Don't throw stones... this church (Edappally) is a place to worship God

  

 

 

 

 

   When you build a house, you will try to do it in the best possible way. Right? You will try to use the best of materials and designs and make it as chic as possible. Why don't you then build the best for Jesus?  

 It's a magnificent church, an imposing and sublime architectural wonder. The awe-inspiring place of worship is also a subject matter of a raging controversy.
 Yes, we're talking about the new church built at Edappally, Kochi, India. Estimated to have cost around Rs 30 crore (US dollar 46,87,000), it took nearly 15 years to complete the construction of the church, which incidentally is in the name of St George, a 3rd century Christian martyr. For the uninitiated populace, there're more outsiders, that too from all the religions, than insiders or parish members, coming here to pray for their special needs every day. More than that, church is a place where you can experience the tangible presence of God. 
 Sadly, the new church is in the firing line of a section of people within the Roman Catholic Church who made a public display of their opposition to the construction of this beautiful church. I can only say that this diatribe against the construction of a church is abominable and deplorable. This particular church is one of the most popular in Kerala and hundreds of faithful come there daily.
 I happened to read a letter sent by a person to Cardinal George Alencherry, which said, “this (church) represents a low point in the annals of the church... It's obvious that the Syro-Malabar church is trying to impress on everyone, Rome not excluded, that it's the most powerful, wealthy and influential church in Kerala.” I read another Facebook message which comments about bishops and priests in the most inappropriate and undesirable manner. "Priests and bishops are in race for power, race to show strength....," this FB post said. Such letters and messages show the moral and spiritual turpitude of people. Sir, it’s a place to worship our Almighty God. You want the church to be in a dilapidated condition?
 Most of the people who sang Hosannas against the church construction are living in palatial houses worth crores of rupees. They have no qualms about spending huge amounts on such ”palaces” where not more than two or three people live. Do we really need huge palatial houses for us in Kerala? Take a tour from North to South Kerala. You can see thousands of such villas dotting the Kerala landscape. This really is  a vulgar display of wealth and power. Instead of going around criticizing and castigating church and its authorities, try to come closer to God. We are playing into the hands of devil with such fib in the name of a church. I believe this particular church is for the posterity, for the next 10 or 15 generations.
 If you scan the social media and newspapers from the region, you will see hundreds of messages, mails and reports castigating the church authorities for constructing this beautiful church in Edappally. Instead of trying to run down the church, we must follow the Bible, and never stoop down to the lowest level by hurling scorn and contempt at church officials, including the head of Syro-Malabar Catholic church Cardinal Alencherry who consecrated the church recently.
 Close to 75 per cent of Christains in Kerala belong to the middle class segment. They are wealthy, as mostly work outside the state or in Middle East, the US, Europe and Australia. They own tony villas and plots across the state, but it's another matter that most of these villas are either locked or their old parents live in loneliness. A villa costs not less than Rs one crore (US dollar 156,250) in the state. Some of these are palatial bungalows with half-a-dozen bedrooms and match with villas in any European country or the US for sheer opulence and grandeur. If some people have a problem with this "opulent" church, they should think about their own palatial houses instead of complaining in Facebook and Twitter that church authorities should build more orphanages and old age homes.
 Studies reveal that Kerala tops in per head liquor consumption in India with 8.3 litres per person. Liquor sales shoot up on important Christian days like Christmas and Easter. People in Kerala set a record in alcohol consumption. Why is it so? Why can't they (people against building church) try to stop this alcoholism and give away that money to old age and children homes?
 Though I don't live in Kerala, I know one thing. Syro-Malabar church runs 211 old age homes, 185 children homes, 230 orphanages and 54 specialised healthcare and leprosy care centres in Kerala. Besides, there're hundreds of hospitals and other institutions. We need more such institutions to take care of poor people.
That said, I'm not advocating that all churches in Kerala should be like Edappilly. Use wisdom and intelligence. Spend money wisely on such things without getting into a competition with each other. But lets give the best to Jesus. Like Abel did. We shouldn't end up like a Cain.

Don’t bring tears to your parents eyes… it will destroy your life

 “I will build a big bungalow and shift there with husband. I don’t want to see your face. I’m fed up of you,” Sabrina (name changed) shouted at her mother-in-law Mary on a sultry afternoon. Mary was deeply hurt by her daughter-in-law’s verbal assault. This household used to witness persistent warfare between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. They used to have separate kitchen and cooking in the household.

 Sabrina wasn’t lucky to move into her new bungalow in the town -- Kochi, southern state of Kerala, India. Six months later, Sabrina died in the hospital as she was diagnosed with cancer -- that too the last stage of the dreaded disease.

 Isn’t there a message in this true life story?

 Pope Francis recently said societies that mistreat older people are infected with a ‘virus of death’ and put their own futures in jeopardy. “Where there is no honour for the elderly there is no future for young people,” he said.

  If you look around, you will hear people complaining about “marriage not happening”, “endlessly waiting for a child”, “no growth in the family”, “persistent diseases”, “not getting a job” and various “blocks and bondages in life”. Why is this happening?

  “When I heard about many such cases, I decided to pray… and got the answer. Whoever has hurt his/her father or mother, whoever has brought tears to the eyes of his/ her parents, such blocks, hurdles and bondages enter their lives. If you pray you will also get to know about that truth,” Rev Fr Sharlo Ezhanikattu CST said in a recent television talk programme.

 He says God’s blessings flow through three channels: priests, parents and teachers. If you hurt your father or mother, the channel which showers blessings from God gets blocked. “Then God’s grace won’t remain in that person and he will face various blocks and bondages. When God’s blessings stop flowing, Satan will start ruling that family. Satan doesn’t want anything good to happen. Satan creates blocks and bondages. Satan will create an atmosphere which prompts a person to reject God,” he said.

  It’s like a lion waiting for its prey. It knows the areas where it can pounce on a prey. Similarly, Satan also pounces on a person, leading to blocks, bondages, troubles and sorrows. Have you brought tears into the eyes of your father or mother?

 According to Catechism of the Catholic Church, Lord Jesus himself recalled the force of this "commandment of God. Ephesians 6:2 says: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' (This is the first commandment with a promise.) 'that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth."' Tobit 4:3-4 says, “honor your mother and do not abandon her all the days of her life. Do whatever pleases her, and do not grieve her in anything.  Remember her, my son, because she faced many dangers for you while you were in her womb.”

