kerala catholics

Bible Vitamins

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D475oXwLM98/UIQOpKMn-VI/AAAAAAAAKVM/zdHIoXfJ0-k/s1600/7884581148e30ccb73a24dfa45b62e09_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D475oXwLM98/UIQOpKMn-VI/AAAAAAAAKVM/zdHIoXfJ0-k/s1600/7884581148e30ccb73a24dfa45b62e09_L.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Here are a few Bible vitamins to help combat things like worry. Unlike most of the vitamin supplements merchandised these days, these are all free for the taking. 
 
Anxious? Take Vitamin A. All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28) 
Blue? Take Vitamin B. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. (Ps 103:1) 
Crushed? Take Vitamin C. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. (1 Pet 5:7) 
Depressed? Take Vitamin D. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (Jas 4:8) 
Empty? Take Vitamin E. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. (Ps 100:4) 
Fearful? Take Vitamin F. Fear not, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God. (Isa 41:10) 
Greedy? Take Vitamin G. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put unto your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. (Lk 6:38) 
Hesitant? Take Vitamin H. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” (Isa 52:7) 
Insecure? Take Vitamin I. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13) 
Jittery? Take Vitamin J. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Heb 13:8) 
Know nothing? Take Vitamin K. Know this that the Lord is God, it is He that made us and not we ourselves. (Ps 100:3) 
Lonely? Take Vitamin L. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Mt 28:20) 
Mortgaged? Take Vitamin M. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor 12:9) 
Nervous? Take Vitamin N. Never, no never will I leave you nor forsake you. (Heb 13:5) 
Overwhelmed? Take Vitamin O. Overcome evil with good. (Rom. 12:21) 
Perplexed or puzzled? Take Vitamin P. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27) 
Quitting? Take Vitamin Q. Quit you like men and women, be strong. (1 Cor 16:13) 
Restless? Take Vitamin R. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. (Ps 37:7) 
Scared? Take Vitamin S. Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me. (1Sam 22:23) 
 
Tired? Take Vitamin T. Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isa 40:31) 
Uncertain? Take Vitamin U. Understand that I am (the Lord). Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. (Isa 43:10) 
Vain? Take Vitamin V. Vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one. (Acts 5:16) 
Wondering what to do? Take Vitamin W. What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic 6:8) 
Exhausted? Take Vitamin X. Exercise thyself rather unto godliness. (1 Tim 4:7) 
Yearning for hope? Take Vitamin Y. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you art with me; your rod and your staff - they comfort me. (Ps 23:4) 
Zapped? Take Vitamin Z. Zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:14)

Bible Vitamins

Here are a few Bible vitamins to help combat things like worry. Unlike most of the vitamin supplements merchandised these days, these are ...

Wealth, Success or Love?

TVC 0 ARTICLE 8:29 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L4gM_fskjfM/UIQNpx28FnI/AAAAAAAAKU8/zxNLrWEpxrI/s1600/e9f3064a37460e22935d3df9e26e53bb_XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L4gM_fskjfM/UIQNpx28FnI/AAAAAAAAKU8/zxNLrWEpxrI/s1600/e9f3064a37460e22935d3df9e26e53bb_XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.” 
 
“Is the man of the house home?”, they asked. “No”, she said. “He’s out.” 
 
“Then we cannot come in,” they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. 
 
“Go tell them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a House together,” they replied. “Why is that?” she wanted to know. One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.” 
 
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!!,” he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!” 
His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?” Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!” 
 
“Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.” 
 
The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.” Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?” 
 
The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him.  
Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!”

Wealth, Success or Love?

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said “...

The secret of prompting God to work miracles?

TVC 0 8:26 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oSapqHA8-kQ/UIQNDTehNVI/AAAAAAAAKU0/VVibD8hGIJ0/s1600/dfa7f6322712614e6e049fc346875c0a_XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oSapqHA8-kQ/UIQNDTehNVI/AAAAAAAAKU0/VVibD8hGIJ0/s1600/dfa7f6322712614e6e049fc346875c0a_XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
In the Holy Bible, there are two types of occasions where Jesus does not respond positively to prayers. One is where a group of people ask Jesus to perform some miracles in their town. They asked Jesus to perform some miracles as they wanted to get excited by the miracles. None of them had a personal need or desire for a miracle. (Lk. 4:23, 23:8).  The second is where people ask Jesus to do something by complaining about somebody. 'Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things.' (Lk. 10:38-41).  Here Martha is going to Jesus with a grievance. But she does not get any solutions from Jesus. But she gets only some advice from Jesus. The real need Martha had was that Martha should be able to do her work easily. And Martha should have prayed, 'Jesus, I am burdened with a  lot of work. Please make my work easy.' Even though the grievance of Martha was genuine, she did not ask Jesus to redress her grievance. Martha did not have genuine desire to get her grievance redressed. Instead, Martha wanted and chose to blame it upon Mary, and she chose to put Mary also into the same trouble as she was facing. Jesus did not grant what Martha had asked for. But Jesus chose to counsel her. The meaning of what Jesus told Martha was: Do not blame Mary for your troubles in life; your problems are results of your worries and distractions; Mary has no role in your facing problems; Mary is not the cause of your troubles; above all, the solution you have suggested is not going to solve your problems; stop being worried and distracted by many things, and your problems will be solved.  'Someone in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.' But he said to him, 'Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?' (Lk 12:13-14).  Again, the person who approaches Jesus is complaining about his brother. The genuine grievance he had might have been his poverty. He should have asked Jesus, 'I am very poor. Give me enough wealth.' But he chose to blame it upon his brother. And he wanted to get a share from the property which he had kept with him, thought illegally. Instead of trying to get his grievance redressed, he was worried about criticizing and making his brother upright. So, instead of granting what he had asked for, Jesus counsels him: I am not going to judge and find fault with somebody as you wanted; that what you have asked me to do; do not lay the blame on your brother for your troubles; he is not the cause of your problems; and what you have suggested is not the solution for your real problems.  This is the way we generally pray. A wife complains about her husband to Jesus. A mother in law complains abut her daughter in law to Jesus. A father complains about his son to Jesus. A son complains about his father to Jesus. A parishioner complains abut his vicar to Jesus. A student complains about his teacher to Jesus and vice versa. But nobody tells Jesus his real need. And the only response from Jesus to this type of prayers is some counseling. And all say that Jesus does not heed their prayers.  So, it is very important that I pray to Jesus the right way. If our prayer is a blaming somebody for our trouble, be sure we are never going to be granted our prayer. It is not at all permissible for us to tell Jesus that somebody is the cause of our problems. When we approach Jesus, we should just tell him that we are facing this problem, and we want you to solve this problem of ours. And if we pray in this way, we can be damn sure that our problem will be solved.

