Friday, March 15, 2019

Know Your Mind to No Mind


Its been long since I shared my thoughts and I was running behind my weight loss currently. Whenever I get a new thought or a spark, I create a meme and share it across. But this time it was different. It was a new insight and little bit more to explain which I cannot do in a meme. Hence this post.

Our company’s website is almost ready and we have partnered with many ventures for new projects. Now we have a very senior person, very friendly whom you can go in for an advice over a quick chat. He is a consultant and always gives you the exact facts without sugar and spices. He is a sort of a mentor to me. I went in to meet him to discuss about this new venture and wanted to get his views on them. Rather, we talked more on Life and its insight. It was real awakening for me and I wanted to share this with all.

As a fiction writer, I always paint everything green and present. Because I don’t want to end up being in the memory of someone who made them feel sad. I really treasure and care for memories. Even in an interview when asked about what makes you write, I replied, the basic criteria to write is the craving to experience what you love. You write that and you feel that again and again. You make people experience what you feel right now. Everything is basically a recollection of your experiences that you want to experience again.

But Is it worthwhile? If I cling on to what made me happy in the past, will I be able to create or look for happiness today? Memories sets you back creating a cloud that stops you from thinking ahead.
Human being is made of X and Y Chromosomes. All the characteristics of mom (100%) and dad (another 100%) adds in and creates a tiny cell that would be (100% consolidation of the 200% received from mom and dad). So to think again, all the memories of parents, along with the mother’s ancestors and the father’s ancestors are consolidated and now a new life is born with almost all the characteristics.



Genetic memory itself is made in such a way that life is created similar to the one in the generations before. That is why perhaps the saying, History usually repeats itself , has come into picture. Why does history repeat itself? Because it does not know what else to do. When this situation comes , you do this. That’s how we are programmed. So if I come across a situation my great granny would have been in, I would be probably reacting like her in the same way.

Now then here comes a concept of ignorance. When you do what you are instructed to do by birth through genes, who are you and what is your significance here? It’s a big question. If I do everything my dad does and react the same way, then everyone would tell me I am the perfect daddy’s little girl. But what about my children? Is it not wrong for me to not act as the perfect mother one can rely on for all their issues?

Even if I am correct in all the ways, it was all given to me by my dad and not through my own findings about me. And my dad would have got it from his ancestors and they, from their forefathers and so on. The way to actually know what I am capable of is to lose all memories I have got inherent and think and analyze every situation I am in. Even though I may end up wrong, I learn and I make sure I don’t repeat it. Also when I log the mistake details to my children I should never end up giving the situation as a case study to them. If this is the case, do this. It will never work that way. Rather, explain what situation you were actually in, what made you take the decision, what was the outcome, what best solution you could have done, what worst solution you had avoided and so on.

When all these information are added, it will not reprogram your kids but will make them think about all these when they are in a situation. So they will start analyzing and come up with a solution better than yours too that suits their time and period better.

Other important concept here is to know about the Two important sides of Life. It is not Good and Bad as most of them perceives. It is Happiness and Remorse. When you do something you really like, you are happy and when you do something you detest, you are sad. That’s the major two emotional aspects that determine your mood for the day and ultimately your attitude towards life.

This happiness and remorse need not be searched anywhere. It lies within you. You need to explore yourself to find it. Take our body for an instance. When you are too hungry you feel weak and drained out of energy. Once you take a morsel of food and you start chewing on it and gulp it down you feel energy blooming. After a few mouthfuls, you are ok now.

This energy is created within you. The need to have food immediately is given as a signal to you by your brain. You oblige and take in food. The food here is just the tool to get energy. The actual creation of energy is within you. You are capable of everything. You can create anything provided you get to know what you need rather than how to react at this point of time.

This can be achieved by going to a state of ‘No Mind.’ Just sit calm for atleast 5 minutes a day without thinking about anything. You will slowly go into a trance and start thinking deep about everything. Slowly wipe down the memories of what you should do and what you should not do and try to do everything your way.

And once you know what your mind is capable of, you will get to know your likes and dislikes better. You may have liked your career so far because your family’s profession is this. Maybe now you will get to know what you actually prefer and start working towards it. When you really start doing what you love the most you will be happy and when you feel you are struck down with what you hate, you will be sad.

When you leave all the things that make you sad and do all happy happy things you will make others happy too. Make sure you add that happiness to other’s life too and life will really be Blissful.
Ultimately that is what life is all about. I like to end this with a recent quote that I loved very much. “You only die once. You live every day. Make sure its meaningful.”

