Indeed, how glorious is the resurrection! And our Holy Father Pope Benedict the XVI in his URBI ET ORBI message at Easter this year (from which I will quote liberally for the benefit of those who may not have read/heard it) aptly says, “Easter morning brings us news that is ancient yet ever new: Christ is risen! The echo of this event, which issued forth from Jerusalem twenty centuries ago, continues to resound in the Church…”

“The resurrection of Christ is not the fruit of speculation or mystical experience: it is an event which, while it surpasses history, nevertheless happens at a precise moment in history and leaves an indelible mark upon it. The light which dazzled the guards keeping watch over Jesus’ tomb has traversed time and space. It is a different kind of light, a divine light, that has rent asunder the darkness of death and has brought to the world the splendor of God, the splendor of Truth and Goodness,” our Pope adds.

With faithless eyes there indeed is much darkness around us – the corruption scandals, the persecution of Christians in many places, the violence in many lands, the natural disasters striking with deathly blows, the crippling poverty around us. And yet to the eyes of faith, we see that the darkness and ‘sadness of death gives way to the bright promise of immortality’.

We are reminded of the scriptures telling us about creation in the book of Genesis… the formless void and the darkness and chaos that characterized it. And yet, even there, the Triune God reigned supreme. And He spoke order and beauty into the chaos. Our intercessory prayers this month begins with reflections on the creation scriptures, as we pray for the darkness that surrounds us, and we welcome in faith “the Light of Christ” to dispel it.

“Just as the sun’s rays in springtime cause the buds on the branches of the trees to sprout and open up, so the radiance that streams forth from Christ’s resurrection gives strength and meaning to every human hope, to every expectation, wish and plan”, states our Holy Father. He continues in his Easter message, “Dear brothers and sisters! The risen Christ is journeying ahead of us towards the new heavens and the new earth (cf. Rev 21:1), in which we shall all finally live as one family, as sons of the same Father. He is with us until the end of time. Let us walk behind him, in this wounded world, singing Alleluia. In our hearts there is joy and sorrow, on our faces there are smiles and tears. Such is our earthly reality. But Christ is risen, he is alive and he walks with us. For this reason we sing and we walk, faithfully carrying out our task in this world with our gaze fixed on heaven.”

May the Holy Spirit be with us as we prepare our hearts for the feast of Pentecost and a renewal and sanctification of our spirit, mind and body by His power. May Mary our Blessed Mother be with us, in this ‘her own month of May’. May our Blessed John Paul II intercede for us as we endeavor to remain in Christ’s merciful heart.

We all like taking time from our busy schedules to refresh, renew and recharge ourselves. Our Mother Church also provides us time to rejuvenate spiritually during the Lenten period every year. Lent is a beautiful time for a spiritual rejuvenation for each of us. By closely walking with Jesus in those Stations of the Cross, we all can reflect and realize the sinful nature of our life and make plans for appropriate corrections in our earthly pilgrimage.

We can consider Lent as a period of introspection, correction and resolution; similar to what many does close to each New Year. We all can take some time from our daily activities during the Lenten season-walking with Jesus in fasting and praying to improve and stimulate our spiritual muscles for a long journey. While these acts may be acts of inward conversion, we all can also look outward for spiritual and personal growth in this phase. These can be in the form of reaching out to many by way of good words, good deeds or witnessing Jesus through our life.

As said in Mathew 28:19-20 that; “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age”; each of us has a mission to accomplish and lent is one such occasion to witness ourselves and offer Jesus to others.

We can see in the story of Samaritan woman (John 4:5-42; gospel reading during Lent); how an ordinary Samaritan woman who recognizes Jesus and brings transformation to the entire village. It was said that ‘she abandons her water jar and returns to town to tell everyone about Jesus’; can we also ‘throw away’ our dispositions like that Samaritan woman to witness Jesus? Can we become an evangelist like the Samaritan woman in our own ways?

Yes possible; dear Brothers and Sisters. Answer is in John 13:34-35: “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. We can reach out to many people around us and spread the fragrance of Jesus’ love in numerous ways. The second Vatican Council and all Popes since teach that all Catholics are called to evangelize in both deed and words.

Let us use the example of the simple ‘Samaritan woman’ who became an evangelist for the entire village; may this Lenten season bring ‘Glory to our Heavenly father’ and bring spiritual rejuvenation to each of us!

