March - May 2015
Prayer to the Guardian Angel Oh, my dear Guardian Angel, protect me from all dangers. Help me, so that I may remain a beloved child of my Jesus. Safeguard me from all dangers and bad dreams tonight.
Prayer to St. Michael, The Archangel St. Michael the Archangel, be our guide and our guard during the time of our spiritual warfare. Protect us from the evil designs of Satan, our enemy. We humbly pray that God rebuke him. Oh chief of the heavenly army, expel all the wicked spiritual forces that roam the earth with the intention of destroying souls. Drive them to the fires of hell by the power of God.
ANGELS’ ARMY ANGELS’ ARMY Sunil Elias Editor
Executive Editor
Preetha Joseph Executive Manager
Sinjo P.K Editorial Board
Fr. Cherian Nereveettil Renny Njarakulam Tintu Sony Suja Siju Martin Jose Rose Mini Wilson Justin Patrons
Bishop Mar Raphel Thattil
(Chairman, Charismatic Commission KCBC)
Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Karikkassery
(Vice Chairman, Charismatic Commission KCBC)
Bishop Samuel Mar Irenios
(Vice Chairman, Charismatic Commission KCBC) Spiritual Advisor
Rev. Fr. Varghese Manavalan Advisory Board
Rev. Fr. Justin Kaiparambadan, Sr. Sergius, Dr. Edward Edezhath, Baby Chacko, Boney Chellanam Animator
Rev. Fr. Abraham Pallivathukal S.J. Printer & Publisher Jose Dominic Layout Kithos Cover Photo Bennington Illustration Madhu Jesus Youth, Emmaus, H.M.T. Colony P.O, Kalamassery-683503, Kochi, Kerala Ph: 0484 644 4702, info@angelsarmy.in www.angelsarmy.in
“Give your children the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus. And give it also by example! Every day, make it a habit to read a passage from the Gospel, a little one, and always carry a little book of the Gospels with you, in your pocket, in your bag, so that you can read it. And this will be an example to your children, to see their father, their mother, their godparents, grandpa, grandma, their uncles and aunts, reading the Word of God.” Pope Francis
Since it is the holiday season, this issue of Angels Army magazine will be published as a combined one for March, April and May months. From June onwards the magazine will be published monthly.
March - May 2015
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Angels' Army is a Jesus Youth initiative Aintended to guide small children to grow in ' with God right from the ls loving relationship
e early days. It also gives tips to the parents to bring g n them up in holiness right from the moment of
Pregnancy is a period when mothers should Abe conception. in total prayer and God reliance. During this time, whatever the mother goes through, will be transferred to the child too. For this very reason it is very essential that parents be in the fullness of God's love, during pregnancy period. Angels' Army provides precious help for this.
CHILDREN IN ANGELS' ARMY ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE GROUPS ACCORDING TO THEIR AGE INFANTS
ANGELS' ARMY Pregnant mothers should spiritually adopt a baby who is likely to be aborted and pray for him/her along with the prayers for the baby within their womb. Recite one "Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory be" for small babies who haven't started talking.
BABY
ANGELS' ARMY Babies of 2-5 years can recite 'Baby Rosary' saying "1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory be" with each mystery.
LITTLE
ANGELS' ARMY Children above 5 years should read the Bible, say ejaculations and pray Rosary daily. INTENTIONS 1 Mystery: For the Holy Father, Bishops, Priests and Religious. 2 Mystery: Parents and Teachers 3 Mystery: Members of Angels’ Army 4 Mystery: Souls in Purgatory 5 Mystery: Missionaries, Friends, Aborted babies. st
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When they start learning God’s Word, and His Word becomes flesh in them, discernment would be easier for them. Driven by the love for the Holy Mother Church, in the fellowship of Mother Mary, angels, and saints, a new generation could be formed. This is the motto of Angels’ Army. This goal is being achieved mainly through Angels’ Army Magazine.
Leena P. John Alpha Institute Thalassery
House of the Holy Trinity
Kids, today we are going to meet up with St.Elizabeth, an ardent lover of Holy Trinity. Elizabeth was born in France to Catez household on 1th July 1880. Her father Joseph was a captain in the army and mother Marie Rolland was a very religious women. Elizabeth's father had passed away during her childhood. Elizabeth was pretty much a stubborn little girl who used to get angry and violent very soon. When she was three or four years old she had locked herself up in her room and created a huge mess. Her very pious mother came up with a solution to tame her . She told Elizabeth MARCH-MAY 2015
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”if you won't control your rage dear, you will no longer get my lovely kisses” . In order to make her mother happy little Elizabeth tried hard to control her rage but failed badly. She received in the holy communion when she was 11 years old . After receiving Holy Communion she said “no longer am I hungry; I am fully satisfied now, Our God has nourished me”. That same day she paid a visit to a Carmelite Monastery. The head sister of the monastery sister Mary gave her a painting depicting the co habitation of the Holy Trinity. She realized that the meaning of her name Elizabeth was “House of God”. The priest who had prepared her for her Holy Communion was of the opinion that “Elizabeth's nature would either make her a saint or a devil”. But once she started taking Holy Communion our heroine began her journey towards holiness by going on a personal strike against her own selfish nature and violent behavior. And with the guidance of the Holy Communion that resided within her, she was able to
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succeed in her mission too. Elizabeth was a bundle of talents. she enjoyed going on excursions , rock climbing and social gatherings. Everyone loved to have her around. But all the worldly pleasures did not affect her spiritual life any bit . Instead she targeted her interior life with the Holy Trinity and perfection in God and moved forward. Being very good in music and piano reading she once got an invitation to be a part of a musical event participated many talented musicians. She prayed hard to God to dissuade her from attending the event if it would garner her worthless praises and in the process hurt God. On the night before the competition she was down with an unbearable ear pain. Instead of becoming sad, she was very happy that her prayer was granted Elizabeth was in charge of the social service activities of her parish church. She was also the choir singer and catechism teacher of the church. She was given the charge to prepare and train children for their first Holy Communion and she had a special gift to tame children who were being little too
‘Self-control' was her shortcut to Heaven naughty and difficult to handle. Being a very godly women her mother always used to be adamant to allow only God's will to be executed. The thought of being separated from Elizabeth forever once she join the monastery made her mother disturbed, So her mother decided to delay her joining the monastery for a really long time. Having realized god's will through her mother she remained in
her household for almost 7 more years. She always used to immerse her thoughts in the Holy Trinity and one of her approach to achieve holiness was by forfeiting things dear to her. She never used to try or experiment having new fruits and dishes even if she got any. If she received a letter then she would to wait with anticipation and read it only the next day. She described self control as a staircase to heaven. Another good habit was to obey orders without questioning. She died on November 6th 1906. And was beatified a saint on 25th November 1984 on the occasion of the festival of Christ the King by Pope Paul II. Let's follow the path of saint Elizabeth who was an ardent worshiper of the Holy Trinity and who dearly loved her brothers and sisters. Lets seek her intercession to help us fight our own bad qualities and to live a life devoid of selfishness. Let our inabilities help us to grow in love. Courtesy : Mahathkeerthanam blessed E l i z a b e t h b y F r. C y r i c Thekkekkuttu MCBS. MARCH-MAY 2015
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St. Francis Xavier -4 (Second apostle of Christ in India)
Friends, till now we saw Francis Xavier who studied and worked hard to become someone important in the world . But when he found Jesus, even his goal of life changed .....Let us continue with the story
Xavier has come to see Ignatius Your words have always been in my heart. Now I wish to renounce everything and live only for Jesus.
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: I have been praying for you all these years. You will become a great missionary. I wish to learn the lessons of spirituality from you.
Ignatius conducted a retreat for Xavier and for five others. My heart burns with love for Jesus
Let us live for Jesus and His Church.
We shall pray and work together as a community and strengthen the Church.
They lived as one community - the Lord's community. They named it the 'Society of Jesus'. (Francis Xavier received his priesthood on June 4th, 1537)
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Lord, send me to preach the Good News of your kingdom to faraway places, to people who have never even heard of you.
The Holy Father has informed me to send Fr. Rodriguez and Fr. Bobadilla to India as missionaries. Arrangements for their travel need to be done as early as possible.
As Fr. Bobadilla's health was unsatisfactory, Francis Xavier was chosen instead of him to go to India When we start living with Jesus, He will fulfill even the smallest of our wishes. Try your best to be with Jesus during your holidays. Have wonderful holidays. See you when the school reopens.