  “If you want blessings and grace from God and a good life, you have to love and respect your parents. If this love and respect towards your parents are missing, then all blocks, bondages, troubles, sickness and sorrows will come into your lives,” he said.

  It’s common to see sons -- who mostly work in other countries -- dump their parents in a old age home. In many families, sons want to live separately, away from their parents. “If you go out and live in a rented house and away from your parents, there won’t be peace in your family. If you reject your parents, that’s like rejecting God. If you have brought tears to the eyes of your parents, that’s equivalent to making God tearful. If you have thrown your parents out of your house, that means you have thrown God out of your house,” Rev Fr Sharlo said.

 “After hurting your parents, there’s no point in attending charismatic retreats, prayers and Holy Mass. God won’t listen to your prayers. Are you going to church after taking care of your parents?” he asked.

   In short, the bottom line is: your family will face disaster if you have hurt your parents. Pope Francis made it clear when he said it was a deadly sin to “discard” the elderly and that those who do so will suffer the same fate themselves. “It is sickening to see the elderly discarded. It is ugly. It is a sin,” he said. “Abandoning the elderly is a mortal sin. Children who do not visit their elderly and ill parents have mortally sinned. Understand?” Pope used a tough language to send this message across to people.

  If you take care of your parents, love and support them, you will stay blessed and God’s grace will envelop you. If you want to be successful in life, you need the blessings of your parents. “When you start a venture or when your kids go for an exam or you start a new job, go and get your parents blessings. Your life will remain blessed,” Rev Fr Sharlo said.

  There’s an advice to the parents as well: never curse your kids. Bless them. They might change for good. “Parents, don’t forget God and live only for sons and daughters,” Rev Fr Sharlo said.

 

              

     

God is ruling us, not Satan

 Who is ruling the world? If you think it is devil, you’re terribly mistaken. God is ruling this world. It’s not the position of your house or the way it’s constructed that determines the direction of your life. It’s God.  It’s not the position of stars, sun and moon that controls the universe. It’s God which determines its direction.

Rev Fr Daniel

  We’re living in a world where God who can destroy any kind of evil forces rules. As Galatians 4:8 says, “formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods”. Now you know God. God also knows you. “You can’t and shouldn’t rely on forces of this world. How can you go back to a life of superstition and live with fear about beliefs of this world. You shouldn’t entertain superstitious beliefs,” says Rev Fr Daniel Poovannathil, a Malankara Catholic priest and lecturer by profession.
 The direction of this universe and earth is decided by God.  It’s time that families accept the Word of God. God’s grace has increased in this world, not sin. God is ruling this world, not Satan. Unless this thought doesn’t enter our minds, our fears and worries won’t disappear, he said in a television programme. “I have seen so many people struck by fears and worries.”
  We made mistakes because we didn’t know the power and goodness of God. "Don’t be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom,” says Luke 12:32.
 It’s time that families get the strength and power from God. “As we didn’t know the reality, we made mistakes.  If we are worried or scared about something, persons, objects or situations, God will save us and retrieve us from that situation,”  Rev Fr Daniel says. The Word of God says this. We should accept the Word of God. Pslams 34:7 says, “the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 91:9-10 says, “if you say “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.” Psalms 43:1 says, “do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
 “We must have a baptism of our hearts and become true Christians. We must get a transformation from Jesus Christ. We should believe that Jesus is taking care of us. We must believe that God is ruling us,” he says. As Isaiah 41: 10 says, “so do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.”    
 That said, what’s our responsibility? “You should go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession and believe in the Word of God, Holy Bible. If you want to enjoy the peace, happiness, forgiveness, grace and salvation from God, you must follow two things. First confess your sins and seek His forgiveness,” he says.
 There are ample situations that can justify your sins, but don’t fall for it. “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear,” say Isaiah 59:1. “God can salvage you from any depth of disaster or failure or calamity. However, God says your sinful acts have kept me away from you. Your sins have turned His face away from you. As a result, He is not able to listen to your prayers,” Rev Fr Daniel says.
 If you want blessings and grace from God, you should come out of your sinful activities. “Whatever you pray, God won’t listen if you are leading a sinful life. So confess your sins and turn to God,” he says.
  The second import thing is that you should believe in the Gospel. What’s Gospel? It’s the belief that salvation has come to us through Jesus Christ. “It’s proclaiming that Jesus Christ is our Lord and redeemer and worshipping Him. If you do this, there’s hope for you… hope of eternal life. You can become part of Heaven. Through Jesus Christ, yours sins are forgiven. This is Gospel,” Rev Fr Daniel says.
 The power of God will then come to us.      

A bishop’s revelations

  Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil had a special affection and closeness to Mother Mary when he was a kid. He remembers how he was rescued by Mother Mary when he was about to drown in a river. That’s the reason the name Maria was added to his name. He was keen to see Pieta, the great work by Michelangelo. When he got a chance to see Pieta while he was studying in Rome, he was touched at the agony in her face and cried seeing the face of Mother Mary.

Bishop Remigiose

 The Bishop of Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Thamarassery, Kerala, India, says he has a special devotion to Mother Mary and he recites all the 20 mysteries of the rosary every day following her request. He says Mother Mary told him to pray Way of the Cross, too, every day.

 When Angel Gabriel appeared before Mother Mary for annunciation, Mother Mary who was a young woman was too perplexed and mystified. For, Mother Mary thought “Am I really giving birth to the Son of God?” Gabriel had told her that her relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant. In fact this was the sign that these events were from God, he says.    

  Bishop Remigiose says Mother Mary confirmed the veracity of Angel Gabriel’s revelation after seeing the pregnant Elizabeth. Then Mother Mary realized that what the angel told both were true after her visit, he said in a television talk recently.

Afterwards when the Holy Family had to run away to Egypt, Mother Mary had reasons to doubt. If He is the Son of God, why should it happen? The same situation repeated and Mother Mary was in doubt again when Jesus was missing at the Temple for three days when He was 12 years old.

  “The Bible says nobody has seen the face of God. In fact, God told Moses that he would die if he sees God’s face. So Mother Mary was concerned that she and her husband Joseph would die when they see His face,” Bishop Remigiose said.

 The talk by Bishop Remigiose, telecast by Shalom television channel, started with his disclaimer. He says these revelations from Mother Mary were personal in nature and not intended to add to the Catholic teachings.