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 12) St. Monica


St.Monica, also nicknamed Monica of Hippo was the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. She is the actual reason of the life and service of St. Augustine altogether. She was born in 331 AD in Tagaste.



When she was very young, she was married off to a Roman Pagan Patricius who had a wile temper. His mother too shared the same character and St.Monica had a terrible time throughout her family life. Other than his temper Patricius was fine as he did not stop St.Monica from following her Christian deeds and beliefs.

They had three children – Augustine, Navigius and Perpetua. As Patricius was not a Christian, St. Monica was not able to baptize her children and when Augustine grew ill, she pleaded with him to allow Baptism. Patricius finally gave in and Augustine was baptized. But when he was normal again, Patricius told her to stop his children from following Christian faith.

She prayed and prayed for her husband and mother in law to change and almost a year before his death, Patricius changed to Christianity. After his death, St.Monica baptized both her other children and brought the three in Christian faith but Augustine was different. He started being uncouth. St. Monica then sent him to carthage for schooling.

When he was getting educated, Augustine became a Manichaean, a new religion which saw a world of Light and darkness and when one died, they were removed from wordly matter and put into a world of light. When Monica came to know of this, she was devastated but continued to pray for her son. She went to Rome to catch up with him where she learnt he had left for Milan. She went there too and after 17 years of struggle and prayer she brought him back to Christianity. She was not able to make just one more Christian but a saint out of him.

St. Augustine writes about all of these in his book “Confessions”.She understood the rue meaning of offering and brought forth something so pure and simple and that would rightly be used and celebrated instead of just offering wine to the saints. After his reformation, Augustine was baptized in six months and the mother-son pair wished to travel to Africa to spread the word of God. But due to her health and age, she passed away on the way.

She was buried at Ostia. When the Pope ordered to bring her relics in 1430, there were many miracles mid way which led to her canonization. Since her patience and prayers brought her difficult household to sainthood, she is considered a patron of Abusive marriages and for wives.

Feast – August 27

Patron – Wives and Abusive victims

St. Monica’s Prayers

1)      Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine,
you perseveringly pursued your wayward son,
not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven.
Intercede for all mothers in our day
so that they may learn to draw their children to God.
Teach them how to remain close to their children,
even the prodigal sons and daughters
who have sadly gone astray. Amen.

2)      Dear St. Monica,
we now ask you to pray with us
for all those sons and daughters
that have wandered away from God,
and to add your prayers to those of all mothers
who are worried over their children.
Pray also for us that,
following your example, we may,
in the company of our children,
one day enjoy the eternal vision of our Father in Heaven. Amen.

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 11) St. Bernadette


St.Bernadette of Lourdes was born on 7th January 1844 to a poor miller. She was the first among nine children. She was baptized on January 9th at the local Parish church. When she was a toddler, she caught cholera and also suffered Asthma. She lived in a very poor health all her life.



She used to help a lot in the household by doing the chores. Once when she was 14, on February 11, 1858, Bernadette had gone to the woods to gather firewood with her younger sister Toinette. There she saw a very beautiful lady appearing to her above a rose bush in a cavern. According to Bernadette the woman wore blue and white and made the sign of the cross with her rosary made of Ivory and gold.

Bernadette immediately took her own rosary out and started to pray. When later asked to describe the lady she just said it was a small young lady. Three days later she returned back to the cavern with her other sister Marie where Bernadette knelt immediately again and said she could see her again.

On February 18, Bernadette received a vision to return to the cavern each night for a fortnight which she obliged. Her parents tried their best to stop her but couldn’t. On February 25, she had another vision. It told her to drink of the spring, to wash in it and eat the herb that grow there. She initially thought it must be an act of penance to drink from the muddy waters of the cavern but when she returned there she saw the waters have been cleaned.

On March 2nd , she had a vision that asked her to build a chapel and to form a procession. She had her 16th Vision on March 25 where she asked who the young lady was. The lady merely smiled. When Bernadette was persistent to know the answer she replied, “I am the immaculate conception.”
Not many believed that she had an encounter with the Holy Mother and she was put through various examinations and interrogations. Both the Government and the Parish tested her and finally realized she was telling the truth. The muddy water that she cleaned was so rich of minerals that it had the cure for 69 diseases. Bernadette believed it was her faith and prayer that cured people.