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to be continued
Prayer an effective study tool In contrary to popular assumptions, studying was not an easy task for many saints. In fact it proved to be extremely hard for some. The biggest obstacle of Saint John Maria Vianney, the patron saint for parish priests in becoming a priest was his difficulty in studies. However he was able to overcome everything through prayer and pure hard work. St. Augustine used to hate attending school. St. Isidore of Seville had run away from home to escape from studies. Bernadette, to whom Mother Mary had appeared, too was very weak MARCH-MAY 2015
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in studies. She had not completed the Holy Communion lessons even at the age of 14. Many of these saints had been humiliated because of their failure in studies. St. Thomas Aquinas was a great influential theologist of the Catholic Church. St. Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Society of Jesus. But did you know that all of these saints had their own issues with studies? They were successful as a result of prayer and hard work. Prayer helps us to utilize our abilities at its best and
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to produce fruits for our labor. According to Pope Pius V,� Prayer can do wonders in our studies. When we pray to God for his help and guidance in studying, He will hear our prayers and help us to praise and glorify His name. If our key determination behind studying and personal development is to bring Him glory, God will be there in all our efforts. God has guaranteed that He will shower his abundant blessings on us if we please Him with our life and behavior.
Mittu, I think it's Simon's boat that's coming this way. Here comes John, running. Let's see what it is.
Here - Hey, Simon!
Simon, that was really John hops in as the boat him - the Messiah comes closer Anyone can say anything Why didn't you to deceive the weakcome fishing with minded. After all, this is us? Simon is not the first time... obviously upset.
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Simon, don't say that. He truly is the Messiah. He knows everything. He can hear what you are speaking right now. In fact he had told us, 'Simon is upset about not seeing you'.
Simon, aren't we poor and ignorant people? He had told us that he has come to the poor and lowly of Israel and all over the world; that whoever is in need of peace and eternal life can go to him. Oh, is that right? Come then, let's go to him.
John, James, Simon and Andrew go to see Jesus John, tell us everything you know about Jesus. Where does he live?
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So, is he poor? Then let's take some bread and fish with us.
He lives in a hut - may be one of his relative's.
Jesus doesn't need any of that. I did ask him what we could bring for him as an offering, and this is what he told me: 'What you have to bring me is a big treasure, a treasure of seven. names. Even the poor will have it.'
That is - love, faith, goodness of heart, purity of intention, self-control, spirit of sacrifice, Sincerity. This is what I expect from my followers.
Then there's nothing to fear - let's meet him right-away
Poor Simon! He is such a simple and innocent man, despite his impulsive behavior. Mittu, it is this humble Simon whom Jesus chose to be the head of the Church.
to be continued MARCH-MAY 2015
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Find the way Friends, don't you like to go to heaven? Would you help John and Joanne to find out the right way to heaven? Don't forget to colour the colorless pictures too.
START
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Across 1. Stepfather of Jesus (6 letters), 5. Wife of Adam (3 letters) 7. Adam and eve lived here (4 letters), 10. Jesus loved this disciple the most (4 letters), 11. The first sacrament (7 letters) 15.Wife of Abraham (5 letters)
Down 2. God is ..... (4 Letters), 3. He is our helper (10 letters) 4. He is our Pope (7 letters), 6. Mother of Jesus (4 letters) 8. Jesus died here (7 letters), 9. Psalms was written by ---------(5 letter), 12. Jesus was born at this place (9 letters), 13. There are ---------- Gospels (4 Letters), 14.Who created me (3 letters), 15. The first martyr (7 letters)
In Jesus' lap Don't you too want to sit in Jesus' lap? Colour this picture saying “I LOVE YOU JESUS� again and again and share your news to Jesus when doing so.
Across: Joseph, Eve, Eden, John, Baptism, Sarah, Down: Love, HolySpirit, Francis, Mary, Calvary, David, Bethlehem, Four, God, Stephen MARCH-MAY 2015
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Experience:
Tintu Soni, Ernakulam
Studying With
Saints in Heaven After becoming a mother of two, I decided to take up B.Ed studies. By the time I joined classes, the other students were already one month into the course. My subject was Mathematics. B.Ed is a course that involves a lot of writing and project work. Having to take care of a three-year-old named Johanna and year-and-a-half old named Immanuel, the time I could dedicate to my studies was very limited. I knew I could never do this on my own so, I came up with a brilliant idea. I decided to let the heavens take care of all of my subjects for me. I assigned each subject to a saint. I gave Psychology to St. Padre Pio, Philosophy to St. John Marie Vianney,
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and so on. Then I asked Mother Mary to help each one of them. When the responsibility of my studies was thus handed over to the saints in heaven, I found that I was able to study more in less time. Once when I just happened to go to the staff room after the first semester exams, I saw my Sociology teacher talking to a group of students. I saw her reading out from one of the answer papers, and I was shocked when I realized that the answer paper that she had with her was mine. Soon I came to know that the teacher was using my paper as a model to explain to the other students the correct way to answer the questions. I was crying with joy when I saw this and I shouted praises to God in my heart. I thanked the saints for all of this. I passed B.Ed. with an A+ grade of 96%. This was a blessing that the Lord gave me from the abundance of His riches. When we surrender our intelligence to God and allow Him to take control,
I passed B.Ed. with an A+ grade of 96%. This was a blessing that the Lord gave me from the abundance of His riches
He will work in our lives. Later, I did M.Ed as well. In both of these courses, I came out as the top student in my college. At both of these times, there was one verse that was constantly going through my mind, 'I can do everything through Him who empowers me.' (Philippians 4:13) MARCH-MAY 2015
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Jesus, You and Me alone... Some thoughts to make personal prayer more stronger:
My Jesus loves me. He loves me more than my mom and dad. He impatiently longs to listen to my voice. All His thoughts are about me and His dreams are also about me. My heart is His favourite place. He dwells there every day and every moment. But many a time I do not realize that. At anytime I can go to Jesus who dwells in the tabernacle of my heart. I can sit on his lap, hug Him, kiss Him and tell Him whatever I feel. Jesus who understands me more than I can understand myself is my God 20 ANGELS ARMY
'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” Mathew 4:4 Himself. Jesus is my closest friend who understands me more than my parents and my family. He knows everything. Even though He knows my thoughts even before they come to my mind, yet He prefers to listen to it from me. God has given the gift of imagination only to human beings. I can visualize Him anytime, anywhere. I can tell him whatever comes to my mind. He also yearns for that. In this way we can purify our imagination. If people can imagine about things that don't exist then why cann't we imagine about our God who really exist! He has promised that He will be there till the end of times.(Mathew
28:20). Surely I can visualize Jesus who's always with me, though I'm not able to see Him physically. I may not be able to hear Him with my ears but I can listen to Him with my inner ears. Let not there be a single day in my life where I cannot visualize His loving face and not listen to His sweet voice. It is more essential than food. The scripture says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”(Mathew 4:4). God's word is as powerful as He Himself is. It is life in itself. Let His word influence our lives. Let's grow in personal prayer and thus be filled with the Holy Spirit. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Jose, can you read today's Scripture passage one more time?
Bible Study Matthew 6:6 'But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret'. What does Jesus mean by this, appa? A quiet, peaceful place.
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Let me explain. Jose, when you want to pour out your heart to someone you love, what kind of a place do you choose to be at?
That's right. Prayer is a heart-toheart talk - a loving conversation with the all-powerful God who loves us immensely.
Jesus will look at you; Appa, whenever I see you in prayer, you will look at Jesus. you seem to be in a different world. This is what happens in My child, when we sit in prayer. We will find the presence of Jesus, we ourselves enveloped in should praise Him for His the love of Jesus. glory, adore him, and thank him for everything.
We should also ask pardon for the times we have caused Him pain. We should make the decision to love him completely, and to follow him.
A m m a , Fr.Jim told us in the retreat that in order to live in this world as children of God, we need the Holy Spirit to help us.
