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Epiphany: The Baptism of Jesus
We need to “get baptized every day” to live a meaningful Christian life, as baptism is a process of reaching back to the beginning of the adventure. The Baptism of Jesus: Luke 3:15-22 (NRSV) 15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,[a] 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with[b] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his…
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The Second Sunday After Christmas
Each human being makes life choices that God uses to fulfill the covenant of salvation… The Return from Egypt: Matthew 2:19-23 (NRSV) 19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 Then Joseph[a] got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after…
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THE SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
Do not forget to bring Jesus with you, while returning from the church…
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CHRISTMAS QUIZ 2013
1. Whose birthday is celebrated as Christmas? a. The Father God b. God the Son c. The Holy Sprit d. None of the above 2. What is the meaning of the name Jesus? a. Salvation b. God saves c. The lord is help d. All of the above 3. Which two Gospels have the details of the birth of Jesus? a. Mathew & Luke b. Luke & Mark c. Mark & John d. John & Mathew 4. Which Gospel has the best and detailed description about the first Christmas? a. Mathew b. Mark c. Luke d. John 5. Who all visited baby Jesus on his birth day? a. Shepherds &…
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Let’s celebrate the 10th consecration anniversary of Mor Theethos Yeldho
The tenth anniversary of the metropolitan consecration anniversary of our Archbishop His Eminence Yeldho Mor Theethos will be celebrated on January 4, 2014 at St. Mary’s Syriac Orthodox Church, Paramus, NJ. Mor Theethos was consecrated as bishop by the Patriarch of Antioch His Holiness Ignatious Zakka I on January 4, 2004 and enthroned as the bishop of the Malankara Archdiocese of North America on February 28, 2004. He will be completing ten years of service as the bishop of the diocese in a couple of months. Under his eminent spiritual leadership the diocese has achieved many significant milestones in its organizational growth. He was instrumental in binding the churches and…
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ദൈവീക നടത്തിപ്പിന്റെ പത്തു വർഷങ്ങൾ
കടൽ കടന്നു വന്ന കാറ്റ് പൂവിനോട് ചോദിച്ചു. എന്താണിവിടെ ആഘോഷം ? പൂവ് മന്ദഹാസത്തോടെ കാറ്റിനോടോതി; അറിഞ്ഞില്ലേ, തീത്തോസ് പിതാവിൻറ്റെ മെത്രാഭിഷേക വാർഷികമാണ്. ഒരു തൂവൽ സ്പർശമായി കാറ്റു പൂവിനെ തഴുകി കടന്നു പോയി. ചെറുപ്രായത്തിൽ തന്നെ ദൈവീക വേലക്കായി വേർതിരിക്കപെട്ട പാത്തിക്കൽ എബിയിലെക്കു പൌരോഹിത്യ നൽവരങ്ങൾ ഒന്നൊന്നായി ദൈവീക നിശ്ചയ പ്രകാരം വന്നു ചേരുകയായിരുന്നു. സുറിയാനി ഓർത്തഡോൿസ്‌ സഭയുടെ കാറും കോളും നിറഞ്ഞ മലങ്കര-അമേരിക്കൻ ഭദ്രാസന സാരഥ്യം ഏറ്റെടുക്കുമ്പോൾ, തൻറെ ചുമലിലേക്ക് വരുന്ന ഭാരത്തിന്റെ തൂക്കമൊ, നിലനിന്നിരുന്ന അന്തചിദ്രങ്ങളുടെ ആഴമോ മനസ്സിലാക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള പ്രായമോ പാകതയോ അദേഹത്തിണ്ടോ എന്ന് പലരും സംശയിച്ചു. പൊങ്ങച്ചങ്ങളുടെയും പുറംപൂച്ചുകളുടെയും ‘മറുനാടൻ സംസ്കാരത്തിൽ’ അദ്ദേഹം ഒറ്റപെടുമോ എന്നും സന്ദേഹിച്ചു. സ്വാർത്ഥമതികളെയും സ്ഥാനമോഹികളെയും കൊണ്ട് മറ്റേതു ആത്മീയ നേതാവിനും നേരിടേണ്ടി വരുന്ന മുള്ള് മെത്തയിലൂടുള്ള യാത്രയാണ്‌ അദേഹത്തെയും എതിരേറ്റതു. പണത്തിനു മീതെ ‘പ്രാവ്’ പോലും പറക്കാത്ത നാട്ടിൽ സാധാരണക്കാരനായ മെത്രാനായി അധികനാൾ വാഴില്ല എന്നുപോലും പലരും പ്രവചിച്ചു. എന്നാൽ മറ്റാരും പതറിപോകുന്ന ഭരണ സാഹചര്യങ്ങളിൽ നിലനില്ക്കുക എന്നത് ശ്രമകരവും അതിലുപരി ദൈവനിശ്ചയവുമായിരുന്നു. അതിസമർത്ഥൻമാരുടെയും അതിബുദ്ധിമാൻമാരുടെയും സൂത്രശാലികളായ തന്ത്രഞ്ജൻമാരുടെയും ലോകത്തിൽ ‘സാധാരണക്കരനായി’ ഇടയ…
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THE SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Genealogies are common in Hebrew bible and were a matter of pride. Mathew’s portrait of the genealogy of Jesus Christ is an amazing testimony to God’s power to overcome the sin of humankind. This stylized ancestral tree consisting of roughly three groups of fourteen: from Abraham to David, from David to the deportation to Babylon; and from the deportation to Jesus. The numerical value of David’s name in Hebrew is fourteen, which may account for this arrangement. From an Orthodox perspective, these three phases represent the three states of human life. The first phase represents the uniqueness and dignity of humanhood, and the continued fellowship with God in the…
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REVELATION TO ST. JOSEPH
St. Joseph: The ‘special’ chosen for the heavenly mission Joseph was a poor carpenter. He was simple, humble and lovable. Yet God choose this simple man to carry out one of the most important heavenly mission in the salvation plan. We are living in a world where everyone is ‘special’; we are proud of our ancestral family, our education, our occupation, our talents, our beauty, our skills, and the list continues. God always needs specials, but not according to human terms. What made Joseph special? Though he thought of abandoning Mary, he does not want her to be disgraced in public. How will we cover ourselves, if we are going…
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Birth of St. John the Baptist and ‘Zechariah’s Prophecy’
Most of the orthodox prayers are filled with praises and thanksgiving to the Trinitarian God. In addition to the traditional prayers, personal prayers and meditations are inevitable in living a meaningful Orthodox life. Although we pray a lot, most of our prayers tend to be “wish lists”. In today’s Gospel reading, Zechariah’s prayer is full of thanksgiving and acknowledgement of what God has done in the past and will do in the future. He worships God using the special name “Most High” and proclaims God’s tender mercy. Today, when we gather together for family prayers read and meditate ‘Zechariah’s Prophecy’. During our personal meditation, try finishing these sentences: “God, I…