When Christ Comes to Life | May 2

Our Lady of Perpetual Help

In his interview that was published on 14 April 2024 by PK MEDIA - VOICE on Youtube, the renowned Malayalam writer Perumbadavam Sreedharan declares that it is impossible to live without Christ. He observes Christ as a beacon of hope beyond all religious and geographical boundaries. Christ is above all boundaries and therefore, even if he is someone who does not proclaim faith in any particular religion, Christ is still quintessential for him, for his existence.

About Jesus, I first heard from my mother. She, a Syro-Malabar Catholic, has always been a strong fortress of faith. She told me Jesus came from God. I was very young when she first told me this. My mind frantically started to make connections between Jesus and his essence. I couldn’t grasp the description in the proper sense that Jesus is God and is from God. Most of my time was occupied those days in thinking about a possible solution to solve this ‘mystery’. I remember, once asking my mother, is Jesus like Gandhi ji?

My mother shook her head and my father laughed at my naivety. My father, who was a Hindu, corrected me, “Jesus is not like Gandhi ji, who is a political leader. Jesus is the Son of God.” My mother also explained this to me. I immediately stopped comparing Jesus with any other “celebrity”. What my parents understood so easily was not that easy for my mind to grasp. What I felt for Jesus, first, was love. Reason- He suffered, for me and all of us. Like any other leader or teacher, he did not stand on a pedestal to lead others. He was on a pedestal when there was a requirement, on the sermon on the mount. Then he was teaching in the synagogues. But when it came to saving people from sin, he knew only a true sacrifice could save them. The sacrifice for the sinfulness of the world was the death of a sinless man. Jesus was the man who was born sinless and lived sinless. In following his Heavenly Father’s Will, he rose above all mortal concerns and limitations, thus transforming the cross into a Holy Pathway to Heaven.

I followed Jesus into loving people, including my family. The culmination of my love was in my entering the Catholic Church. As children, we used to visit church wherever we lived. Since my sister and I were not baptised when we were children, it was not allowed that we took part in the Holy Communion. My mother also kept herself away from the Holy Communion because she had gone against the teachings of the church, in marrying a Hindu man. Back in those days, the provisions which allowed mixed couples to receive communion were not openly advised; at least, my mother never got to know such a provision existed. Later, it was through me that she came to know about it and made use of it. And then she was allowed to receive Jesus in the Holy Communion. But when I refer to the story of my mother, there may be those who grasp only a distorted version of it, especially because of the word “allowed”. It does not mean someone was forcing her out of the Church. Rather, it was a self-imposed rule that my mother lived by until she hadn’t followed the proper procedure according to the Canon of the Catholic Church.

Just like the experience of the renowned Malayalam author, I was aware of Christ, His mission, His life, His death, His resurrection and Presence in the Eucharist. Catholicism beautifully presented these to me. My life’s flow was directed towards Baptism. However, on 20 Jun 2013, I watched a show by Bishop Barron on YouTube, a commentary on the latest Superman movie titled Man of Steel. His talk gradually drifted to the Christ-centeredness of culture. The beauty of Catholicism was such that I felt I was home. Before Bishop Barron, I never heard anyone explain Catholicism to reveal its beauty so evocatively. I watched many of his other commentaries on various topics immediately. He not only earned a fan but also added a valuable chapter to the ‘New Evangelisation’ in the spirit of the Vatican II council, whereby the beauty and essence of the Catholic church are made accessible to those who left the church or those never known about the Church or Jesus.

My heart longed to be one with my Saviour in Holy Baptism. On the 22 of June 2013 at St Cornelius Church, Kolayad, I was baptised by Rev Fr Lopez. “A divine experience,” I wrote in my diary, later that day. It was Baptism and Confirmation on the same day. Our parish church was about ten kilometres from our home. In 2019, our parish priest started a rosary marathon. Every day, each family was given a particular time. At the given time, they must pray one decade of the rosary. Until then, I hadn’t prayed the rosary alone. I always joined my mother, while praying the rosary. At church, also, it would be a group rosary. When my mother was busy, she asked me to complete the rosary on certain days. I didn’t know how to pray the rosary. I had the beads and the prayer book.

Then, a third time, Christ came to save me. The first time, through my mother, when she told me about Jesus Christ. The second time, when I listened to Bishop Robert Barron. The third time, through our parish priest. But it didn’t solve my problem, my ignorance about praying the rosary. I sat down in my bedroom. Took the rosary in my hand and opened the prayer book. There was a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in my room. I looked at her and asked her to teach me how to pray the rosary. The third time, when Christ came to be close to me, through the parish priest, he brought me his mother. He knows I am a poor learner. I need a lot of help. I felt someone holding my hand and directing my thoughts.

It felt like I was recollecting something from a hidden area in my mind, which wasn’t visible before. I knew all of a sudden, without the help of the prayer book, which prayer to say in which bead. I made good progress in the rosary marathon. Later, after the period, I kept the habit of praying the rosary. Through the rosary, I came to know Jesus a bit more, through his Blessed Mother. Through the rosary, Our Lady made me realise the shortcomings in my personality and my faith. Through her eyes, when I saw Jesus, I started loving him even more. Later, recently, when I visited the shrine of Our Lady of Grace at Kreupasanam, Our Lady confirmed to me what it means to have Love of God. As a child, what made me love Jesus, was perhaps, just one of the reasons to love Him. There are plenty of reasons now, as I see them.

When I became aware of Christ, I came closer to him. When I experienced Christ, He came closer to me. It was Our Lady who took my hand and led me to the altar of experience to know her son more personally. She did it so that I, the naive, may never fall.

Note: I wrote this, taking inspiration from the Holy Spirit and Our Blessed Mother to honour God and to spread devotion to Our Blessed Mother among all people. The month of May is dedicated to Our Lady. Let’s pray for her intercession in all our life’s problems.