Definitely, Jerry. We ought to ask the Holy Spirit to lead us. We ought to pray for the needs of others as well as ourselves. We shouldn't forget to read the Word of God. We should memorise verses and keep saying small ejaculatory prayers. When we pray like this, we will see that we even lose track of time. Hope we will all be able to do our personal prayer regularly from tomorrow, without fail. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Word of God and ejaculation prayer
March 01-08 For the Lord’s hand was with him. (Luke 1:66) Ejaculatory prayer: Jesus lead me in your way March 09-15 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2:52) Ejaculatory prayer: Jesus make me worthy of your love March 16-23 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”(Luke 5:32) Ejaculatory prayer: Jesus give me a repentant heart March 24-31 “ Your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”(Luke 8:48) Ejaculatory prayer: I worship you Jesus. April 01-08 “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Ejaculatory prayer: I love you Lord who carried away all my sins”.(Isaiah 53:5)
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April 09-15 “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”(Luke 10:20) Ejaculatory prayer: Thank you Jesus for making us heirs to the kingdom of Heaven April 16-23 “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28) Ejaculatory prayer: Lord, help me to live a life devoid of sin. April 24-30 “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18-27) Ejaculatory prayer: I love you Jesus who makes everything possible. May 01-08 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Luke 3:8) Ejaculatory prayer: Fill me with the gifts of your Holy Spirit. May 09-15 “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”.(Luke 14:27) Ejaculatory prayer: Help me to find happiness amidst sufferings. May 16-23 “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off??”. (Luke 18:7) Ejaculatory prayer: Jesus help me to live a virtuous life. May 24-31 “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”(Mathew 21:22) Ejaculatory prayer: My Lord, my God MARCH-MAY 2015
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KidCat
Youcat 371, CCC 2214, 2220, 2251
How does a child respect his parents? A child respects and honors his parents by showing them love and gratitude. Grandma : Boy:
Grandma :
Boy: Grandma :
Boy: Grandma :
Boy:
Son, what are you writing for such a long time? “Mother- Father -teacher- God� oohh grandma I am doing my Malayalam assignment work. Grandma I have a question for you. Does the slogan imply that mother, father and teacher are all Gods? No my boy. It does not mean that they are all Gods. Remember, there is only one God. But we should see them as representatives of God and give them respect. Do you remember what the fourth commandment is? Yap grandma. It says respect your parents. Right? Good boy. Its our parents who gives us birth, takes good care of us and brings us up as God's children. God speaks to little children like you through your parents. So we should always obey and respect them. Hmm!! So does that mean that when we disobey our parents and hurt them it makes God very sad too? You are right. When we love, respect and appreciate our parents, we are showing our respect and appreciation for God too, who gave us parents in the first place. Thank you grandma, now I feel more love for mom and dad.
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March 1 - Luke 1:5-25 March 2 - Luke 1:26-33 March 3 - Luke 1:34-38 March 4 - Luke 1:39-45 March 5 - Luke 1:46-56 March 6 - Luke 1:57-66 March 7 - Luke 1:67-80 March 8 - Luke 2:1-20 March 9 - Luke 2:22-38 March 10 - Luke 2:39-52 March 11 - Luke 3:1-6 March 12 - Luke 4:1-13 March 13 - Luke 4:14-30 March 14 - Luke 4:31-44 March 15 - Luke 5:1-11 March 16 - Luke 5:12-16 March 17 - Luke 5:17-26 March 18 - Luke 6:1-11 March 19 - Luke 6:12-19 March 20 - Luke 7:1-10 March 21 - Luke 7:11-17 March 22 - Luke 8:22-25 March 23 - Luke 8:26-39 March 24 - Luke 8:40-56 March 25 - Luke 9:10-17 March 26 - Luke 9:37-43 March 27 - Luke 13:10-17 March 28 - Luke 18:31-34 March 29 - Luke 19:28-48 March 30 - Luke 20:1-47 March 31 - Luke 21:1-24
April 1 (Holy Wednesday )Luke 21:25-38 April 2 (Maundy Thursday)Luke 22:1-71 April 3 (Good Friday)Luke 23:10-56 April 4 (Holy Saturday)Luke 24:1-35 April 5 (Easter)Luke 24:36-53
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April 6 - Luke 7:36-50 April 7 - Luke 8:4-15 April 8 - Luke 8:16-21 April 9 - Luke 9:23-26 April 10 - Luke 10:1-16 April 11 - Luke 10:17-20 April 12 - Luke 10:21-24 April 13 - Luke 10:38-42 April 14 - Luke 11:1-4 April 15 - Luke 11:5-13 April 16 - Luke 11:24-28 April 17 - Luke 11:33-36 April 18 - Luke 12:1-12 April 19 - Luke 12:13-21 April 20 - Luke 12:22-34 April 21 - Luke 12:35-40 April 22 - Luke 12:41-48 April 23 - Luke 13:1-9 April 24 - Luke 15:1-10 April 25 - Luke 15:11-32 April 26 - Luke 16:1-13 April 27 - Luke 16:14-18 April 28 - Luke 16:19-31 April 29 - Luke 18:9-14 April 30 - Luke 19:18-30 May 1 - Luke 3:7-20 May 2 - Luke 4:1-4 May 3 - Luke 4:5-8
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May 4 - Luke 4:9-13 May 5 - Luke 5:27-32 May 6 - Luke 6:20-26 May 7 - Luke 6:27-3 May 8 - Luke 6:32-36 May 9 - Luke 6:37-42 May 10 - Luke 6:43-49 May 11 - Luke 10:25-37 May 12 -Luke 13:22-30 May 13 -Luke 14:7-14 May 14 - Luke 14:15-24 May 15 - Luke 14:25-35 May 16 - Luke 16:19-31 May 17 - Luke 17:1-6 May 18 - Luke 17:7-10 May 19 - Luke 17:11-19 May 20 - Luke 18:1-8 May 21 - Luke 18:15-17 May 22 - Luke 18:35-43 May 23 - Luke 19:1-10 May 24 - Mathew 5: 1-16 May 25 - Mathew 6:25-34 May 26 - Mathew 7:1-12 May 27 - Mathew 9:18-31 May 28 - Mathew 17:14-21 May 29 - Mathew 21:18-22 May 30 - Mathew 22:34-40 May 31 - Mathew 28:16-20
Experience:
Fr Jerin Thuruthel C.M.I St. Mary’s Forane Church Athirambuzha, Kottayam
“For the Mighty One has done great things for me" When looking into my vocation as a whole, I think the above Biblical verse is the most apt title. A mind full of hopes and dreams was what I had as a seventeen year old, stepping the threshold of the Ashram at Chethipuzha with a bag and suitcase in hand. Today after fourteen years, when I stand out as a Catholic Priest, an old Malayalam hymn plays on my mind. "Albudhangal theernittilla..." which means “Miracles never end..". Today I look back on my foolish ways, the experience of God's grace and so on. Born as the only son, after long years of vows and prayers among three sisters in a village named MARCH-MAY 2015
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Kothavara, near Vaikkom, I experienced immense love and affection in my childhood. Holding on to my grandma's hand I used to go for daily mass from the time I started walking. That habit continued. Although I became the pet of the Parish Priests and nuns who got transferred periodically, I never had the intention or dream of becoming a priest. My home was the first seminary. My strength was the life of faith given to me by my parents. My Father who was a driver would wake us up even at twelve in the night if we went to sleep without saying our family prayers. He also insisted that we prayed aloud. Mother made us pray the Rosary before supper. Today I realize that everything we did in those days were right. The decision taken by me to go to the seminary always brought pleasant thoughts to my mind. While waiting for the Higher Secondary results during the vacation, I used to go to an Art and Cultural
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Centre of the parish for stage shows. If I reached home late, my father would shut the door and switch off the lights. He would never open even if I press the bell. Slowly I would take a pillow and bed sheet through the window and sleep on the verandah. My dog would keep company. But after ten minutes I would be permitted in with a scolding from my father. One night as I lay out watching the stars and waiting for my father to open the door, I suddenly noticed a shining cross appear far out in the sky. It was violet in colour. It came descending towards my head and disappeared. At that moment an inner call came to my mind. “I want to become a Priest". Just then my father opened the door. That was a sleepless night for me. Next morning after Mass I shared my dream with the Asst. Priest. He began to laugh when I told him my eagerness to become a priest. Being aware of my truants, he joked, "Son, Do you have
any prejudice against the Church? Why do you want to be so cruel to the Church?" Everyone who heard just passed it off for a joke. It brought sorrow to my family - the one and only son, shattered dreams, loud cries and rejection of meals. I was the only one taking timely food. I began to pray with a renewed spirit. I joined the seminary. Even though I did not want to leave my seminary life, my mind was sorrowful. After everyone went to sleep, I would cry in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus took away all my sorrows. Amidst all this, I had a fall and lay in bed with back ache; a time of pain, but the most blessed time when I experienced Jesus individually. When everyone went to study, work or play I was left all alone in the room. At the start I felt isolated. But then I began conversing with Jesus. I shared my daily experiences with Jesus by writing it in my diary. My conversation and diary writing became my prayer. I
Holding on to my grandma's hand I used to go for daily mass from the time I started walking.
learnt English language and the art of giving sermons through my loving talks with Jesus who always listened to me. These talks became my strength and my guidance through the right path. Last year was my ordination. My greatest wish is to always remain close to the Sacred Heart and feel HIs heartbeats. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Children, you are almost ready for your First Holy Communion - how are the preparations going on? its going on well, sister
HOLY MASS
The Creator of the universe, the Almighty God, has reduced himself to the form of this bread in order to be one with us. O my Jesus!
