angels army parents - ENGLISH sep 2014

FOR PARENTS
ARMY
ngels
Call of a Teacher
Beautiful indeed and of
great importance is the vocation
of all those who aid parents
in fulfilling their duties
and who, as representatives
of the human community,
undertake the task of
education in schools.
This vocation demands
special qualities of mind
and heart, very careful
preparation, and continuing
readiness to renew and
to adapt.
(GRAVISSIMUM EDUCATIONIS
- second Vatican council document para 6)
SEPTEMBER 2014
19
c£
\o
Xn
kXyw
\w
-N
h-h
ssZ
w
mk
hniz
ngels
ARMY
Angels’ Army is a Jesus youth initiative intended to guide
small children to grow in loving relationship with God right
from the early days. It also gives tips to the parents to bring
them up in holiness right from the moment of conception. Pregnancy is a period
when mothers should be in total prayer and God reliance. During this time,
whatever the mother goes through, will be transferred to the child too. For this
very reason it is essential that parents be in the fulness of God's love, during
pregnancy period. Angels’ Army provides precious help for this.
CHILDREN IN ANGELS’ ARMY ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS
ACCORDING TO THEIR AGE
THE INFANTS ANGELS’ ARMY
Pregnant mothers spiritually adopt a baby who is likely to be aborted and
pray for him/her along with the prayers for the baby within their womb.
Recite one ‘Our Father’, one ‘Hail Mary’ and one ‘ Glory be’ for small
babies who haven’t started talking.
BABY ANGELS’ ARMY
Babies of 2-5 years can recite ‘Baby Rosary’ saying 1 Our Father,
1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory be with each mystery.
LITTLE ANGELS’ ARMY
(Children above 5 years should read the Bible, say ejaculations and
rosary daily)
INTENTIONS
1st Mystery:
For the Holy Father, Bishops, Priests, Religious
2nd
Mystery:
Parents and Teachers
rd
3th Mystery:
Members of Angels Army
4th Mystery:
Souls in Purgatory
5 Mystery:
Missionaries, Friends, aborted babies
When they start learning God’s word and His word becomes flesh in
them, discernment would be easier for them. Driven by the love for the
Holy Mother Church, in the fellowship of Mother Mary and angels and
saints, a new generation could be formed. This is the motto of
Angels’Army. This goal is being achieved mainly through Angels'
Army Magazine
20
SEPTEMBER 2014
Great is a teacher’s influence on
his pupils if they love him." - Don Bosco
"Study to become very rich, but rich in virtue,
because the greatest of all treasures is the holy fear of God."
- Don Bosco
The divine providence
Angels' Army magazine has been progressing for the last 10
years without any subscription fee, relying fully on the divine
providence. Now the subscription is more than twenty
thousand copies per month in two languages, Malayalam and
English, and is being possible with the sacrificial sharing of a
handful of people. We have to reach many more families that
are in need of this magazine.
If the Holy Spirit inspires you to support the Angels Army
ministry financially …then contact us for more details.
Tel : 8891585850, 9895923705. Angels Army,
A/c No. 67026275594, SBT, Kakkanad Branch,
IFSC Code : SBTR0000339.
SEPTEMBER 2014
21
Blessed Euphrasia
Eluvathingal
Thomas Tharakan, a
poor carpenter, diagnosed of
bone cancer has been
visiting the tomb of a
humble nun in a village 5 km
away from his own since the
beginning of 1997. Sister
22
SEPTEMBER 2014
Euphrasia was known as the
“praying mother” as prayer
was her very life breath.
From a tender age, her pious
parents ingrained in her the
desire to be a saint like her
patron, St. Rose of Lima and
she grew with a strong
desire to practice the
virtues, to suffer for Jesus
and to be holy, and to do all
this in a quiet, hidden
manner. Her dictum was to
do even the smallest of
things with utmost sincerity
and for the love of God. In
her efforts to completely
mortify her senses (against
which she valiantly
struggled till her very last
days) she would make her
food insipid by adding
more salt to it. She
would opt to eat food
which others would refuse.
As for the chores obligatory
for nuns in community life,
she had no qualms when
accepting and even choosing
menial jobs like cleaning
bathrooms and toilets as her
main chore.
