A BLESSED NEW YEAR 2016 - CELEBRATING DIVINE's 25TH SILVER JUBILEE ANNIVERSARY!

HOLD US TOGETHER - Sung by MATT MAHER

God surprises His people on earth with blessings that seem so unlikely and unexpected...and one of God's great blessings for many of us whose lives has been transformed is Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor, Kerala, India. It is truly amazing that over 10 million retreatants from all over the world have had a personal God-experience right here in Muringoor - a small village in India! Weekly retreats are held in English and 6 Indian languages (Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Konkani and Kannada) every week of the year - that means consecutively for each of the 52 weeks of the year  beginning every Sunday and ending on Friday. My life for Christ truly began when I first stepped foot into Divine Retreat Centre's English campus on 14 February 1998. At that time, I remember my whole world as I perceived it, literally turned upside down as I heard Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. preach and celebrated Holy Masses and Adoration services with such holy awe and reverence and the gifted lay preachers and music ministry teams during my very first retreat. Jesus who seemed "distant" from me became a REAL, PERSONAL, LIVING SAVIOUR to me! I can never thank God enough for this absolutely Grace-filled week of my life. It was the moment I knew Jesus was living in me  but how was I going to live for Jesus? On 18 June 2004, I was given the wonderful grace to serve full-time in the Divine-Potta ministry and so began my personal faith journey that is etched in my heart deeply...

Now that I have served nearly 11 1/2 years full-time in Divine Retreat Centre, what is truly amazing is to have personally witnessed and learnt of the thousands of retreatants' lives still being transformed and so many miraculous healings that have taken place in the retreat centre. All Glory and Praise to God! Divine Retreat Centre is fondly known to millions as "God's Own Abode" situated in Kerala, the southern most state in India which has its tourism tagline as "God's Own Country." How apt. I have personally seen Divine grow from a simple retreat centre to an international retreat centre with facilities to cater for the ever-increasing numbers of international retreatants from across the globe. Yet, the fondest memories for many of the earlier retreatants (including me) was the sheer simplicity of the accommodation in the earlier days (dormitories!) and the large dining hall that served everyone with simple Kerala meals. It was a time when all the trappings of the world we lived in were stripped away and it was just Jesus who made His Presence known - one-on-one with each of us. It is here in Divine so many hearts have truly had a personal God-experience and our lives tangibly changed to live with a 'Divine" purpose.

  Fr. George Panackal V.C.      Fr. Matthew Naickomparambil V.C.     Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C.

                  

In this 25th Silver Jubilee Anniversary of Divine Retreat Centre, we pray with great thanksgiving to God for the three founding Directors of Divine Retreat Centre - Rev. Fr. Mathew Naickomparambil V.C. (Spearhead of the Divine-Potta Ministry), Rev. Fr. George Panackal V.C. (the first Director of Divine Retreat Centre Muringoor, and currently Director of Divine Retreat Centre, Ramsgate, Kent, UK) and Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. (who was the the Director of English & Other Language Retreats and currently the Director of Divine Retreat Centre). It is awe-inspiring to see how the Divine-Potta ministry has grown. The untiring efforts and total trust in God's Providence of Fr. Mathew, Fr. Panackal, and Fr. Augustine has borne great fruit for the Catholic Church not only in India but for the Universal Catholic Church. Having served here full-time, there is ONE Word of God I have learnt that truly encompasses the amazing growth of Divine Retreat Centre to be the largest Catholic Retreat Centre in the world.  It was the Word of God that Fr. Augustine Vallooran shared with me in my first six months in Divine when I was panicking because Divine had no money for the evangelization and charitable initiatives that the Vincentian Fathers of the Divine-Potta ministry so courageously carried out. The Word of God was:

I look to the mountains;

where does my help come from?

My help will come from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

(Psalm 121:1-2)

 

From a stressed-out, worried person from the corporate world where we could only make our business plans if we had the financial and skilled human resources and technical experise to achieve goals, here I was right smack in the middle of simple, too-trusting and seemingly naive Indian priests who seemed oblivious of how things should be planned, funded and achieved in the secular world. They were very calm, peaceful, filled with an infectious joy and most of all an incredible trust that God will provide all that the Divine-Potta ministry needs. It has been a huge blessing that in my personal ministry, I have had the opportunity to serve the mission under the guidance of Fr. Augustine. As I look back, I am sure Father would have found me as strange as I found him because it seemed in my early days like we had lived in two different "planes" in this world! Yet, the patience and deep understanding and support that I have received in my ministry has enabled me to take the needed "extra" step" of faith in the Name of Jesus...and to experience the great joy of seeing the fruit of our mission achievements.

