THE TRUE WONDER OF THE CROSS!

I have had the great blessing to be a part of the beautiful celebration of Holy Week in Divine for at least 6 years now- I have only been away home in Malaysia twice in the years I have served here. The Holy Week this year has had a profound effect on my heart. I feel a great change has begun within me since late December last year - in understanding and embracing the crosses in my life instead of trying to push them away.  Somehow the whole Catholic teaching of learning to love the Cross and to share in the suffering of Christ for the salvation of my loved ones and the world was not too easy to accept with an open heart. I now realize it is because I was still focussed on myself - a case of "ME! ME! ME!" instead being able to really love God more than myself.

Living in Divine is by itself an 'EASTER EXPERIENCE' - I have no regrets choosing to give up my career to serve here fulltime. When I look back, I know that there are many areas in my life that I have been pruned and moulded for the better.  That did not come the easy way - there was pain but many, many more moments of pure, inner joy of tangibly feeling God's Love. I am learning to carry the crosses that come my way and not to struggle and try to throw these crosses away for hopefully smaller ones! Rather, it is to trust that  "with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

All I have to do is to learn to live joyfully each day and to leave everything in God's Hands. I am finally learning to embrace the Cross.  My faith and my Joy comes from the Wonderful, Victorious Cross of Christ! The song above - "The Wonderful Cross" by Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin is perfect for Easter!

May God bless all of us with the grace to love generously and to live humbly...Below are some 2011 pictorial memories of the Holy Season of Lent & Easter in Divine. Wishing all of you a Glorious & Blessed Easter!

JOY IS THE MYSTERY OF LOVE - MOTHER TERESA

Mother Teresa

The first day I was back in my office in India last Thursday, I received a video of Mother Teresa. It was a hectic day for me and I wanted to put off watching the video. Yet something in my heart prompted me to make the time  to watch it. So I did, watching it in 'instalments' - as the video had different subtopics. The first few minutes of just listening to Mother Teresa's message reminded me once again of how inspirational Mother Teresa has been to the world even today - all because of her incredible capacity to love and her deep faith. Later that night, I watched the video in its entirety feeling a great sense of peace and tranquility in my heart and mind.

For Christians, this is the last week of Lent as we begin Holy Week today with Palm Sunday mass celebration.  The Holy Season of Lent is a time when each of us is called to reflect upon our lives, to repent and to live a life pleasing to God. 

Mother Teresa's message is very simple but incredibly powerful and pierces one's heart. I have always been inspired by Mother Teresa - how this small-sized nun with a huge heart revolutionized the world to love the poor. She epitomizes "Love In Action".

One point that really touched me was her message that "We need lots of love to forgive; lots of humility to forget. It is not complete forgiveness if we do not forget also. As long as we do not forget, we have not forgiven fully. And this is how we hurt each other...We need humility to forget." 

I have found the wisdom of Mother Teresa's words to be true. It is not easy but our hearts are only free when we can let go of hurts and pains and have no feelings of anger and hatred towards any person - no matter what. We will be given the grace and it becomes easier and easier to focus on the good in others.

The inspiring video of Mother Teresa below - "JOY IS THE MYSTERY OF LOVE" is truly worth watching - her message is timeless and cuts across all barriers to speak to every person's heart. It will make us really take a deep look into our lives. Mother Teresa is like a gentle and powerful voice of "Conscience".