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2004 Prayer Group "Eucharistic Flame"

September 17, 2004

Bible word Matthew 18.1-5

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

Reflection:

Also in our life a change is necessary. But only the Holy Spirit can cause this change.
Children are always depend on their parents, they believe them, they trust them and they have no fear about tomorrow.  

So we ask for his grace, so that we also receive more confidence and faith in God and we can give all our fears into his hands.

All best wishes for your prayer meeting
Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

September 24, 2004

Bible word Luke 9.10-15

When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here. He replied, You give them something to eat. They answered, We have only five loaves of bread and two fish- unless we go and buy food for all this crowd. (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each. The disciples did so, and everybody sat down.

Reflection:

Jesus was so kind to the people. Also we can practice this kindness in our life. Jesus can cause miracles in our life, therefore we may believe in HIM and trust in HIM.  

12 diciples and 12 baskets of bread. Each deciple received in each case a basket of bread. Why? Because they are always with Jesus. So if we are with Jesus, then also our life will be full of grace. Thank you Jesus!

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

October 01, 2004

Bible word John 2.1-11

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, They have no more wine. Dear woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My time has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now. This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Reflection:

Jesus is the son of the living God; he is always with us, so we can give our life and our family totaly in the hands of the loving Jesus. We can pray to Jesus and ask him for God experience in our life and our family, so that our spiritual life may grow. We can aks for special help of our mother Maria

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

October 08, 2004

Bible word Luke 19.1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner'. But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Reflection:

Jesus is ready to help us any time. If we are interested exactly the same like Zachaeus, then also our life will change into a new life. Also in our life we will meet Jesus, therefore we should encounter a true friendship to Jesus. That will give us a new happiness in our life.

Best wishes and hold me in your prayers
P. Joseph Vadakkel

October 15, 2004

Bible word Matthew 12.46-50

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you. He replied to him, Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

Reflection:

Mother and brothers of Jesus were very happy to see Jesus and also we are interested to see him in our life. If we are really interested to see Jesus then also Jesus will be interested in our life.
The prayer time is the time of the meeting with our Lord Jesus Christ; in many different ways he will visit us, by joy, peace, luck...
We have the possibility to become his brothers and sisters, we should never forget this. There is only one thing we should do: Fulfill the will of God! What does it mean: to love our Lord and our fellow men.

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

October 22, 2004

Bible word Luke 1.34-38

How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin? The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God. I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. Then the angel left her.

Reflection:

If we look at our life, we see many questions.
These questions often block our joy and our luck.
There is only one answer to all our questions: "Ask for the strength of the holy spirit, this holy spirit will work in our life and will help!"

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

October 29, 2004

Bible word Luke 10.38-42

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.

Reflection:

We see, how happy Maria and Marta are, when Jesus visited them.
We could be also very happy. How? Because he says: Matt 18.20 "where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Jesus now is among us, with us.
Sometimes we are likewise so busily and concerned, exactly the same as Marta.
But only one thing is really important: To be with Jesus! HE will take care for our life!

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

November 05, 2004

Bible word Matthew 10.27-32

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.

Reflection:

Oh, what beautiful words.

We can be very lucky to be joined with this prayergroup, because Jesus likes it.
We show Jesus that we belong to him. Jesus will acknowledge us in heaven. Praise the Lord!
In our life there are possibilities to declare that we belong to Jesus: by our prayergroups, by good work for Jesus and our fellow man, good words, charitable work...

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

November 12, 2004

Bible word Luke 15.1-7

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them. Then Jesus told them this parable: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Reflection:

We receive a completely clear and beautiful picture of our loving Jesus. He really loves us, he came into this world with only one goal: to show the love of our Lord. His name is "love". Why? He looks with love, he speaks with love, he acts with love, and... he judges with love. Thus it is a very good sheeped.
He looks for the sheep very thoroughly. If one got lost, he searches until he finds it. You see, how deep his love is!
What means this for us? Sometimes we believe that nobody loves us. That we are a lost sheep. But do not forget, he looks for you. He can find you, maybe during a prayer meeting, maybe during a pilgram, maybe during the confession, or he appears in a word or an action of a fellow man. He is trueful alive.
If he finds the sheep (us), he takes us on the arm. Isn't it marvelous, can't we be very happy about it? We are on his arm, how wonderful it is? Why? All our problems are in his arms, all our suffering are in his arms, all our hopes are in his arms. How however can we make him happy? By repenting our sins.