Bernadette now worked upon her vision that directed to build a chapel and built the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Now, it is one of the major Catholic Pilgrimage sites in the World. She was getting so much attention but she never liked all those. She was ever so humble. When asked how she was being so humble she replied, “Mother Mary used me as a broom to clean the dirt. Once cleaned, the broom should be at the back of the door.”

She joined a hospice run by the Sisters of Charity at Nevers and she learned to read and write. On July 29, 1866 she became a nun. Her health deterred day by day and she died of tuberculosis at the age of 35 on April 16, 1879. She was praying the Holy rosary when she dying. Her last words were, “Blessed Mary, Mother of God, pray for me. A poor sinner.”

When she was exhumed thrice at various time intervals to support her canonization,  it was found that her body was not corrupted.

Feast – April 16

Patron of – Illness, Poverty, Lourdes

St. Bernadette Prayer

Prayer of Saint Bernadette

“Let the crucifix be not only in my eyes and on my breast, but in my heart.O Jesus! Release all my affections and draw them upwards. Let my crucified heart sink forever into Thine and bury itself in the mysterious wound made by the entry of the lance.”

Prayer to St. Bernadette

O Saint Bernadette, who, as a meek and pure child, did eighteen times at Lourdes contemplate the beauty of the Immaculate Mother of God and received her messages, and who afterwards wished to hide yourself from the world in the convent of Nevers, and to offer thyself there as a victim for the conversion of sinners, obtain for us the grace of purity, simplicity and mortification that we also may attain to the vision of God and of Mary in Heaven. Amen.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 10) St. Rose of Lima


St.Rose of Lima is the first person born in America to be canonized. She is known for her life of severe asceticism and also famed for her beauty.



She was born in Lima, the Viceroyalty of Peru to Gasper Flores and Maria de Oliva y Herrera on April 20,1586. She was named Isabel Flores de Oliva. She was so pretty and a great sight to behold from the time she was born. When she was so small, one of the servants in her household saw her face transform into a rose for a second. From that day, she was nicknamed Rose and the name stuck on.

She was an ardent devotee from the time when she was small and practiced several penances. When she was not allowed to do so much severe sacrifices, she did it in seclusion. She badly wanted to be a nun but was not allowed by her parents. She took the oath of celibacy and swore never to marry.

She was so beautiful that she attracted many suitors. To mar her appearance she would rub pepper on her face to blacken it and cut her hair very short. Her parents tried their best to convince her to come out of her vows to God but she wouldn’t budge. She used to fast daily and gave a permanent abstainment to meat. She loved gardening and grew many flower plants. She used to sell the flowers in the market and give it to the needy. She did fine needlework and she sold off those too to feed the poor.

Seeing her sincerity, her parents finally gave in to her vow of celibacy but did not want her to become a nun and go away from them. So she joined the Third Order of St.Dominic and continued to serve the Lord while staying with her parents. She prayed and prayed all times of the day and night and allowed herself to sleep for only two hours a day. She made a heavy crown of silver with thorns that is a replica to the Jesus’ crown of thorns and wore it all day. The crown got so much into her skull that it was with much difficulty it was taken out of her head.

After leading a severe life of austerity, she breathed her last at the age of 31 on August 25, 1617. When she died the entire city of Lima smelled like roses and some say roses fell from the sky at the time of her death. St.Rose’s skull was exhumed and reconstructed and adorned with a skull of roses and is kept at the Basilica at Lima.

Feast – August 23

Patron of – Latin America, Philippines, Gardeners, Sewing, embroiders.

St. Rose of Lima Prayers

Prayer to God through St.Rose

God our Father, for love of You,
St. Rose gave up everything
to devote herself to a life of penance.
By the help of her prayers may we imitate
her selfless way of life on earth and enjoy
the fullness of Your blessings in heaven.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, Who lives and reigns with
You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen


Prayer to St.Rose

Admirable Saint Rose, you were truly a sweet flower blooming on a rugged soil; you were indeed a rose among thorns, bearing with meekness and patience the stings of envious tongues, and preserving perfect purity and modesty amid the alluring blandishments of a deceitful world. To the sufferings inflicted on you by others you added the voluntary tortures of fasting and watching, of the discipline, of the crown of thorns and of the hair shirt, to subdue the flesh and to make yourself like to your heavenly Spouse. By the merits which you have thus gained with your divine Bridegroom, obtain for me the grace to bear my afflictions with patience, to remain pure and modest, to be meek and humble, to be faithful to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and so to mortify my passions that I may be ever more pleasing and acceptable in the sight of my dear Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 9) St. Sebastin


St.Sebastin is one of the famous saints of the catholic church. He is believed to have lived in the third century. Not much is known to us about his parents and childhood but history pops about his youth. He may have come from southern France and he was educated in Milan. He joined the roman Army in 283 AD to secretly help out the Christians who were being persecuted by the romans in great numbers.



