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Greetings in
the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ,
Dear Brothers and Sisters and Children
in Christ.
I thank God for our beloved Diocesan
Thirumeni, through whom he has made it
possible for me to be with you for a
short period in the spiritual services.
I humbly request the prayers and whole
hearted cooperation of each and every
one of you for an effective ministry and
service.
Remember that God?s arms are open and
his hands extended to his children.
Jesus said ?Father in to thy hands I
commit my spirit.? Not in to the grave,
not into the void, not into the dark
unknown, but into the hands of God. One
of the great temptations at the hour of
sorrow is to believe that our suffering
is a horrible blow from God and that
therefore we are under his wrath and
cannot commit our spirit to his care.
Let us learn here from Jesus. His death
was a horrible blow from God. He became
a curse for us. But Jesus did not
abandon faith in God?s love for him.
Rather, Jesus committed his life into
the Father?s hands in the belief that
the Father?s purpose for him was love.
Likewise, when the world threatens us
with a painful blow, we must fall freely
into the loving hands of God Almighty.
May this time be a time for us to
rededicate ourselves to the life of the
cross. Knowing that God ultimately
reigns, that God is compassionate, that
our Spirit will live on, and that God?s
arms are open and his hands extended to
us should bring us confidence and
assurance that the cross of Christ is
the only cross worth caring in this
world. October 22nd Sunday our Church
celebrates as family Sunday. Let us
thank God for the gift of family life
and let us pray together for the
strength to face the problems of our
world.
May the Lord help us to build Christian
homes with people transformed by his
grace. ?Homes for Homeless? is a major
project of our church. Your concern in
this matter is very appreciating. I
thank God for the marvelous support
given from the members of our parish.
The month of November is very
significant. November 22nd is the
Thanksgiving Day. We celebrate this
auspicious day through Thanksgiving
Service, Harvest Fest and Auction. What
all we have is God given. What belongs
to God, we are submitting to him.
Acknowledging the blessing of God, Let
us all actively participate and
cooperate in the harvest fest and
auction.
The First Sunday of November is World
Sunday School Day. It reminds us of the
importance of Children in family and
society, the relevance of the training
of the children in God?s path and our
obligation of transferring our faith and
heritage to the younger generations.
The month of December is important with
two things. One, it is the end of a year
and the other is Christmas celebrations.
Christmas is a season of great joy and
happiness. We are celebrating the birth
of Jesus. The angels sang the beautiful
song of peace, goodwill toward men (Luke
2:14) Eternity is poured down in human
history. Kingdom of God has been
established in this world. Christmas is
not digging out something from the old
memories of the unconscious, but living
and experiencing Christ likeness in
daily life. Let the joy of Christmas
blossom like thousands of flowers in our
hearts and spread the fragrance of peace
all around. My wife Elsy joins with me
in wishing you a Merry Christmas and a
blessed New Year.
Loving and Sincerely,
Rev. Philip Varughese
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