Music of the Waterfall

Just see and listen

to the healing action of the waterfall!

Click the forward button above...

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Let us listen to the message the Lord gives us today!

"Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters...

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and return not thither but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which purpose,

and prosper in the thing for which i sent it."

For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and the hills before you

shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." (Isaiah 55)

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Thank you for visiting. I trust you enjoy browsing this mini-website on "Formative Christian Spirituality" which has the manifest purpose of helping all of us pilgrims in the Lord's service deepen their spiritual life and to grow in faith, hope and love. I pray that the postings on this blog will help us grow in intimacy with God, with others and the rest of creation.

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Your comments to: vmalpan@gmail.com

Indian Prayer 1

From Rabindranth Tagore's Gitanjali

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action--- Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."

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The author, Rabindranath Tagore (Indian - (1861-1941) is a Nobel Laureate for Literature.

He received the Nobel Prize for his work, GITANJALI (Song Offerings)

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My E-Mail: vmalpan@gmail.com

Sharing the light of Christ

Burning candles symbolize 'presence and hope'.

They symbolize the divine presence as well as the presence of the one who lights them.

Divine presence in the form of light,

God is light.

Human presence in the form of ever-longing,

Ever-burning desire to get in touch with the divine light,

Burning candles are really intercessory prayers, prayers of thanksgiving because they stand for

the faith experience of the persons who light them.

The anxiety, concern, hope, thanksgiving and aspirations of the persons are purified in the

burning flames.

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Beyond the materiality of the burning candles,

There is discernible the mystery of the INCARNATION!

Lo! The Divine in the form of a burning flame!

Lo! The Human in the form of a burning candle!

The Human Longing giving birth to the Divine Incandescence!

What a faith experience!

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Let us kindle a fire in the hearts of our unfortunate brothers and sisters who are marginalized,

persecuted, unjustly treated... Who suffer from incurable diseases...

The Christmas Star has to shed its radiant light on those

who are outside our family circles, our community,

our tribal/caste/country/continent loyalties... We have to let Jesus be born again in every person in every continent.

Let us not imprison Jesus within the four walls of our house, community.

Let us not mould Jesus in our own image!

When we take the initiative to get out of ourselves and get into the lives of others with a flame of

love, compassion and forgiveness we celebrate the "Coming of the Lord".

Let us give Jesus to our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the form of an encouraging word,

a welcoming word, a smile, a little bit of

financial help, a friendly visit, an expression of sympathy.

Let there be the saving presence of Jesus in our plans to celebrate Christmas this year.

Let us not be too much inward looking!

Let us allow Jesus to be born again IN THIS WORLD!

Amen! Come Lord Jesus!

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Contact: vmalpan@gmail.com

Thank you!

Stay Faithful

Mary Our Mother, place us with Christ your SON. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

A Christian Story Several years ago, a preacher accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.' When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change ' The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?' 'Yes' he replied. 'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.' When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.' Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test! Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself ' Christian .' Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. I'm glad a friend forwarded this to me as a reminder. So, my friend, I choose to forward it to you through my blog. God bless you; I hope you are having a fruitful season of Lent! If you don't pass this on to anybody, nothing bad will happen; but, if you do, you will have ministered to someone. The Will of God will never take you to where His Grace will not PROTECT you... Stay FAITHFUL and Be GRATEFUL!

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vmalpan@gmail.com

ANIMALS AND GOD'S PROVIDENCE

Look at the animals of the forest.... They do not cultivate...

How do they grow?

Who takes care of them?

O God ! You are so great in your creatures...

Who can understand the significance of your providence!

May your name be glorified in your creatures! ********************* vmalpan@gmail.com

Getting Lost

Enough reason to thank the Lord for what you see below...

It is good to get lost occasionally...

That can be a prelude to genuine discovery...

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vmalpan@gmail.com

What makes prayer work

The Feast of Pentecost Holy Spirit prays within us with sighs too deep for words...!

What Makes Prayer Work... It is not we ourselves who pray but the Holy Spirit who prays in us (Rom 8:26). Our prayer is good in so far as the Holy Spirit informs it. 1) Our prayer has to be attentive… 2) Our prayer has to be humble… 3) Our prayer has to be reverent… 4) Our prayer has to be loving… 5) Our prayer has to be confident… 6) Our prayer has to be persevering….

Continual Prayer “Men ought always to pray, and not faint” (Lk 18:1) St. Paul instructs us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)… It is the prayer of the heart… Actual prayer is charity in practice… Habitual prayer is the disposition prepared for the practice… It is as easy and natural to the heart to pray always as to love always… A person can love God always, without always thinking of him and telling him of one’s love. It is enough if he is determined not only to do nothing contrary to the love of God at any time, but also to take every opportunity of proving one’s love and to make acts of love, whenever grace prompts one to do so. Surely it is in this way that mother loves her children, a wife her husband, and friend love friend. It would be to misunderstand the whole matter if we supposed that the occupations of life are a hindrance to this sort of prayer… Every action performed in the sight of God because it is the will of God, and in the manner that God wills, is a prayer. Nor is it necessary that the action should be good and holy in itself; it may be quite indifferent and yet one the less a prayer, in virtue of the intention with which it is performed. “Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Col 3:17) “whether therefore you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1Cor 10: 31) If there is a prayer of action, there is also a prayer of suffering… Let your suffering be borne for God; suffer with submission and patience and suffer in union with Jesus Christ and you will be offering a most excellent prayer. ````````````````````````````````````````````` Cfr. Jean-Nicholas Grou, How to Pray (Cambridge, James Clarke & Co, 1982)

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