He was helping the Christians but gave an excellent service otherwise to the royals in protecting them that he was made a Praetorian Guard to protect Emperor Diocletian. During that time, twin brothers Marcus and Marcellian, were imprisoned not to offer sacrifices to the Roman God.

Their parents came and tried to persuade them to come out of Christian faith when st.Sebastin spoke to them and converted them to Christians. He was then exposed and the emperor was furious. He ordered St.Sebastin to be tied and used as a target practice for arrows. He was shot at various places and was left to die.

But he did not die and was saved by Irene, a catholic woman whose husband was also martyred. She nursed him back to health. Once recovered, st. Sebastin went back to the emperor to confront him. He was shocked but regained his senses and caught the saint once again. He was now clubbed to death and thrown in the gutter.

His body was recovered by Lucina, who gave him a befitting burial. His body, or parts of his body were then exhumed and taken as relics and kept at various parts of the World. A special silver case was made and his cranium alone was taken and kept in a German Monastry.

In the early days, St.Sebastin was considered a Patron of protection against plague. That was the deadliest disease back then. Since the Saint survived so many arrows eventually shot to kill him but survived , people belived he had the powers to endure all and come back alive. Once the concept of plague went underground, St.Sebastin is called out for all atheletes, soldiers and those who wish for a saintly death.

Feast – January 20

Patron of – Athletes, Soldiers

St.Sebastin’s Prayer

Dear Commander at the  Roman Emperor's court, 
you chose to be also a soldier  of Christ and dared to spread 
faith in the King's of King's, for which you were condemned to die. 
Your body, however proved athletically strong and the 
executing arrows extremely weak, so another means to 
kill you was chosen and you gave your life to the Lord. 
May athletes be always as strong in 
their faith as you so clearly have been.

Amen.

St.Sebastin’s Guidance Prayer

O Lord, grant us the spirit of fortitude, so that guided by the example of the martyr St. Sebastian, we may learn to bear witness to the Christian Faith and patiently support the sufferings of life. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 8) St.Lucy


St.Lucy is one of the eight woman of which Blessed Virgin Mary is also a part who are all commemorated in the Canon of the Mass by name. She is believed to have born in 283 but much of her history is lost. It has come to us in the form of a legendary tale. St.Lucy is born to a rich parents and she had a pampered childhood. Her father died when she was 5 years old but her mother Eutychia made sure she left no stone unturned to bring her up well. She was also suffering from a bleeding disorder and feared much for st.Lucy’s future.



Even when she was young, she was so devoted to God and always thought of ways to convince her mom to give a large part of their wealth in charity. She made a vow of celibacy to God and no matter what she tried she could not convince her mom to leave her single and not get married. Eutychia even arranged for her wedding to a pagan.

St.Lucy prayed so hard at the tomb of Agatha for enlightment and to find a way to come out of this situation, that she received a vision of St.Agatha giving her an idea. She told Eutychia that her illness will be recovered when she donates a part of their wealth to the needy. Eutychia abided for St.Lucy’s sake. She recovered quickly. Her mother was so grateful to the Lord and so moved by St.Lucy’s faith, thet she too turned faithful to God and accepted St.Lucy’s request to remain celibate.

But the turned down bridegroom wanted to have his revenge for putting down his proposal. He went to the then Governor Paschasius and betrayed her. He even tried to pull her into a brothel to defile her. But no matter how many people tried to move her away, they could not even move her an inch.
They tried to burn her but the wood wouldn’t burn. Then they killed her with a sword in 304. 

When she was condemned to death by Paschasius , St. Lucy said that he would be punished by the Lord. The Governor on hearing this was enraged and ordered to pull her eyes out. In another version of the story, it is said that she herself pulled out her eyes as a suitor of her admired them so much and wanted to marry her for them.

But it so happened when they embalmed her body and prepared it for burial, the eyes were restored. That is the reason she was considered a patron of eyes and eye related illness.

