Friday, May 15, 2015

Ordination Saved Nepal Villagers from Quake

Entire Hindu Village in Nepal Spared by the ‘Miracle of the Ordination’ (10555)

Residents avoided major casualties in the April 25 earthquake by attending the priestly ordination Mass of Jesuit Father Tek Raj Paudel, the village’s only Christian.

Courtesy of the Society of Jesus/Sunny D'Costa
Jesuit Father Tek Raj Paudel kneels before his parents, Indra Bahadur Paudel and Uttra Kumari, during his April 25 ordination Mass in the Nepalese village of Tarkerabari.
– Courtesy of the Society of Jesus/Sunny D'Costa

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Even though additional tremors continue to rock the Himalayan nation of Nepal, the thousand-odd Hindus of Tarkerabari village in the nation’s Okhaldunga district are rejoicing over the April 25 ordination of Jesuit Deacon Tek Raj Paudel of their village.
The ordination is credited with sparing the village from calamitous casualties from the massive quake that struck immediately after the ordination ceremony.
“They are still excited with what had happened. They continue to share their joy with me,” the newly ordained Father Paudel told the Register on May 8 from his village of Tarkerabari. The village is 125 miles northeast of Kathmandu, near the epicenter of the earthquake that rocked the Himalayan country on April 25.
The disaster that claimed more than 8,000 lives occurred around noon, 30 minutes after the two-hour ordination ceremony, which was led by Bishop Paul Simick of Nepal and attended by hundreds of the Hindu villagers.
Had they not been there, loss of life would have been steep amid the quake: Even though 93 houses in the village collapsed and 359 others suffered severe damage in the 7.8-magnitude temblor, the 42-year-old Jesuit priest — the only Christian from the village — pointed out, “Nobody [except one girl] was injured, as almost all of them were out to attend my ordination and the celebrations.”
While dozens of people died in the neighboring villages, he said that the escape of the entire village is hailed by the Hindu community as “a blessing due to the ordination.”
“I heard even the MP, Ram Hari Khathiwoda [the Nepalese member of parliament from the area], thanking the Christians for holding the ordination in the village,” Augustine Lepcha told the Register. Lepcha is a Catholic relief worker who returned to Kathmandu on May 6 after taking relief supplies to the village, where most families are living under tents.
“All the people there are only speaking of the miracle,” added Lepcha.

‘God Has Protected Us’
St. Joseph of Cluny Sister Angelica reached the village two days before the ordination, along with a dozen other Catholics, to prepare the altar decorations for the ordination.
“The soil under my feet was throwing up. Only when people started screaming and running, I realized it was earthquake,” recalled Sister Angelica, who was packing altar decorations when the quake struck.
“But it was surprising that the temporary hall [built with iron rods] did not fall on the people. We had to redo the decorations, as the hall and stage had been damaged during a hailstorm on the eve [of the quake]. It was incredible that no harm happened after such a powerful earthquake,” the nun said.
The nun and many of the 150 Catholics from Kathmandu, including several Jesuits who had gone to the remote village for the ordination, were rushing back to reach their vehicles to return to Kathmandu. The villagers were saying, “Because of the ordination here, we were saved,” Sister Angelica said. “A miracle has happened here.”
Similarly, Jesuit Father Casper “Cap” Miller, who hails from Ohio but has been based in Nepal for 57 years, told the Register that he heard local women saying, “Because of the [ordination] ceremony here, we were saved. God has protected us.”

Father Paudel’s Conversion
Father Paudel, the ninth of 10 children in a Hindu family, came to Kathmandu in 1988 for his college studies.
“Curiosity to read the Bible changed my life,” the Jesuit priest said during an interview with the Register on April 30, after returning to Kathmandu. “After I heard about the Bible during English classes in the government college, I went to find out more about Bible.”
“I visited several churches and finally landed at St. Xavier’s School (of Jesuits) in 1990,” he added. After four years of catechism, he was baptized in 1994.
Though he wanted to join the Jesuits immediately, they told him to wait for six years — the mandatory norm for a convert to join the order. Meanwhile, Paudel graduated and enrolled for a degree in law.
“After my [law degree] in 2002, I joined the congregation. I am happy to be a priest now,” said the newly minted priest, standing at Assumption Church in Kathmandu, the largest Catholic church in Nepal, where Catholics account for less than 10,000 in a nation of more than 28 million people.
“I was keen to have my ordination in the village, as the entire village belongs to my clan. I am happy that the superiors obliged my request,” Father Paudel said. “Now it has become a blessing to my whole village.”
He added, “Many of them are now very eager to know about the Church and are planning to visit Kathmandu and the churches.”


Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/entire-hindu-village-in-nepal-spared-by-the-miracle-of-the-ordination/#ixzz3aCZKr2CY

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Reaching out for Jesus - by - showing - care for others

Our Prayer group - Christ to the World - decided to visit, preach, share Jesus to few Aged care NursingHomes (refuge for rejected and abandoned) around Sydney, Australia during the Christmas season. 

Our simple program started with
- Prayers and songs of praise to Jesus Christ which they all loved and participated with interest (surprised ?)
  There was an initial resistance, but with the first song itself, they all were singing (Holy Spirit ).

- Sharing the WORD of GOD - that Jesus Loves Them just as they are - No Matter what situation they are in and HE Died for them as an Eternal Sacrifice (i.e Never ending sacrifice of God).

- We sang Gospel Hymns and danced. It was touching to see few of them dancing with us - both - Men and women - expressing their joy in praising - God for each moment we were at this place - Praise the Lord (yes Jesus himself was there)

- At the end of the prayer-centered visit, we distributed gifts to every one which they accepted and loved.

I have attached some of the photos of one of the visit of a particular Nursing home.




So dear friends,
We are called by Jesus to "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34) 


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To Serve for Jesus is a great JOY.





After all Jesus himself said,

St Mathew 25:40 Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

St Mathew 25:45 Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’



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Saturday, May 2, 2015

Padre Pio's supernatural knowledge about the After Life


Gerardo De Caro had long conversations with Padre Pio in 1943. 
In his written notes he testifies: "Padre Pio had an exact knowledge of the state of a soul after death, including the duration of the pain until reached total purification."



Souls from Purgatory attending Mass


  • “More souls of the dead from Purgatory than of the living climb this mountain to attend my Masses and seek my prayers.”


Souls in Purgatory pray for people on earth


  • "The souls in Purgatory pray for us, and their prayers are even more effective than ours, because they are accompanied by their suffering.




Padre Pio sees souls in heaven during Mass


  • Pope Pius XII died in Castelgandolfo on October 9, 1958. On that day Padre Pio told a friar: "Pius XII is in heaven. I saw him during Mass."
  • Padre Pio to Cleonice Morcaldi, a month after the death of her mother: "This morning your mom flew to Paradise. I saw her during Mass."
  • "Most of the saved pass through Purgatory before arriving at the fullness of beatitude."





Power of  just one Holy Mass to free a Soul from Purgatory  

Padre Pio was in a room at the convent. A man came: "I am Pietro Di Mauro. I died on September 18, 1908, in this room during a fire. 

The Lord let me come from Purgatory. If tomorrow you say the Mass for me, I will go to Paradise."

Padre Pio reported: "I was agitated. I told the superior Father Paolino da Casacalenda what had happened  and asked to celebrate the Mass for Pietro." Father Paolino gave the permission and later went to consult the registry at City Hall.

In that date a fire had killed a man with that name.



Do you pray for the souls in Purgatory ?
Let's pray for them.



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