The secret of prompting God to work miracles?

In the Holy Bible, there are two types of occasions where Jesus does not respond positively to prayers. One is where a group of people ask...

A helpful letter to overcome spiritual struggles

TVC 0 8:24 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vKVDRlNlRc/UIQMjSGIM-I/AAAAAAAAKUs/Ub7TtTJPs7A/s1600/ead47d36e50510c345eb86a3568f763f_XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vKVDRlNlRc/UIQMjSGIM-I/AAAAAAAAKUs/Ub7TtTJPs7A/s1600/ead47d36e50510c345eb86a3568f763f_XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
In a conversation some days since with a person of piety, he told me the spiritual life was a life of grace, which begins with servile fear, which is increased by hope of eternal life, and which is consummated by pure love; that each of these states had its different stages, by which one arrives at last at that blessed consummation.  I have not followed all these methods. On the contrary, from I know not what instincts, I found they discouraged me. This was the reason why, at my entrance into religion, I took a resolution to give myself up to God, as the best satisfaction I could make for my sins and, for the love of Him, to renounce all besides. For the first years, I commonly employed myself during the time set apart for devotion, with the thoughts of death, judgment, hell, heaven, and my sins. Thus I continued some years applying my mind carefully the rest of the day, and even in the midst of my business, to the presence of God, whom I considered always as with me, often as in me. At length I came insensibly to do the same thing during my set time of prayer, which caused in me great delight and consolation. This practice produced in me so high an esteem for God, that faith alone was capable to satisfy me in that point. Such was my beginning. Yet I must tell you that for the first ten years I suffered much. The apprehension that I was not devoted to God as I wished to be, my past sins always present to my mind, and the great unmerited favors which God did me, were the matter and source of my sufferings. During this time I fell often, and rose again presently. I was troubled sometimes with thoughts, that to believe I had received such favors was an effect of my presumption, which pretended to be at once where others arrive with difficulty. At other times that it was a willful delusion, and that there was no salvation for me. When I thought of nothing but to end my days in these troubles (which did not at all diminish the trust I had in God, and which served only to increase my faith), I found myself changed all at once; and my soul, which till that time was in trouble, felt a profound inward peace, as if she were in her center and place of rest. Ever since that time I walk before God simply, in faith, with humility and with love; and I apply myself diligently to do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him. I hope that when I have done what I can, He will do with me what He pleases. As for what passes in me at present, I cannot express it. I have no pain or difficulty about my state, because I have no will but that of God, which I endeavor to accomplish in all things, and to which I am so resigned, that I would not take up a straw from the ground against His order, or from any other motive but purely that of love for Him. I have quitted all forms of devotion and set prayers but those to which my state obliges me. I make it my business only to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I keep myself by a simple attention and a general fond regard to God, which I may call an actual presence of God; or, to speak better, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God, which often causes in me joys so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them and prevent their appearance to others. In short, I am assured beyond all doubt that my soul has been with God above these thirty years. I pass over many things, that I may not be tedious to you, yet I think it proper to inform you after what manner I consider myself before God, whom I behold as my King. I consider myself as the most wretched of men, full of sores and corruption, and who has committed all sorts of crimes against his King. Touched with a sensible regret I confess to Him all my wickedness. I ask His forgiveness. I abandon myself in His hands that He may do what He pleases with me. This King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastising me, embraces me with love, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the key of His treasures. He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me in all respects as His favorite. It is thus I consider myself from time to time in His holy presence. My most usual method is this simple attention, and such a general passionate regard to God to whom I find myself often attached with greater sweetness and delight than that of an infant at the mother's breast. If I dare use the expression, I should choose to call this state the bosom of God, for the inexpressible sweetness which I taste and experience there. If sometimes my thoughts wander from it by necessity or infirmity, I am presently recalled by inward emotions so charming and delicious that I cannot even describe them.

A helpful letter to overcome spiritual struggles

In a conversation some days since with a person of piety, he told me the spiritual life was a life of grace, which begins with servile fea...

The Door of Faith

TVC 0 NEWS 8:22 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
 </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u_1hBNP9UPk/UIQMC-h5o8I/AAAAAAAAKUk/__lJo70CPVs/s1600/839998e06c2f41419e3797450bd73178_XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u_1hBNP9UPk/UIQMC-h5o8I/AAAAAAAAKUk/__lJo70CPVs/s1600/839998e06c2f41419e3797450bd73178_XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
<div>
Pope Benedict XVI has announced a 'Year of faith' that runs from October 11th, 2012 to November 24th, 2013. This move is related to two anniversaries. One is the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the other the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. There is also a major event related to the Year of faith which is the Synod of Bishops on the theme 'The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian faith.'  
The Pope has issued an Apostolic Letter proclaiming the Year of faith titled, 'Porta Fidei' or 'The door of faith.' He uses the 'door' as a image of faith. Paul and Barnabas, returning after their missionary journey to different lands, sailed back to Antioch. 'When they arrived they called the Churches together and related all that God has done with them and how he opened a door of faith to the Gentiles' (Acts 14:27).  
 
