Bring Joy !!!!!!!!!!!

People who bring joy to everything they do in life are strong, because in so doing, they express their autonomy, instead of being driven, simply by a sense of duty. These people are seen shining in all the fields our human life. It is their conviction of what and who they are, leads them to success in life. The strength that they derive from their performance and success is not limited to one event but it gets widely spread out to other spheres of life. 

If you're only focused on yourself, you won't reach your highest potential. You were created, to help someone else, to be a blessing, to lift the fallen, to encourage those, that are down, to fight for those, that can't fight for themselves. Goodnight and God bless. Self-centred people have not gone beyond themselves but have remained in the same field for years waiting for miracle to happen, it wont happen unless and until you come out of the self-centred cocoon. When we are other-centred people we give what we receive from the Lord and He fills us with more energy and strength to spread around us. 

Instead of striving, start abiding. Stay in peace. Instead of focusing on what you can do, focus on what God can do. Depend on His goodness, His favor, His power. Persons who depend on God use all the gifts and talents that God bestows on them. They see the presence and His guiding hand in everything that they do, say or perform and taste the success in both spiritual and earthly spheres. when we focus on what God can do we begin to explore and recognise all that the Lord has filled us with and begin using it for ourselves and others. 

Those who make the greatest effort, achieve the most growth. Those who struggle, against the most adverse karma, have the noblest mission. With every single person you come into contact, you are either giving love or you're not. And based on what you give, that is what you receive.

Meet Yourself!!!!!!

 

Many of those who come to me either for confession or counselling, I pose a question like "who are you?" and unfortunately most of them take time and then give vague answers not connected with their persons. Most of us do not know who we are and as a result we find difficult to know the other with whom we live and work. It is good to spend time with ourselves and speak, talk and argue with ourselves at least for few moments in a day. The solution and answers to all our problems and inter personal relationships lies within ourselves. If we listen and talk to ourselves we will meet the real person. We will begin to live, accept, love and acknowledge who we are.  We are the most precious, talented and excellent person but we have not accepted ourselves because we do not spend time with ourselves. 

There is so much of goodness and wealth within us that sometimes it goes along with us to the cemetery without having used or utilised it for oneself and for the society. `We must learn to focus on the good thoughts, ideas, inspirations and goodness which will lead us to good experiences and achievements in life. Once we have focused on the meaning of life then it is not hard to sacrifice or do good for someone. It is in understanding ourselves and the mission and goal of life that we can live life in its fullest. The sacrifices that we make in this state of life will have impact on the lives of the others, but unfortunately it is hard to find those people who will understand and respect our sacrifices. But this should not ground or stop us but keep doing what you are positively doing, you will get positive results. 

In the process of meeting ourselves we will feel good and begin to appreciate ourselves as we are. Then we stop loading unnecessary and undue expectations. We begin loving the person we are and leads to further discovery of our person. The feeling of being best is when the others see you the real person you are. In this discovery we realize and understand that we are nothing without God who makes us precious and holy. Once we have accepted who we are then we begin letting God to play the most important role. We allow God to do and achieve great heights of success in our spiritual and secular life. 

Be Clean inside...to be Spiritually Healthy!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Cleaning our homes, things which we use on daily basis. Cleaning is part of our daily activities and many spend hours in order to keep everything neat and clean. There are now companies who take care of the maintenance of your house, company, factories and buildings even. They charge you but deliver you a clean environment. If external cleanliness is given so much importance and value why not we do the same with our mind, soul, and our person? Cleanliness gives us a nice feeling and also it creates a positive environment  around us and makes us to feel better than yesterday. When things are dumped in every corner of the house and there is no place for moving around we think of freeing space by cleaning it. It is same with ourselves, we have so many unwanted feelings and emotions, jealousy, negative thoughts that we have no place for positive thoughts and goodness. If we remove, clean or free up then we will have more space to accommodate many things of value which will make our lives happy and contented. If not then we have millions of problems to face and battle with...Hurry up to clean our person....

Everyone expects our conversations, dialogues to be mild, soft and sweet in order to take our relationship to a next level. Our interactions with others should be with the intention of building trust and confidence and to lead us to understand the various nuances of our relationship. We need to be like our tongue which is soft, elastic that is why it remains intact till our last breath. When we are understanding, considerate, soft and loveable towards others we can last long in the heart and memories of the people. Let us not be like teeth which are sharp, hard, pointing but do not last long till our death. `So in our daily conversation let us not be hard, indifferent, pointing mistakes and judgemental but let us be soft, loving and understandable in order to be successful in our relationships. 

