Light at the end of tunnel

Light at the end of tunnel by Third Day. Awesome song!!!

The massacre at VT

NJ was deluged with rains. I stayed home and ended up being caught up with the coverage of the massacre at Virginia. I held my two little boys while my heart broke thinking of all those parents who at that very moment would have stopped breathing, thinking and moving. My heart goes out to their families – I held them in my prayers last night. I cannot fathom the grief these people have to deal with now. How much hatred can one human being have for another living being to do something like this?

Song that calmed me on my way in this morning: I Will Lift My Eyes by Bebo Norman

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Scripture Reflection: Matt 11:28

Thank God it’s..

Friday.. I am so tired, I could cry. Anyway, talking about food the other day brought me to a site with lots of cool food pictures but they weren’t free *darn*. Anyway, I did find a picture that instantly brought to my mind hot Goan summers spent at my grandparents home by the sea. Sitting in the ancient kitchen where there were no  kerosene stoves (never mind, gas) . My grandma used a clay stove that was built right on the floor and in it she stuck dried palm leaves, wood and twigs to cook our meals. The utensils she used were made of clay and the ladles were made of coconut shells topped with wooden handles (see the picture below). Everything that was created in that kitchen was fresh, tasted heavenly and even now after all these years I can smell the the woodsmoke, the scent of the sea and the fabulous aroma of my Garamai’s fried fish.

Source Image

Rise up and walk..

the continuation of yesterday’s mass scripture reading brought to mind one of my favorite hymns back home in India. We sang it in Sunday school (referred to Catechism class back home). Here are the words:

Peter and John went to  Pray,
They met a lame man on the  way,
He held  hand, and asked for an  alm,
But  this is what they had to  say. 

 Silver and gold have I  none
But such as I have give I  you
In the  name of Jesus  Christ
Of  Nazareth, rise up and  walk 

He went  walking and leaping and  praising God
Walking and leaping and  praising God
In the name of Jesus  Christ
Of  Nazareth, rise up and  walk

Visual DNA – this is so cool :)

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Easter Sunday Bingeing :)

The funniest thing about the end of Lent were the preparations that started on Saturday, to end the 40 or some day long vegetarian diets at our home. There was so much anticipation – we thought of every animal we could put on the table (I know is sounds awful but we were so focussed on a “meat-heavy” menu). So…. we planned Goat Biryani, Pork Sorpotel, Beef Curry, Tandoori Chicken and Fish.

The only thing glitch was that one of our friends invited to our Easter lunch, was a vegetarian. So, I reluctantly planned on making a few veggie items.

We were such a hoot – at lunch we piled our plates high (so sorry Father God, for the sin of gluttony). By dinner time, however, the effects of suddenly abusing our bodies was felt by all of us. We have decided to take it easy ever since – although, I couldn’t help but laugh at ourselves

Oh btw, I will soon post recipes of all those mouth watering dishes I mentioned above, so stay tuned.

Alleluia!

It’s been a while since I visited this place – last week was a whirlwind. Palm Sunday service was beautiful. It was a solemn preview of the events to come later in the week. I did end up going to confession – I was face to face with a young priest who I see every Sunday. Even before the confession, I had noticed the signs of change in me. Grace was already working in me. I had stopped dwelling on things that were pulling me downwards towards the darkness of sin. When I started to profess all the sins that I had stored inside I felt free. The only thing I felt when I walked away was that the priest I know had heard my confession – I know he wouldn’t judge me; but would he not think of it every time he saw me? Oh well!! My heart was lighter and I approached the the feast with a clean conscience.

Holy Thursday – oh what an amazing celebration we had. We were pleasantly shocked to see the Bishop walk down the aisle. The end of the mass when the church was stripped almost broke my heart. The next day I relived the death of our Lord and felt very small, very insignificant and very unworthy. I’m glad that feeling was swept away by the glorious Alleluia’s of Easter Vigil. What a wonderful week it was!!! Thank you Jesus for giving your life for us.

Things that stayed in my mind:

Chant: “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom” – that brought tears to my eyes.

Hymn: Were you there when they crucified my Lord? *sob*

From the Exultet at the Easter Vigil Mass: Oh happy fault, oh necessary sin of Adam, that won for us so great a Redeemer.

Veni Sancte Spiritus (Taize Version)