The door 'is always open for us.' It welcomes us into a communion with God and offers entry into his Church. There are two essential elements that makes possible the entry through this door namely proclamation of the Word of God and allowing the same word to shaping the heart with its transforming grace. Entering this door is a life long journey that begins with our baptism and continues till death to eternal life.  
 
Know the Faith 
The document gives beautiful reflections on the theme of faith. 'Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him.' 'Standing with the Lord' would signify understanding the reasons for believing. We must know the contents of faith. Knowing well what exactly is to be believed is essential for giving one's own assent that is to say for adhering fully with the intellect and will to what the Church proposes. 'Knowledge of faith opens a door into the fullness of the saving mystery revealed by God.' Believing means, 'we accept the whole mystery of faith.' Both our intellect and will must make its choice to believe only then can we feel comfortable to remain with the Lord. 
 
The acceptance of faith 
Focusing on Jesus is essential to lead a life of true Christian faith. Jesus attracts to himself people of every generation. The clearly states that 'The Year of Faith… is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord the Saviour of the world.' He is the 'pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). The reasons for keeping our gaze fixed on Jesus Christ and contemplating in his Incarnation, death and Resurrection are;  
 
In him all the anguish and all the longing of human finds fulfillment  
 
Fulfills of the joy of love 
 
Gives answer to the drama of suffering and pain 
 
The power of forgiveness in the face of offence received 
 
The victory of life over emptiness of death  
 
The examples of faith that has marked the two thousand years of our salvation history are brought to the fullness of light.  
 
The document tells us that 'By faith, we too live.' It is the living recognition of the Lord Jesus. There are people who are born and brought up as Christians but are totally ignorant of the person of Christ. The life, works and message of Christ are alien to them. This year of faith calls every Christian to recognize this Christ 'present in our lives and in our history.' 
 
St. Augustine is given as one of the bright examples of this journey of faith. The pope tells that 'his life was a continual search for the beauty of the faith until such thing as his heart could find rest in God.' His extensive writings still help people to find the right path towards the 'door of faith.' 
This year of faith must turn out to be an occasion during which the entire Church may undertake a renewed outlook on the faith by a deeper study of the Christian Doctrine and delve deeper into the mystery of Christ. </div>

The Door of Faith

Pope Benedict XVI has announced a 'Year of faith' that runs from October 11th, 2012 to November 24th, 2013. This move is relat...

Who Will Roll Away The Stone For Us?

TVC 0 ARTICLE 8:20 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Death is a matter of three days for those who are in Jesus  </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9-X3ISbjbL0/UIQLT2XvE4I/AAAAAAAAKUc/RM7LIARrPrE/s1600/c07bdbd398dd4ac563358e095fc5d2e0_XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9-X3ISbjbL0/UIQLT2XvE4I/AAAAAAAAKUc/RM7LIARrPrE/s1600/c07bdbd398dd4ac563358e095fc5d2e0_XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
 Suddenly there was a violent earth quake, an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away and sat on it” (Mt.28:2).   
 
Resurrection is the blessed reminder that, even when things seem hopeless, when all appears to be lost, there is still hope.  Resurrection is the energy of the holy, as it is nurtured in human experience. This energy cannot be confined to a tomb or narrated in a single story, but is a lived experience.  The energy of resurrection is like a sacred earthquake that shakes the foundations of doubt and leads to faith in the risen Lord. It bursts forth in our lives when ever stones of fear and doubt are rolled away. New life can emerge with resurrection energy, if we roll away stones that would imprison our hope, faith and love.  This is the foundation of our faith: “The Lord is risen indeed!” 
 
In life we undergo innumerable little deaths: losing our reputation and expectation, losing dear and near ones, losing our having and being, collapsing our plans and projects, sickness and loneliness etc.; but we are called to rise from these little deaths.  God calls us to resurrection each and every day, with new strength and vigour.  Resurrection is a reality that cannot be taught, but is a unique and personal experience.  It is possible only through an act of total surrender in love, faith and hope.  Let’s make a total surrender to Jesus and experience resurrection from all kinds of deaths and imprisonment.  
 
“Very early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices to anoint Jesus.  They had been saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”(Mt.28:1-2).  The stone was too big for women to roll away, but they had trusted the words of Abraham - the Father of faith, who said, “God himself will provide”.  Having belonged to the weaker sections of the society, they had arrived at the tomb without men, which showed their trust in God’s assistance and providence in their genuine need.   
 
Who will roll away the stone for us?  God who knows their heaviness of hearts because of the cruel death of their beloved, heard their silent prayer and sent down an angel to roll away the stone.  It is fitting to note that the angel came down from heaven rolled away the stone and sat on it.  The  angel sitting on the stone means two things: primarily, that heaven (God) is involved in the matter and is worthy to be believed, secondly, Christ’s triumph over death, that he conquered death for ever, he could no longer remain in the tomb and now reigns as the living God.   
 
“Who will roll away the stone for us?”  God himself sends angels for us time to time to roll away the stones which stand like mountains before us. The stones appear in many forms in our lives.  The struggles of life, sickness, burden of sins, loneliness, poverty, failures, injustice and having deprived of rights etc.  At times they appear in our lives as huge stones too heavy to roll away.  If we take a flash look at our past we can know the times and occasions when God sent down angels to roll back the stones stood like mountains impossible to move by ourselves.  While the angels were disguised and appeared in human form, we might have failed to recognize them as angels sent by God. 
 
“Who will roll away the stone for us?  Our God is a living God who hears the cry of His children and sends angels to rescue us, as He sent an angel along with Jacob when he was in danger.  In gratitude for God’s generosity in sending angels, we need to help him in turn in finding angels to send for our brothers and sisters who cry out to him for help to roll away the stones by which they are enslaved in.  When the stones are rolled away a new life is gained and we become resurrected people and begin to sing Halleluia. May the celebration of Easter enable us to live as resurrected people and roll away the stones from other’s lives which have entombed them.