A twist in our foot or ankle and small thinking and narrow mind does not allow us to proceed further, gives us pain to walk further...it creates a lot of hurdles and problems in order to achieve our goals and mission in life. It is same with a broken pen or pencil and jealousy against the other does not allow us to write a bright future and live our happy present moment. We waste time in comparing ourselves and desiring what others have.  The desire for money, property, position, power, authority and laziness in our work and life does not allow us to be great and achieve success which we are called to achieve. All negative thinking, thoughts, ideas do not allow human beings to be Human person. 

Two sides of Human Life!!!!!!!!!!

Life is made up of good and bad, positive and negative, perfect and imperfect one. They make life worth living and give us meaning and significance when these two movements are understood in right perspectives. Both have their impact on the way we live and they give us different taste of life's events. But those who really accept in a right spirit realise that they are inter-dependent and are incomplete without each other. But we ought to learn an important lesson that let us not allow the moments of happiness to linger on our head and dwell in heart and mind and the same way let us not embrace the sadness and negative moments to our heart but learn to let go....

We know, read, hear and watch that prestige, positions, power, authority, money, richness and strength when misused has its own consequences on the one who misuses it. So the wisdom is not to misuse but use it for personal and social good. People who have misused it against the poor for centuries seen that the curses of them have affected personal and familial situations and even brought end and destruction of the properties and wealth. It has left them pauper with nothing to survive on.

Social media i consider a blessing in itself because it has brought the world and human beings very close and many good things have been experienced by walks of people. Communication is super fast and news good and bad travels faster than one who would have imagined years before. The us of it depends totally on one's formation of the person and can be a source of new learning and exploration. We do not use social media in order to make impression on the others, or to let know others about our intelligence, wisdom, expertise ete but use it in order to bring some change and transformation in the life, character and behaviour of the people who access the social media for some solace, some answers, some peace in their troubled live, Let social media really connect human beings and bring about the peace, tranquility, peace and harmony, brotherhood and solidarity that existed much before but now pushed to the Corner. So while using the social media platform one should take care of one's pen, mind, tongue and ideas so that they do not break the social fabric but it should build up bonds.

The Extraordinary Provincial Chapter of St. Bonaventure, Maharashtra, India

The theme selected for the celebration of the provincial chapter was Encountering the word and Engagement with the world: Franciscan Capuchin WOrld 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. General Minister’s Letter: Permission to Celebrate the Chapter 2. Provincial Minister’s Letter convoking the Chapter
3. Capitulars
4. Chapter Committees

5. Tentative Time Table 6. Chapter Agenda

7. Reports:

a) Provincial Minister’s Report
b) Financial Report
c) Commission for Vocation Promotion
d) Commission for Formation
e) Commission for Justice, Peace and Ecology f) Bonavani
g) Statutes of the Province

APENDICES

1. Procedure for Conducting the Provincial Chapter

2. Commission for Vocation Promotion

3. Commission for Formation

4. Commission for Finance

5. Commission for Building

6. Commission for Apostolate

7. Commission for JPE.

8. Screening Commission

Br. Robert Gonsalves presenting economic report of the Province....

The provincial team releasing a book

All the participants in the provincial chapter 

The Eucharistic celebration 

The assembly session attended with absolute attention and participation

Use Mirror see Ourselves.....Do not use Binoculars to see others!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The need of the hour in the society and world is express, experience and spread the Love of God. We seem to be evading from the healing and compassionate love and as a result there are discords, divisions and a lot of evil being committed all over the world. The lack of love within oneself and towards others is making our society very selfish and self-centred. The word other cent-redness is fast disappearing from our dictionary of human life. To keep humans and society together without any discord and animosity love is capable and can create union and unity among all.  The whole well knitted fabric of the society can be broken within no time if we begin to doubt and suspect each other due to lack of love and understanding. Let us keep love prevailing in our hearts, minds and in the society. 

We would like create or craft out our image, standing and name in the society and among friends, for which we will do anything and go any extent to achieve it. it is not what we achieve and have but what we are within. It is not knowing about ourselves and others but accepting the others and us as we are. We may be very good, may be doing a lot of social and charitable works for others, but one thing we must keep in mind that those who misunderstand and do not accept us, they will hold on that opinion till their death, because do not want to change their opinion and outlook. We can undergo an eye surgery but not the surgery of opinion and outlook. 

We are blessed with a lot of gifts and talents from the Lord our God and He continues to fill us up every moment. sometimes we begin comparing ourselves with the others and lose touch with our own reality and gifts. Let us not waste time in finding out how much God has blessed the other, how many big gifts he has showered on the others, let us not be busy with this. But how much the lord has blessed us with, we must find time to recognise, acknowledge and live them in its entirety.  There are some of us we always look for flaws and faults, mistakes and imperfections in the others, but they forget to see themselves to look into the mirror but use binoculars to see the faults of the others. 

