Jan2013 - Healing Masses - Sydney - Faith Comes from what is heard - Rom 10:17

SYDNEY - HEALING MASSES - JAN 2013

Let's continue with the Christmas Joy - EVERY day of our life and not just on 25th December.

ALL WELCOME TO ATTEND.  Please spread the message to those in the surrounding areas as per scheduled dates and the Church.

Healing is understood not in the narrow sense of bodily well-being, but as the love of God flowing into the brokenness of man to make him whole.

The Healing Masses begin with the joyous proclamation of the forgiveness and salvation of the Heavenly Father, who "so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Salvation in Jesus is experienced through a radical turning away from sin and turning to God in repentance. This offer of salvation was the first message preached by Jesus Christ as well. "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Matt 4:17). 

 

In the Sacrament of Confession, the faithful are convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:8), their sins forgiven by the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:8), in the power of the same Holy Spirit through the ministry of the Church (Jn 20:22-23), and given a share in the victory of Jesus over sin (Jn 16:11).

From the resulting radical conversion, people are led to total self-surrender, that results in an intimate union with Jesus in the Holy Spirit, as experienced in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:56). In this intimacy, the love of God is "poured into their hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Rom 5:5). The heart melting under this overwhelming outpouring of love, opens up in turn to love and forgive everyone.

This intense experience of love heals all wounds and soothes all the strains in family relationships. The bond of marriage is renewed as sacrament of grace is incorporated into the spousal relationship between Christ and His Church.

 In this powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing stronger (Acts 19:20)

On 26th Dec, 2012 - Celebrating the Feast day of First Catholic Christian Martyr St Stephen - Pray for us.

WONDERFUL TRUTH - JESUS ALIVE and PRESENT in the Holy Eucharist

Testimony of Fr Paresh Parmar given at First Friday Gathering - Tabor Ashram

Fr. Paresh Parmar, Gujarat (Ahmedabad diocese)

Brief Background

I am a Gujarati, from Bombay. Though my forefathers hail from Gujarat, we have settled down in Bombay since last two generations. We converted to Catholicism since the last two generations only, as the church of Gujarat is 114 years old..
I was born and brought up in Bombay. My daddy expired when I was in 9th std. Being the youngest of six brothers and sisters, I was showered with a lot of love and care. 

Fr Paresh Parmar - center

I joined the Engineering College (Production Engineering) soon after my 12th std. I was elected as the General Secretary of the college. I was into blood donations and was also involved in other social work in hospitals and other public centers. When once I visited TATA hospital I met a little 11yr old girl suffering from leukemia. Her parents were finding it difficult to get blood donors for her. In Bombay there are several such families begging to the doctors for the life of their babies. 

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Paresh experiences the fact of earthly life - Death is inevitable

I decided to help this little girl. We had a big group of blood donors. I also arranged for the treatment expense. Though we tried our best to save her life she died in 6 months. This death had its effect on me and my perspective about life changed. My dream was to become successful person, go abroad and work but suddenly, I saw that nothing or no one can stop prevent death, no matter how much money you have!

Desire gets Deeper to know God

I started asking God 'why do you allow so much suffering? Why do you allow people to cry?' I wanted to experience God if He really existed and my search for God began.
 

I was just a routine church- goer. During those days I got my hand on a philosophical book by Swami Vivekananda. I found it interesting. I read all the volumes of the books by Swami Vivekananda. Somehow I felt that we can never encounter God at home. One needs to renounce the world. Thus, with little or no faith in Jesus, I went to Gujarat to become a priest. I spent a year there but I was not happy. I left the place and retuned back to Bombay.
 

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Initial seminary life is dry and deserted - no God felt

Even though I tried to become a priest I couldn't experience God. As soon as I left the seminary my brothers and sisters-in-law wanted me to get married. I was not ready for marriage and so finally I reached a decision to open a factory in Bombay. However even this did not give me any satisfaction instead my desire to experience God grew stronger. Not knowing what to do I started visiting famous Swamis and Gurus all over India. I visited many Ashrams. I met preachers of different communities. 