Abba Father, cleanse and purify us in the Holy Blood of Jesus and fill us with Holy-Spirit. Amen

By Tim Puet, from http://www.catholic newsagency. com

The Stations of the Cross in the form most American Catholics know best are of comparatively recent vintage in Church terms, dating back to the year the U.S. Constitution was ratified. However, their history goes back well before that, to the days when pilgrims were first openly able to go to Jerusalem and walk in the footsteps of Jesus on Good Friday.

The emperor Constantine permitted Christians to legally worship in the Roman Empire in 313 after 250 years of persecution. In 335, he erected the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at the site where Jesus’ tomb was believed to have been laid to rest. Processions of pilgrims to the church, especially during Holy Week, began soon after its completion.

A woman named Egeria, a pilgrim from France, described one such pilgrimage which took place in the fourth century. The bishop of Jerusalem and about 200 pilgrims began “at the first cockcrow” at the site of Jesus’ agony on Holy Thursday night. They said a prayer, sung a hymn, and heard a Gospel passage, then went to the garden of
Gethsemane and repeated the procedure.

They continued to Jerusalem itself, “reaching the (city) gate about the time when one man begins to recognize another, and thence right on through the midst of the city. All, to a man, both great and small, rich and poor, all are ready there, for on that special day not a soul withdraws from the vigils until morning,” Egeria wrote.

Pilgrimages eventually took a fixed route from the ruins of the Fortress Antonia, where Pilate had his judgment hall, to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. That route through Jerusalem’s Old City gained acceptance as the way Jesus went to his death and remains unchanged today. It is known as the Via Dolorosa, Latin for the “Sorrowful Way.”

Stops developed on the way to note specific events on the road to Calvary. In many cases, the pilgrims could only guess where some incidents took place because Jerusalem had been almost completely destroyed by Roman armies in 70 A.D.

The pilgrims brought back oil from the lamps that burned around Jesus’ tomb and relics from the holy places, and sometimes tried to recreate in Europe what they had seen in the Holy Land. The Moslem conquest of Palestine in the seventh century made such shrines more significant, since it made travel to the Holy Land dangerous.

Devotions to the Way of the Cross began in earnest after 1342, when the Franciscan friars were given custody of the holy sites in the Holy Land. The Franciscans have been closely identified with the devotion ever since; for years, Church regulations required a set of the stations to be blessed by a Franciscan when possible.

The number of stations varied widely, with some manuals of devotion listing as many as 37. The term “stations” in describing the Way of the Cross was first used in the narrative of an English pilgrim, William Wey, who visited the Holy Land twice in the 15th century.

Depictions of the events described in the Stations did not start becoming common in churches until Pope Innocent XI permitted the Franciscans in 1686 to erect such displays in all their churches. He also declared that all indulgences given for visiting the sacred sites in the Holy Land would apply to any Franciscan or Franciscan lay affiliate visiting a set of stations in a church.

Pope Benedict XIII extended that privilege to all the faithful in 1726. Five years later, Pope Clement XII allowed all churches to have stations and fixed the number at 14, where it has been ever since. In recent years, many churches have included the Resurrection as a 15th station. Benedict XIV specifically urged every church in 1742 to enrich its sanctuary with stations.

Two Franciscans of the era did much to spread the popes’ wishes. St. Leonard of Port-Maurice erected stations at more than 500 churches in Italy, and St. Alphonsus Ligouri in 1787 wrote the version of the Stations that most Americans recognize because it was used in most churches in the United States throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

It has become standard for Catholic churches to recite the prayers related to the Stations on the Fridays of Lent. Many churches have two services, one in the afternoon, mainly for schoolchildren, and one in the evening. Some Protestant churches, especially those belonging to the Episcopal or Lutheran denominations, have made the devotion part of their Lenten activities, particularly on Good Friday.

The traditional 14 stations are as follows: Jesus is condemned to death; Jesus takes up his cross; Jesus falls the first time; Jesus meets his mother; Simon of Cyrene carries the cross; Veronica wipes the face of Jesus; Jesus falls the second time; Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem; Jesus falls the third time; Jesus is stripped of his garments; Jesus is nailed to the cross; Jesus is crucified; Jesus is taken down from the cross; Jesus’ body is laid in the tomb.