Celebration of the Nativity of BVM at Ras Al Khyima and Sharja

 

The Marathi Catholic Association celebrated its annual feast of Mount Mary yesterday with solemn Eucharist celebrated by me. The feast preceded by nine days novenas with homilies every day online. Many families participated everyday and profited from the preaching and novenas as many could not be present in the church. The Marathi and Konkani community in both these parishes organise this feast every year with enthusiasm and religious piety, devotion and fervour. Many people enthusiastically participate and make it feel that they are in their respective parishes back home. 

Yesterday I celebrated Marathi Mass at Sharja at 10.30am with good number of faithful, dressed up for the occasion, it was nice to see women dressed up in beautiful Saris with flowers. The choir sang so beautifully which helped the faithful pray in a meaningful way. 

After the Mass the Parish priest Fr. Muthu came to wish the faithful and the president of the association welcomed him with the floral bouquet.

In the evening here in our parish we celebrated the feast with Manglorean community, they call this feast as "MONTHI FEST". we had a meaningful liturgy with melodious choir singing hymns to mother Mary. In procession we brought the statute of baby Mary, along with the rice corns and vegetables to be blessed. In front of the altar we blessed the corns and then began the Eucharistic celebration. 

Fr. Stephen Lewis celebrated the Mass, Fr. Andrew Fernandes preached the Homily and i welcomed and thanked them by concelebrating the eucharist. At the end of the mass the faithful sang traditional konkani hymns to Mother Mary. All of them received cold drinks and snacks for celebrate the birthday of Mamma Mary.

Life is Short, Don't waste Time !!!!!!!!

 There are many of us who would like to impose our ideas, opinions, statements on the others and expect the others to behave and live lives according to our set standards for them. When we impose something of our own on others we make them feel that they are nothing and are inferior to us or have no voice or opinion to express...make them feel low. It could be any subject or matter which should not make the other person feel inferior when we harp on it too much and make it more difficult for the person to understand it in better way. By doing this we project that we are more intelligent, wise and perfect than the others who are foolish one and must listen and behave as we command. 

We can settle our problems and issues and broken relationships by using sweet words in conversation or having a positive attitude towards the problems and issues that we have with the others. It depends on who understanding we are and how we deal with the difficult issues at hand, the issues can be blown out of proportion or go awry if not understood in right perspectives. I feel that there is no problem which we cannot settle or have a solution, if we control our thoughts and mind and above our tongue, there can be sweet and acceptable solutions for both the parties. By speaking in feat of anger we break relationships as well as persons beyond repairs. 

We have been taught to obey and respect the elders and even fall at their feet to receive their blessings. They are models of integrity, wisdom, understanding and strength and we have to learn from their life of witness especially in settling the matters and issues quickly without wounding and hurting anyone. They teach us that we need nice and good people in life as companions and friends to experience life in its fullness. sometimes we may have to give up those in life who create problems and are stumbling blocks in our growth as human beings. The company of bad people can be source of tensions and stress because they show us not the right way but lead us on a wrong path which leads us to destruction.  

Happy Feast of Teresa of Kolkatta and Happy Teachers Day

 Today in India we celebrate twin great feasts that of Mother Teresa and Teachers day, both have made a long lasting valuable contribution in building the moral character of the society, church and individuals in India. They have given special attention, encouragement, love and presence to Individuals who needed most in order to be what they could be according to plan of God. They have taught ys to be grateful and bold in life facing various challenging events and situations and have shown through their witness and example that tough times gives us new wings to fly and soar higher in the sky, allow us to over come all hurdles in life. They have shown us the path where thorns poke and prick us the pain encourages us to keep walking and completing the tough and challenging journey of Life. 

Mother Teresa through a service to the down trodden and poorest of poor has left a legacy of loving and compassionate service to humanity. she was not proud but as humble servant of the Lord allowed herself to be far away from the house of pride and always remained simple and humble to enter into the huts of the poorest and sidelined, marginalised people of the society. She nurtured all of them with the tender love, compassion, touch and dedication of the Master Jesus Christ. Her service to the poor involved tough decisions, challenges, sacrifices and opposition from the enemies of God and humanity. She considered all those who came to her as image of God and treasures sent by the Lord. She saw no rain, heat and cold but went out to look for these unfortunate people and babies thrown out on the streets. The passion that she showed is tremendous and it is infectious which has inspired millions of people. He mission she completed by giving like Jesus the love and touch to the unfortunate.

Teachers are great and honourable in their unique way because they have formed and shaped the lives of millions of students, they have formed the future citizens of character of the nations. `They have inspired millions of children not only through their knowledge and wisdom but through their moral teaching, example and witness.  Teachers have been like Sea of wisdom, holiness, spirituality, one respectable person, everyone treasures in mind and heart, one who completes and perfects the imperfect and incomplete, teacher who increases the knowledge through their words, teacher who shapes the life by living it and teacher through philosophy of life blooms principles and values in the students.