Once she wrote to her
Spiritual Father, "Father, the
only joy in my heart is that I
have not done anything
extremely holy. But my heart
rejoices in the fact that by
the grace of God, I have
been able to overcome the
desires of the flesh and
mind, and all the happiness
that comes from fulfilling
them. Even during the
moments where I had every
right to experience joy, I
would say to myself,
sacrifice this joy for the sake
of eternal life. I can enjoy
this moment later. I know
how inclined my heart is
towards worldly bliss. But
my intense desire to never
hurt Jesus gives me the
strength to overcome the
temptations of this world."
She was also an
exemplary model of charity,
and treasured every
opportunity that she got to
serve another person. Once,
a nun came down with
cholera and was on her
deathbed. As it was a deadly
contagious disease, no one
dared to go near her. Yet
Blessed Euphrasia came
forward to take care of her
and found great joy in
serving her fellow Sister. For
every little kindness
bestowed upon her she
would reply, "I will not
forget it, not even after
death".
Frail health had always
been her constant
companion from childhood.
A miraculous healing which
she received along with the
vision of the holy Family had
brought her to the notice of
the local church authorities
when she was a little girl. As
she grew in holiness, she
started hiding her illnesses.
She didn't want to be the
focus of everyone’s
SEPTEMBER 2014
23
also nourished a great love
and devotion for the Blessed
Virgin Mary; as a result, she
was naturally an apostle of
the Eucharist and of the
Rosary. After her death,
people continued to seek
her intercession as they used
to during her lifetime and
she obtained great graces
for them.
attention so she bore her ill
health secretly. She drew
her strength from the Man
on the crucifix, her divine
Spouse and from His blessed
Mother. Her Sisters in
community referred to her
as the "Mobile Tabernacle",
because the divine presence
she kept within her radiated
to all she encountered. She
spent much of her day in the
convent chapel before the
Blessed Sacrament and she
24
SEPTEMBER 2014
Thomas Tharakan, cycled
10 kms daily just to invoke
the Praying Mother’s
intercession. Tharakan’s
doctor reviewed his scans
towards the end of the year
of 1997, several months
after the initial diagnosis. To
his utter disbelief the doctor
couldn’t find any signs of the
tumor cells which he was
planning to surgically
remove. Tharakan’s
miraculous healing was used
in the beatification
procedure of Sister
Euphrasia. He and his doctor
were present at her
beatification ceremony in
Rome. She is set for
canonization in November
2014.
The Beautiful Book of
Our Lives
In the parable of the vine
and the branches (John
15:2), Jesus talks about
pruning the branches that
bear fruit so that they may
bear more. Fruits come from
the Holy Spirit. Our
sufferings - which is the
pruning that takes place in
our lives - help us to bear
these fruits more
abundantly. This is a
conviction that comes from
the Holy Spirit. Prayer and
meditation help deepen this
conviction.
Once there was a
gardener who planted
bamboo in a corner of his
garden. He watered,
fertilised and nurtured it
well. It grew very quickly,
producing many new shoots.
One fine day the gardener
came with his saw and cut
one of them off. The
bamboo cried in pain saying,
'Please let me grow here....'.
But the gardener ignored the
cry of the bamboo. 'It was
for my own use that I
planted and tended to you,'
he said. He cut off its shoots
and chopped them to pieces.
He poked several holes in
them with a red hot iron.
The bamboo in its
unbearable pain tried to
protest, to no avail.
Nevertheless, what came
SEPTEMBER 2014
25
out of this painful process
was a beautiful flute capable
of making celestial, heartwarming music.
God will allow painful
experiences in our lives to
shape us into beautiful flutes
in His hands. Sufferings add
value to our lives and lead us
to greater freedom. Such
freedom will help us enjoy
the fullness of joy.
The most beautiful book
in the Bible is indeed the
Book of Job, which inspires
us to stay firm in faith during
times of suffering. Job was
God's faithful servant.
Blameless and upright, Job
was richly endowed in
domestic prosperity. God
allowed him to be pruned so
that he would bear more
fruit. Even when he lost his
wealth and children, Job did
not stray away from God. He
said, "Naked I came forth
from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I go back
again. The Lord gave and
The Lord has taken away;
26
SEPTEMBER 2014
blessed be the name of The
Lord!" (Job 1:21)
Job was afflicted with
loathsome sores from the
soles of his feet to the crown
of his head. And he took a
potsherd with which to
scrape himself, as he sat
among the ashes. Even his
wife blamed him and asked
him to curse God. But Job
told her, "Shall we receive
good at the hand of God,
and shall we not receive
evil?” (Job 2:10) Even in the
midst of his suffering, Job
did not complain against
God. The severity of the
sufferings he endured is
evident from his words:
"For my sighing comes as
my bread, and my groanings
are poured out like water.