According to the bishop, many people had called Jesus as a mad man at that time. This also came to the ears of Mother Mary. She thought: “if Jesus is the Son of God why are people calling Him a mad man?” Also when Jesus was tortured to death, Mother Mary thought: how can someone do this to God?

 But when Jesus died and Mother Mary put his body on her lap, she looked at His face. Then Mother Mary could see the real face of God without even an iota of doubt, Mother revealed to the Bishop. So he realized that people will see the face of God during tough and difficult times.

 Bishop Remigiose said he was making these revelations from Mother Mary as just “Remigiose” and not as “Bishop Remigiose”.

 

In search of the right church, faith

Sheena George

  The spiritual journeys of Protestant-turned-Catholics always make fascinating reading. The story of Scott Hahn and wife Kimberly, evangelical Protestants who converted to the Catholic Church and chronicled their journey to Catholicism in the famous book ‘Rome Sweet Home’, is one of the most gracious, moving and convincing spiritual expeditions of recent times. Scott's talks and books have been effective in helping thousands of Protestants and fallen away Catholics to come back to the Catholic faith.
  A similar inspiring story emerged in Sweden last year when Ulf Ekman announced he and his wife, Birgitta, are converting to Roman Catholicism. Ekman was the founder of Word of Life, a megachurch in Uppsala, Sweden. “A process of many years of prayer and reflection led to this decision,” Word of Life Ministry said in a report on its website. Ekman has an India connection. He met and married Birgitta, daughter of a Methodist pastor and his wife and raised in India where her parents were missionaries.
  Recently, I came across the writings of Paul Whitcomb, a Protestant for the first 32 years of his life who later became a diehard Roman Catholic. Confession of a Roman Catholic by Whitcomb is simply a graphic recounting of a rather extraordinary spiritual odyssey, a journey which had its finale in the Catholic Church. What was the driving force behind this odyssey? It's nothing else but faith.
  For Whitcomb, the transformation is much more than an intimate glimpse of one man's soul. It's the testimonial of one man's faith.
Whitcomb was a through and through Protestant. He was born of Protestant parents -- an Episcopalian father and a Methodist mother. He was baptized a Protestant-Episcopal because his brother before him was baptized a Methodist. He was reared a Protestant and sent regularly to Episcopal, Methodist, Congregational, and Baptist Sunday schools, and enlisted in various Protestant youth movements. His parents were staunch "liberal" Protestants: they believed that one church is as good as another -- so long as it is Christian and Protestant.
 He was an avid student of the Bible as he believed that the Bible is the sole Christian rule of faith. “But, as Divine Providence would have it, the more I studied the Bible, and the more I made it my rule of faith, the more I realized that my faith was not wholly what God had ordered. I discovered voids in my religious fabric, voids which had to be filled if I were to know real peace of soul,” he writes.
According to Whitcomb, this feeling of spiritual insecurity led him inexorably to a study of comparative religion; and, again, as Divine Providence would have it, the more he studied comparative religion the more he came to realise that the Catholic faith was the one faith that could fill the voids in his religious life, the one faith that could give him the real peace of soul he longed for.
  What was his first discovery? The church – Roman Catholic Church – he had been most opposed to was the church most united in Christ. The spectacle of 825 million Catholics, three-fifths of all professed Christians, perfectly, indomitably united in belief, in organization, and in worship – the historical fact that Catholics, consistently the largest body of Christians in the world, have always been thus perfectly united – was evidence he could not ignore, he says.
  Whitcomb says in his booklet, “it was quite obvious that Christ did not give this teaching authority to all and sundry, that is, to the whole Church, but only to His duly appointed Apostles, those who were to be the administrative body of the Church.” Had He meant that this teaching authority was to be exercised by all of the faithful He would have addressed His words to all of the faithful, or he would have instructed the Apostles to so advise all of the faithful - neither of which He did.

  Searching the Scriptures further, he learnt exactly how Christ intended to give His Flesh and Blood for the faithful to eat and drink.. “I found the full explanation contained in the account of the Last Supper,” he says. And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this." (cf. Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20).

  The bread and wine of Holy Communion, that was it. “The bread and wine of Holy Communion were not mere symbols, or representations, of Christ's Body, as I had been led to believe, but were in very truth bread and wine miraculously transformed by the power of God into Christ's true and living Flesh and Blood, only the appearance of bread and wine remaining,” he says.
  Once Whitcomb made up his mind, it did not take him long to make the transition from Protestantism to Catholicism. “And what a glorious adventure it was, too, to become a Catholic, to receive those several weeks of instruction in true Apostolic theology, to make that solemn profession of faith, to receive a Catholic Baptism, to cleanse my soul in the Sacrament of Penance, and then, finally, to receive the living and true Christ in Holy Communion,” he says.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen of the US, whose cause for canonization as a saint officially opened in 2002, once said that there are not 100 people in the US who hate the Catholic Church, although there might be millions of people who hate what they mistakenly believe the Catholic Church to be and to teach. “Thankfully I discovered I fell into the second category. Because for years I opposed the Catholic Church, and I worked hard to get Catholics to leave the Church. But I came to see through a lot of study and considerable prayer that the Roman Catholic Church is based in Scripture,” Scott Hahn wrote after becoming a Catholic.

  Whitcomb's study of the doctrines and practices of the various Christian churches revealed most clearly that only one, the Catholic Church, exercises the same kind of teaching authority that was exercised by the church of the Apostles and primitive Church Fathers. “Only the Catholic Church functions for her members as an unerring interpreter of God's revealed truth. Only the Catholic Church dares proclaim to the world that when she teaches the truths of Christian doctrine, it is Jesus Christ, who can neither deceive or be deceived, teaching through her,” he says.

 “I had to make a change. In conscience I had to become a Catholic,” Whitcomb writes.

  Ulf Ekman wrote in a blog, “the Charismatic life, with its emphasis of the power and the leading of the Holy Spirit is necessary, and it is an amazing gift. But it cannot be lived out in its fullness in a schismatic and overly individualistic environment.” Understanding this opened Ekman and others to the realisation of the necessity of the Church in its fullness, with its rich sacramental life.