Children, just as well as you are preparing now to receive Jesus, so must you prepare yourselves and await his coming during every Mass. How painful it must be for Jesus to see us going for Mass without preparation, and to find us not thinking about him even as we stand in line to receive Communion! Just watch this...
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I hope this Mass gets over soon, so that I can go and play with Shyam. : I wonder who won the last match.... Can't wait Her dress to get home and check looks pretty the newspaper... nice.
See, my children - Jesus is weeping. Only very few people are paying attention to him.
Let us love Jesus with all our hearts. Let us give him a kiss as soon as we receive him in the Eucharist. Let us say 'Jesus, I love you.' MARCH-MAY 2015
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Testimony
Alphonse Joseph, Music director, Ernakulam
us
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s s d l s i o h J oh y wh b
es
I was busy working on the film “Casanova” when Rex Band's Australian tour got scheduled. I was suffering from Spondylitis and had a tough time there. I literally needed help to lift the guitar! I somehow managed to complete the tour and return home for a series of medical tests. Doctors advised complete rest to recover and my financial situation took a hit. It was during those times of trials and tribulations that my desire to be intimate with Jesus grew stronger. I felt the need to attend a retreat to
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rekindle my faith. After attending the retreat I started spending more time in personal prayer and studying scriptures. I was deeply touched by 1 Corinthians 15:19 - “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied”. Those days, quite accidently, a friend gave me a book about St. Francis of Assisi. All these helped me to evaluate my life. I realized how deeply I was attached to the world and success defined by it. As I grew deeper in prayer, renouncing in my mind my attachments to my worldly possessions, I felt Jesus asking me a direct question – “In your current disposition, do you love me more than before?” I got a deep desire for Mission and my wife encouraged and supported me. However priests and elders who used to pray for me asked me to
continue with my current job. I prayed to our Lord for guidance and cried to him to lead my way. I had made up my mind to do further studies in Music and one day I got a call from A R Rahman's office. They asked me to come over to Chennai the next day. A. R Rahman sir didn't know me well, though he had a slight idea about an Alphonse who used to sing Gospel songs in Kerala. I reached Chennai the same day and I was asked to compose a song on the same night. I did that and returned home. After some time, I got a call from the director of the film, Gautam Menon. He appreciated me and mentioned that the entire crew of the film is going to London for a series of stage shows. He enquired if I had a valid visa. I mentioned in negative as I believed
we e f s li t, we i h t s or Chri most f nly e in ple o “If hop ll peo ied”. a ve it ha re of be p a to MARCH-MAY 2015
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previously UK Visa office had granted me visa for the exact number of days Rex Band had the tour program in UK. Later I found that I was wrong and they had granted me a valid visa for 6 months. So I was able join the Chennai team for the program. I had a valid visa till the last day of the program! In UK, I had to sing a song I had composed for the film. I started singing, praying to Jesus that those assembled there get an experience of Jesus. My song had a line “Palli Medayae Thottu Thalodi Kurushil Thozhuthu Varumbol” (when the breeze comes down after worshiping the Cross at the Altar). I got a huge applause after I sang that song. After some time, a couple of people came to me and asked
“Are you a Christian? Are you intimate with God?” Through this incident Jesus made it clear to me, if we are with Jesus, whatever we do will result in other's experiencing God. Initially the above song wasn't included in the film. After returning from UK, director wanted to include this song also in the film. Producer wasn't happy as it was an expensive proposition. But he gave in to the director's demand, and agreed to a modification in script to include the song. When all this happened I realized the meaning of the verse Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
If we arewith Jesus, whatever we do will result in other's experiencing God. 36 ANGELS ARMY
To make your vacations a blessing My dear little children holidays are here again. Besides enjoying games try to love Jesus more by developing good habits too. May God bless you for the same? Okay then let's get introduced to some ways and means to make our vacations, enjoyable and fruitful. First of all, make a vacation time-table. Let's not be doing whatever we feel like whenever we feel like. Here are some tips. 1. PERSONAL PRAYER: There are so many ways of Personal Prayer that we have read about. Let's make it a point to spend at least half an hour in Personal Prayer, if possible in the morning itself. 2. HOLY MASS: Let's devoutly attend Holy Mass daily without fail. 3. WORD OF GOD: Read through the Bible verses in the Angels' Army magazine. Note down in a diary, the verses which you learn by heart. Reflect on the verses and write a letter to Jesus based on them. 4. ROSARY: Pray at least one Rosary every day. You can recite one decade at a time at intervals. 5. SPIRITUAL RECEPTION OF HOLY EUCHARIST: At frequent intervals welcome the living Jesus in the tabernacle, into your heart. Pray thus, "Oh Jesus who really lives in the Tabernacle, I thirst for you, come into my heart" 6. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE: Before getting into bed, go over the happenings of the day. Thank the Lord for everything. Examine your conscience to see where you have hurt Jesus, be sorry and ask pardon. It's a good habit to make new resolutions for the next day. Offer these promises to Jesus. 7. READING HABIT: Make a habit of reading good spiritual books and books on the lives of saints. 8. PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE: Work with Jesus. Whatever you do, for example gardening, mowing, cleaning etc, do with HIM. 9. WEEKLY EXERCISES: Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, Outreach to orphanages, hospitals, old age homes and the like. 10. RECREATION: Run around with your friends, Play with them and have lots of fun. Thus, let's enjoy this vacation with Jesus and make it a blessing MARCH-MAY 2015
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For Parents Pope Francis' message to parents after baptizing 33 infants in the Sistine Chapel Dear parents, godfathers and godmothers, "If you want your children to become true Christians, help them to grow up 'immersed' in the Holy Spirit, that is, in the warmth of God's love, in the light of His Word. Therefore, do not forget to invoke the Holy Spirit every day. " “Do you pray, Mother?”- “Yes” - “To whom do you pray?” - “I pray to God” But “God”, like this, does not exist: God is a person and as persons there are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. “To whom do you pray?” - “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. Usually we pray to Jesus. When we pray the “Our Father”, we pray to 38 ANGELS ARMY
the Father. But we don't pray much to the Holy Spirit. It is so important to pray to the Holy Spirit, because he teaches us to carry our families, the children forward so that these children grow up in the atmosphere of the Holy Trinity. It is the Holy Spirit who carries this forward. Therefore, don't forget to invoke the Holy Spirit often, every day. You can do it, for example, with this simple prayer: “Come, Holy
Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love”. You can make this prayer for your babies, as well as for yourselves naturally. When you say this prayer, you will feel the maternal presence of the Virgin Mary. She teaches us to pray to the Holy Spirit, and to live according to the Spirit, like Jesus. Courtesy: L'OSSROVATORE ROMANO
The Divine Providence
Angels’ Army magazine has been progressing for the last 10 years without any subscription fee, relying fully on the Divine Providence. Now the subscription is more than twenty thousand copies per month in two languages, , Malayalam and English, and is being possible with the sacrificial sharing of a handful of people. We have to reach many more families that are in need of this magazine. We ask for your fervent prayers. If the Holy Spirit inspires you to support the Angels’ Army ministry financially.... Then contact us fore more details. Tel: 8891585850, 9895923705. Angels’Army, A/c No: 67 026 275 594, SBT Kakkanad Branch, IFSC No: SBTR 00 00 339.
