Eighty Third Birthday Celebrations

 Yesterday was the celebration of my 83rd birthday. It started with my morning mass at the chapel .The main celebrant was Abp.Pamplany. At the breakfast, the Major Archbishop,Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, offered me greetings and all the bishops sang happy birthday as they were then seated for their breakfast. Later , the family gathered at my brother Bernard's house for lunch.Before lunch, we said a rosary for  all the members of the family, past and present. I did give all the ladies silver rosaries which were made specially for this event.That was the end of the celebration. The day before, at Varghese's new house blessing at Chy, they also offered me greetings for the birthday,

The Lord has blessed me to celebrate this day. I do consider these months an opportunity given by God to praise him , adore him and to offer prayers for all our friends and relatives.My heart is full of thanks to the Lord for giving me this occasion to praise and adore him again.

I would like to repeat the prayer of Thomas Merton again in this note: "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.I cannot know for certain where it will end.Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am knowing your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.....I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.I will not fear , for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because the Lord is with me.( Adaptation of a poem of Christina Rossetti)

The following words of Henri Nouwen too are apt to be remembered on this occasion:

"We are God's beloved daughters and sons, not because we are worthy but because God freely chose us."