Feast day – December 13

Patron of – Eyes, Blindness, Eye related illness

St. Lucy’s Prayer

Saint Lucy,
Whose beautiful name signifies LIGHT,
By the light of faith which God bestowed upon you
Increase and preserve His light in my soul,
So that I may avoid evil,
Be Zealous in the performance of good works,
And abhor nothing so much as the blindness
And the darkness of evil and sin.
Obtain for me, by your intercession with God
Perfect vision for my bodily eyes
And the grace to use them for God’s greater Honor and glory
And the salvation of the souls.
St.Lucy, virgin and Martyr,
Hear my prayers and obtain my petitions.
Amen.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 7) St.Teresa of Avila


St.Teresa was an influential Spanish Saint who brought about the reformation of the Carmelite order.



She was born in Avila on 28th March, 1515. Her mother and father were devout catholics and they wanted her to follow their lead. Her father was so strict that even the slightest mistake would mean a sin to him. Her mother though was different. She was religious too but she gave way to fun and frolic without compromising her faith. So St.Teresa always looked on to her and she was happy with her life.

When she was seven years old, she asked her elder brother to accompany her to go off to the monastery , serve God and beg there for food and spend the rest of their lives there. They had almost gone there when one of their uncles saw them and brought them back. Things were going on fine till her mother expired. She was not able to cope up with a very strict father and she eventually gave in to temptation. She started spending time with friends and all that a teenage fantasize and stopped praying. At the age of 16, her father sent her off to a convent to become a nun so that she would reform her ways.

The convent was way too lenient on her than her father and she started to actually enjoy her stay. They did not have stringent rules to follow and the prayer too was not satisfying to her. So she started practicing mental prayer and she was complete in harmony with the Lord. The people who saw her changes grew surprised and asked her to teach the mental prayer to them. She started to teach them to concentrate and spend time alone with God, the one you know who always loves you.

But things took a bad turn when she was asked to teach the prayer to the only people who can afford to give complements to the convent. She gave up teaching and spent time in solitude prayer. She was inflicted with malaria and she was almost knocked out for 4 days and people thought she actually died. When she woke up, she felt better and she claimed she saw visions and and spiritual experiences that made her feel better. But no one believed her and convinced her that these were delusions of the demon.

She refused to believe it but accepted for the sake of others. She convinced herself that she was too big a sinner now to ask for favours from God. This went on and she thought of praying and asking for something from God would be improper. When she was 41, she was convinced again by a monk to pray and she started praying with much vigor. She wanted to form her own order and to reform the convent. She met with so many dejections and humility all along the way till she formed her own order.

When she used to practice mental prayer she would sometimes levitate. Far from being happy, she used to feel embarrassed and plead god not to give on a show in front of others. Once she formed her order, she effectively led the way and went on being the light for so many people. She went about the whole of Spain setting up her order and spreading the word of God and finally breathed her last on October 4 at the age of 67.

Feast – October 15

Patron of – Body illness especially headache.

Prayer to St.Teresa

This is a simple poem written by St.Teresa herself and used as a prayer.

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever had God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

Monday, March 11, 2019

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 6) St.Cecilia


St. Cecilia is one of the famous martyrs of the Roman Catholic Church but there are not much of historical evidence about her life. She is believed to have born in the 2nd century into a wealthy family. She was very beautiful but always wore sack clothes to avoid attention. She always fasted and prayed to the saints and angels to protect her virginity.



She was a virgin and a great devotee of the Lord and she was given in marriage to a young man named Valerian. As the ceremony was going on, she sang a song in her heart to the Lord. After she was wedded, she told her husband that she has taken a vow of celibacy and an angel was near her to protect her. He asked to see the angel himself to believe. She told him that he will able to see the angel only when he gets baptized.

He loved her so much that he developed faith for her sake and got baptized. Once he came back, he saw the angel near her and he got even more faith. Valerian’s brother saw these and he too wanted to serve the Lord and he got baptized. Both the brothers wanted to serve the Lord in their won way. They decided to give a decent and fitting burial to all the Priests and patrons preaching Christianity  who were killed by the then ruler, Turcius Almachius.

He came to know about this and called the brothers to his court. Once they refused to serve him, he beheaded them. After this, Cecilia grew even more close to God out of fear and remorse and was able to convert about four hundred people to the Lord. Cecilia was later arrested and was condemned to be suffocated. But after a day of suffocation too , St.Cecilia did not even sweat and was praying.

She was then ordered to be beheaded. The executioners did their job but she did not die immediately. Till 3 days she preached and prayed as she bled slowly to death. People came and collected her blood and preserved it. She is believed to have died in the 3rd century. When she was exhumed in the year 1599, she was found in a silk satin cloth not decayed and a mysterious sweet odour was filled in her coffin box.

