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
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