BE HAPPY.REMAIN BLESSED


FIRST SOCIAL GATHERING,COLLEGE OF EDUCATION,SAIT.22 DEC 2018


ST ALOYSIUS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION


FIRST SOCIAL GATHERING,COLLEGE OF EDUCATION,SAIT.22 DEC 2018


Christmas: A Time to Let Go – Let God Handle It!


Christmas: A Time to Let Go – Let God Handle It!
Dr. Fr. Davis George
“‎All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” – H. Havelock Ellis
Letting go is not so easy to do. When we have made a heart connection with someone or some habit it can be difficult to release that heartstring.  “Some people believe holding on and hanging in there, are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it,” said Ann Landers. “Once you realize you deserve a bright future, letting go of your dark past is the best choice you will ever make,” said Roy T. Bennett. “The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday,” said Steve Maraboli.  
As the Bible says, “there is a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.” (Eccl 3:6) There is a time to hold on and a time to let go. We need to discern when is the right time to let go and start something afresh which will bring meaning and satisfaction to once life.   Christmas is the time and the season to let go and let God take charge.  Ignite the big dream of becoming a better person and having a better relationship.
On December 9, 1914, a spectacular fire destroyed over half the buildings in Thomas Edison’s West Orange Laboratory after an explosion in the film inspection building.  Edison and his wife rushed to the scene and his wife almost fainted seeing the massive destruction of the years of work and accomplishment of her husband.  Holding her tight Thomas Edison told her “Darling all the mistakes of my past are buried in the ashes.”  Edison vowed, “Although I am over 67 years old, I‘ll start all over again tomorrow.” Indeed he did!  The prolific inventor with 1093 patents, born in Milan Ohio, home-schooled by his mother will remain a source of inspiration for all who wants to let go of the past and begin again. “You have failed 1,000 times to discover light bulb,” his friend told him.  Thomas Edison replied “I have not failed. I've just found 1,000 ways that won't work.”
Often we would like to cling on to the past hurt feelings, failures, struggles, deficiencies and indulge in self-pity, ruining the present and destroying the bright future that is in store for us; cling on to our sad moments and broken experiences and allow ourselves to be depressed.  We may even like to hold on to our pride, ego, past glory, self-righteousness and arrogance making us selfish intellectual giants.  Such are all knowing persons creating distance and division in relationships.  We need to learn to let go of our negative and depressive feelings and be aggressively positive believing and trusting in God’s Providence. The more we cling to the past, the more we dissipate our energy, optimism, and potential.  We need to change and explore new frontiers every day.  As St. Paul says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph 4:31-32) 
Let us look at Nature and learn how to let go and move forward. Night gives way to Day. Dawn will never arrive if night never let's go and lets in daylight. Spring cannot come in if winter does not go. Seed will not sprout, new shoots will not come if it will not break and let go the outer cover of the seed. An egg will not hatch if it does not break the shell from within and let go.  Manhood will not come if Childhood does not give way to adolescence and adulthood. Without death, there is no resurrection. Life is a constant process of letting go and letting in and going forward. Even the Universe is ever expanding and going forward. If you stop this process you stagnate. There is only one person who does not progress and that person is a dead person. He decays. The Sea of Galilee has life and the Dead Sea has no life. The reason is that the Sea of Galilee has water flowing in and flowing out. The Dead Sea has no water flowing out. Stagnant water kills all the living things. We need to let go, outgrow and go forward.   
Let go the old, obsolete and redundant things of the past and explore new frontiers in the relationship. Stagnation is death. Let go the baggage of hurt feelings and forgive each other. The heavier the baggage, slower the pace. The more fat we are, more chance to get all sorts of sickness. Shed your physical as well as emotional weight and make life easier. Let go negative thoughts and let in positive thoughts.   Let go of pride and let in humility.  Let go of anger and let in forgiveness.  Let go of indifference and let in love.  As the song goes, we are here trading our sorrows, sadness, depression, failures, and shortcomings to buy better things in life and build better relationships.  
Christmas is the time when God sent his only son to let go our sins and let in God’s love, forgiveness, and life.  God did not keep a record of the many times man refused to repent and change. The season of Christmas is the most opportune time to let go our hurt feelings and build better relationships. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.”(Jn 3:16) Let Go – Let Jesus Handle your life and relationship.  May Jesus be born in you today and every day of 2019.