The third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and ninth stations are not specifically described in the Gospels, nor is St. Alphonsus’ depiction in the 13th station of Jesus’ body being laid in the arms of his mother.

In order to provide a version more specifically aligned with biblical accounts, Pope John Paul II introduced the Scriptural Way of the Cross on Good Friday in 1991 and celebrated that form every year thereafter at the Colosseum in Rome. Pope Benedict approved it for meditation and public celebration in 2007.

This version has the following stations: Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane; Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested; Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin; Jesus is denied by Peter; Jesus is judged by Pilate; Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns; Jesus takes up his cross; Simon helps Jesus carry his cross; Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem; Jesus is crucified; Jesus promises a place in his kingdom to the good thief; Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other; Jesus dies on the cross; Jesus is laid in the tomb.

Franciscans have a long tradition of celebrating the Stations in the Colosseum on Fridays. John Paul made the observance an annual part of his Holy Week calendar on Good Friday. He carried a cross himself from station to station until age and infirmity limited his strength. Days before his death in 2005, he observed the Stations from his
private chapel in the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI has continued the tradition. Each year, a different person is invited to write the meditation text for the pope’s Stations. Past composers of the papal Stations include several non-Catholics. John Paul wrote the text himself in 2000 and used the traditional stations.

Thirteen specially constructed biblical stations were erected around the city of Sydney, Australia, this past July 27 for an observance of the Stations at World Youth Day. They started with the Last Supper at St. Mary’s Cathedral and the agony in the garden at Domain Park and ended in Darling Harbor, where the sunset provided a dramatic
backdrop for three crosses erected at the site.

More than 2 million people took part, with 500 million more watching worldwide on television. This may have been the largest gathering ever for the devotion.

Mothers have an unfair advantage with the Lord. In Luke 7, Jesus observed a huge funeral procession in Nain. The entire town was present. He observed the young men and women weeping. He observed the pastors and apostles weeping. He observed the elders weeping. He observed the fathers weeping. He observed the children weeping. He observed the sadness on people’s faces.

Nothing seemed to move Him, until HE SAW THE MOTHER. The bible says He had compassion when He saw her and immediately raised her boy from the dead. (Luke 7:12-15). It was the cry of a mother that moved the Heart of God. Still today, Mothers who cry before the Lord for their families, for their marriages, for their homes move the Heart of God. When Mothers stop praying their families (especially their children) perish.

Satan gets a foothold and starts to destroy the home, yet when they return to their rightful place as the anchor of the home, demonic strongholds get demolished.

In Psalms 17, 36, 57, 63, and 91 God’s role is likening to that of a Mother. As a Mother protects, upholds and defends her children, so does God also protect us under the shadow of His Wings . We find refuge there and can hide there until the danger is over.

A mother’s role is so vital that a father cannot get his prayers answered if he dishonors/ disrespects her (1 Peter 3:7). Because, of this favor over mothers, they are also the most attacked persons in the home. The devil is terrified of Mothers (the powerhouse in the home).

Yet the Lord has put inside Mothers grace and resilience to overcome any situation. Today, As the woman of the home, consider yourself blessed. Consider yourself highly favored and consider yourself dangerous when you pray.

I spent time at almost all the Divine retreat centers and God had a plan for me at each one.

In Tabor Ashram, the Lord brought me to understand how sinful living had deeply affects our relationship with him. It was in the silence one morning before the Blessed Sacrament that a memory was brought to my mind by the Holy Spirit where the person who abused me as a child had asked for my forgiveness, in that memory I remember that in anger I had just walked away never to forgive.

The Holy Spirit showed me that my lack of forgiveness was a sin and the key to my problems. Shock! It was from the preaching of the Word of God that this clear message could come to my consciousness!

The damage of resentment and anger was worse than any molestation. I began to forgive and love. I went to confession continually while at Tabor to empty out all the memories of sinful activities that I had never considered sin. In the USA people are very lax about morals, faith and spiritual practice; “sin” is not an important issue. The Truth was setting me free as all of the sinful areas of my life were exposed.

If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.

I read the Bible continuously, eating it in hunger before the Blessed Sacrament at Tabor for hours, days, months. I was shocked; does anyone read this book at all? Fr. Mathew Elumvunkel’s preaching was like sharp daggers coming from the mouth of Jesus to cut away the darkness.