For the thing that I fear
comes upon me, and what I
dread befalls me. I am not at
ease, nor am I quiet; I have
no rest; but trouble comes.”
(Job 3:24-26) Many of us go
through such an experience
in the face of the many
sufferings that come our
way. But if we stand firm
trusting in the Holy Spirit,
our lives will also turn out to
be beautiful books, as
beautiful as the book of Job.
Bonny Chellanam
A Teacher’s
Experience
It was my desire to be the best
teacher I could be-working in hand
with my Lord. I had wished that my
students be disciplined and well
behaved. I was in for a surprise when I was assigned to teach 6th
grade; my students were troublesome and my class was in
chaos! The students were each of different caliber, from
disrupted families. The class next door to mine had more
students, a strict teacher, and was disciplined to a fault. I was
determined to conquer my students' hearts through love and
patience than through tough measures; yet I was conflicted with
the concept of sparing the rod would spoil the child. My
determination to be the embodiment of love waned as I found it
very difficult to control my class. Jesus gave me a strong
conviction that only He could guide these students. I prayed
intently as I entered my class, “Jesus take control of my
class…Bless all of them.” My class was still unruly;
disappointment and impatience weighed my spirit down. I heard
Jesus asking me,” Whom should I entrust these students? Who
would guide these students from broken homes?” This gentle
SEPTEMBER 2014
27
reproach of Jesus was
enough for me. I
prayed, “Oh lord, I
accept them….mould
me as you wish.”
When my students
misbehaved, I dealt
them with a tender
loving heart.
I particularly recall
an instance where I
had given an assignment to finish at home. All but one of my
students turned it in. I was discouraged; yet decided to be
patient with him and asked him to turn it in the next day. Next
day came; he didn’t have his assignment and was distractive and
disruptive in my class. Throughout the week, I gave him several
chances; yet he kept ignoring my gentle reminders. I got upset
and felt that he was testing my authority in class. Finally I
decided to confront him and told him firmly that he had run out
of chances, and I needed to see the assignment the following
day or else there would be dire consequences. Suddenly his face
crumpled and his eyes welled up. At that moment I felt Jesus
reproaching me in my heart, “Where is your kindness and mercy
gone? What happened to forgive seventy times seven?” This
thought pierced my heart and I was disturbed throughout the
day. Later that day, I called him aside and sat with him for about
half an hour. I explained to him that I cared about him deeply
and that I wanted him to succeed. I went on to assure him that
he was a clever young man and deserving of my respect. The
next day, he greeted me with a smile and turned in his
assignment. He had done most of it neatly and precisely. I gave
28
SEPTEMBER 2014
him an appreciative
pat on the back as he
returned to his seat.
His face beamed and
he assured me that he
would turn in the rest
the next day….and he
did. He has never
again been his old self.
From that day forward
he was always
respectful of my class
and diligent with all his assignments. His progress has been
amazing. God’s intervention, which changed my approach
toward this little soul, transformed him into a radiant mirror that
reflected God’s love!
This is how the Lord moulded me through a 6th grader. Praise
and Glory to the Lord Almighty!
Bincy Shaji, Muvattupuzha
"Teachers, you share in the
ministry of the guardian angels
- angels sent by God to prepare
the way for him, and
to provide the means whereby
he may enter your
hearts and those of your pupils."
- St. John Baptist de la Salle
SEPTEMBER 2014
29
The IInd Vatican
Council speaks
to Teachers.
Feeling very keenly the weighty responsibility of diligently
caring for the moral and religious education of all her children, the
Church must be present with her own special affection and help for
the great number who are being trained in schools that are not
Catholic. This is possible by the witness of the lives of those who
teach and direct them, by the apostolic action of their fellowstudents
But let teachers recognize that the Catholic school depends
upon them almost entirely for the accomplishment of its goals and
programs. They should therefore be very carefully prepared so
that both in secular and religious knowledge they are equipped
with suitable qualifications and also with a pedagogical skill that is
in keeping with the findings of the contemporary world. Intimately
linked in charity to one another and to their students and endowed
with an apostolic spirit, may teachers by their life as much as by
their instruction bear witness to Christ, the unique Teacher.
Let them do all they can to stimulate their students to act for
themselves and even after graduation to continue to assist them
with advice, friendship and by establishing special associations
imbued with the true spirit of the Church
The Council also reminds Catholic parents of the duty of
entrusting their children to Catholic schools wherever and
whenever it is possible and of supporting these schools to the best
of their ability and of cooperating with them for the education of
their children.