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Bishop Mar Rafel Thattil (Chairman, Charismatic Commission,K.C.B.C)
Family the vessel of grace The Church is a symbol of motherhood. So every dogmatic constitution and literature by Fathers of the Church mentions the motherhood of the Church. Faith transference, the most important ministry of the Church is fulfilled through families. The parenting that is practiced in families is actually a continuation of parenting by the Church. Apparently, today the Church and family face a lot more challenges when compared to the past. The Church and family,(also known as the home church), feels immense pressure in effectively achieving this faith transference which has to be in tune with the present generation. Earlier parents did not have much education or theological knowledge. Yet, some natural interventions they made in their children's lives gave very positive results. But today such positive results are not easy to achieve. So it is the duty of the
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Church to provide the families with a helping hand. Family life can be compared to Noah's Ark. It was designed by God. The timber used was Opher. God gave Noah the dimensions of the ark. The structure of the ark, number of rooms or windows was all according to God's design. Like Noah's ark, family is a vessel of grace which God himself has designed. In a family, do parents ever wish to lose their children? No. Still, our parents are helpless amidst many pressures posed by cultural differences. Many parents have told me that earlier their children used to attend Holy Mass daily. But after a certain age they are not in our control and they do as they please. Inter-caste
marriage has become another problem. Our children, when they have grown a bit, tend to approach life with mere intellect. Even those parents, who have trained their children well, are worried about such things. Here, the home church has to be strengthened by the Church. Interventions by the Church should be made on a parish level above the parenting ministry by parents. Good perspectives should be given. Value consciousness, realization and maturity should be given. Such ministries of the Church should have spiritual, social, intellectual and financial outlooks. Thus mother Church should erect lamp posts so that the home church doesn't go astray. Luke chapter 2 says:
Our children, when they have grown a bit, tend toapproach life with mereintellect. Even those parents,who have trained their children well, are worried about such things. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Our children, when they have grown a bit, tend to approach life with mere intellect. Even those parents, who have trained their children well, are worried about such things. “Jesus went down with them then and came to Nazareth and lived under their a u t h o r i t y. A n d J e s u s Increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with people.” This Word which was written years ago erects before us four walls. They are the 4 pillars of parenting. 1. Physical growth, 2. Academic growth, 3. Faith
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formation, 4. Social commitment. In fact these are the 4 pillars on which motherhood and fatherhood should be built. What I learned from my mother during my childhood days has helped me even later. What my mother made me practice directs me even today in the matters like eating food, cleaning room, considering others and praying. She used to wake us at 5:15 in the morning. Everybody is supposed to kneel down and pray. The small prayer she taught us is this: “Thank you God for protecting me last night. Thank you God who permitted me to see this morning.” Even though there are a lot of such prayers, I never miss my rosary. Because rosary is a prayer in which my mother trained me hard. She never allowed us to skip rosary. My mother insisted us to dine with workers helping at our home, who belonged to other caste. This helped us to grow in conviction that no one should be treated as untouchable and that everyone is equal before God.
St Prokopios St. Prokopios lived (from 283-305 AD) during the reign of the two fierce Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian, who had vowed to wipe Christianity off from the face of the earth. His father Christopher was a Christian but his mother Theodosia was an idolater. Prokopios lost his father in his childhood. Soon after that, his mother gave him the name "Neanias" and brought him up in her pagan faith. As soon as he had completed his education, she donated a generous amount of money towards Diocletian's treasury and demanded a good position for her son. Diocletian decided to send Neanias on a mission to persecute Christians. He appointed Neanias as Duke of the entire region of Egypt, with Alexandria as his headquarters. On his way to Alexandria, one night, he had a vision of a MARCH-MAY 2015
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glowing cross and he heard a voice "Where are you going?" He replied that he was on his way to Alexandria to exterminate the Christians. Then he heard the voice say "You are rising up against me". To which he asked "Who are you Lord?" The voice replied "I am Jesus, the Son of God, who w as cr u cif ied f o r th e salvation of mankind. And I have chosen you Neanias." When his ship reached the city of Scythopolis, he approached a goldsmith named Mark and requested him to make him a golden cross, similar to the one that he had seen in the vision. As soon as the cross was made, an image of Jesus appeared miraculously at the center of the cross with the Angels Michael and Raphael on both sides. Mark could not wipe off the images no matter how hard he tried. Anyways, Neanias accepted the cross with the images on it. He wrote to his mother about the wonderful vision that he had. His mother soon arrived and tried to persuade him to turn back to her pagan faith, but she failed. He
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destroyed all her golden idols and distributed the gold to the poor. Enraged by this, her mother informed the Emperor about her son's conversion. When the Emperor heard of this, he appointed the Syrian ruler Ocalan to capture Neanias and reconvert him to paganism, but he failed in his mission. Finally, he was brought to Caesarea, imprisoned and cruelly tortured. While in prison, he had a vision of angels who sprinkled water on him and asked him to stand on his feet. Soon, Jesus appeared and healing his wounds, christened him "Procopius" (meaning one who cannot be chained). Ocalan had sent servants to check on Porcopius and to see if he had died in prison. When the servants returned with the news that he was alive and well, Ocalan set him free and commanded him to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods who had healed his wounds. He entered the temple with several soldiers and started to pray with such intensity that soon, most of the pagan idols in the temple
crumbled into rubble. The soldiers were struck with horror and pleaded with Procopius to baptize them. He brought them to Lentius, the Bishop of Alexandria, who baptized them and gave them Holy Communion. When Ocalan heard of this, he sentenced all those soldiers to death for their faith in Christ. Procopius was imprisoned along with 12 women. While in prison, he spoke to them, instructing them and deepening their faith. He asked them to consider their martyrdom as a preparation for their marriage feast. Because of this, St.Procopius is mentioned in the Eastern Orthodox churches, during the marriage ritual of the betrothed. All the 12 women were brutally tortured and suffered martyrdom on the same day. His mother, who witnessed their sacrifice, soon embraced the faith and was martyred too. Flavianus, who succeeded Ocalan, submitted Procopius to various kinds of tortures. Moreover, he tried to reconvert Procopius by exalting his pagan faith, one
in which he had deep knowledge, but his arguments fell flat before the wisdom of Procopius. The persecutions continued. Once, he was tied to an idol. Sweet smelling incense was placed around the altar and burning coal was placed in his hands. He was told that if the coal should fall on the incense, it would be considered as a sacrifice to the gods. His heart burned with the love for Christ. He held the coal in his hands until it had completely burned out! When Flavianus saw that Procopius had survived every possible kind of persecution, he made up his mind to have his head cut off. Before the horrific judgment was carried out, Procopius prayed in tears that his city might be delivered from the hands of the evil one. He heard a voice assuring him that his prayers had been answered. He embraced his martyrdom with great joy. His disciples anointed his body and buried him along with the other martyrs. His feast is celebrated on the 8th of July. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Experience:
Mercy, Ernakulam
The last can be
made the f irst
I just happened to visit my precious school on an annual day function. Listening to a familiar voice delivering the welcome address I asked the teacher next to me “isn't that Vineesh ? She nodded. He is the head boy of the year�. My memories flew back ......., after bidding adieu to my service as a teacher, I had very little to do. It was a few months later that I joined a private school. Walking into the wide school campus on the dawn of June1st I wondered how much I could do in this new school. Anyway I took a firm determination to put in my best effort for the students. Being a communicative English teacher I had to be in touch with every student in the school. For that purpose the right time was their lunch break. In the absence of class teachers I used to substitute
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their classes. Physical training period were also sometimes given to me by way of allotment. Thus I became part and parcel of the students. Days moved on. By giving more concentration on the teenage group I easily made friends with them. Slowly I started getting complaints regarding a boy of class VII. He always kept alone from the rest of the boys. Having spoken to the class teacher I learnt that he was feeling inferior on belonging to a backward family compared to the rest of his friends. I tried speaking to him in person but it was of no use. He never seemed interested. One day during a recess period in class VII. I was narrating the story of a Jewish carpenter and his wife who belonged to a distant place called Nazareth. The
children were very keen in a listening on how their only son was brought up in wisdom and years in human favor and grew up to be a great leader .On leaving the class as the bell rang , This boy Vineesh came up to me , Held my hand “Teacher my father is also a Carpenter . Would I also become a leader one day?.My heart missed a beat. This was the moment I was looking for. I held his hand tight and gave an assuring smile. I woke up from my thought feeling the same warmth on my fingers. Making the sign of the cross on his forehead, I blessed him, with a silent prayer in my heart that he also becomes a great leader. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Fr. Abraham Pallivathukkal S.J Angles army convener Ernakulam.