Does anyone care, or even know, what God thinks? The Bible, the Word of God, became my health, comfort, strength and guide. It was only with the help of the Holy Spirit that I was able to understand the messages given.

Jesus was making me new, a new creation, and now He is my everything, my all; to suffer for him, to be with him in heaven and serve him on this earth is what I live for now. Everything else is only rubbish to me now…all the traveling, pleasures, people, honors, money, jobs. I understand St. Paul when he says,”For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ” Phil. 3:8b

Like the Samaritan woman at the well, when Jesus came fully and personally into the wounds of my life I realized that, even in sin, I was only seeking Jesus Christ. He is the most beautiful man who has now saved me from death and darkness.

I have found my pearl of great price.

As I write this, I pray for all our families that we be open to the Holy Spirit, to melt us, mould us and fashion us, modelled on the Holy Family of Nazareth.

“Let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts” exhorts St Paul to the Colossians (3:15) in today’s second reading. How true! If we have to have peace in our world, in our country, in our city, in our neighbourhood, in our housing society, in our home… it must first start in the hearts of you and me. For too long many of us have put on masks that ‘all is well’, but deep down in our hearts we harbour pain, hurt, anger and unforgiveness. May the Child of Peace, with His gentle touch restore our peace.

Pope Benedict XVI in his Christmas midnight Mass homily echoes this sentiment, “God has appeared – as a child. It is in this guise that he pits himself against all violence and brings a message that is peace. At this hour, when the world is continually threatened by violence in so many places and in so many different ways, when over and over again there are oppressors’ rods and bloodstained cloaks (Isaiah 9), we cry out to the Lord: O mighty God, you have appeared as a child and you have revealed yourself to us as the One who loves us, the One through whom love will triumph. And you have shown us that we must be peacemakers with you. We love your childish estate, your powerlessness, but we suffer from the continuing presence of violence in the world, and so we also ask you: manifest your power, O God. In this time of ours, in this world of ours, cause the oppressors’ rods, the cloaks rolled in blood and the footgear of battle to be burned, so that your peace may triumph in this world of ours.”

And so this month, we focus our prayer on this one aspect of the fruit of the Holy Spirit – PEACE – as we pray for the peace which the world cannot give (Jn14:27), which is endless (Isaiah 9:7) and which surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7).

1st January is also the World Day of Peace. The Pope in his message for this day writes, “I would like therefore to devote this message for the XLV World Day of Peace 2012 to the theme of education: “Educating Young People in Justice and Peace”, in the conviction that the young, with their enthusiasm and idealism, can offer new hope to the world.” He specifically focuses on the family and educational institutions. “We are living in a world where families, and life itself, are constantly threatened and not infrequently fragmented”, he adds.

The world, the flesh and/or the devil seem to be stealing our peace… BUT, Psalm 29:11 assures us “The Lord will bless his people with peace”. May we not lose hope but trust in His mercy as we pray ‘earnestly’ and ‘fervently’ for peace, especially in our homes and our hearts. We pray also for peace among believers in Jesus Christ, especially during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that we “may be one… so that the world may believe” in Jesus by our witness (Jn 17:21).

May the Prince of Peace whose Birth we celebrate and for whose return we hope, lead us (Is 11:6). May Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Peace, accompany us.

The first time I came to India was for fun, pleasure, adventure and to encounter the vast culture and people of India. It was also a time of a collapsed Catholic faith even, yes, apostasy. I have done just about everything in my life: elephant riding in the jungles of Thailand, slow boating down the Mekong in Laos, island hopping in Greece, skiing, surfing the oceans in California, received a fine education and masters in social work.

But, had also been abused me as a child which caused great bouts of depression, anger and continuous disturbances in my life to the extent that it would keep collapsing.

I tried everything to get over these psychological problems–psychologists, psychiatrists, pills, therapies, New Age activities in the very sophisticated culture of California. It was only when I began a real search for what was missing in my soul by returning to an upright Christian life that profound things began to happen to me. I had a dream of crucifixion, the understanding that Jesus who suffered and died must also understand my pain.

Then I began to thirst to return to India only this time to look for worship of Jesus in the same very intense way that I saw Indians worship Durga, Sai Baba, Hanoman, etc.

