Faith and Transformation: The Space of Kreupasanam Marian Covenant
As we are in the thick of things, it is difficult to open our hearts to God. Here is a strategy. I have learned this strategy from someone very special- the Mother of God: first we must understand that God loves us. God loves us unconditionally. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). Perhaps, every human being faces this question once in his or her life: “Does God really love me?” They expect God’s love to be evident and confirmed through actions manifesting in the physical world. They need evidence in terms of their limited thinking.
Most of us never truly understand God for most of our lives. This is due to our lack of trust, which is evident in the question we ask: “Does God truly love us?” We expect Him to behave in a particular way, according to human logic. We have a test that we use in our mind to identify God. The first question in that test is: “Does God really love us?” God’s love is often manifested in His presence. He will come to us, and show us his Son’s Holy Cross, upon which he took the sins of the world. He would show his presence through peacefulness, revelations, love, and wisdom or knowledge. Even then, for most of us, to see the presence of God through these heavenly signs is difficult.
We need to see something cinematic or fantastic to acknowledge the presence of God, which is most convenient. Even if we see the burial cloth of Jesus or the Holy Cross of our Saviour, we would still doubt the ‘historicity’ of Jesus. God is here; He was here in flesh and blood; He is here in the Eucharist. This is for the believers, the faithful, and not for the atheists. Certainly, faith is difficult. Having no faith is easy, perhaps. This is because faith has logic in it, a difficult logic to grasp. Faith is not just imagination and fantasy. That is why faith, for all of us faithful, is so difficult.
One of the disservices that the movie industry and the entertainment industry, in general, have done to us is planting a distorted view of life in our minds. According to this worldview, when something wrong happens, we have to take courage and fight to solve the problem. We could get ‘lucky’ sometimes, and sometimes, our good deeds might pay our ransom. In real life, though, we cannot fight our problems with muscle or guns. From the perspective offered by the Holy Bible, a problem is truly resolved only by God. So every problem is an opportunity to enter into a relationship with God. In the movie reality, a problem is a disruption. In God’s world, in the real world, a problem is a cross that Jesus asks us to carry and follow Him. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). This means that a problem in life is a tool that God uses to redeem us.
Let’s come back to the strategy of how to open ourselves completely to God. While facing problems, we must surrender ourselves to God completely. Here is a prayer to help you do that: “Jesus, I surrender myself to you. You are in control of my mind, body and soul now. Please take care of things.” This is the best surrender prayer that I’ve found to be quite useful on many occasions. You must understand from this moment onwards, that it is not you but Jesus who lives through you and in you. St Paul in Ephesians 3: 8 speaks about the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (King James version). He further notes that we have access to these riches in confidence and boldness in faith. Without faith in Him, we don’t have access to his “boundless riches” (NRSV Bible). Faith is, therefore, very important because without it, nothing is. However, many of us often falter in faith. When challenges arise in life, when a problem that is unsolvable to human hands appears, we fumble for the proper attitude. We forget that we are one in Christ. We forget we are “to clothe” ourselves “with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22). When we understand this and surrender ourselves unconditionally, our problems become God’s problems. We immediately receive the solutions for those problems, either as clarity to deal with them or a complete physical solution. This happens because we are one in Christ.
I heard the surrender prayer first on Instagram, in a video posted by renowned actor Jonathan Roumie, who played Jesus in the show Chosen. I found it greatly useful in my times of turmoil. However, this prayer works only when we empty ourselves of our ego and pride. I have heard this talked about often by Rev Fr V P Joseph of Kreupasanam in his Covenant Talks. When we hold on to our status the surrender is incomplete. When we consider ourselves owners of talent, money, or a support system, as a corollary we make God unnecessary. When we acknowledge no support from the world, we let God enter into our lives.
Now the question is, how can we be one in Christ, “the new self according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness”? In modern times, especially in the twenty-first century, there is one method that truly reaches the depths of this theological mystery: Kreupasanam Marian Covenant. Through the Marian Covenant, one can breach the snares of the world; rise to the realm of divine will and allow God to work in us and through us. The Marian Covenant is an agreement, a bilateral agreement, in which one party is us and the other is God Himself. The mediator of this covenant is the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ark of the covenant in the days of the New Covenant. What truly differentiates the Kreupasanam Marian Covenant from other prayer methods is the confirmation of each step in the process by the signs from God. Hundreds and thousands of people are receiving signs of the covenant’s confirmation from God. It’s not just a prayer programme, but a practice-oriented programme, where we listen to the Blessed Mother’s command, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).
