Devout Hindu Mother and Daughter Convert and Bring Their Family to Medjugorje

"We are all hindus but Mary called us to discover her Son, Jesus"

Jyoti Bhadresa (end-right) with her family and Marija Pavlovic

JYOTI BAHDRESA, A DEVOUT HINDU WOMAN, WAS INVITED BY HER CATHOLIC SISTER-IN-LAW TO MEDJUGORJE. THEY CAME WITH US IN MAY AND JYOTI HAD A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE AND BROUGHT HER FAMILY BACK WITH HER TO THE YOUTH FESTIVAL. THEY STAYED WITH US AT THE VISIONARY MARIJA’S AND WE ARE DELIGHTED TO SHARE HER INCREDIBLE TESTIMONY
“For 30 years I’ve known about Christianity through my sister-in-law but I never considered it something for me, I had Hinduism, and I was a very devout Hindu. I had all my statues and images to the different gods and goddesses and did all my prayers always.”
“I’ve even visited Catholic Churches with my sister-in-law and attended masses but I never thought it necessary to change religions”

“My daughter at first called me crazy. Later she phoned me from Australia saying she had a strange dream and woke up to find her Sai Baba image snapped off her ring”

“My sister-in-law was telling me about Medjugorje. She told me the National Medjugorje Movement were giving a presentation about the Shrine and asked me to come along.”
“They said they were going in May and my sister-in-law said to me ‘lets go!’ – and I said ok!”
“My view was that all religions were just all different ways to pray and it didn’t matter. When I came to Medjugorje I was wearing Hindu rings and objects. For me I did not expect conversion because I did not think it mattered, there were many gods and many religions as far as I understood.
“There was so much peace there which was the first thing that hit me. I was hearing this story of the Blessed Mother wanting to show people the way to Her Son. On the third day it was my birthday and my sister-in-law gave me a blessed crucifix. I was covered with so many of my own religious articles but when I wore this Crucifix I took off several of my objects and found my self beginning to search even more. I wanted to know more about what was happening at Medjugorje. So whilst I was there I began to seriously investigate it.

“I was scared at first and my whole family was against me, but I placed myself under Mary’s protection now many of them are coming with me”

I realised I was always searching. I wanted to hear what exactly was the precise message that the Blessed Virgin allegedly had to say . It was that there was One God and one faith, and the Church was the home. From there I began to thirst to learn everything about that faith and that church. I cannot explain what happened but it was a conversion of heart. There wasn’t many gods and many religions there is one God and one true faith. I felt like I had found what I was searching for and had come home.”

The turning point for me was when I learned about confession. I was wondering what everyone was queing up for. Then when I was told it was confession I wanted to know what that was. In our faith we have a different understanding of sin: Karma. When I was being told about confession and the forgiveness of sin (no Karma!) I thought how is this possible – how can you escape karma for your sins? My sister-in-law explained everything how Jesus died for our sins so he has paid for them already and because of this I am freed from the debt through confession. She told me to go to priest and speak with him about my sins. I went before a priest and as we were speaking about sin I cried and cried and cried I could not stop. It touched the core of my being and I felt Gods forgiveness there in Medjugorje and I believe in His forgiveness. Now I cannot wait to become catholic so I can make a full confession and receive full absolution.

“My second daughter lives in Australia but I always speak to her on Skype so I was telling her about my experience.

“Not only did I understand there is one God and Mary is the Mother of Christ, but I also renounced all the previous gods and goddesses I worshipped.

“She said “Mum what are you doing you are going crazy. Whatever you do you better not convert.”

Jyoti with her daughter, Bavini.

“I didn’t know if I was going to convert or not, that wasn’t what I was thinking, instead I could recognise Mary’s presence and she was showing me something, and everything I believed before became nothing to me.”
“There was one last bracelet still on me – you must understand I was so devout Hindu before and now I could not believe it that I actually tore it off I felt like it was not right anymore.”
“I was initially met by resistance from my family. However I stayed strong and I knew that what I was seeing and experiencing was true.’’
I came back home and I have to say I was physically unable to kneel before my shrine with my statues, I had to set up my own one with Jesus and our Blessed Mother.
I began to pray to them from my heart and call upon them for help.

I didn’t even want to look at the photo of Sai Baba – I was scared. How was this possible before I was such a devout Hindu, now coming back from Medjugorje I can’t look at the images and don’t even want to get involved in it. There was something strange going on.
“All my life I was searching and in Medjugorje it felt right.”
 

To my surprise, my same daughter contacted me a few days later and her tone was completely different this time.

“Mum I need to tell you something – some strange things have happened. I had a dream that I got rid of all my Hindu statues and when I woke up in real life I found that Sai Baba’s image had snapped and fallen off my ring. I now find it extremely uneasy praying or even looking at all the different statues of gods and godesses.’’
‘I got rid of them all mum. I’ve been reading about the Christian Faith and I want to get baptised and become a catholic”

“I was shocked hearing this was happening on the other side of the world in Australia whilst I was here praying in Medjugorje. I wasn’t even thinking too much about the practicalities of becoming a catholic at this stage although I felt the call and here was my daughter wanting to be baptised.’’
“And that was exactly what happened to me I couldn’t look at my shrine so there was something strange about that. I said to my daughter “are you sure because this is a whole change of faith, this is serious you cant just convert you have to go to classes and be baptised. I told her to go and read more about it.”
“I felt like I had reached my home. My daughter didn’t even come on either of the trips to Medjugorje but just by my visit Our Lady’s grace has even touched her. She flew over this Autumn to England and we have been receiving regular catechesis of the catholic faith.
My sister-in-law invited me to return with her in a few months time for the youth festival – I declined telling her there would be no way I could with my family.