Predicament of a Christian judge in India

 For a Christian, Good Friday, Easter and Christmas are three important days in a year. Please read the following front page report carried by The Indian Express on Saturday's edition.
 The story is self-explanatory. There's no need to interpret it further. After Ghar Wapasi (reconversion), attacks on churches and bid to saffronise education and culture, this is the latest in the series in India. Justice Kurian, a member of Roman Catholic Church, is in the forefront of church-related activities.
LINK:  http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/two-supreme-court-judges-told-chief-dont-call-conference-on-good-friday/

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Two Supreme Court judges told CJI: Don’t call conference on Good Friday

Written by Utkarsh Anand , Shaju Philip | New Delhi/thiruvananthapuram | Updated: April 4, 2015
Two judges of the Supreme Court opposed the decision of Chief Justice of India H L Dattu to call a conference of judges on Good Friday and one of them, Justice Kurian Joseph, said “I am deeply hurt… shocked by the tenor” of the response from the CJI rejecting his suggestion while raising questions of “individual interest”.
Justice Joseph was not the only judge opposed to holding such a conference on a public holiday, including Holi, Diwali and Eid. His colleague Justice Vikramjit Sen also raised the matter with the CJI who did not yield — the meeting began Friday.
Sources said the CJI told Justice Sen that the conference was being organised in the first week of April because the CJI and his two most senior colleagues and chief justices of high courts would be free from regular court work and be able to contribute to the cause of judiciary.
Justice Joseph wrote to the CJI on March 18 and questioned the timing of the conference and subsequent functions, saying he would be away in Kerala “committed on account of the holy days when we have religious ceremonies and family get together as well”. Such events, he wrote, were not held during Diwali, Dussehra, Holi or Eid.
The CJI, according to a report in The Times of India, wrote back saying “institutional interest should be given preference to individual interest” and highlighted the need to strike a balance between needs of the institution and family commitments.
Speaking to The Indian Express over phone from Kochi, Justice Joseph said: “I am deeply hurt. It is not about, and should never be about, individuals, judges or otherwise. It was not about me or the other judges. When I wrote that letter to the CJI, I raised concerns only in the interest of the secular nature of this country and its social fabric, which we all are obligated to maintain as our constitutional duties.”
Justice Joseph said nobody could doubt his institutional interest and it was exclusively in the interest of the judiciary that the conference should have been held with a different itinerary.
“When the world is looking at India and its judiciary, it is the duty of this institution to send the right signal. We have taken the oath to uphold the majesty of this institution and to protect the interest of the citizens.I shall do it as a judge. I feel duty-bound to raise concerns when the institution seems to be acting in manner that could raise questions over its integrity and secular nature. I still maintain such conferences should not be held on any public holiday,” he said.
He said he was invited by the Prime Minister’s Office to the joint conference of judges and chief ministers to be held Sunday but he had expressed his inability to attend. He also brought it to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that such events should be avoided on a day of religious observance. These events, he said, are of immense significance for people of the country in terms of belief, faith and propagation of religion which is recognised under the Constitution.
A member of the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Roman Catholic Church, Justice Joseph is a regular at church functions, mainly as a representative of the Catholic laity. In 2012, he was one of the resource persons for an annual conference of the Canon Law Society of India. Its office-bears and members are generally bishops and priests —canon law is the system of laws legal principles enforced by the Pope.
Last year, when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India held a conference on church and media, Justice Joseph was one of the speakers.
On May 27, 2012, when the Faridabad archbishop was consecrated, Justice Joseph, then Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh, did the first reading during mass.
While serving as a high court judge, Justice Joseph preached Bible on Christian TV channel Shalom TV. Then, he would religiously read a passage from the Bible and interpret the verses. This weekly programme was held every Saturday evening.

Interment service – the defining moment for a Christian

 What's in your mind when you conduct a funeral service? I asked a priest once. Pat came the reply from the priest, a veteran in theology, “it's worth attending a funeral service. It brings you down to the earth... to the reality of what's awaiting each person.”
  The occasion was the funeral service of a senior member of a Catholic parish in Mumbai. The 64-year old man suffered a massive heart attack while travelling and died before reaching the hospital.
 “It's like attending a Charismatic prayer service. The funeral prayers, hymns and the procedure... It makes your more humble and brings closer to God. For any person, there's no escape from the physical death of the body,” he says. In the Syro-Malabar rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the funeral songs can hit you hard, prick your conscience, the lyrics are punchy and strong quotations from the Bible will force people to rethink and revisit their spiritual journey.
  What makes one more humble in life is the Rite of Committal, or the Catholic interment service – the time when the body is finally buried or interred. You might have made a pile of cash or huge real estate or plantations or you might be an influential person in the world, but it all ends in the graveyard with the Rite of Committal. It's a powerful moment when family and friends gather together with a priest to pray over the body one last time.
 For me personally, it's a defining moment each time I attend a funeral service. The time when the priest blesses the place before the body is to be placed and the body is committed to the earth. The question I always ask myself is: Are you prepared for any eventuality? Nobody wants to end up in the hell, keeping company to devil, the master manipulator and liar.
  Protestant-turned-Catholic theologian Paul Whitcomb says, “psychologists have long known that every human being, the atheist included-intuitively seeks God's help in times of great calamity, and instinctively pleads for God's mercy when death is imminent.” The renowned Voltaire, who was so eloquent in his denial of God while he enjoyed health and fortune, repudiated all of his atheistic writings on his deathbed and frantically sought the ministrations of a Catholic priest.
  Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin, as he lay on his deathbed, looked around him and frantically asked pardon of the tables and chairs in the room. “For as hunger for food proclaims the existence of food, man's intuitive hunger for God proclaims the reality, the omnipotence and the justice of God. Catholic belief in God, therefore, is purely and simply an expression of intellectual sanity,” Whitcomb says.
  Mathew 7:21 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” What's the will of Father? That's for us to find out and follow word by word. Our deeds and our relationship with Jesus will decide whether we will be on the right hand of God on the judgment day. Is He our Saviour and Redeemer?

Fr Cantalamessa gives his fourth Lenten sermon in Vatican

On Friday morning, the preacher of the Pontifical Household, Franciscan Father Raniero Cantalamessa gave his fourth Lenten sermon in the Mater Redemptoris chapel in the Vatican. Pope Francis (in white dress in the front) and others in the Roman curia were present to hear  Cantalamessa.

Indian church leaders join hands against attacks on Christianity

  After a spate of attacks on the Christian community, church leaders in India have come together to take on the perpetrators of the crime through peaceful and legal measures.
  The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) took the initiative in evolving a common action plan and arranged a series of consultations, involving other Churches, Members of Parliament, legal and media fraternity, to tackle the parlous situation in New Delhi. “Let these thoughts be a clarion call for the Catholic Church to join hands with other Churches in India, and in a wider perspective, with other like-minded people of good will, to claim our legitimate rights and to demand for a peaceful life for all the citizens of India,” CBCI President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis said on Tuesday.