Paresh stops going to Church, visits Hindu temples

Every Monday I used to go to Shiv Temple, Tuesday - Friday I went to Kali and Durga devi temple and Saturdays to Hanuman temple. I used to get up at 3:30 a.m , have a cold water dip, do kriya yoga etc. although I was a catholic I completely stopped going to Church. Some of India's famous Swamis used to come to my house and take me with them to their ashrams.I used to go with them to the jungles and stay for 10-15 days with them.
 

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Attains Psychic powers through Yoga

Because of my yoga practices, I started getting some psychic gifts But my Hindu guru's kept telling me that if I get stuck with the spiritual gifts, then I will not be able to experience the 'giver of the gifts, i.e. God. So I continued in my search for God. I was looking for a Guru who would accept me as his disciple. A well known Hath-Yogi from Malad, Bombay had told me several times that Jesus is my Guru and that I have to become a priest. My mom began to get worried about me seeing me running after so many gurus.

 

Mantra from the Hindu Guru - but emptiness still felt

A 108 year old guru from a village called Zarap, near Sawantwadi [Maharashtra], gave me a guru mantra (a chant) and asked me to recite and see its power. I started reciting the mantra. I was very happy and recited that mantra religiously. I had already spent two and a half years since I had left my seminary and seeking God following the Hindu guru's. Nothing seemed to be happening. Infact I was experiencing some sort of turmoil within me.

 

Fr Paresh Parmar

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Attends a Catholic parish prayer meeting

On 7th of June, 1994 I was out for an evening walk and was passing through my parish church (St. Teresa's Church) in Bandra (Mumbai, India). I saw the board 'Jesus heals'. A force dragged me into the Church. I was not aware of the charismatic movement at that time. When I entered I noticed that Fr. Joe Santiago from Poona Diocese was conducting the prayer services. People were screaming on the top of their voices shouting 'Alleluia' before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. I found all this a bit funny. I found myself misplaced there and was just waiting for this prayer service to get over so that I could get out of all that madness.
 

Jesus Reveals Himself to Paresh Parmar from the Blessed Scarament of the Holy Eucharist

At 9 pm, the priest asked all of us to stand up and pray so that the Lord may touch us. I too got up casually looking all around with curiosity. And lo... what happens....Suddenly I saw a ball of light on the altar. The light entered into my heart and I fell down. I was embraced and engulfed with that light. I instantly recognized the light. HE WAS JESUS. 

Jesus was right in front of me. I could hear His voice saying "I am the Master you are looking for. I have a plan for you to become a priest; go to Gujarat and I have a plan for you there". I could experience the light for 10 minutes. I could experience a power entering my body and another power leaving my body. I was getting transformed. Like 'Saul was becoming Paul'. 

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JESUS gives Paresh the gifts of tongues and healing

 

After the prayers I found myself a changed person. I came home and for the first time in my life I started reading Bible with devotion. I miraculously came in touch with my college friend Ralph, who was into healing ministry. I joined his prayer group and there I received the gift of tongues and the gift of healing.
 

Paresh joins seminary and is ordained a Catholic Priest - as commanded by the Lord Jesus

Having confirmed Gods call, I left my home once again to join priesthood. I went to Gujarat and met the Bishop of Ahmedabad and he accepted me in his diocese. I was 28 years old when I joined. And today, I am 40, and have completed 4...years of my priesthood and I continue to serve our LORD in His vineyard. Praise the Lord. Many are the wonders he has worked in my life thereafter and continues to work everyday of my life. Today I am convinced beyond any doubt that our Lord is the true God and also the only living God. Thank you Jesus Praise you Jesus.

 

Seeking stops at Lord Jesus Christ - The Way, The Truth, The Life

I would like to conclude my testimony by stating that if any of you are searching for the one true living God then it stops at Jesus. I have been through the arduous path and convinced myself beyond any doubt.
  

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"As a man must be born before he can begin to lead his physical life, so he must be born to lead a Divine Life. That birth occurs in the Sacrament of Baptism. To survive, he must be nourished by Divine Life; that is done in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist."

- Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

This Is The Will Of God For You (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

by Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. 

Often after a retreat people ask me a question,  

“What is God’s will for me? Now that I know who God is for me, I want to do God’s will in all the circumstances of my life.” 

