Welcome my dear brothers, sisters, boys
and girls,
“Come Near My Children Do Not Be
Afraid...
I Have Great News For You!”
As we enter our Marian month of October,
let us reflect
on the month of the Rosary...
“The Lord looks down to see if even one
seeks God” (Ps 14:2)
The Bible testifies that Sodom and Gomorrah were
destroyed because God could not find
even a few men in these prosperous twin
cities to stand for righteousness. Scripture also
accounts that when one virgin
in Nazareth offered her life in the hands of God; God could
take the form of
flesh and accomplish the eternal plan of salvation for the whole of
humankind.
What the angel described to Mary bears great significance. She could not
understand how she could become a mother when she was not living with a man.
The angel
explained that nothing was impossible for God. Mary immediately and
totally surrendered
her life to God saying “Let it be done to me according to
your word” (Lk 1:38). It is enough
for God if one person can surrender in trust
to God for the work of salvation to be initiated.
Five loaves and two fishes
placed willingly in the hands of Jesus were enough to feed the
multitude of
five thousand. A little leaven would suffice to change the entire mass of dough
(Lk 13:21). A small candle is enough to quench the thickest darkness.
The angel of God explained to Mary, “The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will overshadow you” (Lk
1:35). The Holy Spirit is the key to understand the
mystery of salvation but
the Holy Spirit needs to work in and through someone. In every
difficult
situation God is seeking willing individuals who will open their hearts to the
Holy
Spirit. When God does not find any it is then that the powers of sin have
free rein and wreak
destruction. Hence the pain in the voice of God crying out
in the temple: “Who will go for
me?” One young man opened his heart to hear the
voice and became a prophet to
generations (Is 6). This young man Isaiah was
himself overwhelmed by the sin that had
afflicted the community he came from.
He cried “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Is 6:5). His confession
brought him
the assurance of God’s forgiveness which he experienced as a burning
sensation
on his tongue.
We often complain that evil is gaining the upper hand
and the innocent are being
persecuted; the rich and the powerful perpetrating
unjust structures and the poor being
driven to destruction. This cry, however,
is a careless lament, an excuse to disown
responsibility.
The month of October is dedicated for the devotion to
Mary through rosary, “The Month of
Rosary”! This year, the month of October has
another great significance too, “The end of
Faith year”. And the golden jubilee
year of La Salette Retreat Center in Attleboro. Hence,
this month of October is
an occasion when God holds us responsible for the renewal of the
community we
are part of. Our insufficiency due to tiredness in seeking holiness should not
pull us back. God is asking us to open our hearts to Him to enable Him to work
in and
through us. He will surely usher in His Kingdom in us and around us.
One of the pioneers of herbal
medicine in Kerala has pointedly affirmed that for every
ailment a man may
suffer there is a herb planted by God in the vicinity, carrying the
healing
remedy for the sickness. So also for every ailment in our society, God can work
restoration through one person who opens his heart for the kingdom of God to
take root.
Are you that person, who opens his heart for the kingdom of God?
This is a sacred time
when God reveals His plan to us with the good news of
salvation.
Rev. Fr. Tom
Puthusseril, M.S., New Shrine Director
Let us pray for each other!
This year is our jubilee year! The National Shrine of Our
Lady of La Salette was
founded by Fr. René Sauvé, M.S. on December 7, 1953 and
The Missionaries of Our
Lady of La Salette began their missionary work 60 years
ago! Come be with us
in
our jubilee year’s festivities!