Cardinal Cleemis

  The Christian community has been at the receiving end for the last nine months -- after the BJP-led alliance came to power in New Delhi. A bevy of crimes of hatred and desecration of holy places of worship have angered and hurt the Christian community across the country. ‘Ghar wapasi’ programmes (reconversion), saffronisation of education and culture, the demands for a Hindu Rashtra from the sister organisations of the ruling party and desecration of holy places are again posing big challenges to the secular ethos of the nation in general and causing fear and consternation in the Christian community in particular. The rape of a nun in W Bengal exacerbated the situation.
  Cardinal Cleemis said after a series of meetings involving Members of Parliament, other Christian communities, legal and media personalities, several suggestions came up for a common course of action. “The present political change has come about due to peoples’ frustration and desire for development. In this context there is a need of focusing on the long term issues and action plans which should be communicated to the common people by engaging them to understand the current socio-political scenario and the need for a unified stand,” Cardinal Cleemis said in a statement.
  Another suggestion was that the Church’s preferential option for the poor has to be rediscovered and translated into action at all levels and our efforts to get the SC status for the Christian and Muslim Dalits should continue till the people get results.
  According to Cardinal Cleemis, social research and an effective resource centre is the need of the time in order to present documented data that would evoke convincing response to what is happening today. “Such a centre would also be a nerve centre that will process information and interact with the Government, political leaders and media,” he said.
  He said there were suggestions for more frequent interaction with the elected representatives, IAS officers and local leaders, who are favourably disposed towards the Christian community, which will strengthen relationships, create friendships and remove prejudices. “This should take place all levels – national, regional, local and institutional,” he said.
“When needed we should not shy away from taking legal steps for redressing our concerns and issues,” Cardinal Cleemis said.
“We should also workout our strategy for representation in the National Commission for Minorities, use scholarships and facilities available for Minorities and interact proactively with the Minority Commission,” he said.
  Cardinal Cleemis said, “to connect our mind and heart with all other minorities we need to create a forum at the National, Regional and Local levels to meet and discuss common concerns periodically and not only after experiencing violence or atrocities, and expose the fallacy of the conversion myth. Christians are still only 2.3 per cent of the population even after so many decades.
Cardinal Cleemis on Tuesday said he took part, along with Archbishop Albert D’Souza, Secretary General of CBCI, in four consultations in New Delhi.
According to him, on March 17, a full day national consultation with the theme “Upholding Constitutional Rights of Minorities, with Special Reference to Christians” was organized by the National United Christian Forum (NUCF) which includes Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) Council for Churches at Bible Bhawan.
This was attended by almost 150 delegates from all the three churches. Justice Cyriac Joseph and Prof. Dr. T. K. Oommen were the resource persons. “The meeting surveyed the global crisis in which people of faith are facing mass violence, even extermination in the Middle-East at the hands of religious fanatics and offered our prayers for and stand in solidarity with the Christian communities in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and neighbouring countries,” he said.
It also expressed deep concern about the physical violence – arson, murder and rape of our religious personnel both men and women – as with the structural violence which is manifest in urban and rural India, in social and administrative excesses, and aberrant judicial pronouncements. As the President of NUCF, Cardinal Cleemis moderated the sessions. The President of NCCI, Bishop Tharanath Sagar, (Residential and Presiding Bishop, Bangalore Episcopal Area Methodist Church in India) and Bishop C V Mathew, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, Council of Churches, the Co-Presidents of NUCF were also present in the meetings.
  Cardinal Cleemis said three consultations were organised by the CBCI Office of PRO/ spokesperson. The first one was the meeting of the Regional PROs and spokespersons where 13 Regional Bishops’ Councils (out of 14) were represented. Justice Cyriac Joseph, Advocate Romy Chacko and Fr. Dominic Emmanuel were the resource persons for this one-day Consultation. It was unanimously agreed to strengthen the CBCI through networking of the Regional PRO set-up for timely and effective response to the happenings that affect the minorities and the Church in particular.
  Following the PROs’ meeting, a consultation with selected legal experts, senior journalists and social activists was held on the same day evening. The CBCI Office Secretaries, core team members also participated in this meeting.
  The finale of the series of consultations was the meeting with the Christian Members of Parliament at the CBCI Centre on March 17. “17 Christian Members of Parliament, belonging to different political parties took part in a very fruitful informal discussion. Cardinal Oswald Gracias was also present for this informal meeting. The MPs were very enthusiastic and appreciative of our efforts to defend Christian presence in India. They wholeheartedly extended their support irrespective of the party and State,” Cardinal Cleemis said.
  The two action plans approved by the General Assembly of the NUCF are: Convening a gathering of the representatives of minority communities and the Hindu leaders of good will and promoting the cause of Dalit Christians and backward communities with adequate support from NUCF as a common policy.

Watch out, if the advice is not right, it can destroy you

 There was a parish which was a model for prayer life, communion and co-operation for others. Reason: the parish priest was a pious man who took all right advices and implemented them. Years later, when Rev Fr Xavier Khan Vattayil who narrated this incident recently, went to the same parish, it was a different scene. It turned into something which an ideal parish should not become – parishioners were divided on various issues, prayer life took a turn for the worse and there was infighting and quarrel all over the place.

 He enquired about this transformation. How did this happen? The reason shocked Rev Fr Vattayil. When a new parish priest came to that parish, he turned to some wrong people for advices and he followed those wrong advices. Devil acted through these wrong advices.        

 “You must be careful about your friendship with others. You must not seek the advice from impious and wicked people. This will put you in trouble.”

This advice is from Rev Fr Vattayil, a man of God who has saved thousands of people for Jesus Christ. He’s a great preacher of God and a guiding force for the Catholic Church.

  “Many families, convents, prayer groups and even parishes are divided because of the wrong advices. Satan will divide and destroy good families, prayer groups and religious institutions through wrong advices from wrong friendships,” Rev Fr Vattayil says. I never miss a chance to hear him. He narrates stories and passages from the Bible and relates them to the current situations in a lucid and powerful style.

  On Sunday (March 22), I heard him talk about the impact and influence of friendship and advisors on people. There’re good and bad friends/ advisors. The catch lies there. “If we follow the wrong advice of a friend, it can destroy us. It’s very important to follow the good advice,” Rev Fr Vattayil says.