I always open to them 1Thess 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

God has a special will, a special plan for every o­ne of us in Christ Jesus. And what is that will of God for you and for me? In all circumstances of our life, Paul is saying; rejoice, pray constantly and give thanks, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.

There are a lot of things going wrong with us, a lot of people offending us, a lot of people hurting us, often the least expected: such negative experiences come to us and we are not able to understand, why? In such circumstances, even when things go wrong with us, the Word of God is telling us, “rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks”.

How can we thank God always?

In fact, we often question God: How could God do this to me? How could God punish me like this? Where is God, I can’t see Him? He does not answer my prayer and if God is there, how can things go wrong like this? After all I am a good man. I am doing everything good or trying to do everything well. And I do not deserve all this punishment from God - there are moments we even question God’s plan. Life is hard and tough. And we are often anxious and tensed, scared of what is going to happen the next moment.

We need to understand St. Paul well. He is speaking of the will of God for us in Christ Jesus. o­nly when we reflect o­n what God did for us in Christ, we will have enough faith to thank God at all times. As St. John says in, John 3:16 “God so loved the world; that He sent His o­nly son.”For what? To die for us, so that we may not perish! That we may not perish in the misery of the problems of life. We will be able to rejoice, pray constantly and give thanks in all circumstances o­nly when we believe that God has sent his own son to die for us, that we may be saved. Then we will know that in Christ Jesus, we have salvation in all circumstances.

The Natural and Supernatural Level

When I believe that God loves me so much that He sent His o­nly son to die for me, then I will be able to rejoice! But apparently I am not able to! This is because there are two layers of knowledge: o­ne, the layer of human knowledge— natural reasoning. When I reason naturally, everything is wrong, nothing is really going well, naturally I complain, I question, I am tense, I am sad, I am all anxious and upset. 

That is my natural level of knowledge.

There is a higher knowledge - the knowledge of faith, the light of faith. When the light of faith comes in, I know that whatever goes wrong, “God will turn it all to my good” (Romans 8:28) St. Paul is giving us that good news. Whatever goes wrong with me, I know my God will turn everything to my good. My reason will not tell me this, but in faith I will be convinced that my God is always busy turning everything to my good.

Then I will turn to my God, I will be able to pray constantly and rejoice: I rejoice and I give thanks, for what God is going to do! The world is hard o­n me, my friends, my dear o­nes; even nearest to me do not understand me. Yet I know my God is there for me. My God is there in Christ Jesus. No wonder! Jesus said, “Let not you hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe in me”. (John 14:1) Jesus is challenging us to rise above mere natural evaluations, mere human knowledge to a divine vision of everything, to a supernatural knowledge. Faith is the clue! Faith, to know, that my God is there for me to turn everything to my good.

O Man Little Faith, Why Are You Afraid?

To Simon Peter, Jesus asked, “O man of little faith, why are you afraid.” What a meaningless question! Why are you afraid? In the midst of the roaring waves, raging sea and pitch darkness, when Simon Peter was about to sink with the boat, Jesus is asking him—“why are you afraid?” Well, naturally speaking that question has no meaning, but supernaturally that question is a challenge to faith in every difficult situation. My Jesus is there! 

The sea may roar, the waves may rage; but I know that my Jesus is there and He will never leave me alone. That is the promise! Whatever happens to me, my Jesus is there! The gift of God the Father to me in my problems, in my troubles, in my anxieties, in all situations of my life: my Jesus. So I am not anxious. (Matthew 6:25) “Why are you anxious; look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. God cares for them they are there today, tomorrow they will be thrown in the oven, and yet your father cares for them. How much more!! How much more will he not care for you.” 

What is the Measure of That Love? How Much?

The measure is God’s gift of His own Son. God gave us His own Son. St. Paul is asking us; “If God gave His own Son to us. Will He deny anything to us?” (Romans 8:32) And so in everything situation of my life, in every circumstance of my living, I should know this: my God is there for me to turn everything to my good. And therefore I am not anxious.