“Certainly in India is the place where they will know the suffering Christ better than anywhere else in the world” I told myself…So I got a position to volunteer as a teacher in a school in Chalakudy, Kerala in the summer of 2003.

“I know the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not your destruction” Jer. 29:11

It was then that the Lord brought me to Divine Retreat Centre. I had no idea that this huge Catholic retreat center existed nor what was going on there.

I came to make a little retreat which became the living answer to all of my thirsts, pains and longings.At first I disliked the retreat, it was not like the meditation I had found in India in the past. So much preaching! But by the last day Jesus Christ touched my inner wound in such a way.

I knew that it was by His wounds I was being healed when He poured His love and mercy into the painful, angry hole in my heart.

Father Augustine’s preaching touched me so deeply; it was like the voice of the Heavenly Father calling to new life the prodigal child. I began to believe that, yes, Jesus was going to really make a change in my life if I could only believe it!

“I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly!” Jn. 10:10

I’ll never forget standing alone in my little room telling myself, “I never want to leave this place!!”

The Gospel is preached with power! People are healed, the poor are cared for and my Catholic Faith is alive and well there!

I took the next step and moved out of California to come back to Divine and see where the Lord led me next!

Gabriel (Strength of God) appears three times as a messenger in the Bible. He had been sent to Daniel to explain a vision concerning the Messiah. Gabriel announced to Zachariah the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist, and to Mary, the birth of Jesus. His greeting to the Virgin, “Hail, full of grace,” is one of the most familiar and frequent prayers of the Christian people.

Raphael (Medicine of God) is the archangel who took care of Tobias on his journey. Raphael’s activity is confined to the Old Testament story of Tobit. There he appears to guide Tobit’s son Tobiah through a series of fantastic adventures which lead to a threefold happy ending: Tobiah’s marriage to Sarah, the healing of Tobit’s blindness and the restoration of the family fortune.

Comments: Angels—messengers from God—appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named. Each of these archangels performs a different mission in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides.

Let us thank our Lord for the Archangels who have often entered into history as messengers in God’s providential plan of salvation. Let us also remember our close connection with them in Christ, and frequently turn to them for their intercessory protection and assistance in times of trouble.

We must always keep praising the Lord for all he is doing in our lives and trust his providential care. When we look to the past, as did those in Old Testament scriptures, it is to remember all the marvels He has done for his people. When we look to the future, it is to trust that He is shaping and preparing the way for His will to be done in us and will provide all things. When we spend much time in prayer, service and worship before the Lord He does provide for all our needs. An incident in my life showed me that this continual thanks, praise and worship is justified even in our sickness and confusion.

Jesus is planning to heal and bless us all the time.

I had a very severe problem of not being able to sleep. For more than a month I would be up in the night almost every hour restless, unable to lie still until 3:00am. It was a case of restless leg syndrome. After getting only 4 hours of sleep it would be time to go to work. I was exhausted and depressed with this problem. I sought spiritual counsel and healing by prayer with many holy priests.

There was another problem in my life which irritated me. My employer had hired me for a position for which he did not need to provide any medical benefits. Without medical insurance in the US one visit to the doctor costs over $100.00. Further treatment and medicines will also be very costly. I resented this injustice and complained to my fellow employees about it all the time. Thus, I refused to go to the doctor with this cost and accompanying resentment. I resolved to solve my problems myself, with prayer or by practicing a healthy lifestyle. After getting prayers from several priests and examining my conscience still, the sleeplessness continued. One nun told me to go to the doctor…still, I delayed.

Then one day, out of the blue, I was given over $300.00 from a benefactor who stated that God told him to give me this money. I was helping out in the service of the Lord at the Divine Retreat Center in New Jersey. In prayer, I asked the Lord why this money was given to me when I had enough money already to pay for my expenses. Then the thought came that I should use it to go to the doctor. What was amazing was that this was just what my healing required; the doctor was very kind, she took a blood test and came up with the solution as due to thyroid and lack of iron. These two deficiencies were the cause of the sleep disorder. The medicine and vitamins were not costly at all. I am completely cured through God’s grace and the physician.