(GRAVISSIMUM EDUCATIONIS
-second vatican council document para 7,8)
30
SEPTEMBER 2014
The Miraculous
Hand of God
What follows is a
miracle that God worked for
Julie - defying experts,
doctors and medical science.
Julie and Nixon, a couple
from Alappuzha in Kerala
have four children. When
their third child was around
two years old, Julie suffered
a silent heart attack. After
evaluating her condition,
doctors confirmed that
Julie’s heart and kidney were
severely damaged and that
her chance of survival
beyond two days was slim.
Yet, the family prayed
with faith which led Julie
back to life. Doctors
informed Julie that the
prescribed medications
would minimize her chances
of conceiving another child.
Julie continued with her
treatment but started
experiencing discomfort
after sometime. Further
examinations confirmed that
Julie was four and a half
month into her fourth
pregnancy. This was
surprising and unbelievable
to the doctors as Julie’s
medications should have
inhibited her ability to
conceive.
SEPTEMBER 2014
31
medications. As Julie went
forth with her pregnancy, she
endured a great deal of
criticism but remained
steadfast in her faith and
prayer.
The doctors advised that
the baby would be born with
defects and it would be in
their best interest to
terminate the pregnancy.
They also insisted that the
treatments be resumed after
the termination. Upon
hearing this, Julie’s sister
Usha urged her not to have
an abortion and the family at
once contacted the Angels'
Army and requested for
prayers. The Angels' Army
recommended them to a
doctor who then encouraged
the family to proceed with
the pregnancy in faith. Later
Julie went back to the
hospital determined to
proceed with her pregnancy
and resumed her treatment
plan with lower risk
32
SEPTEMBER 2014
Julie was scheduled to
have her C-section on April 1
st and her family was
informed that Julie might not
make it through. Julie went
forth for the surgery
strengthened by her sister's
words - "Even if you die, you
will be a saint in heaven who
will intercede for us."
As scheduled, on April 1st
Julie had a healthy baby girl.
The mother and child are
doing well, reminding us that
with God everything is
possible- even what might
seem impossible.
The baby will be baptized
soon by the Bishop of
Kottappuram who supported
the family through his
prayers.
May we bow humbly
before our Lord in
thanksgiving to honor this
miracle!
Julie, Allappuzha
BIBLE
STUDY
We thank God, for many families have been studying the
Word of God seriously. Many shared that, diligently
studying the scriptures along with family members has
been a great experience.
For the past four months, we have been concentrating on
the gospel of St. Mark. Before entering the next lesson in
the upcoming edition, we encourage you to meditate on
the synoptic section from the gospels of Mathew and
Luke.
If you or your children have any doubts, even if they seem
basic, please feel free to write to us. We invite your
valuable suggestions for making this article more fruitful.
Editorial Board
"An educator should be plain
and effective like salt,
or like the lamp which quietly
lights the room.”
(Pope Francis)
SEPTEMBER 2014
33
The Chain
Rosary
To pray without ceasing
• One Rosary-daily
• for ½ an hour, at your place,
at a fixed time.
Let us pray for our children
round the clock. No doubt,
this will become a fortress
for our children.
• If you are interested to join in,
give us your name
and prayer timing.
Ph: 9846273731,
9995914040, 9895923705
Blessed is
the fruit
of the womb
A leaflet prepared by Angels’
Army pregnancy wing
for the pregnant women to prepare
prayerfully throughout 9 months
Blessed
is the
fruit of the womb
For he that is mighty has
done to me great things;
and holy is his name. (Luke 1:49)
For copies þ
8891585850, 9895354201
0484-6444702,
[email protected]
Night Vigil
VENUE : St. Francis Assisi Cathedral
2nd FRIDAY of every month
7 PM to 10 PM
All are cordially welcome !
Those who cannot reach
Cathedral can join in it,
being in your own places.
Please forward your prayer
requests by letter / phone /
email to us.
We will pray for you.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 9497583885.
The pregnancy wing under
the intercession team of
Angels army prays for all
the pregnant women and
the baby in the womb,
throughout the 9 months
of pregnancy. When
you call us for prayer
support,both the parents
and the baby enters
this prayer chain. At the
time of Delivery We offer
special prayers if informed .
9061963071, 8891585850
[email protected]
www.angelsarmy.in