 Quoting from Psalms (1:1), he says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.” He says some of these so-called friends are tools in the hands of devil to deny us the blessing and grace from God.

  Rev Fr Vattayil explains the impact of wrong advice through a passage in 1Kings 12. It’s story of King Rehoboam, son of King Soloman. He rejected the advice given by elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

  The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’” He implemented the wrong advice given by the young men and later paid a heavy price. His kingdom was divided. “The wrong advice given to him led to this division,” he said.

  You may have friends who give all types of advices, but ignore such friends as devil can act through them. 

Clericalism, boring homilies… and flight of Catholics

 Why are people scooting from the Roman Catholic Church in some of the countries?
  The flight of Catholics is a major concern for the Church. Pope Francis recently said the “flight of Catholics is caused by distance, clericalism and boring homilies as opposed to closeness, work, integration and the burning word of God.”

 He says it’s a phenomenon that affects not only the Church but also the evangelical communities.

  In a recent interview to Valentina Alazraki from the Mexican broadcaster Televisa, Pope said that in Latin America, a “strong clericalism creates a certain distance from people”. Clericalism in Latin America has been one of the biggest obstacles to the growth of the laity. The laity in Latin America grew only thanks to popular piety, which the Pope said, has given the opportunity to lay people to be creative and free, through worship and processions.

 But organizationally, the laity has not grown enough. They have  not grown because of the clericalism that creates distance, he told Televisa. 
 Pope Francis has been broaching the subject of clericalism in the church, much to the discomfort of many in the church. Clericalism is defined as a state of affairs in which there is an unnecessary or overly exaggerated importance attributed to clergy, in such a way that the laity relate to them as subjects to be ruled rather than a people to be lovingly pastored.

Boring homilies

 The Pope also spoke of “disastrous” homilies as another reason for the flight of Catholics. "I do not know if they are the majority - but they do not reach the heart. They are lessons in theology and are abstract or long and this is why I devoted so much space to them in Evangeli Gaudium,” he said.

 Typically evangelicals are close to the people, they aim for the heart and prepare their homilies really well. “I think we have to have a conversion in this. The Protestant concept of the homily is much stronger than the Catholic. It’s almost a sacrament,” he said.

 Pope Francis made these observations when the Televisa journalist asked Pope for a reflection on the proliferation of sects in Mexico and more generally in Latin America and the Churches’ responsibility in the loss of faithful.

 On evangelical movements, he said, “what they typically offer is personal contact, the ability to be close to the people, to greet and meet people in person.” Pope also made a distinction between honest and good evangelical movements and those that are considered sects. For example, there are proposals that are not religious and Christian evangelicals also reject them. There are sects -- some originate from the theology of prosperity -- that promise a better life and, although they appear animated by great religious spirit, eventually they ask for money, he said.

The continuing saga of vineyard parable

 When Rev Fr Biju Kollamkunnel explained the significance and connotation of ‘The Parable of the Vineyard’, it was a new revelation and strong reminder to many of the listeners, including this writer. We often glance through this parable, stoically, without understanding or trying to understand the essence of it and practicing in our lives. We need to take a serious view of the message it conveys, he says.
 Mathew 21:33-46 (read below) vividly describes how the landowner entrusted the vineyard to some farmers who, instead of giving the former’s share, treated his servants badly – they beat many, stoned others and also killed some of them. The landowner sent more servants and all of them met with the same fate. And finally, he sent his son. He was killed by the farmers who thought they would inherit the property in the absence of a heir.
 Rev Fr Biju, a pious priest from a Mumbai Catholic parish, says the imagery from the parable is very striking: the servants are prophets sent by God on various occasions, farmers are the people of Israel (religious people, Pharisees and Scribes etc), landowner is God the Father and his son is Jesus Christ. Various prophets who preached the Word of God were rejected and killed by the same people who were supposed to be God’s chosen people. Then, when God the Father sent His only Son Jesus Christ, He was also rejected and killed.
 The saga of ‘The Parable of the Vineyard’ continues even today. “Many of us behave like the farmers in the parable. In the parable, the story was not over with the killing of the son. The landowner appears and threw out the farmers from the vineyard and punished them. Our fate will be like this farmers if we don’t realize our mistakes and come back to God,” he says.
  According to him, we should not treat Jesus like the way farmers treated the son of the landowner. This raises several questions: Have we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour? Or have we rejected Him? It’s very easy to find out whether we have accepted or rejected Him. If we are following the Word of God, we’re on track. If we’re doing what Jesus told us to do, then there’s nothing to worry.
  Rev Fr Biju says it’s significant to note that the landowner then brought new farmers who were ready to give him his share of the crop without creating any hassles.  Jesus didn’t stop with the parable. “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed,” Jesus said.
 This is a warning to us. What’s Jesus indicating here? He says the so-called religious people in Israel let their opportunity go in waste in favour of Gentiles. Jesus indicated that there will be a new people of God made up of all people who will temporarily replace the Jews so that Jesus can establish His church. This is relevant even today. We get many opportunities to work in the vineyard for Jesus, but we either ignore them or go after worldly things.
 Dr D John, one of my favourite Catholic charismatic preachers, narrated a story in a television programme recently. A poor family used to live in a slum in a North Indian town. The parents and four daughters used to live in a one-room shanty. “It was poor family… many days they went to sleep hungry. However, one great thing the parents told their daughters was to attend the Holy Mass daily. With the help of nuns and priests, they passed the 10th grade and then attended a nursing course. They got jobs in a Delhi hospital. Later they got jobs in the US,” Dr John said.
 “Now they own a 6-bedroom mansion in the US with swimming pool in the backyard. God lifted them from a slum to a good position in the US. Their faith has only increased over the years,” he said. The message: if we persist with our faith and seek His Kingdom, God will shower His blessings on us.     
 Rev Fr Biju says, ‘we can’t afford to be people who attend the Holy Mass on Sundays just to show that we’re Christians… and not bothered about other things that Jesus had told us.” Let’s listen to Jesus. We should not end up like the cruel farmers who turned against the servants and son of the landowner.        

Mathew 21:33-46
The Parable of the Vineyard

 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.  When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.  Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.  Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Why God is not listening to your prayer? You aren’t living as per the Word of God

 One day when Rev Fr Sharlo Ezhanikattu CST came out of the church after the morning services, he met with a middle-aged woman. She was crying. When asked, she said, "my son is the member of a rowdy gang who does anything -- even kill others -- for money. I prayed intensely, attended retreats and adoration services for his retrieval and redemption, but to no avail.”

