Dearly beloved in Christ,
Greetings to you all in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We have celebrated Christmas last week and it was a joyful occasion for each one of us. I thank God Almighty, who helped us and continues to help us enjoy the blissful moments in our life. I remember and thank all our Members who toiled hard for the successful conduct of the Carol Night, especially the Choir, the Youths, Sunday School Children, Sevika Sangham, Edavaka Mission and all those who participated in the Carol rounds and Carol night. As we come to the close of the year, I hope the New Year will be a great blessing to all of us, to our families and to all our dear ones. I wish all of you a very Happy and Blessed New Year 2018!
We are going to enter into one more Great Lent. Lent is a season of forty days, (not counting Sundays), which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Sundays during Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter” and the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection. The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencte, which means “spring”. It reflects the new life in Christ – the Eternal Life. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin His Ministry.
Lent is a time of Repentance, Fasting and Prayer. It is a time for Self-examination and Reflection. It is a time to make the Right Relationship with God and His Creation. It is a time to give up something we are very much attached to or to volunteer and give ourselves for others. Let us prepare ourselves to observe the Lent meaningfully and to share the sufferings of Jesus on the way of the Cross. Surely, we will enjoy the Cup of Salvation – the Resurrection. May God Almighty bless all of us during the coming days of Lent and Resurrection.
The ‘Parish call’ is a periodic publication of our Parish which gives information about the activities for the coming four months. I request all the Parish members to participate and partake in all the activities of the Parish.
May God keep us all safe in His arms.
Yours in God’s Love,
Rev.Joymon S.K