The Vincentian Fathers of the Divine-Potta ministry are from the Mary Matha Province of the Vincentian Congregation of India (V.C.).

The two main aims of the Vincentian Congregation of India are:

• Preaching the Good News to the Poor
• Caring for the Poor and Afflicted

To EACH of you, dear Friends of the Divine network, it is with much gratitude that we thank God for your constant love, support and prayers. You are very much an integral part of our Divine-Potta ministry. We also thank God for all the loving and caring Divine benefactors from India and around the world. The Divine-Potta ministry has no savings and actually have debts. Yet, there are many charitable efforts and evangelization missions that our Lord has placed in the hearts of the V.C. Fathers of the Divine-Potta ministry. After much prayers and discernment, with great confidence in the Providence of God, the V.C. Fathers have courageously answered God's Call. Divine Retreat Centre is not just a praying centre but is a Home of Love to 3000 of the most marginalized and afflicted members of our society on a long-term basis living in the Homes run by Divine Charitable Trust.

Divine Homes of Love:

◦ St. Vincent's Home (for AIDS Patients)

◦ Divine Care Centre for the Mentally Ill

◦ Divine De-addiction Centre 

◦ Divine Mercy Home for Palliative Care of Cancer Patients

◦ Maria Shanthi Bhavan Home for the Aged & Destitute Women 

◦ St. Mary's Home for Abandoned Women & Children

◦ De Paul Home for Boys

◦ Divine Home for Junior Girls
◦ Divine Villa for Senior Girls

Divine also provides approximately 700 meals weekly to the poor in local hospitals in the surrounding areas and assist many others in great need as per our Lord wills.

In 2008, after overcoming incredibly great obstacles, Divine Television ministry became a reality - a holy achievement that defied incredible odds! Divine Television began its first 24-hour commercial-free Gospel channel in United Kingdom. Europe and the Middle East. The programmes are broadcast in the English and Malayalam languages. The following year, Divine Television began its 24-hour broadcast in USA and Canada. In 2010, DVNOnline TV  became available on the Internet to every person across the globe. And in 2011, Divine TV which is known as GOODNESS Channel began its much awaited 24-hour commercial-free Catholic Gospel Channel in India. This evangelization initiative is truly God's Gift from Divine to the world. Now the Word of God from the Divine-Potta ministry is available to every person in need of Godly Comfort and Hope in their daily lives. It is a truly blessed joy that Divine TV is the most watched Catholic channel in the world today!

It is only through the AMAZING GRACE OF GOD that there has not been a single day when any of Divine-Potta's mission had to be stopped because there was a lack of funds or inadequate human resources or skills. Somehow, during our most critical needs and continuous prayers storming Heaven, God's Providence is gloriously manifested! It is this Mighty Power and Grace of God that truly uplifts each of us serving in the mission for we witness with our own eyes and hearts how Jesus has been faithful to the Divine-Potta ministry. It is why each of you, as Friends of Divine, have been the daily "blessings" God has given to our ministry. Together, we serve our Lord - we cannot do it without your love, support and most of all your daily prayers. We are the Body of Christ. 

Please do pray specially for all the Vincentian Fathers of the Divine-Potta ministry, the lay ministry volunteers and for the evangelization and charitable works of Divine Retreat Centre as we begin with thanksgiving our 25th Silver Jubilee Anniversary celebrations!

In this New Year of 2016, Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C., on behalf of all of us at Divine Retreat Centre, extends prayerfully to each of you and your loved ones  

A MOST BLESSED & GRACE-FILLED 2016 FILLED WITH GOD's  BLESSINGS, JOY & HOPE!

Youtube Video: SERVE OTHERS - BE THE DIFFERENCE!