Feast Day – November 22

Patron of Music. As she was singing to the Lord when she was married and many of her prayers are in the form of song lyrics, the Parish have considered her to be the patron of music and musicians.

St.Cecilia’s Prayer

O glorious St. Cecilia, virgin and 
martyr, you won the martyr's crown
without renouncing your love for
Jesus, the delight of your soul. We 
ask that you help us to be faithful in
our love for Jesus, that, in the
communion of the saints, we may 
praise Him twice in our song of
rejoicing for the Blood that He shed
which gave us the grace to accomplish
His will on earth.
Amen.

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 5) St. Anthony of Padua


St. Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal in the year 1195. When he was born he was christened Fernando Martins. He was born into a healthy family. He was sent to the Abbey of Santa Cruz to learn Theology. Thus started his ordination as a priest. There he learnt Latin too. At the abbey he was fully responsible for the hospitality.



When he saw the Franciscan priests settle a hermit for St.Anthony of Egypt, he felt tempted to join them. He asked permission and left the abbey. It was by then he converted his name to Anthony. He then started travelling to spread the word of God. Once when he was travelling to Morocco he fell ill and he was supposed to return to Portugal to recover.

But the party with him went off course and landed at sicily and reached the hermitage of San Paolo to care for his health. It was there once the Dominican priests came to visit. There was a small confusion on who should preach between the Dominican priests and the Franciscan priests and St.Anthony was asked to give the shermon at the end.

Though he initially hesitated he gave a inspiring speech and everyone was both awe struck and pleased.  And he grew close to St.Francis of Assisi through his work. The latter then made St.Anthony responsible for the pursuit of studies of the priests. St.Anthony started proving his worth as a great teacher. He had a book of Psalms in which he writes notes , comments and everything for teaching. Once a student stole the book and ran away from the order.

St.Anthony got sad but did not lose hope. He started praying and behold, the student returned the book back and also came back to the order with a renewed hope and faith. It was because of this incident, St.Anthony was termed the Patron for lost things. His teachings were very simple that even the illiterate could easily apprehend and came close to God.

Once St. Anthony was to teach to a set of non believers and they left the hall before he could even start the sermon. He then went to the pond nearby and started preaching. He was so gentle in his words and so easy to understand that even the fishes started to listen and they began to gather in numbers. The people were astonished to see this and they were ashamed to have treated him that way.

His constant travel and odd teaching hours without food and rest led to his death at the age of 36 in 1231. When he was exhumed after 336 years of his death, it was found that all organs were decayed but his tongue remained the same. The tongue was so powerful in helping people find their way to the Lord that maybe the tongue remained untouched. People were so overwhelmed and celebrated the miracle.

Feast Day – June 13

Patron – Lost things.

St. Anthony of Padua – Prayer

Holy Saint Anthony, gentle and powerful in your help, your love for God and charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which you were always ready to request for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me [request]. The answer to my prayer may require a miracle. Even so, you are the Saint of miracles. Gentle and loving Saint Anthony, whose heart is ever full of human sympathy, take my petition to the Infant Savior for whom you have such a great love, and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 4) St. Catherine of Siena



St. Catherine of Siena is considered the Doctor of the Parish. She was born in Siena, Italy on March 25, 1347. When she was born there was a major outbreak of plague. She was born as the 25th child of her mother when she was 40 years old. Most of her siblings perished in the plague. St. Catherine was herself a twin but her twin did not survive too.



When St. Catherine was 16 years old, her elder sister expired leaving her husband a widower. Her parents intended to marry her off to him but she was aghast. She began to fast and devoted her time to prayer to relieve from the family ties. She even chopped her hair to mar her appearance. She never disobeyed her parents or siblings but this one thing she was strongly against.

When her mother once inquired how she was able to follow this discipline of obedience, she replied that she considered her father as Jesus, her mother as Mary and her siblings as Apostles of Christ and this made her serve them in humility.

Though religious, she did not want to leave her parents. So she did not join a convent. She rather joined the Third Order of St.Dominic, which allowed her to serve the Lord staying with the family. She learnt to read and write there. She was continuously working when something came up at the age of 21.

She claimed to have a vision of Christ in a mystical marriage to her with a ring made of Jesus’ skin. Later she claimed the ring to be invisible. After that she was more into serving the sick and the poor outside the church too and mostly involved in leading the people to Christ.