Who Will Roll Away The Stone For Us?

Death is a matter of three days for those who are in Jesus Suddenly there was a violent earth quake, an angel of the Lord came d...

APOSTOLIC LETTER “MOTU PROPRIO DATA” PORTA FIDEI OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF BENEDICT XVI FOR THE INDICTION OF THE YEAR OF FAITH

TVC 0 8:12 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eu3jCxVXAkQ/UIQJitdWMhI/AAAAAAAAKUU/NBc63_KJqTg/s1600/Senza+titolo-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Eu3jCxVXAkQ/UIQJitdWMhI/AAAAAAAAKUU/NBc63_KJqTg/s1600/Senza+titolo-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
 
 
<div align="center">
APOSTOLIC LETTER “MOTU PROPRIO DATA”</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
PORTA FIDEI</div>
<div align="center">
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF BENEDICT XVI</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
FOR THE INDICTION OF THE YEAR OF FAITH</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="left">
1. The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return.</div>
<div align="left">
2. Ever since the start of my ministry as Successor of Peter, I have spoken of the need to rediscover the journey of faith so as to shed ever clearer light on the joy and renewed enthusiasm of the encounter with Christ. During the homily at the Mass marking the inauguration of my pontificate I said: “The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance.” It often happens that Christians are more concerned for the social, cultural and political consequences of their commitment, continuing to think of the faith as a self-evident presupposition for life in society. In reality, not only can this presupposition no longer be taken for granted, but it is often openly denied. Whereas in the past it was possible to recognize a unitary cultural matrix, broadly accepted in its appeal to the content of the faith and the values inspired by it, today this no longer seems to be the case in large swathes of society, because of a profound crisis of faith that has affected many people.</div>
<div align="left">
3. We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). The people of today can still experience the need to go to the well, like the Samaritan woman, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and to draw upon the source of living water welling up within him (cf. Jn 4:14). We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (Jn6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation.</div>
<div align="left">
4. In the light of all this, I have decided to announce a Year of Faith. It will begin on 11 October 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, and it will end on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, on 24 November 2013. The starting date of 11 October 2012 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a text promulgated by my Predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, with a view to illustrating for all the faithful the power and beauty of the faith. This document, an authentic fruit of the Second Vatican Council, was requested by the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 as an instrument at the service of catechesis and it was produced in collaboration with all the bishops of the Catholic Church. Moreover, the theme of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that I have convoked for October 2012 is “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”. This will be a good opportunity to usher the whole Church into a time of particular reflection and rediscovery of the faith. It is not the first time that the Church has been called to celebrate a Year of Faith. My venerable Predecessor the Servant of God Paul VI announced one in 1967, to commemorate the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul on the 19th centenary of their supreme act of witness. He thought of it as a solemn moment for the whole Church to make “an authentic and sincere profession of the same faith”; moreover, he wanted this to be confirmed in a way that was “individual and collective, free and conscious, inward and outward, humble and frank”. He thought that in this way the whole Church could reappropriate “exact knowledge of the faith, so as to reinvigorate it, purify it, confirm it, and confess it”. The great upheavals of that year made even more evident the need for a celebration of this kind. It concluded with the Credo of the People of God, intended to show how much the essential content that for centuries has formed the heritage of all believers needs to be confirmed, understood and explored ever anew, so as to bear consistent witness in historical circumstances very different from those of the past.</div>
<div align="left">
5. In some respects, my venerable predecessor saw this Year as a “consequence and a necessity of the postconciliar period”, fully conscious of the grave difficulties of the time, especially with regard to the profession of the true faith and its correct interpretation. It seemed to me that timing the launch of the Year of Faith to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council would provide a good opportunity to help people understand that the texts bequeathed by the Council Fathers, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, “have lost nothing of their value or brilliance. They need to be read correctly, to be widely known and taken to heart as important and normative texts of the Magisterium, within the Church's Tradition ... I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century: there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning.” I would also like to emphasize strongly what I had occasion to say concerning the Council a few months after my election as Successor of Peter: “if we interpret and implement it guided by a right hermeneutic, it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church.”</div>
<div align="left">
6. The renewal of the Church is also achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers: by their very existence in the world, Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us. The Council itself, in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, said this: While “Christ, ‘holy, innocent and undefiled’ (Heb 7:26) knew nothing of sin (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), but came only to expiate the sins of the people (cf. Heb 2:17)... the Church ... clasping sinners to its bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal. The Church, ‘like a stranger in a foreign land, presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God’, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until he comes (cf. 1 Cor11:26). But by the power of the risen Lord it is given strength to overcome, in patience and in love, its sorrow and its difficulties, both those that are from within and those that are from without, so that it may reveal in the world, faithfully, although with shadows, the mystery of its Lord until, in the end, it shall be manifested in full light.”</div>
<div align="left">
The Year of Faith, from this perspective, is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world. In the mystery of his death and resurrection, God has revealed in its fullness the Love that saves and calls us to conversion of life through the forgiveness of sins (cf. Acts 5:31). For Saint Paul, this Love ushers us into a new life: “We were buried ... with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4). Through faith, this new life shapes the whole of human existence according to the radical new reality of the resurrection. To the extent that he freely cooperates, man’s thoughts and affections, mentality and conduct are slowly purified and transformed, on a journey that is never completely finished in this life. “Faith working through love” (Gal 5:6) becomes a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of man’s life (cf. Rom 12:2; Col 3:9-10; Eph 4:20-29; 2 Cor 5:17).</div>
<div align="left">
7. “Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Cor 5:14): it is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19). Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering his love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigour that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy. It makes us fruitful, because it expands our hearts in hope and enables us to bear life-giving witness: indeed, it opens the hearts and minds of those who listen to respond to the Lord’s invitation to adhere to his word and become his disciples. Believers, so Saint Augustine tells us, “strengthen themselves by believing”. The saintly Bishop of Hippo had good reason to express himself in this way. As we know, his life was a continual search for the beauty of the faith until such time as his heart would find rest in God. His extensive writings, in which he explains the importance of believing and the truth of the faith, continue even now to form a heritage of incomparable riches, and they still help many people in search of God to find the right path towards the “door of faith”.</div>