VOLUNTEER YOUR HEART TO JESUS

The year 2012 is now but just a memory. But it has been an  has been an amazing year for the Divine-Potta Ministry. There have been so many joyous events and moments in Divine and also during the international overseas Divine missions. The Divine-Potta Ministry is what it is because of the love of so many people to proclaim God’s Kingdom here on our earth. Our Friends of Divine network has been a great support for some urgent mission needs which Divine would have found very difficult to undertake otherwise due to severe financial constraints.

As  I look back to the Divine projects that our Friends of Divine network had supported in 2012, I know without any hesitation that we can say to Jesus- ”O Lord – Thank you for Your Grace  to enable us to share in the Glory of Your Kingdom here on earth!”   Many of you have been praying for Divine’s urgent needs and it is with deep gratitude, I thank all the Friends of Divine who  so promptly, lovingly and generously financially supported the two Friends of Divine 2012  Appeals as well as your regular support of Divine Charitable Trust’s  and Divine Television Ministry’s needs.

Blessed Mother Teresa is always a personal inspiration to me. She said, - “We are all God’s children so it is important to share His gifts. Do not worry about why problems exist in the world – just respond to people’s needs … We feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without that drop.”

As I reflected on this quote again tonight, it struck me that is what each of us are - a vital drop of water. We are a drop of the Living Water – Jesus! Alone neither you nor I can do much. In fact, even together, we cannot solve all the world’s problems or even be able to pay for all the Divine-Potta mission needs. But there is a real reason for that. If God wanted, He could make the Divine mission debt-free and be the most financially successful retreat centre in the world. But that is not what God has done for Divine – He made Divine Retreat Centre the largest retreat centre in the world instead run by the priests of the Vincentian Congregation of India and a group of volunteers (including myself) who often remind me of the ragtag bunch of disciples that Jesus chose to be his Apostles!  Jesus did not choose the Jewish scholars or judges or multi-millionaires. He chose a tax-collector, fishermen and even a thief! It just seems so incredible that they (except Judas) were the foundation of the Catholic Church that has withstood over 2000 years of attacks by evil forces. That is also what the Divine-Potta mission is all about – it is about the Power of Prayer, Faithfulness & Total Trust in God, in Sacrificing Love and it is in allowing God’s Graces to flow into us towards others. We are not at all perfect but we persevere in God’s Goodness.

The Friends of Divine network started off with just a very small group of friends in Singapore in 2005. Our network is still rather small but it has grown to include Friends in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mauritius, Qatar and even one in Canada! Jesus does not look at the numbers. That is what I have truly learned in coordinating the Friends of Divine Appeals over the years. To Jesus, it is ALWAYS our heart – He has given us the capacity to love unconditionally as He loves us. Jesus will provide for all your needs AND He will also provide for our mission needs.

 We cannot all pack our bags and move off to distant lands or urgent mission fields to volunteer for God’s Kingdom – but you can volunteer your heart fulltime to God! There are many needs both in your neighbourhood, your parish and around the world. If you feel called and inspired, to also volunteer your heart to be the “drop of Living Water” to the world that the Divine-Potta Ministry is reaching out to, let us joyfully be “partners in Christ".

 We need your spiritual and financial support for our Divine-Potta mission – for the long-term care of 3000 sick and needy residents of the Divine Charitable Trust Homes and volunteers and for all the evangelization works especially the Divine Television Ministry that cost millions of Indian Rupees each month to be proclaimed all over the world via satellite TV and on the Internet.

The truth in this quote of St. Francis of Assisi pierces my conscience – “The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today.” God is not asking you or me to do GREAT things. All He wants is our hearts to love others not just in words but through our actions too.

To be honest, there are times I fleetingly wish I am not in fulltme ministry and to have the ample resources of working again in a large multi-national company. It seems like we are forever climbing up a ‘FUNDING’ mountain but never ever reaching the peak! There are always URGENT Divine mission needs. I have no idea the true extent of the financial burdens faced each month - what I know already causes me to be faint-hearted if I really dwell upon it!

It is then the Grace of God empowers me NOT to give up – for I know God has put into my life others whose lives (like mine) have been radically transformed because of the Divine-Potta mission. I have the ‘courage’ to share Divine’s needs because it is our shared life mission for EVERYONE to know of Jesus’ Love  - just as He mercifully gave us  the amazing “Divine” gift for ourselves!

