Today's disposition...

Sirach 2:1-11

My son, if you have decided to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Keep your heart upright and remain resolute; do not be upset in the time of adversity. Hold fast to the Lord and do not separate yourself from him, so that you may be successful to the end of your days. Accept all that happens to you and be patient when you are humbled, for as gold is tested in the fire, so those acceptable to God are tested in the furnace of humiliation. Have confidence in him and he will take care of you; follow the path and hope in him. You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; do not turn away lest you fall.

.....You who fear the Lord, hope for all good things; hope for eternal joy and mercy.

.....For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives our sins and saves us in times of distress.

Keep trusting

I just keep trusting my Lord as I walk along
I just keep trusting my Lord and He gives a song
Though the storm clouds darken the sky o'er the heav'nly trail
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will never fail
He's a faithful friend, such a faithful friend
I can count on Him to the very end
Though the storm clouds darken the sky o'er the heav'nly trail
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will never fail

I just keep trusting my Lord on the narrow way
I just keep trusting my Lord as He leads each day
Though the road is weary at times and I'm sad and blue
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will se me through
He's a faithful guide, such a faithful guide
He is always there walking by my side
Though the road is weary at times and I'm sad and blue
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will se me through

On the paten...

On the paten with the host I offer up my lowly heart
All my life, my deeds, my thoughts,
thine shall be as mine Thou art.

In the chalice let me be a drop of water mingled there
Lost, O Jesus, in Thy love, Thy great sacrifice I share.

All today and everyday, O Jesus, let me live in Thee
So that I no longer live, but that Thou mayst live thru me

Good Morning, Jesus!!!

How very true...

True...

My hope is in you...

Thank you, Jesus...!!!

Right now, at this very moment, I am sitting at my church ground. I am waiting for my kids; they are practicing for their throw ball match. And I just want to thank Jesus Christ for this because He has given me this opportunity.

Every year my kids would get bored during their summer holidays. They didn't have any place to go and didn't have much to do. And because I had to go to office, they would have had to get up from sleep early whether they liked it or not - I had to drop them at the creche. All we did during the summer holidays was go out occasionally during the weekend.

But all that has changed now. Now they get up at whatever time they want and sleep whatever time they like - I am always at home. I am always at home because I work from home. That is why I am always with them and they just love it.

Yesterday while I was attending the 7 o'clock mass in the evening, it suddenly flashed in my mind that not too many years ago, 7 o'clock would be the most grueling hour for me. I would be coming back home from work in the train during the peak hours and would be so very frustrated in the crowd. After that I would reach home, cook, help my kids do the homework, etc, etc, etc and that would be so very tiring. Unlike those hard times, nowadays at 7 o'clock I attend Mass everyday. That's because Jesus Christ has blessed me.

I know life would have been as frustrating if Jesus had not blessed me. So, I want to thank Jesus for this blessing and pray to Him that He will keep this blessing on me for ever and ever. Amen!!!

“Project T”

Finally, after a lot of contemplation, I did something which will take me closer to my childhood dream. Before the bug of journalism bit me around 1991, all because of Sanjay Manjrekar, I used to live for this dream. I would spend all my waking hours dreaming this dream. My father too encouraged me to fulfill this dream but because of the journalism fever, I didn’t quite pursue it.

But now, after 17 unsuccessful years in journalism, I want to give a try to this unfulfilled dream of mine. I really don’t know how successful I will be in my endeavor because in 2009 also I had tried my luck for this. Nothing much had happened at that time. May be luck wasn’t in my favor at that time. May be now is the right time for me. I am just praying and hoping for the best.

If the “Project T” takes off, I will be living life backwards. But what the heck!!! We just have one life and we should make the most of it – who knows when I will have to say good-bye to my earthly life and leave for my final destination. And the reason why I am so excited because “Project T” is inside the church and bears the same name.

Jesus Christ, bless my “Project T”…!!!

The Samaritan woman

The story of the nameless Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, recorded only in the Gospel of John (4:4-26), is a revealing one, full of many truths and powerful lessons. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus Christ, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. It was at that time that a Samaritan woman came to draw water.

Please to note that the Samaritan woman at the well was no angel. Mixed up with a wrong crowd, this poor woman from Samaria had quite a reputation. She had been married five times and was living with a sixth one at that time.

In His encounter with this woman at the well, Jesus broke three Jewish customs: first, He spoke to a woman; second, she was a Samaritan woman, a group the Jews traditionally despised; and third, He asked her to get Him a drink of water, which would have made Him ceremonially unclean from using her cup or jar. This shocked the woman at the well.

