Teresian Voice Volume 5

Volume 5/ April 2018

T eresia n
V oice

CARRYINGTHEFLAMEOFFAITHANDTHETRADITIONINLIFEANDWORSHIPACROSSTHEWORLD

Chief Edit or
Rev. Fr. Tomy Puliyanampat t ayil MSFS

Edit or s
Suja Vincent , Dona Biju, Rashmi Sam, Babloo Chacko

Neet ha Shiju, Kar ol Chacko, Joe Scar ia

Address: Assumption Church, 1227,
7th Ave N, Nashville TN-37208

This newsletter is a publication of St. Teresa of Calcutta Syro Malabar Catholic Mission, Nashville,
Tennessee USA. This contains general information and meant for private circulation.

Ph on e: 615-943-8706 WWW.SYROM ALABARNASHVILLE.ORG

1

Importance of Easter!

From Your Pastor’s Desk,

Easter is the greatest and the most important feast of our faith for three reasons.

1)The resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian faith: It is the greatest of the miracles,
proving that Jesus is God; and that is why St. Paul writes; “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is
in vain; and your faith is in vain” (I Cor 15: 14). “Jesus is Lord, he is risen” (Rom 10: 9), was the central theme of
the kerygma ('preaching'), of the apostles because Jesus prophesied it as a sign of his divinity; “Tear down this
temple and in three days I will build it again” (Jn 2: 19). No founder of any other religion has an empty tomb as
Jesus has. Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection: Jesus assured Martha at the tomb of Lazarus: “I
am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will live even though he dies” (Jn 11: 25-26). 3) Easter
is a feast which gives us hope and encouragement in this world of pain and sorrows: It reminds us that life is
worth living. It is our belief in the real presence of the risen Lord that gives meaning to our personal as well as
our communal prayer. It gives freedom from temptations and unnecessary worries and fears.

Message of Easter!

1. To live a life of the “people of Resurrection”: Easter gives us the joyful message that we are a People of
Resurrection. This means that we are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits,
dangerous addictions, despair, discouragement or doubts. Instead, we are expected to live a joyful and
peaceful life; constantly experiencing the real presence of the resurrected Lord in all the events of our
lives with boredom, suffering, pain and tensions of our day-to-day life.

2. To live a disciplined life in the Risen Christ: Our awareness of the all-pervading presence of the risen Lord
in and around us, and the strong conviction of our own resurrection, help us to control our thoughts,
desires, words and behavior. This salutary thought inspires us to honor our bodies, keeping them holy,
pure and free from evil habits and addictions. Our conviction about the presence of the risen Lord in our
neighbors and in all those with whom we come into contact should encourage us to respect them, and to
render them loving, humble and selfless service.

3. To become transparent Christians: We are called to be transparent Christians, showing others through our
lives the love, mercy, compassion and spirit of self-sacrificing service of the risen Jesus living in our
hearts.

4. To live a life of love in the power of Jesus’ Resurrection: Let us recall that each time we try to practice
Christian charity, mercy and forgiveness and each time we fight against temptations we share in the
resurrection of Jesus.

May the Risen Lord watch over and protect us in all that we do in our daily life. May we cherish the
Easter Joy every day of our lives. May God bless all of us.

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY EASTER - 2018!

Lovingly Your Achan, Fr. Tomy Puliyanampattayil, MSFS

Vol: 5

2

"ഞാൻ ബലിയലല കരുണ ആണ് ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നത്"

Sam Anto Puthenkalam

Vol: 5

3
Vol: 5

4

ലലാകത്തെ ജയിക്കുവാൻ

Joe Scaria

Vol: 5

5
Vol: 5

6

സ്വർഗ്ഗെിലലക്കുള്ള ദൂരം

Karol Chacko

Vol: 5

7

Maria Goretti

Maria Goretti was born on October 16,1890. When Maria's father died of malaria, her
mother struggled to feed Maria and her siblings. Maria's siblings worked in the fields while she
cooked, sewed, and looked after her sister, Teresa. On July 5th,1902, Maria was sitting on her
doorsteps sewing a shirt, when her neighbor Alessandro grabbed her and tried to do bad things
to her. Maria screamed that it was a mortal sin and that he would go to Hell. Alessandro began to
choke her. Maria said she would rather die than commit a sin. When Alessandro heard that, he
grappled a knife and stabbed her 11 times. Maria tried to reach the door and Alessandro stabbed Sairah Chacko
her 3 more times and ran away. Teresa woke to the sound of her sister’s cries and started crying
too. When Maria's family returned they found her bleeding. They quickly took her to the nearest hospital, where she went
to surgery without anesthesia. The next day, Maria forgave Alessandro and prayed to see him in heaven. She died while
looking at a picture of Mother Mary. Maria was only 11 when she died.

Maria Goretti inspires us all. Even when Maria knew she was going to die, she still didn't give into sin. We all should
be like Maria Goretti.

One Voice Can Change the World

She wanted to go to school. “If a man can go, why can’t a woman,” said little Malala. She just
wanted to go to school. All she wanted was education, and she was afraid of no one. 16-year-old Malala
Yousafzai was shot on October 9, 2012, by the Taliban.

Malala was on a bus with her friends singing songs. That’s when the bus stopped. Everyone Michele Mary Vincent

looked around wondering what is going on? A Taliban man asked, “Who is Malala?”. Everyone looked at

Malala. He aimed the gun at her. He pulled the trigger and the bullet flew out of his gun. It traveled at

1000 feet per a second, slipped under Malala’s skin, but as it turns toward her brain, the skull turns out to be so strong and

curved that, it forced the bullet to ricochet away. The bullet smashed her eardrum and pierced the nerve on her face and hit her

shoulder. In England, Dr. Fiona heard about this child and came to help her. Everything in her body was failing. She gave a

recommendation. She said that maybe, they could help her in England. It was also risky because her recommendation could be

wrong. The Emir of the United Arab Emirates sends one of his royal planes to take her to England. It was a long eight hours as Dr.

Fiano kept Malala alive breath by breath. Dr. Fiano said, "If you believe in miracles then, Yes".

While she was in a coma, she had a seven-day dream. She knew that death didn’t want to kill her, and God was with her
and the people prayed for her. She never cried, even when they poked needles in her back. She knew it was going to be a new
life. Doctors were afraid that she wouldn't walk, see, hear, or speak ever again. The first thing she scribbled on her diary was,
"Who will pay the medical bills and where is my father?" The doctor said that the government was paying, and he would come
to England soon. As time passed, she got better. The Taliban tried to silence her, but they only made her louder.

She thought of many ways to help the world. Some called her “A Peacemaker”. She helped many women get the rights
they deserve. She gave books and pens to children all around the world. Many supported her. Malala thinks it is not important
to catch the one who did this to her but to tell them that she will do anything for education.

There is a reason why she survived. God knew there was something in her that was going to change the world. The
reason why Malala’s dad chose that name was that in ancient times a woman named Malala let her people to victory. She loved
her school and she loved her small house in Swat, but she now has a new life. Malala says,” God has saved me”.

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”

Vol: 5