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

November 19, 2004

Bible word Luke 5.1-11

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding round him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch. Simon answered, Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets. When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men. So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Reflection:

This Bible passage reveals us a deep meaning. Jesus wants to help us in our problems and difficulties. Peter worked very hard, however without result.
In this hopeless situation Jesus helped him. Peter worked with Jesus and he obeyed HIS words. And the miracle happened in his life, he caught a large number of fish, he met Jesus in this situation and became a follower of Jesus.
Also in our life sometimes we have the feeling to attain no results, no progressing. Do not lose your hope, Jesus is the son of the living God, he will help you.
Nothing is impossible for HIM. Believe in HIM and trust in HIM.
Peter met Jesus in this very painful situation - and in our life situations Jesus is very much alive - therefore believe in HIM and trust in HIM.
Jeremiah 33,3 says: "Call me I will answer you".

So I wish you a nice prayer meeting.
Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

November 26, 2004

Bible word 2 Kings 4.1-7

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves. Elisha replied to her, How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? Your servant has nothing there at all, she said, except a little oil. Elisha said, Go round and ask all your neighbours for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side. She left him and afterwards shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, Bring me another one. But he replied, There is not a jar left. Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.

Reflection:

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

December 03, 2004

Bible word Isaiah 30.15

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

Reflection:

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

December 10, 2004

Bible word Matthew 3.1-12

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Reflection:

How do we prepare for coming of our Lord?
What is the real meaning of Advent?

All of us probably have experienced preparing for the arrival of somebody we love who has been working abroad for some years. It could be our mother or father, brother or sister, or a distant relative. On the day of the arrival, we ensure that the house is thoroughly cleaned, that his favourite frames decorate the walls of the house and that his favourite food is served.
Advent is very much like this. It is a period of preparation for the arrival not of a relative abroad, but of our lord Jesus, the Messiah. And as we prepare to celebrate his birth, we are remained that a heartfelt welcome is more than just a physical preparation. We are welcoming Jesus in our heart. For the better welcoming we need repentance of our selfish ways. Our service may more, not selfish oriented but Christ oriented and so it must happen not outside but within us.
This is the very basic Advent message: repentance and self-conversion.
So very practically what we can do?
We can have the very good confession, more time for prayer, always keeping a thankful heart, and finally we can keep a small prayer always:

JESUS STAY WITH US

Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

December 17, 2004

Bible word Matthew 1.18-24

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce herquietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel- which means, God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
 

Reflection:

St. Joseph was a man of principles, also a man of compassion. For him justice cannot be separate from grace and mercy. He lives the gospel, which the child in Mary's womb will later preach. Because Joseph is "righteous" in the true sense of the word, God sends him an angel to reveal the divine plan.
My dear brothers and sisters,
really Joseph was undergoing with a deep problem connected with his wife Mary. But Joseph very deeply trust in God and the problem was solved.
So what inspiration we can take from the life of St. Joseph?
Let us more trust in God, he will help us and guide us.

I wish you a nice preparation of Merry Christmas.
Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

December 24, 2004

Bible word Luke 2.1-14

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.
 

Reflection:

The circumstance, which surrounds his birth, indicates who he is. There was no royal decree, in order to introduce him. His arrival was announced by angels, who spread the word, by lovely shepherd that a child was born in a manger. A Saviour was born, for you - who is Messiah and Lord. The Saviour came as a weak and strengthless baby. He came as a prince of peace, which feeds us with its presence. He came to help us, face our fears and bring us peace and joy.
The baby in the manger experienced the sad realities of the life. The world ignored the Saviour; he was poor and born in a manger. He knew that this would happen, but he came into our world just the same. He came to us to become the good word: "Do not be afraid.... a saviour has been born for you."
He does not hide the sad realities of life from us. Instead he asks us to face them head-on. The Saviour, who emptied himself of all self-impotence, teaches us, to become more humbly and to love more deeply, to face the future with greater hope and find peace, because he is within us.

I wish you MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel

December 31, 2004

Bible word Matthew 2.13-15

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son.

Reflection:

The today’s bible words give deep meaning for our life. St. Joseph steers his family through the trials and difficulties of exile until he receives instructions to return. Faithful and obedient, Joseph does not forsake his capacity to think. When he gets back to Israel, his sense of responsibility makes him fear going to Judea because Herod's son Archelaus reigned there. Joseph has learned to work with the divine plan. A new message from an angel confirms that he is doing the right thing, and Joseph takes his family to live in Nazareth.

1. St. Joseph always obedient the divine plan, some times he did not understand that, but he believed God's mighty providence,
2. In our personal life or family life some times we cannot understand some of the problem or difficulty, but believe in God and his divine plan,
3. A little prayer of St. Patropio. It is good for all time:
          OH GOD I GIVE MY PAST LIFE IN YOUR MERCY,
             I GIVE MY PRESENT LIFE IN YOUR LOVE.

I wish you a nice and wonderful New Year
Your loving brother in Christ
P. Joseph Vadakkel