Nouwen in his book " Our Second BIrth".

Henri Nouwen is a  spiritual writer whose books  have profound influence on the minds of those who look for guidance in spirituality.
 I was very much touched by the ideas in his famous book,"Wounded healer." I would always grab his books whenever I find any new ones in  book stores. Recently I  came across a few of his books  at St.Paul's Book store at Kochi.
Here are some of the precious thoughts that Nouwen has noted in his journal  "Our Second Birth."

"What a powerful and hopeful world( is ours). Life with all its turmoil is an opportunity to witness to God's love!And our witness will be irresistible when we realize that God keeps us completely safe...
But when we remain anchored in the heart of God, rooted in God's love, we have nothing to fear, not even death , and everything joyful and everything painful will give us a chance to proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus.
Only one thing seems clear to me.Everyday should be well lived. Did I forgive? Did I love?..I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and in the life to come....
It seems that sometimes distance creates closeness,absence creates presence,loneliness creates community....
All human beings have their tragedies--death , depression,betrayal, rejection..We seldom have much control over them.But do we choose to live them as occasions to blame , or as occasions to see God at work?
The whole Hebrew Bible is a story of human tragedies , but when these tragedies are lived  and remembered as  the context in which God's unconditional love for the people of Israel  is revealed, this story becomes sacred history.
Good Friday is much more than reliving the passion of Jesus; it is entering into solidarity with the passion of all the people of our planet, whether in the past, the present or the future. In Jesus all human suffering is collected .The broken heart of Jesus is the broken heart of God.The broken heart of God is the broken heart of the world.

Fr.Chettiath

Yesterday , I went to Kottayam to meet Fr.Chettiath who was my teacher at Alwaye Seminary. I worked as the  Bro.Prefect under him for my juniors. He was very happy to see me and expressed his feelings of joy during his conversation. He said he was very proud of me and always felt happy speaking about me. I was very delighted to hear all those nice words from him about my life as a student under him. He was a good professor, very modern , charming and articulate. I still have with with me a photo taken by him when I was standing with my friends after receiving the cassock.he was very supportive as well as inspiring.He lives in a spacious house surrounded by lush green trees, plants and vegetables.