The obvious reference here is the wedding at Cana where our Blessed Mother intercedes for the Groom’s family. Jesus and His disciples were present on the occasion. The wedding celebration was going in full swing. Right then, a problem arises. For the world, it could be a disruption. It was a disruption for the family of the bridegroom. However, the Blessed Mother saw it as an opportunity to reveal God’s Glory. When there was no wine left, she approached Jesus. “They have no wine,” she says (John 2:3). Jesus tells her that His time to reveal his identity has not yet come. We see Mary telling the servants of the house, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). This not only solves the problem but also offers an opportunity for the servants to witness the miracle of God, supernaturally. All they did was to listen to Mary. When the servants listened to Mary they saw the presence of God. When Jesus listened to Mary, He became truly present in human form. Therefore, listening to Mary is crucial in solving the problem of faith. The difficult logic of the human brain gives way to the love for the Mother and her Son. This spiritual formula operates in Kreupasanam with Grace in abundance.
Rather than requiring us to grasp God intellectually, the Marian Covenant at Kreupasanam gives us the opportunity to practically associate ourselves with the presence of God, by following Mary’s words “Do whatever he tells you”. It is the action part of the covenant that makes all the difference and takes people closer to God’s love. So those who enter the covenant in Kreupasanam are required to keep six conditions:
1. Perform any one among the 14 works of charity codified by the Catholic church, once a week.
2. Reading the Bible for 30 minutes every day.
3. Evangelising the culture by purchasing and distributing the Kreupasanam newspaper, which carries the testimonies of those who have already entered the Kreupasanam Marian Covenant.
4. Fasting once every week, preferably on Wednesday or Saturday as these days are dedicated to the Blessed Mother by the church.
5. Attending the Tuesday retreat by Fr VP Joseph every week during the Covenant period. This retreat is also called the Covenant Retreat.
6. Confess your sins at least once in two weeks. Also, the individual who enters the Covenant is required to avoid three sins in the first three months, detest sins, and avoid all occasions of the sins as per the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
One of the features of Kreupasanam Marian Covenant is that it is also readily available as a stepping stone to get closer to God, for nonCatholics as well. They, as part of following the above conditions, can “consider following their conscience in avoiding sin and living a holy life.” according to Fr VP Joseph. (Covenant Retreat 25-06-24). St Paul says, “The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve” (Romans 14:22). Also, in 1 Corinthians 7:19 St Paul says, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything.” This is the basis of the Covenant’s sixth condition for nonCatholics.
Those who enter the Kreupasanam Marian Covenant testify that they experience direct communication with God, and often through the mother of God also. They receive signs and wonders to confirm their faith. This instils in them not just faith but primarily a love for God. Such a love for God, helps them witness the real presence of God in life. The Kreupasanam Marian Covenant is often seen starting from a material need and ending in a spiritual achievement. And that too in a short period, mostly within 90 days. The transformations witnessed in the spiritual realm of individuals are unforeseen. Usually, such transformations would take a lifetime to be inculcated in a person, living a normal familial life. These take place in people who enter the Covenant within a stunningly short time span.
Faith is difficult, but not when we love the one we believe in. “Love is patient,” according to St Paul (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). So when we go to Jesus holding the hand of Mary, our journey doesn't seem difficult, as we initially discussed. When we start loving God, we also acknowledge the love God has for us. This understanding is the beginning of all transformation. Those who entered the Kreupasanam Marian Covenant often refer to a Marian presence in their lives. They say Mary comes to them after entering the Covenant. They call her “Sanchari Maathavu” or “Travelling Mother”, a mother who comes to her children to lead them by taking their hand, out of their sins, to take them to Jesus, even if they are not strong enough in their faith. When we find faith to be very difficult to hold on to in the problems in our lives, Kreupasanam Marian Covenant works like a “spiritual insurance policy” which will provide us with the necessary support in times of need. Like St Augustine, we must adopt a perspective of higher ambition to grow in spirituality. And Kreupasanam Marian Covenant is a practical method that guides us into the bosom of our Lord.
Works Cited
Fr V.P Joseph Kreupasanam Official. “കൃപാസനം നാലാം ചൊവ്വ (25/6/2024) മരിയൻ ഉടമ്പടി ധ്യാനം ലൈവ്, Dr FrV.P Joseph Valiyaveettil.” YouTube, 25 June 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBfw6beHvck.
Valiyaveettil, Dr FrV.P Joseph. Marian Udambadi Padhathiyum Prayogavum. Kreupasanam Marian Retreat Centre. 2019.
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