Pope Francis

It is with great joy that people in Kerala received the news of the election of the new Holy Father. Many were watching TV late into  the night , hoping to hear something  about the election of the new Holy Father. It was a great surprise when we heard the name of the Holy Father.No one has mentioned  that name before and the media were focusing on other Cardinals.All of a sudden all the tidbits of the news dripping though the media about the Holy Father made him very much loved by the people. What  struck everyone was his down  to earth attitude to everything in life--his humility,simplicity,smile, affability etc.
I remember  the day when Joh Paul l was elected.  I was talking to some  students at the Catholic University campus.Then, one of the students came and told me about the election of the new Pope and he was thrilled to see the Pope smiling so beautifully when he was greeting people.The words the student said still remain in my mind: He said  "I was thrilled form head to toe when I saw the Pope smile."
we have moved a lot from those times.With John Paul ll , the contact with people became an inherent part of the Papal style.H would greet ,hug, smile and laugh and all those human gestures made him part of the lives of the people he met in his life.
Pope Francis is following in his footsteps but with a much deeper way of involvement.Pope Francis has already lived the style of being close to the people while he was a Cardinal.It becomes much easier for him to adopt the style that would bring him close to people.

Meeting with Cardinal O'Malley,2007

 Cardinal is being spoken about as one of the most probable candidates to be elected as the next Pope.
 The following is  a report of my meeting with Cardinal Sean O'Malley who is  now the Archbishop of Boston.
 I visited him on Nov.9,2007 . It was the first time I met him after I left Washington D.C. in 1981.We were working together at St.Matthew's Cathedral and the Cardinal was then a young priest working as the Chaplain for the Spanish Catholics of  Washington D.C. I had the special joy of welcoming the Cardinal on behalf of the Diocese  of Chicago as well as for the Syro-Malabar community of Boston when he came to preside over the St.Thomas  Day celebrations. He was the main celebrant at the mass and gave a beautiful homily,highlighting  the role of St.Thomas Christians  in India.
People of Washington D.C had  a great affection for him because of his sympathy, affability and and a very low-keyed approach. He was accessible to all and he took care of the poor and the marginalized in the society. At that time, the Spanish Catholics were not organized as they are now.He was also very humble in his external appearance , wearing always his Franciscan habit and sandals.When I left Washington after my studies in I981, he was continuing his ministry  as the Chaplain.Later I learned that he was appointed by the Holy See as the first Bishop of Virgin islands.From there, he came to Falls River Diocese and then  to the Diocese of  Palm Beach and finally to Boston.The  New York Times and many other secular papers ran great stories about the Cardinal  when he was appointed as the Archbishop of Boston.When I met him , he was residing at the rectory of the Cathedral , after having sold the imposing Chancery to pay compensation to the victims of abuse.
Later when I attneded a confernce of Vicars General and Vicars of priests at the Lake Mundelein Seminary,Chicago , I  was sitting close to a black priest. He turned to me and asked whether I was Fr.George and whether I had worked at St.Matthew's. He then told me that he was working then as a receptionist at St.Matthews. After I left D.C. Fr.O'Malley invited him to the Virgin islands and there he went to study for priesthood and  was ordained by Bp.O'Malley.Now he is a Monsignor and the Vicar General of the Virgin Islands.
(The following are the words of Cardinal Sean O'Malley in his blog,Cardinal Sean's Blog 2007,Nov.09)

On Tuesday, I met with Father George Madathiparampil, a long time friend who was studying for a doctorate at Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and working as an associate pastor at St. Matthew Cathedral during 1970′s, when I was stationed in Washington.

Fr. George, vicar general of Syro-Malabar Diocese of Chicago (which has oversight of all the Syro-Malabar parishes in the United States and Canada) is in Boston for a retreat for the Malayalam-speaking community of New England.

The Syro-Malabar Community in New England area celebrates Sunday Mass each week at Fernald Center Chapel in Waltham.