  “Now I have decided to stop praying. I have decided not to go to church now. If God is not listening to my prayers, why should I pray?" the woman said.

  Rev Fr Sharlo was upset and a storm brewed in his mind. He prayed and prayed about this woman's problem. He thought over it again and again -- why God didn't listen to her prayer? One day he went to the chapel and prayed intensely for nearly 45 minutes. Then he got this message. "Listen! The Lord's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call," Isaiah 59:1.

 Looking at the Holy Eucharist, he continued his prayer. "Then why you didn't you listen to that mother's prayer?" Rev Fr Sharlo asked. He narrated this incident in his talk on “Shalom”, a Christian charismatic television channel from Kerala, India.

 He got another message. Isaiah 59:2: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

 It's very simple. God says our sins have kept Him away from us. Because of our iniquities and sinful life, I'm not listening to your prayer. This is what God says.

  “For many years, we Christians attend Holy Masses, adoration services and pray rosary every day. You probably started your family life 15 or 20 or 25 years ago, but still you were unable to save your family,” Rev Fr Sharlo said. What does it mean? You were unable to get the blessings from God. “There's only one reason. It's very important. You are not living as per the Word of God. You are not leading a life as desired by God. That's why blessings, grace and holiness are missing in your family life,” Rev Fr Sharlo said.

  Do you know the basic problem with Christians these days? “They lead a life as they like or prefer it. They do whatever they like in life, and are least bothered whether God likes it or not. After leading such a life, they pray religiously -- day in and out. Daily. But they don't get the blessings and grace from the Lord as they don’t live according to the Word of God,” he said.

  Most of us start praying intensely only when we face a crisis in our life. But there’s no solution and God is not listening to the prayer. Why?

  Many people are now rushing to charismatic retreat centres for healing and blessings. They ask – ‘I attended several prayer meetings, adoration services, rosaries and Holy Mass, but why I'm not getting any blessing or healing in my life? Why is God not giving any grace in our life?’ 

  “Please understand, it's not because of lack of prayers that Christians are not being saved. Christians are not saved because they are not leading a life as per the Word of God. They are not coming out of their sinful life and praying to God,” Rev Fr Sharlo said..
 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil," says I Peter 3:12.

 Psalms 91:14 says, ""Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name."

 Look at Saul in the Old Testament. He didn't have anything. He knew only to pray. When he started living as per God's wishes, he got blessings from the Lord.

 How can you love Lord? How can you come closer to Him. The only way is to come out of the sinful life and break all the friendship with Satan. "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?" says Luke 9:25.

 It's very clear. Only people who forsake the "pleasures" offered by the world and reject the machinations of Satan can enjoy the grace, blessings and happiness offered by God. We need to change the practice of leading our own worldly life and then go and pray incessantly. “If you lead a life as per the Word of God and then make an offering to the Lord, then He will listen to you. Who will enter the Kingdom of God? Please read Psalms 15,” he said.
Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
   Who may live on your holy mountain?

 The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;
 whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
 who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
 who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.

 For, every Christian should understand one thing. We should not be just leading a prayer life. “We should bring our life also into it. If you lead a life of your own without bothering to follow God's ways, they there won’t be any grace or blessing in your life,” Rev Fr Sharlo said.

 What we need is both prayer and a life as per the Word of God.

Modern-day Pharisees and Scribes

  Christians are not behind anyone in fasting and praying. They make it a point to observe 40 days of fasting and attend Holy Mass daily during Lent. Not only this, Christians also do lot of tithing. Very good. Is that enough?
 No. Some of us are modern-day Pharisees and Scribes.
  Some of us forget many other things. Do you pay bribe? Yes, some of us Christians do that. They also give bribe to get things done. Though I’m not sure about European and American Christians, in India, it’s common. Yes, Christians who pay bribe to get contract jobs. Christians in official positions who take bribe for clearing a contract or issuing a certificate to a citizen which should have come to him gratis.  
 What I was trying to say is it’s meaningless to observe Lent, go to Holy Mass daily and at the same time, maintain all kinds of outward appearances that impress others and follow corrupt ways. There’s a lack of sense of sin among people: what’s a sin and what’s not. We care two hoots about it. For many, taking and giving bribe is still not sin.      
Yes, it’s a grave sin to use God as a cover for injustice. It’s more important to get rid of such sinful activities than fasting for 40 days. If you avoid non-vegetarian food and alcohol but indulge in bribery, corruption and other inducements, there’s no meaning in observing Lent.  
 According to a report by Susy Hodges, Pope Francis highlighted the example of somebody who goes to Mass every Sunday and receives communion but then asked: does that person pay his or her employees in cash under the table, maybe a salary below the going rate and without making the necessary social security contributions? 
Our corrupt ways keep us away from God. If we call out 1000 times “Ohh Lord, my God” but continue with our evil practices, Lord is not going to listen to our prayer.  
 Pope said during his homily at morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence: “So many men and women of faith, have faith but then divide the tablets of the law. ‘Yes, I do this’ – ‘But do you practice charity?’ – Yes of course, I always send a cheque to the Church’ – ‘Ok, that’s good. But at your home, within your own Church, are you generous and are you fair with those  who are your dependents  - be they your children, your grandparents, your employees?’  You cannot make offerings to the Church on the shoulders of the injustice that you practice towards your dependents.  This is a very serious sin: using God as a cover for injustice.”  
 The pontiff went on to explain how during Lent Christians should be reaching out to those who are less fortunate, be they children, old people without private health insurance who may have to wait eight hours to be seen by a doctor  and those who have erred and who are now in prison.
Christians, especially during Lent, should not confine themselves to outside signs of piety like fasting and charity and instead must reach out to those in need. More than that, Christians should look within themselves and see whether they need to extend the fasting to other spheres of life. It can be anything, not necessarily bribe or corruption. It can be excessive anger, jealousy, lust, slander, deceit and unforgiveness. Or anything that keeps us away from God. Otherwise, we will end up like Pharisees and Scribes during the time of Jesus.

