KERALA FLOOD DISASTER: Tentative Closure of Divine Retreat Centre until 16 September 2018

 ANNOUNCEMENT DUE TO KERALA FLOOD DISASTER 2018

Tentative Closure of Divine Retreat Centre

until 16 September 2018

 Flood waters at St. Thomas English Retreat Hall on Thursday 16 August 2018 at 1.00 p.m.

 The waters rose to cover the brick wall by 4.00 p.m. and rose swiftly till around 1.00 a.m.

  

Dear Friends in Christ

The Peace of our Lord be upon all of you.

The Kerala floods last week has been reported widely in India and overseas of the huge displacement it brought to over 700,000 people. It was the worst flooding in nearly 100 years and unfortunately Divine Retreat Centre was also overwhelmed by the raging and swiftly rising flood waters on the 16 and 17 August 2018. 2000 people were trapped in Divine Retreat Centre on both these days until the waters completely receded by the morning of 18 August 2018 - a miracle of our Merciful Lord. 

A massive clean-up operation is underway so that Divine's weekly retreats in English and 6 Indian Languages can once begin weekly. 

Divine Retreat Centre will be tentatively closed until 16 September 2018.

Please do take note that I will update all of you if we are able to open Divine Retreat Centre at an earlier date by God's Grace.

On behalf of the Vincentian Fathers of Divine Retreat Centre, I thank the many messages of great concern and love from so many of our beloved benefactors and past retreatants about the situation the Divine-Potta ministry is currently facing.

I shall provide all of you with a further update of the great challenges that the Divine-Potta ministry is facing currently due to this Kerala Flood disaster within the next few days.

Please continue to keep the people of the state of Kerala, all of us in this retreat centre and all our Divine Charitable Homes in your daily prayers.

"Many are the troubles of the just, but the LORD delivers from them all."

(Psalm 34:20)

Prayerfully in Christ

Director - Divine Retreat Centre

Muringoor, Kerala

India

For more information on Divine Retreat Centre's news and activities and on Divine TV, please do visit our websites: 

 www.drcm.org  / www.dvnonline.org 

HEAR THE CALL FOR DIVINE'S 3-DAY EVANGELIZATION RETREAT?

3-DAY EVANGELIZATION RETREAT

IN DIVINE RETREAT CENTRE

23 to 25 November 2018

Spirit-filled evangelizers means evangelizers fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the Spirit made the apostles go forth from themselves and turned them into heralds of God’s wondrous deeds, capable of speaking to each person in his or her own language. The Holy Spirit also grants the courage to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness (parrhesía) in every time and place, even when it meets with opposition. Let us call upon him today, firmly rooted in prayer, for without prayer all our activity risks being fruitless and our message empty. Jesus wants evangelizers who proclaim the good news not only with words, but above all by a life transfigured by God’s presence.

POPE FRANCIS - EVANGELII GAUDIUM

Chapter 5. No.259

This special  Retreat is led by

                                                             

Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C.

Director - Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor, Kerala, India

Rev. Fr. John Prince Puthanpurackal V.C.

Asst. Director - Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor, Kerala, India

 

Venue:

Divine Retreat Centre

Muringoor

Kerala, India

Dates:

FRIDAY 23 November 2018 - beginning at 10.00 a.m.

to

SUNDAY 25 November 2018 - ending at 4.00 p.m. 

Prior registration is NOT required

 

Please inform and bring your family & friends to experience God’s Call to

 

every Catholic to be an integrl part of the Church's New Evangelization. 

 

 

 

 

For more details of this special retreat. please contact:

Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C.

Director

DIVINE RETREAT CENTRE

Muringoor P.O., Chalakudy, Kerala  – 680 309

Tel: (91) 480 2708098, (91) 480 2708193

Fax: (91) 480 2708097

E-mail: augustine.vallooran@yahoo.com

For more information on Divine Retreat Centre's news and activities and on Divine TV, please do visit our websites: www.drcm.org  / www.dvnonline.org 

 

HEALING ADORATION: "JESUS: ''I WILL COMFORT YOU'" by Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C.

In this grace-filled Healing Adoration, “JESUS: "I WILL COMFORT YOU'" by Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C., Director of Divine Retreat Centre, we experience the Merciful and Compassionate Love of Jesus - our Divine Healer!

Fr. Augustine prayerfully leads everyone into the Presence of Jesus.

"My dear sisters and brothers, in this hour, we hear the Voice of God inviting every one of us 'Come to Me! -  Come to me you  who are tired and burdened. There is a burden on our body - a burden of our aches, our ailments, burdens on our mind, all the distress, all the frears and anxieties and above all - all the painful memories of our past."