What we have shared in achieving through the Friends of Divine projects in 2012 and the past years is because we believed and shared in the “fruit” of the Divine mission. And Heaven rejoiced! In this New Year 2013, let us proactively help others experience the same radical Divine transformation that has never vanished from our heart.  We are all in this together.

I prepared the YouTube music video above, "YOU LIFT ME UP" by JOSH GROBAN to share some of my favourite Inspirational Quotes of Serving Others & Volunteering as a thank you to each of you – FRIENDS OF DIVINE  - as we live for Christ in this New Year 2013 and onwards! Have a Blessed New Year!

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Margaret Mead

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF GOD...

It is just five days to the New Year -2012!  These past few weeks, I have been spending time nights in prayer remembering all the blessed moments when I felt Jesus so close to me this year.  It must be the season but I always start really looking deep into my life as New Year approaches and the choices I had made - and what did it all mean?

Every New Year, we get a chance to renew or to make a firm commitment to joyfully live for Christ. I have been most thankful to all of you, Friends of Divine, who have shared my journey in Divine all these years. It makes me realize that I cannot journey to heaven in isolation - it is when together, as a family in Christ, we choose to make God's Kingdom of Heaven here on earth until eternity - that we truly live our Christian mission. Divine Charitable Trust's efforts to care for 3000 of the "least of our brethren" on a long-term basis and to proclaim God 's Word to the world could not happen without each of you as well as many loving benefactors'  prayers and financial support. Divine's charitable and evangelization works are totally dependent on God's Providence through caring individuals like our Friends of Divine! Should any of you ever feel inspired to lend a helping hand at any time in the future, you will find the Divine's 2012 Funding Needs section on this blog helpful.

Rev. Fr. Mathew Naickomparambil V.C.
Spearhead of Divine-Potta Ministry

No one I know will say living our Christiam mission with full zeal, faith and joy is an easy journey. But God will give us His GRACE to do so! In fact, I have found that it is much easier to just do what the world seems to think is right. If we were to listen to what the world says, I am sure there will be no priests, religious or lay missiomaries in the world. What's more for everyone who so generously serve in church ministries and in supporting mission works will also just get on with their own lives! It is hard to imagine Divine-Potta ministry surviving these past 21 years and bearing so much fruit! 

Why is that not so? For me, I know it is because in the midst of all the human voices giving me logical and rational reasons of how I should view my future and my life, there is a much more persistent and piercing voice deep in my heart - the Voice of God. Choosing to serve God in any capacity is never easy - there are so many reasons to choose the path that gives us material security, comforts and most of all success. Serving God often seems a thankless vocation - it is hard to explain even to loved ones. 

Well, all of us need to live meaningful and not superficial lives. What's more - each of us HAVE to make our own choice. The only peace we can achieve in life is training our hearts to listen to Jesus. It is not that He remains silent but rather if we are listening with our heart rather than with our mind. The only guarantee we will get is God's Promise - "Do not be afraid - I am with you!" (Isaiah 43:5)

In the midst of doubts and anxiety that comes when I think logically of what I should do, I always rediscover a beautiful aspect of my relationship with Jesus. it is when Jesus speaks to my heart and it is affirmed through the Word of God. It is very difficult to describe but when He speaks, it is a deep spiritual peace and faith that Jesus gives. His gentle, piercing crystal clear Voice from deep within my heart will drown out ALL the chattering voices of the world that clutter my mind. 

As we look forward to a Blessed New Year in 2012, my prayer is for all of us to embrace wholeheartedly God's Call to each of us. Let us draw others to Christ not through fear but through His Love, Peace and Joy! "For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace and joy which the Holy Spirit gives. And when someone serves Christ in this way, he pleases God and is approved by others." (Romans 14:17-18)  This can only happen when our own lives are put right with God.  This point reverberates in my heart whenever I hear it during the weekly retreat's homily. The Kingdom of Heaven begins here - I do not have to die to experience it! In fact, I witness it so often seeing/hearing the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical healings that take place in the weekly retreats here in Divine Retreat Centre. Nearly everyone leaves this centre with joy shining on their faces - the miracle of Jesus' Healing Love!