St Aloysius Institute of Technology Education



Be Happy.Remain Blessed


Be Happy.Remain Blessed


First Social Gathering,College of Education,SAIT.22 Dec 2018


First Social Gathering,College of Education,SAIT. 22nd Dec 2018

 



Jabalpur Inter Religious Forum Pre Christmas Celebration-20 Dec,2018












Short Term Teachers Training Program (ST3P - 17 Dec,2018)










WWME : LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU


LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU (Jn 15:12): A challenge and Opportunity.
Dr. Fr. Davis George, Former NET and AET
Fathers in love, mothers in love, families in love. The greatest legacy we can give to our children is the loving relationship we have between husband and wife, father and mother. Not our wealth and possessions, name and fame. Leadership through example; leadership through relationship. Dialoguing way of life as against monologue and married single life. Many families are broken, relationships shattered, dreams forgotten because of lack of tender love, lack of communication, lack of forgiveness and empathetic understanding of each other’s needs. Emmaus journey, (Lk 24:13-35) is a perfect example for all of to learn to practice dialoguing way of life which is so special to us Encountered couples and priests. Our relationship has the power of continuing the journey with our spouse despite setbacks and disillusionment in life. Ego (Edging God out) centric life fulfilling the expectations of the world and ignoring the covenantal love with which they began the journey on the day of Marriage causes division and disruption in relationship. It’s time for us to revisit the vision of Worldwide Marriage Encounter.
Worldwide Marriage encounter has relentlessly pursued its vision which Jesus gave, “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Leader is the one who knows the way, shows the way and goes the way. And that is what Jesus did.  He came to establish the way of love, the only way to peace and prosperity. He confronted all those who promoted rituals and rubrics, dogmas and doctrines and failed miserably in loving, serving, forgiving.  Jesus showed it in action by stretching out his hands on the cross said “this much I love you.” He established a new benchmarking in relationship giving it a primacy above all other matters of law. At each step he was defining what love is. Look at the case of the Good Samaritan, the woman caught in adultery, the Samaritan woman, healing the sick even on a Sabbath day, feeding thousands of people, appreciate the faith of people from other religion, vehemently criticizing the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees and finally paying the price on the cross.  He did not work for an earthly kingdom where power and wealth would rule the world. He established the kingdom of love where love alone would reign supreme.    It was no new religion he came to establish but A WAY OF LIVING, A NEW WAY OF LOVING AS Jesus did.  As we read in the Acts of the Apostles those who followed Jesus were known as people who belonged to the Way. (Acts 9:2; 19:9)
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (Jn 13:35) What an awesome statement. The trademark of the disciples of Jesus is not the church or cross or statues and Novenas, but loving relationship on a daily basis failing which all our rituals and rubrics, doctrines and dogmas will be like “ a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal”(1 Cor 13:1). The early Church knew the power of love and its practical significance in daily life. (1 Cor 13)  Amazing clarity and irreplaceable priority. “Let not your love be in word and speech but in deed and truth.(1 Jn 3:18)
Pope Francis has been a source of inspiration with his practical approach to life and relationship. He wants to strengthen  couples and families through his practical wisdom:
1. Say These Three Words. 
In order to have a healthy family, three words need to be used. And I want to repeat these three words: please, thank you, sorry. Three essential words! We say please so as not to be forceful in family life: “May I please do this? Would you be happy if I did this?” We do this with a language that seeks agreement. We say thank you, thank you for love! Be honest with me, how many times do you say thank you to your wife, and you to your husband? How many days go by without uttering this word? And the last word: sorry. We all make mistakes, and on occasion someone gets offended in the marriage, in the family and harsh words are spoken. But please listen to my advice: don’t ever let the sun set without reconciling. Peace is made each day in the family.
2. Do the Little Things. 