Modi summons Delhi police chief Bassi after Christian school attack

By Andrew MacAskill

Reuters

NEW DELHI, February 13,


 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday summoned Delhi's police commissioner after a sixth attack on a Christian building in the capital in the last two months, fuelling concerns that religious minorities are being targeted.
Suspects broke into a Christian school in south Delhi on Friday, stole some money, damaged closed-circuit television cameras and ransacked parts of the building. Police say they suspect the case is one of burglary rather than intimidation.
"The prime minister expressed his concern and said this case must be solved immediately," said Delhi’s police commissioner, B. S. Bassi. "He said that security must be foolproof so that attacks don’t re-occur."
Political rivals have accused the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of exploiting religious divisions since taking power last May. Hundreds of Christians clashed with police last week, demanding better government protection.
Religious intolerance in India would have shocked freedom fighter icon Mahatma Gandhi, U.S. President Barack Obama said last week. India's success depended on its not splintering along religious lines, Obama said on a visit last month.
Even after a spate of attacks, Modi, a self-proclaimed Hindu nationalist, has yet to publicly comment on the violence.
In a statement on Friday, Modi said he summoned the Delhi police commissioner to express concerns over the "rising crime rate in the capital." There was mention of attacks on churches.
Incidents of arson, vandalism and burglary have been reported from at least six Christian buildings since December.
The most serious incident was a fire that gutted a church in north Delhi, which church leaders said had been set deliberately, because of a strong smell of kerosene.
Credit: Reuters

The intolerance of tolerance

Christianity under attack
 When US President Barack Obama, who made a high-profile visit to India recently, described the country as an "incredible and beautiful" place, "full of magnificent diversity", not many were surprised. But his next observation on India -- the land of multitudinous cultural, religious and social medleys -- had top government leaders in Delhi squirming in their chairs. "It's a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs -- acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation," Obama said.
 The India government has not officially reacted to Obama's observations. Narendra Modi might have least expected this from Obama after walking shoulder to shoulder at Raj Path, the ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi. For many in Delhi's corridors of power, it's like alluding India is also a land of religious bigots.
 Gandhiji might be turning in his grave, seeing the way the country's secular fabric is being smashed to smithereens. The Christian community has been at the receiving end for the last nine months. A bevy of crimes of hatred and desecration of holy places of worship have angered and hurt the Christian community across the country. 'Ghar wapasi' programmes (reconversion),  saffronisation of education and culture, the demands for a Hindu Rashtra and desecration of holy places are again posing big challenges to the secular ethos of the nation in general and causing fear and consternation in the Christian community in particular.
 Church leaders have not taken things lying down.
 On February 6, 140 Latin-rite bishop who came to attend the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) in Bangalore led a candle-light rally of hundreds of priests, nuns and faithful.  Fr Stephen Alathara, CCBI deputy secretary general and Fr Laurence Culas, CCBI Convener, PR Committee, said in a statement that the Church leaders decided to hold the procession to express "their anguish and concern over the threats to peace and communal harmony in the wake of "the various untoward incidents in different parts of the country." Hardly a day has passed off in recent months without reports of attacks on Christians, churches and Christian institutions from across the nation. "Churches have been torched even in the national capital while reports of ‘ghar waspsi' and blatant threats to hold mass reconversions are causing anxiety to the Christians scattered in the far corners of the nation," the CCBI statement said.
 Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the body representing bishops from all the three rites, has strongly come out against the prejudice and bigotry towards Christians. "The unfortunate incidents that happened in the past few months in various parts of our country have hurt the sentiments of the Christian community and has shaken the faith in the secular fabric of our nation. The shocking incidents that have taken place against churches, clergy and laity in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have caused great concern for the Christian community," CBCI said after a special consultation.
 The CBCI special consultation was presided over by the CBCI President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos and attended by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, Cardinal George Alencherry and other religious leaders. The church leaders are a worried lot. They are concerned about the vitiated atmosphere that prevents people from practicing their religion without fear and coercion.
 CBCI's view is that "the recent controversies in the name of religious reconversions portray a negative image about India. Communal polarization and the bid to homogenize India are posing threat to all minorities - women, dalits, and all linguistic, cultural and religious minorities". When we remain mute spectators to the acts of persecutors, we are standing in the way of the people to express their freedom of religion. In India, the Christian community, which has a history of 2000 years, has been in the forefront of caring for the poor through education, healthcare and better living conditions. They spread the message of love and comfort the afflicted. They never entertained intolerance or hate crimes.
 On February 5, a delegation of Indian Christian leaders gave a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding security for Christians, their places of worship and details of a wave of violence against Christians in the last one year. However, the situation has not improved at the ground level. Another attack on a Christian institution in Delhi after the election results shows that the powers-that-be haven’t learnt their lessons.
 "The recurring assaults and vandalism against Christian targets in different parts of country and failure of the guardians of law to bring the culprits to book have only worsened the air of impunity. The silence of those responsible for upholding our Constitutional Rights and their failure to protect the community are indeed baffling," said the statement signed by CCBI President Oswald Cardinal Gracias and others. The new-found bravado of the perpetrators of crimes against Christians appeared more than a bluster. "Much of the violence took place after the new government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came to power in May 2014. Violence reached its highest level between August and October, with 56 cases, and has continued in 2015," the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister says.
 Two Vatican bishops were denied visa by the Indian government recently. Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and president of the Pontifical Missionary Societies had to drop their plan to participate in the CCBI meeting in Bangalore.
Constitution of India guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. "Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion," says India's Constitution.
 This guarantee seems to have been thrown to the wind if the incidents of atrocities towards Christians are any indication. The ghar wapasi programme was squarely denounced by the CBCI leaders as "a political process, carried out by the powerful exponents of religious nationalism - much against the principle of Secularism". It does not even have the legitimacy of freedom of political expression, they said.
 The acts of intolerance in India are not very different from the sectarian war in Syria or the murder of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, religious war in the Central African Republic, a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe. In short, to be a Christian is becoming a big challenge as faith is being perverted and twisted by bigots. The intolerance of tolerance is breaching all limits.
 Why do these things happen? Whither the love, compassion, empathy and concern among people. Why are hate groups gaining strength? The intolerance towards other religious minorities in a modern world with all the advancements in technology and outlook leaves much to be desired. These hate groups use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter accounts to further their interests and keep their flame of intolerance raging. Their reach is enormous.
 There's no doubt that people should speak up against religious oppression and bigotry. Nobody, not even religions, can say that God will forgive and condone religious oppression. All of us desire a peaceful nation with the religious majority and minorities leading a life of mutual respect and support. The nation will develop only in such an atmosphere. When viewed in a spiritual context, it may be time to sharpen our faith and fan it across the world. Yes, the same flame of faith which was ignited by none other than Jesus Christ 2000 years ago