IT, ITS SO DEEP U CAN'T GET UNDER IT, ITS SO WIDE U CAN'T GET ROUND IT, SO WONDERFUL IS GOD'S LOVE , U CAN'T EVEN MEASURE IT.

‘’God is love.’’ 1 John 4:8

I love u just as the Father loves me; remain in my love. If you obey my commands you will remain in my love. Jn . 15:9-10

So that all God's people may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep is Christ's love. Yes may you come to know his love – although it can never be fully known – and so be completely filled with the nature of God. Eph . 3: 18,19

GOD'S LOVE FOR THE LONELY
I will be with you always, to the end of the age. Mt. 28:20

GOD'S LOVE FOR THOSE WHO ARE BURDENED
Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads and I will give you rest.
Mt. 11:28

GOD'S LOVE FOR THE WEAK IN SPIRIT AND BODY
I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gave me. Phil 4:13

GOD'S LOVE FOR THE SINNER
If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right, he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrong doings. 1 Jn. 1:9

GOD'S LOVE FOR THE NEEDY
And with all his abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs.
Phil 4:19

GOD'S LOVE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN UP HOPE
For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid, instead, his spirit fills us with power , love and self-control. 2 Ti 1:7

GOD'S LOVE FOR THOSE WHO WORRY
Leave all your worries with Him because He cares for you. 1 P 5:7

GOD'S LOVE FOR THE ABANDONED
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said “I will never abandon you”

GOD'S LOVE FOR THE MERCIFUL
Happy are those who are merciful to others . God will be merciful to them.

GOD'S LOVE FOR THOSE WHO ARE LOST AND ARE IN DESPAIR
In just the same way your Father in heaven does not want any of these little one to be lost.
Mt 18:14

GOD'S LOVE FOR THOSE WHO LONG FOR PEACE
You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.
Is 26:3

Praise the Lord, all nations! Praise him, all peoples! His love for us is strong, and his faithfulness is eternal. Praise the Lord! Ps.117

God's love has always existed and will always exist. His love is unconditional.

God's love is like an ocean –vast unfathomable. God has given us access to his love. It is up to us to bathe in it and be refreshed by it.

Let us pray for the grace to be open to God's loving presence in our lives.

Passion Week Service

May all who come to you be glad and joyful. Psalm 70 : 4

Soon after the festival Lent started, we had an unexpected crowd for the Ash Wednesday evening mass. This year the Station of the cross was more organized and we had a bigger crowd. Around this time trouble started brewing among the parishners, ego was the main culprit, misunderstanding and anger crept in. We took it in our stride trusting infant Jesus to solve all our problems.
Palm Sunday arrived bringing Fr. Stanley to our church. He was appointed to conduct the Holy Week services. Everything went well, and during the Easter vigil it started pouring outside. Even after the mass ended it did not stop raining. Everyone was huddled together inside the shed waiting for the rain to stop, it was an opportunity to mingle and know each other. After two hours the rain subsided and people began going home.
Meanwhile devotion to Infant Jesus kept increasing. People began talking about how their prayers to Infant Jesus was answered, how Infant Jesus performed miracles in their lives or in the lives of their loved ones. Everyone had a story to say about how Infant Jesus helped them through tough times.

Salvation and Redemption

The spirit of the Lord speaks through me: His message is on my lips. 2 Sam 23 : 2

Fathers sermon was about death, resurrection and everlasting life.

THE AWARENESS OF DEATH IS THE BEGINNING OF REDEMPTION.
1. He is the God of the living not of the dead , for Him all are alive Lk. 20 : 38

2. Why do you who are here find it impossible to believe that God raises the dead? Act 26 :8

3. I have hope in God that all people both good and bad will rise from death so I must do my best to have a clear conscience before God and man. Act 24 : 15

4. God will reward each one according to the work he has done. 1 Cor : 8

5. We have an obligation, but it is not to live as our human nature wants us to, but if by His spirit you put to death sinful actions, u will live. Rom 8 : 12, 13

6. I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul. 1 Pet. 2 : 11

7 .For if we share Christ sufferings we will also share His glory. Rom 8 : 17

8. It is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me, I refuse to reject the grace of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. Gal 2: 20

9. We beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted. Hear what God says "When the time came for me to show you favor I heard you: When the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you.” Listen! This is the hour to receive Gods favor, today is the day to be saved.
2 Cor 6 : 1-2

10. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him to life on the last day. Jn. 6 : 54

11. We eagerly wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule. Phil 3 : 20 – 21

12. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25,26

THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN IS THE BEGINNING OF SALVATION
In Paradise we shall rest in freedom and we shall see. We shall see and we shall love. We shall love and we shall praise. This is what will be at the end without end. St. Augustine.