"Let us bring it all to Jesus today and claim the Promise of the Lord - 'I will conmfort you.'"

Fr. Augustine exhorts every one of us to proclaim - 'I believe in the Power of Jesus.'"

"HEALING ADORATION" is a weekly 60-minute TV programme conducted by the Director or Asst. Director of Divine Retreat Centre and produced by Divine Vision - the media wing of Divine Television Ministry.

For the past 10 years Divine Television has been telecasting 24 hours of commercial-free Catholic Gospel programmes in UK, Europe, the Middle East, USA, Canada and in India through Goodness TV., It is available on the Internet as DVNOnline TV in EVERY country around the world.

Divine's HEALING ADORATION can be viewed online weekly on www.dvnonline.org

Divine Retreat Centre is the largest Catholic retreat centre in the world. Retreats are held every week of the year in English and 6 Indian languages.

Over 10 million people have attended retreats here since the Divine-Potta ministry by the Fathers of Vincentian Congregation of India opened Divine Retreat Centre in late December 1989.

DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION NO.6: “AM I REALLY LIVING FOR JESUS?” by Rev. Fr.Augustine Vallooran V.C.

The final video of the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES at the top of this post is by Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C., Director, Divine Retreat Centre, Kerala, India who speaks on a soul searching topic - "AM I REALLY LIVING FOR JESUS?”

In this heart-provoking sharing, Fr. Augustine challenges every Catholic – “We should really be searching our souls and ask, ‘Am I really alive? Am I really living or vegetating like trees and animals? Am I really alive with the Power of the Holy Spirit?

“I have come to give you life – life in all its fullness” (cf. John 10:10)

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

“I give you peace, not as the world gives you.” (John 14:27)

“Life in the full; joy in the full, peace in  the full, love in the full. That is what our birthright is as we are reborn in Baptism – being united with our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“How real is God in your life? If God is real in your life, in my life, in our lives, then the Peace of the Lord, the Joy of the Lord, the Love of the Lord, the Life of the Lord, the Power of the Lord will flow into us. What is needed is to remain in Jesus.”

“We cannot be living for ourselves. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, like the Apostles, we will go and proclaim His Word to the ends of the earth wherever we are. We are people with a Message to this world. We are people with a mission to everyone who comes to me. I shall look at every person as a son/daughter of God the Father whom God the Father has brought to me to give him / her Jesus. We have a message of “Life in the Full…a life bubbling with the Power of  the Holy Spirit.”

On Maundy Thursday. a Healing Adoration Service video by Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. will be posted to guide us to continue to open our hearts unconditionally for Jesus.

Please do share this Divine Lenten 2018 Weekly Video Reflection series with your loved ones, prayer groups and friends to make this sacred season of Lent a truly transforming experience in our Christian life.

DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION NO.5: “ASK FOR THE FULLNESS OF HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU” by Rev. Fr.Mathew Naickomparambil V.C.

A weekly spiritual video talk will be posted every Sunday on this Friends of Divine blog until Palm Sunday - the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES - so that every one of us will seek to live for Jesus with no self-willed barriers in our hearts and mind but to proclaim the Glory of God.

The fifth video of the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES at the top of this post is "“ASK FOR THE FULLNESS OF HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU” by Rev. Fr. Mathew Naickomparambil V.C., Spearhead of Divine-Potta Ministry.

In this Spirit-filled sharing, Fr. Matthew exhorts every Catholic to lead Spirit=filled lives. “Much of our sorrow, sadness, guilt feelings and negative thinking disappear when we are washed in the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Moreover, whenever we hear the Word of God, there is the descent of the Holy Spirit coming upon us and we are filled with Joy, Peace, Love and all the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.”

Fr. Mathew shares his first experience when the Lord spoke to him at the age of 20 in the month of July 1966 - “‘Ask and you shall receive the Holy Spirit.’  This is a message for everyone who believes in Jesus. There is a great provision for you according to the Will of God that you can be filled with the Holy Spirit to the level of overflowing from you to others.”

“What is the Good News of Salvation? ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, you and your family will be saved.’ (Acts 16:31) Jesus is in control of everything. All we have to do is pray in the Name of Jesus over all our difficult situations.”

“The word ‘Alleluia’ is from the Bible. It is used in Heaven to praise, thank, glorify and rejoice in the Almighty God. Whenever we say this word of praise, we get a new anointing and empowerment of the Holy Spirit coming upon us and consequently we are delivered from many bondages and afflictions.”