There was also a spiritual healing. No longer do I ever complain about lack of medical insurance since the Lord provided even money to force me to go to the doctor and provide for this need. He is my Provider, not my employer. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.” (Ps. 23:1) My stubbornness and pride were also conquered; the doctor is provided by the Lord and is also to be seen when he so wills it. “My son, when you are sick do not neglect yourself: but pray to the Lord and he shall heal you.
Turn away from sin…and cleanse your heart from all offense….then give place to the physician. For the Lord created her and let her not depart from you, for the physician’s works are necessary…For there is a time when you must fall into their hands…” (Sirach 38:9-13) What a wonderful spiritual and physical healing the Lord has done in my life!

Thank you Jesus for your providential care.

The Lord tells us in the Bible:
• Listen and Obey. God said in the Old Testament: “ If you listen carefully to the
voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight and give heed to His commandments and keep all his statutes I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians for I am the Lord who heals you” (Ex. 15:26).

• Healing in the Name of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark chapter sixteen tells us, “…those who believe using the name of Jesus may lay their hands on the sick and they will recover” (17-18). Whenever you are sick ask Jesus to heal you. On many occasions whenever I was sick I asked the Lord for the forgiveness of sins and healing. Once, I had a toothache and since I did not have any insurance I was repeating in Jesus Name many times, “Jesus forgive me, Jesus heal me.”
So I received healings in this way. I recommend you pray for the forgiveness of your sins when you are sick and pray and believe that he is near to you as he promised, “ I will be with you to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20).

• Confess your Sins and Pray for Healings. At Delhi Divine Ashram, a mother named Elsie told me about her experience. When the parents she knew made confession whenever their small children used to get sick, the children received healings. I suggested this method to some families here in Detroit and New York when they asked me to pray for their sick children.

Both of these families told me separately that as soon as they decided to go for confession, the healings started. St. James (5:15-16) also tells us, “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who commits sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess you sins…so that you may be healed.” Jesus tells us that there are 13 sins in the heart: evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. Jesus tells that all these evils come from within and they defile a person (Mk. 7:21). “Give up your faults and cleanse your hearts from sins” (Sir. 38: 10).

• Physicians and Health. The Lord tells us, “Honor the physicians for their services
for the Lord created them” (Sirach 38). We are supposed to obey the instructions which we have received from the doctors. “The Lord created medicine out of the earth; the sensible will not despise them.”

The Bible tells us that even when we receive the healing through the doctors we should glorify the marvelous works of God! At the same time the Lord tells us to pray when we are ill. When you are ill do not delay but pray to the Lord Almighty (Sir. 38:9) and believe that God is
your Father as Jesus said in the New Testament.

• Food and Exercise. Prayer is called, “walking with God.” We read in the Bible,
that Jesus used to walk to the villages, towns, on water and climbed up the steep Mt. Tabor. In these modern days, the doctor will tell you that walking is good exercise; they will tell you also to do activity to balance cholesterol, diabetes and avoid gaining weight. A woman who came to me was sick so I advised her to walk and do exercise.

That woman later told me that she started to walk two miles every day to go to Church here in New Jersey and this helped her to reduce her weight. She felt much better, well and fresh!

The Bible says this about overeating: “My child, test yourself while you live; see what is bad for you and do not give in to it. For not everything is good for everyone, and no one enjoys everything. Do not be greedy for every delicacy, and do not eat without restraint; for overeating brings sickness, and gluttony leads to nausea. Many have died of gluttony, but one who guards against it prolongs his life” (Sir. 37:27-31). God said even in the beginning to the first parents who were healthy and without
sin, “You may eat of every tree of the garden…but of the tree knowledge you may not eat.” (Gen. 2:17). You may not have knowledge of certain foods which may be harmful to you. You may not have discernment about this on your own. If God tells you this through the doctors please obey.

• Death, A Healing. Many saints were sick but they offered their illness and
suffering for the conversion of sinners and as a penance for their sins and those of the family members. Jesus also tells us after His resurrection that though he had the wounds there on his body, he was healthy. Through death God can still heal us. The poor man named Lazarus was covered with sores, hungry with no one to comfort or nurse him. He died and was carried away by the angels to
be with Abraham. So, remember, throughout our lives we may be in poverty— emotionally, financially, socially—but God’s angels are ready to take us up after our death. Death is also a blessing after long suffering; then you will have peace and joy with God. Jesus told the thief on the cross who was suffering, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43). He rewards our
faithfulness in the end. “Enter into the joy of your Master” (Mt. 25:21).