She started travelling far to spread the word of God. She involved in the state politics too and made sure the states stay loyal to the Papacy. She was also the pioneer to start a crusade to the Holy Land.  She once visited a political prisoner as a last wish and she preached him and saved his soul. She then saw his soul being taken by the angels to heaven.

She then involved in restoring the Papacy rule at Rome and played a major role in making peace between the war making Italian states. She wrote many letters and petitioned for peace throughout. The works were so influential and actually worked in bringing back the Pope in Avignon back to Rome. That was the reason she was considered the Doctor of the Church. She also established  a monastery for Woman in 1377.

She fasted and traveled a lot due to which her health grew worse and she breathed her last on April 29 at the age of 33. The people of Siena wanted to take her body to Siena which the Pope refused grant. They tried to smuggle her body out but couldn’t. Finally they made a plan and cut the head alone and took it in a bag. When the soldiers checked it, it was full of rose petals. Once back in Siena, when they opened the bag it was her head again. That is the reason she is always portrayed holding a bouquet of flowers.

Feast Day – April 29

Patron – Against Fire, miscarriages, sexual temptation, Italy.

St. Catherine of Siena Prayers

1)      Eternal God, eternal Trinity, You have made the Blood of Christ so precious through His sharing in Your Divine nature. You are a mystery as deep as the sea; the more I search, the more I find, and the more I find the more I search for You. But I can never be satisfied; what I receive will ever leave me desiring more. When You fill my soul I have an ever-greater hunger, and I grow more famished for Your light. I desire above all to see You, the true light, as you really are.

2)      In your nature, eternal Godhead, I shall come to know my nature. And what is my nature, boundless love? It is fire, because you are nothing but a fire of love. And you have given humankind a share in this nature, for by the fire of love you created us. And so with all other people and every created thing; you made them out of love. O ungrateful people! What nature has your God given you? His very own nature! Are you not ashamed to cut yourself off from such a noble thing through the guilt of deadly sin? O eternal Trinity, my sweet love! You, light, give us light. You, wisdom, give us wisdom. You, supreme strength, strengthen us. Today, eternal God, let our cloud be dissipated so that we may perfectly know and follow your Truth in truth, with a free and simple heart. God, come to our assistance! Lord, make haste to help us!



Thursday, March 7, 2019

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 3) St. Patrick

St.Patrick is one of the Most Popular Saints in Christianity and he is the reason for the reach of Christianity in Ireland. He was born in the year 387 in Great Britain. When he was around 14, he was kidnapped by Irish Pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland to tend the sheep. He used to roam around the forests and mountains and mind the herd. It was by then out of fear and longing for hope , he turned to Christianity himself.



He used to pray for day and night together at all seasons too. He never gave up and he used to say, the weather don’t frighten me when I pray as the Lord is with me. It was by then he got a vision of the Lord asking him to step out of Ireland by the coast and he obliged. He was rescued by a group of merchants and he was safely brought home.

He then grew even more righteous. He saw a vision of a man coming straight to him with many letters and when he came near, he handed one to him. It said, “The Voice of the Irish” and he swore he could hear voices shouting at him in Irish language, “We appeal to you , holy servant boy, to come and Walk among us.”

He realized that God had chosen him to take the Gospel to Ireland which was a pagan nation. He then turned his studies to Priesthood and was ordained by St.Germanus and then later ordained as a Bishop and was sent to Ireland. Initially he faced many issues and he was almost killed by the tribal people there. He prayed and prayed and brought about the conversion of a chief of a tribe in Ireland. There started his mission. He walked Ireland and spread the word of God as far as he could and brought about reformation in the minds of thousands of people. Word of God reached many hopeless individuals and brought about a faithful flock.

He never got any money for himself and lived in dire poverty. Though illness fawned on him he never gave up and kept on travelling till Ireland was filled with the word of God. He later retired to Saul where he built his first church at Ireland. He breathed his last there in 461.
He often used a three leaf plant Shamrock to explain people about trinity and he used to have the leaves always at hand. The Shamrock is now used as a central symbol for Patrick’s Day.

Feast Day – March 17

Patron of Ireland.

St.Patrick’s Prayer

This was written by St.Patrick himself in 433 for getting hope and strength when he was preaching the Irish king Leoghaire and his subjects to convert to Christianity from paganism.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Sharing the Blessing Of Lent - 2) St. Christopher


St. Christopher is one of the heroes of Christian Faith. He is listed as a martyr. Not much of his life is known to us except the stories that are carried on from one generation to another. St. Christopher is believed to be named as Reprobus and later came to known as Christopher. He was a cannanite and was exceptionally tall and strong. He was termed as the giant in some references.