Jesus of Nazareth-The Infancy Naratives

In his new book, Jesus of Nazareth--The Infancy Narratives, the Holy Father goes into the heart of the infancy narratives in the Gospels and brings out some aspects of those narratives which are helpful in changing and molding our attitudes to life. He has followed in this book the same method he has employed in the other two books of the same name. He goes into an exegetical explanation of the passages, examines them in the background of OT references and then applies them to contemporary life. Compared with the other two books, this book is a short introduction to the Gospel accounts of the birth of the Lord. But there are some reflections which are fresh and beautiful. He calls this book" a small antechamber to the two earlier volumes on the figure and the message of Jesus of Nazareth."
On the genealogy presented in Mathew's Gospel, the Holy Father points out  that although the genealogy traces the male line, "prior to Mary who appears at the end, four women are mentioned by name: Tamar,Rahab,Ruth and the wife of Uriah."  He mentions first the  traditional interpretation emphasizing  the mission of Jesus as the justification of sinners since these were considered sinners. The Holy Father  then points out that 'through them the world of the Gentiles enters the genealogy of Jesus---his mission to Jews and Gentiles is made manifest."
"The final sentence turns the whole genealogy around. Mary is a new beginning.Her child does not originate from any man, but is a new creation,conceived through the Holy Spirit.'
"Our true genealogy is faith in Jesus , who gives us a new origin, who brings us to birth  from God."

Advent--the Coming of the Lord

In the last chapter of the book ,Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy Father speaks of the coming of the Lord as it  is expressed in the words"Maran Atha." He reminds us of the need to be vigilant as well as trusting. He points out that the knowledge of the protection of the Lord makes us joyful.
"The Lord is "on the mountain" of the  of the Father.  Therefore,He sees us.Therefore He can get into the boat of our life at any moment.Therefore we can always call on him; we can always be certain that he sees and hears us.
Keeping one's gaze freely fixed upon God in order to receive from him the criterion of right action and the capacity for it--that is what matters.
Vigilance means first of all openess to the good, to the truth , to God, in the midst of an often meaningless word and in the midst of the power of evil.It means that man tries with all his strength and with great sobriety to do what is right; it means that he lives, not according to his wishes, but according to te signpost of faith.
St.Bernard of Calirvaux speaks of a three fold advent of Christ, the first coming in flesh , the second in spirit and power and the last in his glory.Bernad bases his thesis on John 14: 23" If a man loves me , he will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
"The  middle coming(adventus medius) takes place in a great variety of ways.The Lord comes through his word; he comes in the sacraments, especially in the most Holy Eucharist;he comes into my life through words or events.
He comes also through the lives of great saintly figures--through Francis and Dominicin the 12th and 13th  centuries and through Teresa of Avila,John of the Cross,Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier.
We have  to pray , Come, Lord Jesus.
His hands  remain strethched out over the world.The blessing hands   of Christ are like a roof that protects us.They are a gesture of opening up, tearing the world open so that heaven may enter in, may become 'present within it.
"In faith we know that Jesus holds his hands stretched out in blessing over us.That is the lasting motive of Christian joy."(Last words of the Book.)

The Inauguration of XIME

Present at the inauguration  of the XIME at Kalamassery .The Chief Minister was there.Spoke to him before the meeting.The next day,on Dec.3, celebrated mass in the morning with Abp.Thazhath.

Picnic and a pilgrimage

A trip to Vagamon as well as to Bharanganam on Thursday,Nov.29,12. We were received very warmly at the Bishop's  House, Palai and at the Pastoral Centre, Kanjirappally. All the sisters ,maids, priests  from Mount St.Thomas and Bp.Bosco Puthur were in the group.Thus, forty of us , left early in the morning from Mount St.Thomas  and visited the tomb of St.Alphonsa .We said mass there.After the mass, we proceeded to the Monastery at Kurisumala. From there, proceeded to Kanjirappally via Kuttikanam.