<div align="left">
Only through believing, then, does faith grow and become stronger; there is no other possibility for possessing certitude with regard to one’s life apart from self-abandonment, in a continuous crescendo, into the hands of a love that seems to grow constantly because it has its origin in God.</div>
<div align="left">
8. On this happy occasion, I wish to invite my brother bishops from all over the world to join the Successor of Peter, during this time of spiritual grace that the Lord offers us, in recalling the precious gift of faith. We want to celebrate this Year in a worthy and fruitful manner. Reflection on the faith will have to be intensified, so as to help all believers in Christ to acquire a more conscious and vigorous adherence to the Gospel, especially at a time of profound change such as humanity is currently experiencing. We will have the opportunity to profess our faith in the Risen Lord in our cathedrals and in the churches of the whole world; in our homes and among our families, so that everyone may feel a strong need to know better and to transmit to future generations the faith of all times. Religious communities as well as parish communities, and all ecclesial bodies old and new, are to find a way, during this Year, to make a public profession of the Credo.</div>
<div align="left">
9. We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is “the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed; ... and also the source from which all its power flows.” At the same time, we make it our prayer that believers’ witness of life may grow in credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed,and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year.</div>
<div align="left">
Not without reason, Christians in the early centuries were required to learn the creed from memory. It served them as a daily prayer not to forget the commitment they had undertaken in baptism. With words rich in meaning, Saint Augustine speaks of this in a homily on the redditio symboli, the handing over of the creed: “the symbol of the holy mystery that you have all received together and that today you have recited one by one, are the words on which the faith of Mother Church is firmly built above the stable foundation that is Christ the Lord. You have received it and recited it, but in your minds and hearts you must keep it ever present, you must repeat it in your beds, recall it in the public squares and not forget it during meals: even when your body is asleep, you must watch over it with your hearts.”</div>
<div align="left">
10. At this point I would like to sketch a path intended to help us understand more profoundly not only the content of the faith, but also the act by which we choose to entrust ourselves fully to God, in complete freedom. In fact, there exists a profound unity between the act by which we believe and the content to which we give our assent. Saint Paul helps us to enter into this reality when he writes: “Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (Rom10:10). The heart indicates that the first act by which one comes to faith is God’s gift and the action of grace which acts and transforms the person deep within.</div>
<div align="left">
The example of Lydia is particularly eloquent in this regard. Saint Luke recounts that, while he was at Philippi, Paul went on the Sabbath to proclaim the Gospel to some women; among them was Lydia and “the Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). There is an important meaning contained within this expression. Saint Luke teaches that knowing the content to be believed is not sufficient unless the heart, the authentic sacred space within the person, is opened by grace that allows the eyes to see below the surface and to understand that what has been proclaimed is the word of God.</div>
<div align="left">
Confessing with the lips indicates in turn that faith implies public testimony and commitment. A Christian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him. This “standing with him” points towards an understanding of the reasons for believing. Faith, precisely because it is a free act, also demands social responsibility for what one believes. The Church on the day of Pentecost demonstrates with utter clarity this public dimension of believing and proclaiming one’s faith fearlessly to every person. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us fit for mission and strengthens our witness, making it frank and courageous.</div>
<div align="left">
Profession of faith is an act both personal and communitarian. It is the Church that is the primary subject of faith. In the faith of the Christian community, each individual receives baptism, an effective sign of entry into the people of believers in order to obtain salvation. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “ ‘I believe’ is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during baptism. ‘We believe’ is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. ‘I believe’ is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both ‘I believe’ and ‘we believe’.”</div>
<div align="left">
Evidently, knowledge of the content of faith is essential for giving one’s own assent, that is to say for adhering fully with intellect and will to what the Church proposes. Knowledge of faith opens a door into the fullness of the saving mystery revealed by God. The giving of assent implies that, when we believe, we freely accept the whole mystery of faith, because the guarantor of its truth is God who reveals himself and allows us to know his mystery of love.</div>
<div align="left">
On the other hand, we must not forget that in our cultural context, very many people, while not claiming to have the gift of faith, are nevertheless sincerely searching for the ultimate meaning and definitive truth of their lives and of the world. This search is an authentic “preamble” to the faith, because it guides people onto the path that leads to the mystery of God. Human reason, in fact, bears within itself a demand for “what is perennially valid and lasting”. This demand constitutes a permanent summons, indelibly written into the human heart, to set out to find the One whom we would not be seeking had he not already set out to meet us. To this encounter, faith invites us and it opens us in fullness.</div>
<div align="left">
11. In order to arrive at a systematic knowledge of the content of the faith, all can find in theCatechism of the Catholic Church a precious and indispensable tool. It is one of the most important fruits of the Second Vatican Council. In the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum, signed, not by accident, on the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Blessed John Paul II wrote: “this catechism will make a very important contribution to that work of renewing the whole life of the Church ... I declare it to be a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and a sure norm for teaching the faith.”</div>
<div align="left">
It is in this sense that that the Year of Faith will have to see a concerted effort to rediscover and study the fundamental content of the faith that receives its systematic and organic synthesis in theCatechism of the Catholic Church. Here, in fact, we see the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded and proposed in her two thousand years of history. From Sacred Scripture to the Fathers of the Church, from theological masters to the saints across the centuries, the Catechism provides a permanent record of the many ways in which the Church has meditated on the faith and made progress in doctrine so as to offer certitude to believers in their lives of faith.</div>
<div align="left">
In its very structure, the Catechism of the Catholic Church follows the development of the faith right up to the great themes of daily life. On page after page, we find that what is presented here is no theory, but an encounter with a Person who lives within the Church. The profession of faith is followed by an account of sacramental life, in which Christ is present, operative and continues to build his Church. Without the liturgy and the sacraments, the profession of faith would lack efficacy, because it would lack the grace which supports Christian witness. By the same criterion, the teaching of the Catechism on the moral life acquires its full meaning if placed in relationship with faith, liturgy and prayer.</div>
<div align="left">
12. In this Year, then, the Catechism of the Catholic Church will serve as a tool providing real support for the faith, especially for those concerned with the formation of Christians, so crucial in our cultural context. To this end, I have invited the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, by agreement with the competent Dicasteries of the Holy See, to draw up a Note, providing the Church and individual believers with some guidelines on how to live this Year of Faith in the most effective and appropriate ways, at the service of belief and evangelization.</div>