“I FELT THE CALL TO RETURN TO MEDJUGORJE SO SOON. LATER I UNDERSTOOD WHY – BECAUSE 4 MORE FAMILY MEMBERS CAME WITH ME”

But later I suddenly felt the strange call to go. I thought why when I had just already been. I told my sister-in-law to book me in.
I shared my experiences of how Medjugorje touched me with the rest of my family. Not everyone accepted what I said which I completely understand.
However my nephew kept wanting to hear more. He wanted to come to the youth festival but didn’t want to leave his family. We prayed about it and the next thing we knew his wife wanted to come with their baby and also his mother – my sister.
I realised why Mary called me back so soon, because She wanted my family to come with me.
I returned there two months later, with four more family members, all from the hindu faith and all heading to Medjugorje. We were with a large group and had the most incredible week staying with the visionary Marija. Most of all we discovered Jesus in the Eucharist. Adoration was so beautiful.
That week, I can only say the Blessed Mother brought us all to discover her Son, Jesus.
My daughter and I have officially renounced our previous beliefs worshipping many gods and idols, and have joined RCIA to be baptised and become Catholics next Easter. My sister, nephew and his wife are also learning about Catholicism.
Saying the rosary every day and trying to live our Lady’s messages helps me cope with the struggles that I face on this journey.


This is only a brief witness of so much grace we are experiencing through Medjugorje. If there is one thing I would ask from the people who may read this is please pray for us on this journey. I am sure people will understand why we need your prayers and your prayers are greatly appreciated. Everything I have placed in Our Lady’s protection and I know She will bring us safely to Her Son as She started this journey.”

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.

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

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) 





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.’

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.

A GREAT LIGHT HAS APPEARED IN THE DARKNESS

DIVINE LENTEN 2015 Message  “A GREAT LIGHT HAS APPEARED IN THE DARKNESS” (Matt. 4:16)

Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ Wishing you and your loved ones a Most Holy & Sacred Season of Lent. At the beginning before Jesus began His public ministry, He fasted 40 days and 40 nights. After His Great Fast, Jesus chose Capernaum as the place where He would begin His preaching ministry.  In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 4:12-17 (Jesus Begins His Ministry), there is a clear purpose why Jesus chose Capernaum to begin His ministry. Capernaum was situated in the territory of the 2 tribes - Zebulun and Naphtali. The two tribes of Israel, Zebulun and Naphtali, were the first tribes that were devastated 700 years before Christ in the Assyrian invasion. Because of this historical destruction, the people came to think that these two tribes were the most sinful of all the tribes of Israel. As a result, the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali was considered “a land that was in darkness”. When Jesus came after His Great Fast to preach in Capernaum, the evangelist tells us “a great light has appeared in the land of darkness”. This is a message to all of us as we begin this Sacred Season of Lent. However destroyed we are by the powers of evil, however devastated we are in our lives, we have hope in Jesus! If Jesus chose Zebulun and Napthali territory to begin His ministry of salvation, His ministry is available to everyone who is desperate. We should never give up on Jesus. The terrible sins we have committed and the unfortunate tragedies and events that have come into our lives should not discourage us. The Light of Salvation has come to us. The message of Jesus was“Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17) This is an invitation and a promise. “Repent” is an invitation for us to turn our hearts to God. We will realize that our hearts and our lives are turned away from God. As a result, God did not have much place in our lives. For our happiness, for our security, for our future, it was not to God that we turned to but to the pleasures and gains of sin. When we turn our hearts to God, God will respond by giving us His Kingdom. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” What is the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is where God is accepted as King. God is accepted as the Lord and Master of our life. I accept God as the Supreme in my life. I allow God to dictate terms to me. I will do everything only according to the Word and the Will of God. When we repent and turn to God, the Kingdom of God comes upon us. St. Paul tells us in Romans 14:17, “The Kingdom of God is Righteousness, Peace and Joy of the Holy Spirit.” That is the offer of God today – the Righteousness, Peace and Joy of the Holy Spirit! When our relationship becomes right with God, our relationship becomes right with everyone around us. The heart of the husband will turn to the wife and the heart of the wife will turn to the husband. The hearts of the children will turn to the parents and the hearts of the parents will turn to the children. All the conflicts of anger and hatred will be cleared away from our hearts and we will experience the great Joy and Peace of the Holy Spirit. Let us accept this offer from God, and turn to God and live for Him. The blessed ashes which anointed our foreheads during the Ash Wednesday service today signifies the repentance that we need to have in our hearts. Let Us Pray We humbly ask You, O God our Father, that the blessed ashes which was placed on our foreheads in repentance today is a sign of the abundance of Your Grace in our lives. O God who is moved by acts of humility and respond with forgiveness to works of penance, lend Your  Merciful Ear to our prayers. In Your Kindness, pour out the Grace of Your Blessings for us, Your servants, who have been marked with these ashes. As we follow the Lenten observances, may we be worthy to come with lives made pure to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of Your Son who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Yours in Christ+ Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. Director - Divine Retreat Centre