Although they had never met before, Jesus revealed that He knew she had had five husbands and was now living with a man who was not her husband.

The woman at the well is a turning point for women, not only in Christianity but also in the world.

Somehow, two women from the New Testament have always attracted me – Mary Magdalene and the Samaritan woman, or "the woman at the well – last year I blogged about Mary Magdalene and now the Samaritan woman. How nice of Jesus to have rescued both these women from their sexually immoral lives!

It is Jesus’ greatness that He never judges the Samaritan woman or tells her explicitly to turn away from sin or forgives her for any unlawful behavior. All He is does is reveal His true nature to her, knowing she will eventually recognize Him.

Mary Magdalene is another woman from John's Gospel who is famous for recognizing Jesus. It’s been tough, though, to grasp her true story, and it’s believed that she was an adulterer and a repentant sinner.

Mary of Magdala is perhaps the most misrepresented figure in the entire Christian tradition. Since the fourth century, stories, stained glass and paintings have portrayed her as a prostitute and public sinner who, after encountering Jesus, spent the rest of her life in private prayer and penitence. This interpretation has no basis in scripture. John depicts her as the primary witness to the most central events of Christian faith. She is the first to discover the empty tomb. The risen Christ chooses her to announce the good news of his resurrection to the other disciples, which prompted some early church fathers to declare her "the Apostle to the Apostles."

The Samaritan woman is the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Mary Magdalene is the first to recognize the resurrected Christ. The Samaritan woman is the first disciple to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah, and her testimony brings him many followers in Samaria. Mary Magdalene is the first disciple to witness the resurrected Jesus and to proclaim the resurrection to the male disciples.

Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well are just as true today as they were then. Jesus, the three-time holy God, was speaking with a six-time sinful woman by a well. He knows her life, her thoughts, her feelings, her past, her sins, her insecurities and her fears. He had the 'advantage' of being God and being able to see her heart.

I worship You...

When I look into Your holiness
When I gaze into Your loveliness
When all things that surround become shadows in the light of You

When I found the joy of reaching Your heart
When my will becomes enthralled in Your love
When all things that surround become shadows in the light of You

I worship You
I worship You
The reason I live is to worship You
(Repeat)

God will make a way

God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me


He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way
He will make a way


By a roadway in the wilderness
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today


For sure, God will definitely make a way for me. He has been so faithful to me in more ways than I can remember. He has always heard me whenever I have cried out to Him in despair. He has rescued me from far worse situations in life and the situation in which I currently am, is nothing for Him. He can set me free from this in just a second but we have time till September.

I came to know of this current crisis in my life on 30th April, but instead of panicking and fretting, I lifted up my predicament to the Lord. In the last one year of my life, I have learnt to rely on God’s plans and so instead of applying my own wisdom, I started praying over the situation and am dependent on God to bring out the best from it.

This situation is not at all new in my life – before January 2009, I used to go through this situation every six months. Earlier I would cry and fret but now I have a Friend on whom I can rely and who I know will think the best possible solution for me. And I am mighty sure that God will bring out the best and make a way for me where there is none or obscurely visible.

Though my comfort zone is shaken up right now, I am unnerved. Perhaps I might have gained too much pride and most probably flying high – that’s the reason God must have got my wings clipped a bit. I guess God is in the process of pruning me a bit so that I can bear much better fruit in the future. Yeah, I guess so…this is what was revealed to me yesterday evening while praying my rosary – Mamma Mary revealed to me that “soon the things which you love the most will be taken away from you for your good”. Though these are not the exact words, the message is crystal clear; and the thing I love the most is SHOPPING. So that will be stopped now.

How great are your works oh Lord!!!

Since the time I have come to know of this news, I haven’t cried and lost hope, like earlier. Though I am trying my level best, my greatest hope is on Jesus Christ because since childhood we are familiar with the saying that God helps those who help themselves. So though I know God will help me eventually, I am doing my bit also. I am confident that God has a wonderful plan stored for me which will be revealed to me in September. But knowing the kind of loving and faithful God I have in my life, I won’t be at all surprised if the beautiful plan is revealed to me much earlier than September.

PS: To prove that I was unnerved by the not-so-shocking news, I bought a Mango perfume, Streetwear nail polish and Chambor lip gloss on 30th April. Praise the Lord…!!!

PS1: Praise God even more because I just realized the meaning of the message revealed to me yesterday evening while praying the Rosary. Now I know why this situation has occurred - I need to sober down a bit - and not fly all that high in life...