<div align="left">
To a greater extent than in the past, faith is now being subjected to a series of questions arising from a changed mentality which, especially today, limits the field of rational certainties to that of scientific and technological discoveries. Nevertheless, the Church has never been afraid of demonstrating that there cannot be any conflict between faith and genuine science, because both, albeit via different routes, tend towards the truth.</div>
<div align="left">
13. One thing that will be of decisive importance in this Year is retracing the history of our faith, marked as it is by the unfathomable mystery of the interweaving of holiness and sin. While the former highlights the great contribution that men and women have made to the growth and development of the community through the witness of their lives, the latter must provoke in each person a sincere and continuing work of conversion in order to experience the mercy of the Father which is held out to everyone.</div>
<div align="left">
During this time we will need to keep our gaze fixed upon Jesus Christ, the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2): in him, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfilment. The joy of love, the answer to the drama of suffering and pain, the power of forgiveness in the face of an offence received and the victory of life over the emptiness of death: all this finds fulfilment in the mystery of his Incarnation, in his becoming man, in his sharing our human weakness so as to transform it by the power of his resurrection. In him who died and rose again for our salvation, the examples of faith that have marked these two thousand years of our salvation history are brought into the fullness of light.</div>
<div align="left">
By faith, Mary accepted the Angel’s word and believed the message that she was to become the Mother of God in the obedience of her devotion (cf. Lk 1:38). Visiting Elizabeth, she raised her hymn of praise to the Most High for the marvels he worked in those who trust him (cf. Lk 1:46-55). With joy and trepidation she gave birth to her only son, keeping her virginity intact (cf. Lk 2:6-7). Trusting in Joseph, her husband, she took Jesus to Egypt to save him from Herod’s persecution (cf.Mt 2:13-15). With the same faith, she followed the Lord in his preaching and remained with him all the way to Golgotha (cf. Jn 19:25-27). By faith, Mary tasted the fruits of Jesus’ resurrection, and treasuring every memory in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19, 51), she passed them on to the Twelve assembled with her in the Upper Room to receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:1-4).</div>
<div align="left">
By faith, the Apostles left everything to follow their Master (cf. Mk 10:28). They believed the words with which he proclaimed the Kingdom of God present and fulfilled in his person (cf. Lk 11:20). They lived in communion of life with Jesus who instructed them with his teaching, leaving them a new rule of life, by which they would be recognized as his disciples after his death (cf. Jn 13:34-35). By faith, they went out to the whole world, following the command to bring the Gospel to all creation (cf. Mk 16:15) and they fearlessly proclaimed to all the joy of the resurrection, of which they were faithful witnesses.</div>
<div align="left">
By faith, the disciples formed the first community, gathered around the teaching of the Apostles, in prayer, in celebration of the Eucharist, holding their possessions in common so as to meet the needs of the brethren (cf. Acts 2:42-47).</div>
<div align="left">
By faith, the martyrs gave their lives, bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel that had transformed them and made them capable of attaining to the greatest gift of love: the forgiveness of their persecutors.</div>
<div align="left">
By faith, men and women have consecrated their lives to Christ, leaving all things behind so as to live obedience, poverty and chastity with Gospel simplicity, concrete signs of waiting for the Lord who comes without delay. By faith, countless Christians have promoted action for justice so as to put into practice the word of the Lord, who came to proclaim deliverance from oppression and a year of favour for all (cf. Lk 4:18-19).</div>
<div align="left">
By faith, across the centuries, men and women of all ages, whose names are written in the Book of Life (cf. Rev 7:9, 13:8), have confessed the beauty of following the Lord Jesus wherever they were called to bear witness to the fact that they were Christian: in the family, in the workplace, in public life, in the exercise of the charisms and ministries to which they were called.</div>
<div align="left">
By faith, we too live: by the living recognition of the Lord Jesus, present in our lives and in our history.</div>
<div align="left">
14. The Year of Faith will also be a good opportunity to intensify the witness of charity. As Saint Paul reminds us: “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor13:13). With even stronger words – which have always placed Christians under obligation – Saint James said: “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled’, without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith” (Jas 2:14-18).</div>
<div align="left">
Faith without charity bears no fruit, while charity without faith would be a sentiment constantly at the mercy of doubt. Faith and charity each require the other, in such a way that each allows the other to set out along its respective path. Indeed, many Christians dedicate their lives with love to those who are lonely, marginalized or excluded, as to those who are the first with a claim on our attention and the most important for us to support, because it is in them that the reflection of Christ’s own face is seen. Through faith, we can recognize the face of the risen Lord in those who ask for our love. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). These words are a warning that must not be forgotten and a perennial invitation to return the love by which he takes care of us. It is faith that enables us to recognize Christ and it is his love that impels us to assist him whenever he becomes our neighbour along the journey of life. Supported by faith, let us look with hope at our commitment in the world, as we await “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1).</div>
<div align="left">
15. Having reached the end of his life, Saint Paul asks his disciple Timothy to “aim at faith” (2 Tim2:22) with the same constancy as when he was a boy (cf. 2 Tim 3:15). We hear this invitation directed to each of us, that none of us grow lazy in the faith. It is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history, faith commits every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world. What the world is in particular need of today is the credible witness of people enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord, and capable of opening the hearts and minds of many to the desire for God and for true life, life without end.</div>
<div align="left">
“That the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph” (2 Th 3:1): may this Year of Faith make our relationship with Christ the Lord increasingly firm, since only in him is there the certitude for looking to the future and the guarantee of an authentic and lasting love. The words of Saint Peter shed one final ray of light on faith: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet 1:6-9). The life of Christians knows the experience of joy as well as the experience of suffering. How many of the saints have lived in solitude! How many believers, even in our own day, are tested by God’s silence when they would rather hear his consoling voice! The trials of life, while helping us to understand the mystery of the Cross and to participate in the sufferings of Christ (cf. Col 1:24), are a prelude to the joy and hope to which faith leads: “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10). We believe with firm certitude that the Lord Jesus has conquered evil and death. With this sure confidence we entrust ourselves to him: he, present in our midst, overcomes the power of the evil one (cf. Lk 11:20); and the Church, the visible community of his mercy, abides in him as a sign of definitive reconciliation with the Father.</div>
<div align="left">
Let us entrust this time of grace to the Mother of God, proclaimed “blessed because she believed” (Lk 1:45).</div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="left">
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 11 October in the year 2011, the seventh of my Pontificate.</div>
<div align="center">
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI</div>