In the final video of the Divine Lenten 2018 Reflection series next Sunday, Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C., Director, Divine Retreat Centre, Kerala, India speaks on a soul searching topic - "AM I REALLY LIVING?”

Please do share this Divine Lenten 2018 Weekly Video Reflection series with your loved ones, prayer groups and friends to make this sacred season of Lent a truly transforming experience in our Christian life.

DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION NO.4: “THE IMPORTANCE OF A PERSONAL SPIRITUAL LIFE” by Rev. Fr. Jacob Arimpur V.C.

A weekly spiritual video talk will be posted every Sunday on this Friends of Divine blog until Palm Sunday - the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES - so that every one of us will seek to live for Jesus with no self-willed barriers in our hearts and mind but to proclaim the Glory of God.

The fourth video of the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES at the top of this post is “THE IMPORTANCE OF A PERSONAL SPIRITUAL LIFE” by Rev. Fr. Jacob Arimpur V.C., Assistant Director, Divine Retreat Centre, Kerala, India.

In this heart-provoking sharing of the Word Of God, Fr. Jacob explains with great clarity an issue many Catholics often seek to understand:

“What do we have to do in order to grow our spiritual life?”

Fr. Jacob points out two very important aspects of Jesus’ life:

•     Jesus obeyed the rules, regulations,, customs and tradition of the Jewish life
•     Jesus was  thoroughly disciplined in His Spiritual life.

“We are living in a world where we are taught that we must be doing what we like doing. We must be going to places that we like to go. We should not be restricted  by any rules or regulations. So it is all about ‘I, Me , and Myself’!”

“We have to learn to submit and surrender ourselves. If we are not interested in bringing order to our spiritual life, let us forget about the Holy Spirit. Or let us forget about all the desire that we are having for a spiritual life.”

“1 Corinthian 14:33 – ‘Our God is not a god of disorder.” When there is no order in our life, when there is no discipline in our lives, we experience death in our spiritual life. We do not experience the Power of God in our spiritual life. We become dead from within.”

Next Sunday, Rev. Fr. Mathew Naickomparambil V.C., Spearhead of Divine-Potta Ministry, Kerala, India will be sharing the Word of God on an uplifting topic- “ASK FOR THE FULLNESS OF HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU”.

Please do share this Divine Lenten 2018 Weekly Video Reflection series with your loved ones, prayer groups and friends to make this sacred season of Lent a truly transforming experience in our Christian life.

DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION NO.3: "EVERY CATHOLIC IS CALLED TO HOLINESS" by Rev. Fr. Joseph Edattu V.C.

A weekly spiritual video talk will be posted every Sunday on this Friends of Divine blog until Palm Sunday - the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES - so that every one of us will seek to live for Jesus with no self-willed barriers in our hearts and mind but to proclaim the Glory of God.

Due a problem with my eyes, this week there will be two videos – Sunday’s post (04 March) and the 3^rd weekly video posted today (Wednesday, 07 March) to get back to the proper schedule.

The third video of the 6-part DIVINE LENTEN 2018 WEEKLY VIDEO REFLECTION SERIES at the top of this post is “EVERY CATHOLIC IS CALLED TO HOLINESS” by Rev. Fr. Joseph Edattu V.C., Associate Director –Divine Retreat Centre, Ramsgate, Kent, UK

In this enlightening sharing of the Word Of God, Fr. Joseph compares the sins committed by St. Peter, who was the 1^st Pope to the sins we are committing in our daily lives today.

“'The Catechism of the Catholic Church make it very clear what is the aim of every Catholic – ‘Everyone is called to holiness’. Some people believe holiness are only meant for nuns and priests. No! Every person is called to holiness whether you are married or single.”

Fr. Joseph explains the three categories of sins which prevent us from being holy:

1.   Keeping a distance from Jesus
2.   Bad Company / Wrong Relationships
3.   Search for momentary pleasure

“Many people say that the more they pray and get closer to God, the more their sufferings increases. So it is better to not get too close to God. This kind of attitude is not from God but from evil. Evil is putting you into a comfort zone an dis not allowing you to welcome the Heavenly Father.”

Next Sunday, Rev. Fr. Jacob Arimpur V.C., Assistant Director, Divine Retreat Centre, Kerala, India will be sharing the Word of God on an integral necessity of our faith journey – “THE IMPORTANCE OF A PERSONAL  SPIRITUAL LIFE”.

Please do share this Divine Lenten 2018 Weekly Video Reflection series with your loved ones, prayer groups and friends to make this sacred season of Lent a truly transforming experience in our Christian life.