Husbandhead of the family Papa asked his son who was sitting sadly at the doorstep: “Why do you sit here without eating or changing after school?” Answer came swiftly: “Your wife quarreled with me. I will not enter unless a solution is made to this.” This is one of those shameful situations of many of our Christian families. The transition from joint family to nuclear family is toppling Christian values and outlooks today. Our families are home churches meant to love, help, care and share with each other. In today's fast paced world, family backgrounds and family
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arrangements are constantly changing. In this race, this struggle of couples for existence, the children are thrown out of orbits. When I think about family renewal, the Holy Family of Nazareth comes to mind. The family where Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived. The most important person in this family is Jesus. Mary comes second. God gave the responsibility of this family to the third personJoseph. When speaking about Joseph, the Scripture underlines only one thing that he was just. Here let us consider how Joseph led this Holy Family. Joseph the just man lived in accordance to God's will, listening to Gods voice. In the message about the birth of Jesus, the messenger of God comes in contact with Joseph.(Luke 2:5-6). St. Joseph always remained open to God's words. In the Scripture we see a Joseph who lived his life keenly understanding and fulfilling God's plan for himself, his wife and son who were entrusted to him. Such a submission, eagerly waiting to hear from the Lord is that which leads our
partner and children to life's fulfillment. Along with this, a decision to hear our partner and children, feel their needs and become a humble faithful servant will be helpful. The dialogue in the beginning shows us the tragic situation that fills our families today. When a rift appears between the husband-wife relationship and relationship with God, the family atmosphere becomes shattered. “And parents, never drive your children to resentment but bring them up with correction and advice inspired by the Lord.� Ephesians 6:4. There is an opposite side to the fourth commandment. Parents should 'earn' respect. If we want families which completely trust in God and His plans, we should have husbands and family heads who faithfully fulfills the God given responsibilities just like St. Joseph in the Holy Family. Prayer: Father, you are the beginning of all fatherhoods. Bless all the family heads to learn from St. Joseph and strengthen our families like the Holy Family. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Call to the Consecrated Life -
Mother's Role Around 1881, some mothers of the parish of Lou got together every Tuesday for adoration under the guidance of their parish priest and prayed for vocations. They prayed and received communion every first Sunday for this intention. They prayed "O God please bless at least one of my children with your divine call. I wish to lead a good Christian life 50 ANGELS ARMY
and to lead my children in the right path. Please grant me the grace to honor you with a saintly priest or nun." As a result of this miraculously powerful prayer, within a short span 323 vocations came from Lou, transforming it into a blessed village. A priest is appointed to continue Jesus" mission of absolving sins and offering mass for the
faithful. How much the heavenly Father would be valuing those families that have offered their children for God's mission? Jesus said," The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of harvests to send out laborers into his harvest." (Matt 9: 37-38). The mother's prayer is like dynamite. It has the power to destroy the unnecessary and to mine for goodness. Every mother has to recognize this unusual strength, creative spiritual energy that Father God has instilled in her. Many of the Popes, cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns and the majority of the saints have testified that when mothers come together and pray on their knees, miracles happen. It is said that for almost 20 years Cardinal Herbert's mother spent an hour every day before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer, to make all her
sons priests. As a result of her prayers 6 out of her 8 sons became priests of which 3 became bishops and one, a cardinal. Moreover all her five daughters joined the convent and led a consecrated life. A lot of catholic parishes have strong" mothers groups" which are active. These "mothers groups" through their prayers and sacrifices can help create more vocations. Some practical tips which can be done frequently to have more vocations. * pray by fasting, sacrifices and by attending holy mass. * go for adoration daily at least for one hour. * pray the rosary with the parishioners. * pray at a fixed time from different locations or carry out prayer chains. * offer 1 decade of your family rosary for more vocations from your family. MARCH-MAY 2015 51
Experience:
Anju Sunil, Ernakulam
We came to experience God's undying love through our sweet little daughter Crissanna Maria Sunil. On 10th november , 2014 I went to hospital with my husband Sunil, as a part of the routine check up. Our only prayer was to hear from doctor the good news that our child of 29 weeks is hale and healthy. It was because we had previously lost two babies while in womb itself. After the routine check up, the doctor insisted on conducting a scan. During the scanning session I overheard the doctors discussing about how I had lost two boys during my previous pregnancies. I panicked and prayed fervently,“help me Lord... give me the courage to face the truth�. But what the doctors had to say literally shocked us. The scan revealed that like in previous pregnancies this child too was down with hydrops (a medical condition where the whole fetal body swells up). The doctors went on to say that they should terminate the pregnancy right away. To avoid such
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condition from resurfacing in the near future a test should be done during which there is possibility that the child could die. Left with no option we gave our consent for the test. We prayed persistently. Even though the child survived the test, its health deteriorated every passing minute. The doctors suggested that in order to save at least the mother's life the only option available was to let go off the child. This was too much for us to bear. We asked the doctor to give us some time to decide. We were confident that God would not disappoint them who always relied on prayer. With that strong faith they
sought the advice to another doctor, who too voiced the same opinion as given earlier. We called at every number we knew and requested their prayers. It was during this time that we got a leaflet of angels army from a nurse. She told us about Angels Army and we once again felt very hopeful. We called up angels army and requested their prayer support. We felt that God wouldn't abandon us when so many people are praying for us. The next day we asked the doctor to conduct a scan one last time. The results were still depressing. The health condition had not improved a bit. The doctors suggested
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During all that time we prayed fervently that at least one drop of the most precious blood of Jesus flow into our child and save her life. immediate termination of pregnancy and we gave our consent. But we kept forth a condition. It was to let the child die as per Gods will and not to kill the foetus before terminating. The doctors agreed . On November 17th I got admitted in hospital and labour was induced via medicines. I gave birth to a baby girl via normal delivery. Doctors informed them that our child is alive but will not survive more than two hours. That our daughter came out alive and cried like any other child during the time of birth
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made us very happy. But our happiness was short lived when the doctors informed that our daughters health was deteriorating further and will die soon. We immediately called for a priest and baptized our child. During all that time we prayed fervently that at least one drop of the most precious blood of Jesus flow into our child and save her life. Many people prayed for us. After two hours the doctors informed us that blood level in the body of our daughter has improved and her health has improved considerably. It was as if she was coming back to life. They testified that it was indeed a miracle. God continued to shower his grace. Her health improved further over the days and she came back more and more into life. We believed in the power of the Bible verse Luke 1:37 “nothing is impossible for God�. All the health issues which the doctors had anticipated has not befallen on her till now. We named her Crisna Maria. She gained 2.5 kg as on 15th January 2015. Today she is growing up as any normal baby. Thank you God.
Justin Madathiparambil, Ernakulam
ANGELS Angels are spiritual creatures of God who constantly keeps saying 'I love you God' .Their song of praise and worship is never ending. They are bodiless creatures of God who constantly glorify God….. quoting St Aquinas words “the angels work together for our well being” (CCC 350). They are turned completely towards their creator . they serve him ….CCC351 They are messengers of God. Before the beginning of all things God created spiritual and physical creatures at the same time that is Angels and animal and other nature beings. . Later on he created human beings by combining both body and spirit. (Fourth latin council, CCC 327).