APOSTOLIC LETTER “MOTU PROPRIO DATA” PORTA FIDEI OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF BENEDICT XVI FOR THE INDICTION OF THE YEAR OF FAITH

APOSTOLIC LETTER “ MOTU PROPRIO DATA ” PORTA FIDEI OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF BENEDICT XVI FOR THE INDICTION OF THE YEAR OF FAIT...

Why prayers go unheard?

TVC 0 7:59 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jG38mvVi2RU/UIQGsyTWLII/AAAAAAAAKUI/WZ-TDRbj4TI/s1600/f63fb9fc1888bac2143cb5d1de3bea0f_L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jG38mvVi2RU/UIQGsyTWLII/AAAAAAAAKUI/WZ-TDRbj4TI/s1600/f63fb9fc1888bac2143cb5d1de3bea0f_L.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
  
     When we pray, we must pray for inner strength and grace to do the Will of God in our life. In Mathew 7:7 we read; 'Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened.' This is the promise of Jesus.  
 
Then why do we experience the opposite of this in our daily life? All of us have experienced, at one time or another that our prayers go unheard. When I look back into my life, I too feel the same. There were times, I prayed fervently and constantly, for graces and blessings from God for days, months and years together. But it seemed to me that God was silent, absolutely silent. It led me to feel and think within that, God is deaf to my prayers.  
 
But as the years passed, and as I continued exploring my spiritual life, a new light flashed on my mind and my outlook on life, on prayer, on the Will of God… underwent a great spiritual evolution. And the continuation of the above Gospel passage came to my mind with new light and insights as answer to my question. 
'What man is there, among you, who if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?' (Mt. 7:9-10).  
 
This Word of God clearly tells us that why at times God does not answer our prayers. It is because when we ask for bread, it is not bread we ask, but stone, when we ask for fish, in fact it is not fish we ask but a serpent. If children ask for stone and serpent, definitely no parents will give them to the children.  
 
This can be clearly understood by another example. Tom was the only son of his parents. He grew up as a promising youth. When he was about to complete his SSLC he told his parents that he will do well in the examinations and then they must gift him with a motorbike. He passed the examinations with high marks. But his parents delayed giving a positive answer. They told him, that they would give a bike as a gift, when he completes his pre-degree course. He agreed.  
 
And as he passed PDC, he came out in flying colours with first rank and the parents gifted him a motor bike. Tom was overjoyed and happily he received the gift. Parents too were happy to gift the motor bike. But after a few days, as Tom was riding on his bike, his bike collided with a running bus and Tom died on the spot.  
The parents were left alone. Their only son Tom is no more. He was their hope. He was their future. Life stood empty and meaningless, dark and void. They deeply regretted for gifting their son with a motor bike. They thought if they had refused to give him the bike as gift, they would have enjoyed their son's company even today. Now they felt sad and lonely, helpless and hopeless.  
 
Same applies to our daily life. When we pray for graces and blessings, God in his infinite wisdom and love, does not grant us our wish, for he knows clearly what we will do with those graces, and what will happen to us in future. The graces we ask may seem to us very good. But they can turn into bad to worse like the motor bike and the accident. God knows our past, present and future. So whatever God sends us that is best for us.  
 
When we look at our whole life from this perspective there is greater meaning to each and every deprivations and situations. Be it sickness, tragedy, hardships, misunderstanding, difficulties, trials, aridity, confusion and even death.  
 
Nothing happens to us which is outside His plan. As the Gospel says, 'Even the hairs of your head have been counted.' (Mt. 10:30). We cannot try to fathom God's ways by our feeble sense, feeble reasoning and feeble understanding. When reason is buried with prayer, faith blooms and produces fruit. But mean time we have to wait. When answer to the prayer delays, it is a clear sign that God's wisdom is unfolding in our life, on an entirely different angle we dreamt of. In the infinite wisdom of God everything that He wills is for our ultimate good.  
 
Always God's love keeps some thing best in store for us, than what we have kept asking God for. Only faith, hope and love can help us to yield to His loving plans and ways. Here it is good to remember the words of St. Paul;  
 
'God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.'              (1 Cor 1:25).