At the end, only one thing truly matters - "Is my heart at peace in answering Jesus' Call? " No one can answer this question for me or for you. It is ultimately only between Jesus and each of us re our response to His Call. It is not just a matter of what we can do but what are we WILLING to do? 

The Youtube music video above is VOICE OF TRUTH by Casting Crowns. 

  

May God bless you and all your loved ones this NEW YEAR 2012 

with the Fullness of His Grace and Love! 

WALKING IN THE LIGHT!

Christmas is over and New Year 2011 is approaching. As I sit here in my office in India contemplating my 6 1/2 years of fulltime volunteer service in Divine, there are so many memories crowding in my mind and heart. I look at the life of "opportunities, material comfort and financial rewards" I enjoyed in my pre-Divine days and my life now...one in which I wish I had more available resources and more people with willing hearts who can make a tangible difference to help our Divine mission.  For a few moments (Yes, just a few!), I wondered if it is worth serving in a mission where we are so dependent on the goodwill of our fellow brethren. Many people have good intentions but they are soon caught up in the busy world that it remains just that - an intention not an action!  But I hold on to the first Word of God I read on my first night I arrived to serve  in Divine  - "Keep busy always in your work for the Lord since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:58) Hence, the fire in my heart for Divine's works continues to burn brightly and with joyful hope...

I have met and spoken to so many people all over the world whose lives have been touched and transformed by this truly blessed Divine-Potta ministry.  Many of them are very grateful for what the Vincentian Fathers and their Divine team have done in bringing God's Message of Love & Hope into their lives.

What I also know first-hand serving here, is the incredible sacrifices and great financial challenges that the Divine-Potta ministry faces on a daily basis. Divine Retreat Centre has no source of income and no savings. Every month, it is a great struggle to get the funds needed for both Divine's extensive charitable and evangelization activities.

Do you find it is difficult to give the best for your family of four? Well, imagine what it must be like every month when the family consists of 3000 members! What's more, they are all poor, sick and in need of long-term care lovingly provided by the Vincentian Fathers of Divine Retreat Centre, who sacrifice their whole lives depending solely on the Providence of God. That is not all! Through the 24-hour Catholic Gospel Channel, Divine TV, God's Word is being broadcast all over the world through satellite and the Internet for free.  This is a huge financial responsibility undertaken for ONE reason - it was a mission entrusted by God through intense prayers and discernment by the Directors of Divine Retreat Centre. What Divine TV gets in donations each month is only a tiny fraction of the amount needed.  Yet, we hardly hear the Fathers making appeals for funds  in any of their mission trips.

Many of you also have had your hearts uplifted by the retreats and the proclamation of God's Word by the Divine-Potta Fathers as they travel wherever God leads them to...within India and around the world. They do not consider anything except what God leads them to do in prayer - there are no requests of speaker's fees or any personal financial considerations ever made. Everything is left entirely in God's Hands. I wonder how many of us ever stop to think of what it takes for the V.C.  Fathers to zealously and courageously carry out their Divine mission all these years.




Divine School Children

We will never know how many lives have been saved, changed or transformed because of the Divine mission. What is important is that we answer the call of God to be His Light to the world! When I see the joy of the faces of the residents in the Divine Homes, I need look no further. The love, joy, and confidence on their faces is priceless. Without the Divine mission, their lives would have been one of abject misery.

We are all called “to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth" and to "love one another'. My fellow sisters and brothers in Christ,  in Singapore, we are incredibly blessed in our lives of bountiful abundance. If we were in the shoes of the poor and marginalized, would we not cry out to God for someone to care enough to lend a helping hand? Would you not dream to have a life of love and dignity? This is Christ’s call to us when we are asked to live as Christians – “Christ in us.” Your regular monthly support can make a huge difference to the Divine-Potta ministry.

As you start 2011, will you consider to be a part of our Divine Family?  As the joyful and uplifting music video below,  “Walking In The Light Of Christ” by the Children of the African Choir goes…. “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine (3x)  every day, every where (2x). I am going to let my little light shine…Woh-oh-oh –oh! Walking in the Light of Christ!”  

Let it be our rallying call to action for Christ in 2011!

Wishing each and everyone of you a Most Blessed New Year!