THE FESTIVAL

His name will be called Wonderful Counseller, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isiah 9:6


Soon after new year we began preparing for Infant Jesus festival which falls on 14th of January. A few children were preparing to receive their First Holy Communion. Uniforms were stiched for the alter boys and they looked cute in their red and white flowing robes. A new organist arrived to train the choir group. We were to celebrate the festival for ten days from the 12th of Jan till the 23rd. The bishop was to come on the last day of the festival, he was eager to see how we were faring. We decorated the shed again, lights were put up, banners were put up , sound system hired, everything had to be grand, it was going to be our first Festival. Every evening we celebrated high mass with three or four priests. Every priest was introduced by Fr. Antony and welcomed with a shawl by the members.

On the first day the parishners welcomed the parish priest with fruits and shawl. Then commenced the flag hoisting. On the 3rd day of the festival which fell on a Sunday, we had morning mass and 13 children received their First Holy Communion . It was beautiful, later on they were given certificates. There was a huge crowd and the choir performed exceptionally well. The same evening we had a two hour adoration followed by the Benediction. After that dinner was served for everyone, and everybody had a great time sharing food and happiness. On the 5th day of the festival our dear bishop expired and we had three days of mourning. Then on the 8th, 9th and 10 day the mass went on as planned. On the last day, soon after mass the flag was brought down, and thus ended our ten days of festival.

A Wonderful Christmas

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And He will be our Ruler. Isaiah 9 : 6

December 24th 2006 was a Sunday, so the Christmas tree and the crib was put up the previous day. Gifts were arranged under the tree for the children. The Crib was set up and kept hidden from view, until the mass commenced. The alter was decorated with beautiful flowers. We made the shed look as beautiful as we could.

Soon after Sunday mass the curtains went up, and the children got into their costumes, many of the adults stayed back to watch the tableau. Everything went off very well. As a tribute to the cast I wish to mention all their names here. Niveda, Anita, Aishwarya, Richi, Sally, Chris, Jeshilya, Abhilash, Risho, Johnny , Andrew, Priyanka, Roger, Abinaya, and Genanie. The people applauded the whole cast and everybody kept saying it was the best play they had ever seen. After that Santa distributed gifts to each and every child, the children enjoyed each and every moment of the day. Father Antony received his surprise gift, it was a huge greeting with the signatures of all the children.

Church Friends...

That same night we had Christmas Mass at 10pm. We had an unexpectedly large crowd, there was hardly any place to accomodate everybody. Baby Jesus was placed in the crib during the mass and the crib was blessed. It was our first Christmas and we were all very happy. After mass everybody was served cake and coffee.... nobody felt like going home.

The crib in church........

New year eve we had an adoration service and the new year 2007 was welcomed with a morning mass. Ours was a model parish, just as the bishop wanted, but unfortunately this didn't last long.

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

My servants shall sing for joy. Isaiah 65 : 14

Then came November and we began preparing for Christmas. Our shed had to be decorated. We didn’t want to spend too much on decoration so we decided to make them ourselves. Under the guidance of Mrs. Aloysius we learnt to make flowers, bouquets, wreaths etc. Each of us did our own share of the decorations at home, we brought out all our creative abilities and made many beautiful things. We amazed ourselves, they were even more beautiful than the ones sold in shops. We were proud of our work, here are some pictures of them.

The wreath was hand made.....

So were these stars, candles, christmas cards and wreaths.....
We managed to give our little church a christmas-y look.....

We planed to have a small Christmas celebration in church after the Sunday Mass on 24.12.2006. It was decided to put on a small play by little children depicting the nativity scene. For this a few catechism children were selected and the practice began. Roles were alloted to the kids and the practice sessions were filled with fun and laughter. The five boys selected to be shepherds had a nice time torturing Joseph and Mary, they used to run away with Baby Jesus and beat their little lambs. They were a restless bunch, they used to throw mud on the angels and when the angels complained, these shepherd boys would say, "Instead of complaining, why don't you fly away with your wings". They were a naughty lot, but at the end, they performed beautifully.

Here are the kids who tested our patience and but made the whole ordeal pleasantly memorable.

Around December 15th, we began caroling, we enjoyed going from house to house celebrating the birth of Christ and spreading Christmas joy.

Caroling, it was great walking around in our colony.... singing and celebrating the miracle of CHRISTMAS......