24th October, 2015 (Saturday)

This day has been yet another epic days of my life. It is a perfect day for me – a day when everything went well – right from the morning till the night. It is the day which will have a lot of fond memories for me for a long time to come.

In the morning of 24th October, for the lunch I had cooked two special Bengali dishes – aloo poshto and pyaaz poshto – something I always thought my mother could only cook. But my daughters and even my hubby told me that I had cooked better than her. So that made my afternoon.

Then around 4o’clock came two parcels and they contained two beautiful sarees – surprise gift from my hubby – I was dancing with joy when I saw the sarees; they are just awesome. So that took care of the evening.

Night came and I had to go for the community meeting. I was unwilling to go but I went only because our parish priest had asked me to attend it – if it was someone else, I wouldn’t have gone at all. So I went unwilling for this community meeting as our existing community has been in the process of getting divided for some time now – and the meeting was for the formation of a new community.

One thing I was sure of – that I wouldn’t be just the animator – I will take up something more responsible. And as I expressed my desire to my parish priest, he made me the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) member of our newly formed community – St. Bonaventure.

So I am the PPC member as well as the animator of St. Bonaventure community. Now I believe that though I went unwilling for this meeting, God had a wonderful plan for me and forced me to attend this meeting. Thus, 24th October became yet another memorable day of my life as everything went well on this day.

As a PPC member, my motto will be to discuss and plan the pastoral activities of the parish. I will be reaching out to the parishioners by meeting once a month regularly to discuss and evaluate the pastoral plan. I will be discussing the Small Christian Community (SCC) activities in the parish and giving feedback. Also, I will be discussing the activities of various other cells and associations in the parish and giving the feedback.

My research on St. Bonaventure says that St. Bonaventure was of the Franciscan Order who was an Italian medieval scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he was also a Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He was canonized on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in the year 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor".

St. Bonaventure feast day was included in the General Roman Calendar immediately upon his canonization in 1482. He was born at Bagnorea in Tuscany, in 1221 and is known for his leadership of the Franciscans and his great intellectual contributions to theology and philosophy. He was very influential in the development of scholasticism in medieval thought.

Little is known about Bonaventure’s early life. During his childhood, he fell severely ill and according to Bonaventure, he recovered due to the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi. At the age of 14, he went to Paris to study at the University of Paris. In 1243, he was awarded Master of Arts degree and in the same year, he joined the Franciscan Order and took the name Bonaventure.

Christian Fasting

This write up is an answer to that person’s question who asked me about Christian fasting. “Aap logo mein toh fasting nahi hota na?” Interestingly, this person is not the only one asking questions about Christian fasting. Long time back, when Jesus Christ still walked on the earth with His disciples, there were people raising questions about their fasting -- “Why are we and the Pharisees fasting much, and your disciples are not fasting?” (Mathew 9:14)

Well, let me begin by saying that fasting is the most powerful spiritual discipline of all the Christian disciplines. Through fasting and prayer, the Holy Spirit transforms the life of a Christian. Fasting for Christians is “denying something physical” to glorify God and go deeper with Him in the Spirit. Fact is, fasting is the most recommended lifestyle for spiritual growth.

Though God does not require or demand it of Christians, at the same time, the Bible presents fasting as something that is “good, profitable, and beneficial”. For all those who don’t know, fasting is a common practice in Christianity. When Jesus talked with His disciples He always taught them about fasting. Fasting is a sacred time in which Christians abstain from food, or other pleasures, and take the time to focus on God. In fact, there has been a resurgence of fasting in recent decades, as the Church calls her people to regular fasting as part of a normal Christian lifestyle.

Many of us believe that fasting as a spiritual duty to God and not just depriving ourselves of food and drink for a period of time in order to prove our love for Him. Early Christians weren't required to fast, but there's nothing in the Bible forbidding it. New Testament believers regularly observed prayer and fasting. Jesus fasted for 40 days to begin His public ministry (Mt 4:2). The church of Antioch fasted to begin the first missionary journey (Acts 13:2).

Yes, Christians fast not so much but fasting from food is not the only kind of fasting – it can be done in a variety of ways – so abstaining from food alone doesn't constitute a Christian fast. For this, I urge you to visit http://thevinecommunitychurch.com/fasting-recommendations/

The most common form of Christian fasting is the normal, private, occasional fast. Jesus' instructions on fasting (Matthew 6:16-18 – Matthew 9:14-15) include: “keep your fasting private” so that “God will reward your fasting”.

The Bible records that great men of faith such as Moses, Elijah, Daniel, Paul and Jesus Himself fasted so that they might draw closer to God. In fact, after being baptized, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the Judean Desert. Jesus' disciples fasted and prayed after the Resurrection. Please note here that for Christians fasting can bring them closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Christians fast and pray for special blessings as fasting needs to be accompanied by prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

So, for Christians, fasting and prayer are linked together and whenever Christians fast, they are admonished to pray, which facilitates their spiritual growth and so, normal Christian fasting means “privately” and “occasionally” because Jesus told His followers: "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:16-18).

Again, Christians just don’t have simple fasting – it is not only accompanied with prayer but alms-giving as well. Since Jesus fasted, His true followers also fast, if they indeed follow His teachings. He said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31). So, all you know, fasting is the most powerful and potent weapons that Christians have.

In fact, there’s something called Eucharist Fast as well wherein believers are required to fast one full hour before receiving the Holy Communion.

Finally, I recommend everyone to check out these fasting tips on http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/10-fasting-tips-a-christian-guide/

It’s truly amazing…

Last but definitely not the least, fasting, prayer and alms-giving are the greatest weapons for Christians as they are the key to humility and enable them to hear God speak to them.

Are you a real woman?

All my life I have loved jewellery. Whenever I had any kind of disposable money, I would buy jewellery. In 2006, I got the opportunity of writing exclusively on jewellery when I joined an US jewellery magazine which was newly launched in India. I was in the editorial department and since then, I have been writing exclusively on gems and jewellery.

Then in 2008, I was able to buy my first diamond earrings. So from plain gold jewellery I graduated to diamond jewellery. Since then I have been an out and out diamond jewellery fan. It was a dream come true and every woman aspires for that one diamond jewellery piece in her treasure trove.

But I find this diamond jewellery ad derogatory. What do they mean by a ‘real’ woman? I want to ask them how one differentiates between a 'real' and 'unreal' woman. Whoever could think that a woman could be 'unreal'? You are either a woman or a man. How can there be 'real' and 'unreal' women? Who are these 'real' women and what are they made of? What is the brand’s definition of a ‘real’ woman?

Most importantly, who created them? Did God create them differently? Without the flesh and bone? Did God create them using some special material? But aren’t we told that God created just man and woman. Does the brand have a different idea of creation? Is it that God created 'real' woman and 'unreal' woman especially keeping in mind this high-handed diamond jewellery brand?

Well, there are other ways of promoting diamond jewellery brands. Is it that all other women who wear a different brand of diamond jewellery are unreal? What about the ones who cannot afford diamond jewellery at all? What are they?

And we are talking about gender equality...firstly, let’s get the definition of a woman clear and then talk about everything else.

Please don't relapse...

Let us pray for the Synod of Bishops for the Family...

Good Morning

I am awesome...

Good Morning :)