He wanted to serve the biggest master and went on to serve the king and he was astonished to find the King fear for the devil. So he thought the devil is the biggest and went in search of him. As he was still wandering in his search, he saw a bunch of thieves whose leader called himself the devil. So he went and served him for a while. This ‘devil’ actually feared for a Christian monk and this surprised St. Christopher. So he left the gang and joined the Christian faith.

He learnt all the teachings of Christ and wanted to serve him. The monk used to observe fasts and rituals and serve the Lord which St. Christopher found very difficult to follow. So the monk had another idea. They had a forest which had a very big river flowing through. It was difficult for the elderly and the weak to cross without help. The monk advised the saint to help people in distress to help cross.

He obliged and was doing the work faithfully for quite some time when one day a child asked his help to cross the river. He accepted and carried the child on his shoulder. As they were half way, the child grew more and more heavy and the saint couldn’t easily cross the river. With much difficulty, finally they crossed the river. On enquiry about this strange predicament, the child replied that he was the Lord Jesus and the heaviness was due to the fact the entire world’s weight which rested on him. The child then vanished.

It was after this incident, that St. Christopher’s world completely changed. He grew even more faithful and he wanted to travel places to spread the word of God. Travel was by foot those days and the meek and weak couldn’t achieve it. So the Word of God couldn’t reach many people. So he took this responsibility and since he was strong and heavy, he travelled easily against all the odds and ends.

These travel brought him to Roman Emperor Decius, in 251 AD where he was compelled to offer sacrifice to the king. The Saint refused and then he was tempted with food and woman. He didn’t budge and finally he was beheaded.

Feast Day is on July 25.

He is Patron of bachelors, transportation, traveling, and storms.

St. Christopher’s Prayer
Dear Saint Christopher,
protect me today
in all my travels
along the road’s way.
Give your warning sign
if danger is near
so that I may stop
while the path is clear.
Be at my window
and direct me through
when the vision blurs
From out of the blue.
Carry me safely
to my destined place,
like you carried Christ
in your close embrace.
Amen.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Sharing the Blessing of Lent - 1) St.Francis of Assisi


Hi Friends,

Happy to Greet you to another year of lent. This year lets share the blessing of the Lord by sharing info about various Saints.

St.Francis of Assisi



Born to a Wealthy merchant and a devoted mother, St.Francis was born in Late 1881 or Early 1882. He was christened Giovanni, but his father did not like him to be called after a saint and he called him Francesco. He had a very lavish and spoilt childhood. He had everything he wanted and did whatever he wished. Everybody abided by his thoughts. He too had an upper hand in the business like his dad and finally grew ultra rich. But he wanted to be a knight.

So when he was called for war, he went and gave his best. He was so happy about it but at the end he was imprisoned and left the prison after one year for a huge ransom. But he refused to change ways after that too. He was always whiling away the time when suddenly he had the call.

He was called away for the second time to war and he was so happy to go and made a golden armour to protect himself but God had other plans. He told Francis not to go. Francis obeyed to everyone’s astonishment. From that day he used to spend time alone and pray and wept for his sins. One day he came face to face with a leper and he choose to kiss the leper’s hand without disgust. After going a distance, he found the leper vanish in a trance. It was by then he realized it was not just a leper but the maker.

He started to pray even more. Once when he was praying God advised him to renovate the church. He thought the church he was praying needs to be repaired and he started collecting goods from his father and sold them to give to the church. This infuriated his father and he denounced his son. He became even free now and started praying more. Now he started to preach too.

His preach was so good that once a hundred birds stood still till he finished. And he spoke so softly that a wolf which once killed many for its food was made a pet to an entire village and it was provided for its living. Everything was going on well till he realized many people were seeking his guidance. He collectd them and formed a brotherhood, the Franciscan Order.

He went to Pope Innocent and asked his permission to preach which was denied immediately. Then God appeared in the dream of the Pope to grant him the rights to preach and then he started preaching. He was so soft to the nature too that once when he was to be treated by fire, he spoke to it for a long time and when the treatment was over, he swore the fire did no harm.

He was a patron of animals, ecology and merchants. At the end of his days he decided to share the passion of Christ, the pain of crucifixion through prayers and he shared the pain delightfully. Finally he breathed his last in 1226.

He was conferred Saint in the year 1228.

Feast Day is on 4 October.


The Peace Prayer of Francis of Assisi :
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith ;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.