I remember, a doctor came here for the retreat. He came from Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu. o­n the second day of the retreat, he came to my room; he had his young son with him, an eleven-year-old boy. The doctor looked very sad. So I asked him, “Tell me, why do you look sad.” He said, “Father, I am very sad, because my son who is o­nly eleven years old, my o­nly son, is having a tumour in the brain. The tumour is already operated upon and removed o­nce. But the tumour has reappeared. Medical science has no answer for this problem.” 

As he said this, tears welled up in his eyes.And he asked me, “Father, will Jesus heal my son? Will Jesus save my family?” I wiped his tears, held him close to me and I said to him, “My friend, God sent Jesus to us as the answer to all the problems of our life. And Jesus is here. He loves your son more than you love your son, and for your family.” I said, “Doctor, let us pray!” I laid my hand o­n the head of the boy. I asked the doctor also to lay his hand o­n the head of the boy and together we began to pray.

How Can You Praise God For That?

After some time my prayer spontaneously took the form of praising God. I began to thank and praise God. At this the doctor stopped praying. He touched my shoulder and asked me, “Father, tell me what are you saying?” I told him, “Doctor I am praising God, I am thanking God!” He was annoyed and shocked, and asked me, “Father, why are you praising God? What are you thanking God for?” I told him, “Doctor, I am praising and thanking God for the tumour in the brain of your boy.” And the doctor was all the more shocked and he asked me, “Father, how can you do that!? Praising God and thanking God for the tumour in the brain of my boy? Father I don’t understand this! I understand we praise God for His blessings, we thank God for the graces of God, but is this tumour a blessing of God? I am a doctor, and I know this tumour is killing my boy day after day! Is it not a curse of God, Father? How can you praise God for that?” I told him, “Doctor, nor do I understand what I did. My brain does not understand this. But I go by the Word of God. And the Word of God is telling us to praise and thank God at all times.” 

My God has Intervened into That Ailment!

I opened to him Ephesians 5:20 where St. Paul says, “Praise God and thank Him in all circumstances.” I opened to him again the Gospel of John where Jesus says; “This ailment is not unto death but unto the manifestation of the Glory of God.” (John 11: 4)Every ailment, offered to God; its killing nature is taken away. And so I told him, “Doctor, I offered the ailment in the hands of Jesus and with that, the ailment does not have any more of its killing nature. My God has intervened into that ailment.” And I opened to him again the same book of John 11:14 where Jesus says, “Believe and you shall see the glory of God.”

“Have faith,” I told the doctor, “let us rise above, look up. Let not your eyes and mind be fixed upon your son’s ailment, look up to God, what God did for us in His son Jesus Christ. And then you will know that there is no reason to be sad, there is no reason to be upset, there is absolutely no reason to be desperate. God has already started to turn everything to your good. I opened to him Romans 8:28 and said that there is reason o­nly to rejoice and to praise God. I opened to him Philippians 4:4, St. Paul says, “Rejoice! And again I say rejoice in your union with the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Learning the Lesson of Praising God

I felt the doctor had learnt the lesson of praising God. We praised God together and I sent the doctor to the retreat hall. I could see the doctor always with his lips moving in praising and thanking God. When the retreat was over, the doctor and his family came to my room. I asked him, “Doctor what do you feel?” The doctor said, “Father, I feel great peace in my heart; the assurance of God’s love, God’s power!” I told him, “That is the grace God gives to everyone who praises Him.” I opened to him Philippians 4:6 where St. Paul says, “Praise God and thank Him. Bring all your prayers to God, praising and thanking God, and the peace of Jesus Christ will come and fill your heart.” And we praised God together and the doctor went back home.

He went straight to the hospital. There the boy was tested again and again. And all the tests revealed o­ne fact, that there was no trace of any tumor in the brain of the boy! The doctor came back; with tears streaming down his face, he told me, and then the whole congregation; “I have seen God’s glory in the ailment of my son.” His testimony was published in our magazine some six years ago. The boy and the family come here every now and then. He is now growing up as a fine young man, praising and thanking God all the time.

Praise God, rejoice, pray constantly; and that is the will of God for us in all circumstances. Come what may, God is there for us! When God is there, no ailment, no trouble, no problem will ever shatter us. 

Testimony of Hindu boy Ramesh now Joseph - Fr. Mathew Naickomparampil

1Thess 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”