Make this lenten season a memorable, forgiving one ..

The vicious rift in Kerala, the southern state of India, between the Malankara Orthodox and Jacobite Syrian Orthodox factions of the ancient Eastern Orthodox Syrian church headquartered in Antioch, Syria has been bothering and pestering believers of both sides for more than a century now. 

 

Both sides have gone to court and the Indian Supreme Court had come out with a final verdict on 3rd of July 2017 in favour of the Malankara Orthodox faction working out of Kottayam, Kerala.

 

What could have been a peaceful settlement did not end then as the Malankara Orthodox priests wanted to extract their pound of flesh in the name of the verdict and antagonise the Jacobite faction, by insisting on a unforgiving settlement to follow the (invisible) 1934 constitution, which was not acceptable to the Jacobites. 

 

Even three and a half years after the verdict, and Orthodox faction spending crores as litigation fees and grabbing 52 Jacobite churches, the matter has not been peacefully resolved. There is a belief among the Orthodox Christians and more so with the intelligensia that a more peaceful, loving, hand-holding, accommodating approach by the Orthodox faction could have seen a peaceful resolution of the conflict much early.

Listening to Pope Francis, if during this lent season starting from 15 February, we could, starting from the Malankara Orthodox clergy and laity, try to be free from grudges and be reconciled with everyone, the objective of our Christian faith would be more than met. 

For the past couple of weeks, I have been attending the online Sunday mass / qurbana at St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Cathedral, Manarkkadu, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Manarkadu st Marys is the famous pilgrimage centre for intercession of Mother Mary. It was spiritually very satisfying. It is high time our priests start walking the talk on the sermons they make during the qurbana, of love, brotherhood, forgiveness etc.  

Most of us immerse in the practice of lent, ie. generally avoid rich food, luxury and pleasure, abstaining from food till noon everyday and try to be more engaged in spiritual activities, forgiving others, having frequent prayers and doing social service.

Instead of attending only our service or qurbana, and carry out the activities as listed above, if a large number of Orthodox believers could attend occasional Jacobite qurbanas during this lent season, it would be the best way to show our love and develop respect for our brethren. 👍🙂

 

Can we forgive our Jacobite brethren during this lent season ..? If not during this year, let us plan to forgive and be Christ-like at least during the 2022 lent season .. Again a wasted year ..

Why are our spiritual leaders not taking proactive action to bring peace in the church ? There are vested interests of protecting their turf of influence and affluence besides simple ignorance and playing politics. If all Christians following Christ are sure to go to heaven, why do we need all these sects and groups? If every good person irrespective of their religion can lead a happy life, do we need religions at all ?

It is our baggage of materialistic assets (the devil) that is stopping us from getting closer to God. Nobody wants to admit it openly and continue fooling and cheating the innocent public.

Pope Francis, different from the others, is known for making such spiritual, introspective and surprising calls every year during important occasions. The spiritual head of almost 1.2 billion Catholics, who are about 16% of global population and about 50% of all global Christians, as per 2010 data (click here), is a very respected figure for the whole world. 

George Easaw

Unknown facts about our body ..

Body matter - Some interesting secrets about the body ....

 

 1. Our nose can detect the smell of 50,000 scents.

 2. Like a fingerprint, each tongue has different lines.

 3. Some of the bones in the human foot are stronger than concrete.

 4. We can light a watt bulb with the energy produced by our brain.

 5. If the first tear when crying comes from the right eye, it is a happy cry and if it is from the left eye, it is a sad cry.

 6. The average person blinks 12 times a minute.

 7. Our eye is 576 megapixels.

 8. You can't sneeze with your eyes open.

 9. Every minute 300 million cells in our body die.

 10. Our body produces enough heat to boil half a liter of water every 30 minutes.

 11. Do you know how much saliva an average person produces in his lifetime?  The same amount of water needed to fill two swimming pools.

 12. The eyes of newborns are generally blue.  Later, when the ultraviolet rays hit, the eyes turn black.

 13. Every sixty seconds your red blood cells are circulating throughout the body.

 14. During urinary incontinence, your bladder often appears larger than usual.

 15. It takes about six months for a fingernail to reach full growth, that is, from its base to its tip.

 16. The average person in the West consumes 50 tons of food and 50,000 liters of water (not only water but also all liquids) in his lifetime.

 17. The muscles in the eyes contract and expand a million times a day.

 18. One kidney in the human body has one million filters to purify the blood.  It purifies 1.3 liters of blood every minute.  The amount of urine it excretes in a day is 1.5 liters.

 19. The average lifespan of a person is 40 pounds of skin peeling off their skin.

 20. A man's brain uses 20% of the oxygen in the air he breathes and the calories he absorbs.

 21. The ovaries produce about five million eggs, but only about 400 cause the pulse of life.

 22. Every human body has a different smell.

 23. Have you ever wondered why your stomach is indigestible?  This is because new cells are produced faster than the cells of the stomach that are destroyed.

 24. There are about half a million sweat glands in a human body.  The amount of sweat it produces in a day is 750 ml.

 25. 90% of the knowledge we gain is from the sights we see around us.

 26. You can never tease yourself.

 27. The bark of newborns is used to implant new skin on the body of burns.

 28. The skin of a full-grown man is about 20 square feet when stretched.

 29.  We can recognize the taste of anything only when it is mixed with saliva.

 30 .One produces ten million sperms a day, which is enough to produce a population equal to the population of this planet in six months.

 31. There are 300 million microscopic blood vessels in a human lung.  If these are executed one after the other, it will be about 3499 km.

 32.  It is estimated that the IQ level of those who dream regularly is higher than others.

 33.  When you go to bed, your height will be less than one centimeter than when you wake up in the morning.  This is because the cartilage in your spine is compressed throughout the day ....