my Articulate Heart

When there is crisis in the family, it is the husband who must take the lead to forgive and reconcile no matter who is at fault. This is because husbands share the role of Christ the initiator of love and forgiveness. Husbands are called to love their spouses just as Christ loves the Church [Eph 5:25]. The bibles says " While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"  [Rom 5:8]. Christ initiated love and offered his forgiveness unconditionally to the erring mankind, his beloved spouse. St. Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians states " He washed her clean by his own blood and presented her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless [5:27]. In our fallenness, men have falsely assumed themselves to be invincible and superior to woman. He seeks to earn respect and authority by virtue of his maleness and strength and not by his character. Let him do so by being meek, patient and understanding as Christ was even

When we lower ourselves and allow our sexual morality to take a plunge, our own consciousnesses question us. We seek desperately to silence it and stay justified. The guilt that haunt us is not because we have broken some social law but because we have broken the very law stamped within our bodies - to be a Gift! Our bodies are created to be "a self gift". God created it in His own nature.  Bible says "God created man in his image and likeness" . [Gen 1:26] St Paul writes "I urge you, then, brothers, remembering the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, dedicated and acceptable to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people. [Rom 12:1] The fallen man because of his swollen pride and lack of meekness, tries desperately to justify his act and begins to hate those who lay bare the truth before them. They plot ways to destroy them. We see a classic example of this in Mark 6:17. Herodias, originally wife of Philip, now w

This generation is led away to think that "attraction" and "love" are one and the same. Alas! they are awfully different. They are the extreme ends of the same track. The lack of understanding to distinguish attraction from love will land us in big mess especially those who tend to think that they are in love and are ready to use their sexual gifts. Attraction to the opposite gender is the natural longing given to man and woman to constantly remind them of their deep rooted need to self donate. It is not love yet. It is only a feeling that must elevated,  in due time, to a higher commitment of sacramental marital love. Marriage indeed is the only fitting sacred alter where the supreme gift of self must be mutually offered. Sex outside of marriage is like throwing away precious pearls to swines. These are the very pearls that make up our core self. Our sexuality is what we are. Masculinity and femininity are the key factors that distinguishes each individual and a

Let there be men who would give up their lives to defend the dignity of woman, no matter who she is. This statement might sound too stupid and you want to say "life is worth more than that!". Then, let me ask, have you anything that's worth dying for? In our days we do not hold any values or virtues so close to our heart that we consider death than compromising it. Our ideologies have undergone a dramatic change. No one is willing to give up life but wants to preserve it by any means - to make it big in life. The "other person" does not matter any longer. All that matters is I, me, myself. In the past, People have given up lives, choosing not to say a lie. Bodies have been brutally mutilated because they refused compromise on their values. Men have given up lives defending the dignity of woman. Woman have laid down their lives for their men and children. Many have chosen to die rather than defiling their innocence and having to live in sin. Who dares to t

Today, in Delhi, the capital of India, hundreds of women are shouting slogans and staging mass protests desperately seeking protection of their kind from guess who, men!. The slogans say " Teach men how to respect woman", " Woman are not objects of Pleasure" and likes. The very men whom God ordained to protect, nourish, respect and honor woman is now destroying, plundering and devastating womanhood. Men have stooped so low giving themselves to the carnal desires of the flesh objectifying and utilizing woman, thus doing exactly opposite of what was expected of them. As this horror unloose in front of our eyes, there already in full power, behind the curtains, takes place murder of thousands of innocent babies in the name of freedom, career and pleasure. They have sugar coated it and called it "planned parenthood". The very mothers who are ordained to protect, nourish, respect and honor new-born children are now the ones who consent with men to brutally t

These days, the common thoughts that troubles any married people are the likes below: Is this relationship worth? Will this marriage work? I'm I not risking my future committing to be with this man /woman- forever? Should I sacrifice my career, freedom, well being and all that just to have babies? Second kid? More kids!!!? I can’t manage even the only one I have. Everything seems to fall apart. How can I save my marriage? Is this is my fate. Will I have to live my whole life in misery. Have I become a burden? Can I ever be a good dad or husband? Will I be able to make enough money to meet the rising expenses? The list is endless… If we closely analyze these worries, we will begin to see the following. We have assumed that it is tough to make marriages work. Success in marriage is no longer looked upon as the success of the “fruitfulness of marriage” but individual success - where success is defined by the amount of money and position one is earns in a life time. We have becom

Christian living becomes cumbersome and boring if we lack the most fundamental element - that is to have a relationship with God. We, as Children of God are created to share in the very life of God. We are redeemed by Jesus and made once again capable of profound communion with God. People who do not recognize this original call and purpose of all human persons, assumes himself to be a mediocre and insignificant creature who then ought to fight, struggle and make his presence felt by wielding his own might and power. Such a life is found to be self seeking and is thus detrimental to the other. Someone always needs to loose - for him to pedal up. Life remains a burden in the absence of a personal relationship with God. Even the most cherished inter personal relationships we relish are so because of God's relationship with us. The very God-given gift inherited by all human beings is our capacity to offer ourselves as a gift (sacrifice) to the other. This very capacity is the rea