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In Isaiah 6:3 it is written that the angels keep calling out to each other saying “Holy holy holy ! The Lord Almighty is holy! His glory fills the world.� Angels are pure spiritual creatures of God. they do not have bodies, cannot die , and are usually not visible. They live constantly in God's presence and convey God's will and God's protection to men (CCC 328 CCC 323, You cat 54). We can call on angels and ask them to intercede with God for us (You cat 55). If we examine Bible closely we can see the presence of angels from the very beginning of all things . God's intervention on earth is through angels. We see them from the time the gates of paradise was closed (Genesis 3:24), by stopping Abraham from sacrificing his son(Genesis 22:11), helping Lot and his family from Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1-22),. Further we see angel Raphael appearing to cure Tobit , being Tobias travel companion, and protecting Tobias and his wife Sarah by expelling satan. We see Angel Gabriel announcing the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ in the book of Daniel (Daniel 8:1-16). And in the book of Revelation and in Daneil , we see angel Micheal, the archangel who is constantly fighting against evil . At the time of final judgement too Gods will is being executed via angels (Matthew 13:41, 24:31, Luke 8:9) (To be continued)
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Mini Joseph Vaikom, Kottayam
the Lord n e h W the Hit f o d r ig Wo B a e becam my Family within
"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). This was the bible verse published in the Angels' Army magazine for the second week of October 2014. I have 5 little kids: 4 girls and a boy. My eldest child is eight and a half years old while my youngest daughter is only7 months old. I had written down this bible verse on a piece of paper and pasted it above the switchboard next to my front door. Therefore, whenever I passed through the door or switched on or off the light, fan or TV, I could read the verse and learn it by heart. I eventually taught the verse to my little ones who were too young to read. A few days later, when my second daughter was wailing over some matter, my four and a half year old son asked her, "Now, what is written up there? Isn't it to rejoice always in tears?" From that day on, the verse had become a big hit at my home and from then on, I have always taken the time to write down the verse of the week that is published in the Angels' Army magazine, paste it on the wall, learn it by heart and encourage my kids to do the same. My two oldest children have learned all of the verses by heart and as for my younger ones; the Lord has blessed them to learn more than half of the verses that have been published in the past three and a half months. Praise God! Through this incident, Jesus taught us that we should always sow the seed of the Word in our children, even in the little ones, so that the Word sown in their hearts will bear fruit at the right time! Moreover, when we parents set good examples for our children by learning the verses before they do, it becomes a whole lot easier for them to learn the verses as well. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Fr. Mathew Naickomparambil VC
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing�. Each family is a branch that should remain with the vine, Jesus. Only when the branch remains with the vine will it get all the nutrients thus remain alive and bear many fruits. Family prayer is an opportunity for a family to remain close to
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Jesus. Parents should take effort to make the most out of this opportunity. First of all, discuss with all the family members and come up with a specific time for family prayer; everyone should try to be faithful to that time. It is better to switch off mobile phones so that calls don't disturb you at the time of family prayer. If at all some guests happen to come at that time let them take part in the prayer too. Don't postpone the family prayer because of someone visiting offhand. Take care that the bodily aspects remain soothing during prayer. Keep up a body stature that respects the presence of God. Pray for God's mercy for all those who are to attend the family prayer beforehand. Pray for the protection by Holy Blood for the prayer room and its surroundings. (Thus all those demonic forces that block our prayer will be destroyed.) The foremost aim of prayer should be to obtain God experience, be ready to
hear God's voice, identify God's will and to obey the same. Each member should find some time for personal prayer too. It will strengthen the family prayer. It is good if each of you can meditate on the blessings that God has given to your family. Praise God for those blessings at the time of family prayer. (Encourage free praising.) Quote the unfaithfulness and sins of the family and lead the members to repentance. Either the
If you have Bible quotations related to prayer, they may be recited to the children. Remind them the higher purposes of prayer. Pray proclaiming the name of God. MARCH-MAY 2015
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Family prayer includes prayers of husband and wife and parents and children together. When family prays together, risen Jesus is present there. complete Psalms 51 or excerpts may be used for prayer. If you have Bible quotations related to prayer, they may be recited to the children. Remind them the higher purposes of prayer. Pray proclaiming the name of God. It is a very effective prayer method to recite the prayer Jesus taught us, “Our Father in heaven..” meditatively and to explain its contents one by one. Marian rosary is a very
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powerful intercessory prayer. (Our Father in heaven repeated 6 times and Hail Mary 53 times) This prayer along with Mother Mary, meditating the life of Jesus, fills a lot of people with the anointing of Holy Spirit by the merit of life of Jesus- the forces of sin and satan gets destroyed too. The chaplet of divine mercy for the whole world may also be included in our family prayer. Explain to children inner healing, the love that pardons, praising God for disasters in life, getting filled with Holy Spirit through praising etc and encourage them to do so. It is better to write down prayers for small children in a way they can easily understand. Family prayer includes prayers of husband and wife and parents and children together. When family prays together, risen Jesus is present there. In Mathew 18:20 Jesus said: “For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.”
Experience:
Anitha George Tharakan, Ernakulam
Listen to
His Voice
At a retreat in 1988, I understood the need for Personal Prayer in my life. From then on I wake up at 4.30 to pray. Later on after marriage we moved to Zambia, where my husband worked. There I continued my personal prayer. It was a time when mobile phones were not in vogue and hence it was difficult to contact my spiritual guide to assist with prayer when required. He had advised me to go deeper into personal prayer where God will lead me. In 1995 we decided to leave Zambia and return to our native place in India. For this we wanted to call up our friends and relatives and ask if they required anything. But it was very expensive to make calls to India. At that time my husband's chief officer went on a transfer. He had entrusted the key of his flat to my husband. As there was Internet convenience in his phone we decided to make calls through it at lower rates. Next day I listened to an inner voice during my
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personal prayer "You don't make calls through the internet; it will cause difficulty during your journey". Whatever happened I decided not to do so and also told my husband about this. Even though he objected at the start, he agreed not to make free calls. We contacted everyone in India through our phone itself. We had to break journey at Dubai on our way to Kochi. As we returned to
the airport after shopping with our friends, our name was not there on the list. We tried for the tickets. but of no use. After sometime an officer came and consoled us. When he checked, all our tickets were confirmed. Praise God. If that had happened, usually there would be a delay of 3-4 days. "This is a wonder" he said. A million thanks to God who spoke to me through personal prayer.
Year of the Consecrated We are celebrating the "Year of the Consecrated" from 2014 Nov 30th to 2016 Feb 2nd. Their decision of leading a life burning in the fire of God's love can be supported by our prayers. Our prayers are their strength. In this year of the consecrated, Angels Army will pray for them by taking bread (dry chapatti) and water on every Thursdays. On that day spiritual meal of God's word should be read frequently. In the year for the priests, many people gave up, having sweets and prayed the chain rosary, when they prayed thus, many experienced blessings in their own family and therefore it is still being continued. Likewise If you are interested you are welcome to join with Angels Army. Contact : 0484 6444702
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On the way of the cross along with Mather Mary May these reflection of the Way of the Cross Intertwined with the sorrows of Mother Mary help us to renew and revive our spirits during this period of lent.
First day: Luke 2/25-40 A shudder went through her, as Mother Mary listened to Simenon's prophesy, "A sword will pierce your heart". She had known all along; even as she carried Him in her womb, that her son was destined to be a sacrificial offering for the whole world. Whenever she caressed His tiny hands and feet or kissed Him lovingly, she would have seen the shadows of the nails that were to pierce Him. The thought of the Passion that her Son would have to go through, must have haunted her often. Like her Son she would have surely repeated the prayer, "Let not my will, but thy will be done". Luke 22/39-71, 23/1-25 Jesus, our God embarked on a journey from Heaven to earth to sacrifice Himself for the salvation of man. He bore in His heart every single soul that was born and that was to be born. The unbearable burden of the sin of mankind made blood drops ooze from Him. Though worn out, he offers Himself up to the Father's will. Wearing the crown of thorns, mocked and scourged.....'Oh Jesus, without complaint you endured the beatings; you bore the insults ...all for me; for my sins and iniquities. You took on my punishment and set me free! Why do syou love me so much?!' Examination and Reflection 1) Do I think that spiritually I am better off than many others? 2) Though I presume that I have grown spiritually, am I conscious of my several shortcomings and weaknesses? Let us pray: “Lord, if I have gone astray from the right path, give me the grace to return, and help me to make use of the opportunities, that you allow in my life to grow in humility. Amen ............................................................................................... MARCH-MAY 2015
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Second Day Matthew 2/13-23 The Holy Family, submits to the angel's instructions and flees to Egypt despite the hardships and sufferings. That unexpected, long tedious journey with a baby, to a strange place of uncertainties, and to live there in exile must surely have been one of tremendous stress. The massacre of the innocent babies and the heart wrenching sorrow and cry of their mothers must have echoed continually in their ears and would have tormented them. Even after the death of King Herod, if Joseph feared to return, how haunting were those days for the Holy Family. They neither had any privilege nor received any extraordinary interventions from God during this painful journey. Yet with their eyes fixed on God they made this 'obedience journey'. Jesus falls three times during His journey to Calvary. Wasn't it the weight of my sins rather than the weight of the cross that made Jesus fall? Even today when I judge others under the guise of correcting them, I make your cross heavier.....if only I realized this..... Examination and reflection Do I feel envious of the recognition and achievements of those around me? Do I enjoy hearing and talking about their shortcomings? Let us Pray: Oh Jesus, may I realize that the success of my fellow being is my own and that his downfall is also my own. Grant me the grace to be grateful to you for the well being of my brethren and to console them in their sorrows and troubles. Amen ...............................................................................................
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Third day Luke 2/41-52 The pain that Mother Mary suffered when Child Jesus was lost must have served as a prelude to the pain of Crucifixion to take place later on. "Don't you know that I have to be busy in my Father's work?", the Child Jesus reminds his mother of His responsibility and prepares her for the arduous journey towards the cross. Body tattered and torn, laden with the heavy cross, moving towards Calvary....Jesus meets His dear mother on the way. He seemed to be one big wound from head to toe. Mother Mary must have yearned to hug and console her dear Son, but couldn't and maybe wouldn't for fear that His pain would intensify. Her silent presence was louder than words, "My dear Child, I am here, with You". What a consolation for Jesus! "Yes mother, stay with me; this is our responsibility and we are almost there", must have been Jesus' silent response. Two souls yearning to console each other. Examination and Reflection Rather than being self absorbed in my own problems, do I have the earnest desire to comfort others, and to keep others happy? Or do my desires, my comforts, my interests, and my happiness take priority over that of others? Let us pray: Oh Lord, we pray with St. Francis of Assisi. Grant us the grace, that we may console rather than be consoled, we may understand rather than be understood, and may love rather than be loved. Amen. ...............................................................................................