Why prayers go unheard?

When we pray, we must pray for inner strength and grace to do the Will of God in our life. In Mathew 7:7 we read; 'Ask and ...

No peace without dialogue, sacrifice, patience, pope says

TVC 0 NEWS 7:52 PM

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h2 class="itemTitle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Meera; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
    </h2>
<div>
 </div>
 
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-taSiw6JH-AQ/UIQE3YwiblI/AAAAAAAAKUA/1bC42BD1oho/s1600/vatican.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-taSiw6JH-AQ/UIQE3YwiblI/AAAAAAAAKUA/1bC42BD1oho/s1600/vatican.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
<div>
Castel Gandolfo: Just as individual musicians in an orchestra turn dissonance into harmony through hard work, sacrifice and listening to one another, so, too, can the world’s people turn conflict into peace, said Pope Benedict XVI. “Music is a harmony of differences as happens every time before a concert begins,” when all the different instruments are brought in tune, he said. “But this doesn’t happen magically or automatically,” he said, since it takes patience, time, sacrifice and dedication to listen to others and avoiding grandstanding.</div>

No peace without dialogue, sacrifice, patience, pope says

Castel Gandolfo: Just as individual musicians in an orchestra turn dissonance into harmony through hard work, sacrifice and ...

Year of Faith activities aimed at bringing Catholics closer to Jesus.

TVC 0 NEWS 7:43 PM

<h2 class="itemTitle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Meera; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
</h2>
<h2 class="itemTitle" style="border: 0px; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
</h2>
<h2 class="itemTitle" style="border: 0px; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
</h2>
<div>
 </div>
 
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e89SaJ3vFGg/UIQCa-TtDoI/AAAAAAAAKT4/tCE89AY9j8Q/s1600/banners_Annus-fidei-1-EN_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e89SaJ3vFGg/UIQCa-TtDoI/AAAAAAAAKT4/tCE89AY9j8Q/s1600/banners_Annus-fidei-1-EN_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
<h2 class="itemTitle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Meera; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
</h2>
 
Vatican City:The Year of Faith set to begin in October will give Catholics the chance to experience a “conversion” by turning back to Jesus and entering into a deeper relationship with him. The Year of Faith opens Oct. 11, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the catechism. It runs through Nov. 24, 2013, the feast of Christ the King. Pope Benedict announced the Year of Faith in “Porta Fidei” (“The Door of Faith”), an apostolic letter released Oct. 17, 2011.

Year of Faith activities aimed at bringing Catholics closer to Jesus.

Vatican City:The Year of Faith set to begin in October will give Catholics the chance to experience a “conversion” by turnin...

Stay away from Horoscope and Astrology..

TVC 0 ARTICLE 7:27 PM

<h2 class="itemTitle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Meera; font-size: 22px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
</h2>
<div>
 </div>
 
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6jrtKetLNf4/UIP_C6261UI/AAAAAAAAKTs/QUC0yupTxoA/s1600/horo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6jrtKetLNf4/UIP_C6261UI/AAAAAAAAKTs/QUC0yupTxoA/s1600/horo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
 
Human beings have always been tempted to pierce through the mys tery of their future. One should be proud to be a Roman Catholic and live your life according to the Word of God and not according to the standards of the world. One should refrain himself/herself from reading horoscope, as it is sin.  In Deuteronomy 18:10-14, it is written 'Let no one be found among you who  sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God. The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.' 
 
You shall have no fortune-tellers among you 
Astrology means predicting the future. But we see in the book of Daniel, at three occasions (Daniel 4:7; 2:10,11; 5:7,8);  astrologers and other occult experts were requested to envisage the future. On every occasion they failed, but Daniel could succeed by God's power.  In the book of Deuteronomy 18:9-14,18-22 bible condemns magicians and fortune-tellers and then praises the true prophets. God's people live by the Word of God, not only by the word found written in a book, but by what God says through the prophets. 
 
Our future is in the hands of God 
We see in the book of James 4:14 that no one can predict what will happen in the future. Whereas in the book of Daniel 2:27,28 we see Astrologers could not interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream (a prediction of the future), but God could do so. In Isaiah 41:21-23; 42:8,9 - God rests His claim to Deity on His ability to predict the future. He challenges idols to prove they are gods by telling the future. In Jeremiah 29:11, 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'  In Isaiah 46:10, we see 'I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  
 
I say, 'My purpose will stand.'  So it is evident from the bible that our future lies in the hands of God. We are seeking to have a eternal life which can be achieved only we obey and live according to the decrees of the word of God.  In John 11:25-26. Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?' 
 
Entrust and surrender your life to Jesus 
Live your life according to the Word of God. This life which we are living is a gift from God. 'Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.' (Proverbs 30: 5). Again it is written in the Bible 'For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power making it active, operative, energizing, and effective; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and the immortal spirit, and of joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart (Hebrews 4: 12). Daily we should live based on the law of God. 'Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law' (Psalm 119: 18). Surrender your life to Jesus. Romans 12: 2 says 'Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.' Wisdom does not come from stars but from God.  In James 1:5, we can see that 'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.'   
True meaning of Life 
As the potter moulds the pot, in the same way Jesus Christ is the potter and we are the clay. He moul-ds and makes us into a beautiful being. Our character is also formed by our Lord. The only source where our character is formed is through the Word of God. By living according to the Word of God, we can be confident in Jesus and put our future into His hands and be prepared for the future. We should not forget we all are sinners. Salvation, forgiveness of our sins and eternal life is achieved through Jesus Christ who died upon the cross for our sins to have eternal life. Why to go behind magicians and astrologers to know our future? Our hope is in the Lord, so is our destiny. Believe in Lord Jesus Christ, you and your family will be saved.

Stay away from Horoscope and Astrology..

Human beings have always been tempted to pierce through the mys tery of their future. One should be proud to be a Roman Catholic an...

JESUS