It is true that there are so many difficulties in married life, so many, when there is insufficient work or money, when the children have problems . . . and many times the husband and wife become a little fractious and argue between themselves. . . . Yet we must not become saddened by this. Love is stronger than the moment when there is arguing, and therefore I always advise spouses: do not let a day when you have argued end without making peace. Always! And to make peace it isn’t necessary to call the United Nations to come to the house and make peace. A little gesture is sufficient, a caress, and then let it be!
3. Keep Dreaming!
I am very fond of dreams in families. For nine months every mother and father dreams about their baby. Am I right? They dream about what kind of child he or she will be. . . . You can’t have a family without dreams. Once a family loses the ability to dream, children do not grow, love does not grow, life shrivels up and dies. So I ask you each evening, when you make your examination of conscience, to also ask yourselves this question: Today did I dream about my children’s future? Today did I dream about the love of my husband, my wife? Did I dream about my parents and grandparents who have gone before me? Dreaming is very important. Especially dreaming in families. Do not lose this ability to dream! How many difficulties in married life are resolved when we leave room for dreaming; when we stop for a moment to think of our spouse and dream about the goodness present in everything around us. So it is very important to reclaim love by what we do each day. Do not ever stop being newlyweds!
4. Make Time to Play.
About trying to reconcile working hours with family time . . . Let me tell you one thing. . . . When a young mom or dad comes, I ask: “How many children do you have?” and they tell me. And I ask another question, always: “Tell me: do you play with your children?” Most of them answer: “What are you asking, Father?” “Yes, yes: do you play? Do you spend time with your children?” We are losing this capacity, this wisdom of playing with our children. The economic situation pushes us to this, to lose this. Please, spend time with our children!
5. Pray Together.
It is in the family that we first learn how to pray. Don’t forget: the family that prays together stays together! This is important. There we come to know God, to grow into men and women of faith, and to see ourselves as members of God’s greater family—the Church. In the family we learn how to love, to forgive, to be generous and open, not closed and selfish. We learn to move beyond our own needs, to encounter others and share our lives with them. That is why it is so important to pray as a family! So important! That is why families are so important in God’s plan for the Church!
6. Accept Your Imperfections.
More than anywhere else, the family is where we daily experience our own limits and those of others, the problems great and small entailed in living peacefully with others. A perfect family does not exist. We should not be fearful of imperfections, weakness, or even conflict, but rather learn how to deal with them constructively. The family, where we keep loving one another despite our limits and sins, thus becomes a school of forgiveness. Forgiveness is itself a process of communication. When contrition is expressed and accepted, it becomes possible to restore and rebuild the communication which broke down. A child who has learned in the family to listen to others, to speak respectfully, and to express his or her view without negating that of others, will be a force for dialogue and reconciliation in society.
7. Be Patient.
Are you married? Be a saint by loving and taking care of your husband or your wife, as Christ did for the Church. . . . Are you a parent or a grandparent? Be a saint by passionately teaching your children or grandchildren to know and to follow Jesus. It takes so much patience to do this: to be a good parent, a good grandfather, a good mother, a good grandmother; it takes so much patience and with this patience comes holiness: by exercising patience.
Closing Words from Pope Francis
We need simplicity to pray as a family: simplicity is necessary! Praying the Our Father together, around the table, is not something extraordinary: it’s easy. And praying the Rosary together, as a family, is very beautiful and a source of great strength!  And also praying for one another! The husband for his wife, the wife for her husband, both together for their children, the children for their grandparents….praying for each other.  This is what it means to pray in the family and it is what makes the family strong: prayer.