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Fourth day Mark 14/51, Luke 23/26-30 Simon helps Jesus by carrying His cross for a distance; Veronica walks in through the crowd heroically and wipes the face of Jesus; and the women of Jerusalem - they don't have the strength or the courage to do either, they just weep bitterly at the plight of Jesus. All these people show compassion towards the agonizing Christ in their own way. So, here, anyone can console the Son of God. Even the one who has neither the strength nor the courage. Anybody can.... When Jesus was captured by the soldiers, His disciple John ran away even discarding his linen cloth, but here he is now, following Jesus all the way to Calvary. What could have strengthened John? Isn't it the fortifying and unwavering presence of Mother Mary? Her bravery and unyielding faith empowered him. Examination and reflection Have I made a resolution to follow Jesus, but gone astray half way through? Have the adversities of life kept me away? Do the attractions of this world tempt me and hold me captive? I must return to Jesus. He needs my consolation. I will give up all that holds me back. I must regain my lost love. I have Mother Mary to help me. I will hold her hand and go back to my Jesus. Let us pray: Lord Jesus give me the strength and courage to follow you along the path of Calvary, loving you and loving others, even if I have to pay a price. Amen ...............................................................................................
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Fifth day The blood soaked clothes of Jesus were ruthlessly stripped off His body; the excruciating pain can't be imagined, yet He did not utter a word of complaint. Why? To hide my horrible sins from others? His nudity became a concealment for my secret sins. How can Jesus love me so much?! Unfathomable!! The Heart of Jesus was so violently and mercilessly pierced that the spear split His heart in two. What then flowed out was not just blood and water, but healing love and infinite mercy. When my false ego is slightly scratched by someone, does anger, complaint and frustration pour out of me? The lance which opened his side also passed through the soul of the Blessed Virgin. Now look at her ! She accepted them as her own children; those who spat on, scourged, tormented, and crucified her Son. Together with Jesus she holds us also to her bosom, though we continue to scourge and crucify her Son by our sins. Examination and reflection Like Jesus, do I stay as a veil for the weaknesses of my spouse, my children, my in-laws, my parents, my siblings, my neighbors, my friends, my colleagues, and my enemies....? Do I forgive and love unconditionally, those who have knowingly or unknowingly hurt me? Where am I? Am I with the naked, disfigured, and tormented, Jesus hanging helplessly, on the Cross? Let us pray: Lord, grant me the Grace to be a shield for others. Help me to love and bless all those who have hurt me or annoyed me. Amen ...............................................................................................
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Sixth day Mother Mary cradles the body of her beloved Son placed on her lap. Beautiful memories from the moment of His birth floods her mind. Here He lies now. The skin is ruptured, the flesh is torn , the bones are visible, His face is disfigured. Now that He is not alive, she could hug him, without fear of hurting Him. She caresses her dear son's marred body, with much compassion and sorrow. As her hand touched His pierced Sacred Heart, her body must have shuddered and her heart too must have been pierced with a sword of unbearable pain. The poor Mother... A mother who humbled herself along with her Son. Her dear Son, was one with God the Father, yet he allowed Himself to be condemned and crucified like a criminal for our sins. Examination and reflection Like Jesus, am I not supposed to offer my life as a sacrifice for others? When I had the chance to win, have I lost willingly, so that my brother could win? When I give in, do I do it because I have no other option, or to glorify my God? When the credit of my toil goes to another, can I quietly accept it? Are there any sweet stories of self denial in my life that only Jesus is aware of? When I am faced with spiritual uncertainties, and when God seems distant and silent, do I humbly bow down to the will of God? Let us pray: Lord Jesus, bless me with the Grace to deny myself, and to offer my life as a sacrifice for others. Amen. ...............................................................................................
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Seventh day The wounds of Jesus are Holy. The pierced Heart is the source of Grace. The resurrection of Jesus teaches us that all suffering can be converted into Glory. Every bit of suffering has salvific value, so like Mother Mary, let's not waste any by complaining, instead lets join them to His Holy Wounds. Doesn't God allow these sufferings in order to strengthen me as I tread my path towards Heaven? Doesn't the love of my crucified Jesus make me perceive the priceless treasure hidden in my sufferings? Don't I then feel like embracing my cross? Every time I receive Holy Communion, it's the Resurrected Christ who comes into me with all His glory. Let the peace and anointing that He grants us through Communion overflow in us, and out into our families and into our society. Dying on the Cross, He cries out, "I thirst"! Wasn't He begging me for souls? Examination and reflection Do I waste even a tiny suffering of mine by trying to avoid it or by complaining and grumbling? Do I offer it to Jesus for my brethren? Do I eagerly await Jesus in Holy Communion, so that I can console Him, caress Him, love Him? Do I thirst to gain souls for Jesus? Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may I always remember your Living Presence and share it with every person I meet. Grant me the grace I need to convert the sufferings that you permit, into fruit both for me and for others. Thus may the whole world be filled with the glory of your resurrection? Oh Holy Spirit I offer myself to you completely. Amen ...............................................................................................
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If you wish to pray for Angels’ Army Ministry, please dedicate one day in a month for prayer, sacrificing at least one thing you like the most. 0484-6444702, 94961 31921
Night Vigil Venue: St. Francis Assisi Cathedral, High Court Junction, Ernakulam 2nd FRIDAY of every month 7 pm to 10 pm All Are Cordially Welcome! Those who cannot reach Cathedral can join in it, being in your own places. Please forward your prayer requests by letter/ phone/ email to us. We will pray for you. Email: prayer@angelsarmy.in Tel: 9497583885
Blessed is the fruit of the womb A leaflet prepared by Angels’ Army pregnancy wing for the pregnant women to prepare prayerfully throughout 9 months. For Copies- 8891585850, 9895354201, 0484-6444702, info@angelsarmy.com
Pregnancy Wing The pregnancy wing under the intercession team of Angels’ Army prays for all the pregnant women and the baby in the womb throughout the 9 months of pregnancy. When you call us for prayer support, both the parents and the baby enters this prayer chain. At the time of delivery, we offer special prayers if informed at 9061963071, 8891585850.
Please make phone calls in office time only. 10:30 a.m (IST) to 5:00 p.m (IST). Sunday Holiday.
Continuous fasting prayer
Rosary @ 5 a.m Intentions
1st Mystery:
Angels Army Magazine. 2nd Mystery:
Website. 3rd Mystery:
Media. 4th Mystery:
Programmes. 5th Mystery:
Angels Army Team.
Let us kneel down for all who are assigned with the duty to mould children towards holiness, so that they may recognise their call, mission and role.
The Chain Rosary Intentions
1st Mystery:
For the Holy Father, Bishops, Priests and Religious. 2nd Mystery:
Parents and Teachers 3rd Mystery:
Members of Angels Army. 4th Mystery:
Souls in Purgatory.
If you intereste are give us y d to join o and pray ur name Ph: 0484 er time. -64 94961 31 44702, 921
5th Mystery:
Missionaries, Friends, Aborted babies.
Pray without ceasing One Rosary-daily Let us pray for our children round the clock. No doubt this will become a fortress for our children. Read Psalm 91 and Mark 5:1-20 before you begin the rosary. MARCH-MAY 2015 71
Family retreat by Angels' Army Team (For children upto the age of 12 years and for their parents, including parents-to-be) Venue:
Yaeshu bhavan, Kanichukulangara junction, Chertala, Aleppy, Kerala. Date: February 15, 5:00 p.m. to February 17, 4:00p.m. All those who are interested, please reserve in advance. For further details please contact at 0484-644702 or 8281469989
A Program Organized by Angels Army on Shalom Television.......
Every Tuesday 5.30pm Repeats on Friday 9:30 a.m and Sunday 8 a.m.
Angels Army, Jesus Youth, Emmaus, H.M.T. Colony P.O, Kalamassery-683503, Kochi, Kerala 0484 644 4702 info@angelsarmy.in www.angelsarmy.in