Gods Own Words

Courage and Destiny of a Harlot

Jacob Chanikuzhy Who are the four most beautiful women that the world has ever seen? The chances to get a unanimous answer would be almost nil. However, the Jewish rabbis had the answer: Sara, Abigail, Esther and Rahab. The answer is surprising because the fourth among these names – Rahab – was a prostitute. She […]

St. Paul: The Pastor under Daily Pressure

Benny Nalkara, CMI St Paul is considered as a pastor par excellence of the early Church. As a Pastor, Paul’s commitment to the communities, even those which he did not personally establish was unparalleled. The letters are proof of his pastoral commitment. His theological insights were pastorally motivated and guided. He was concerned about the […]

Leaders Capable of Dying like Moses

Jacob Chanikuzhy “If you carefully consider what you want to be said of you in the funeral experience, you will find your definition of success,” wrote American author Stephen Covey. Although most of us do not want to die, many would like to have a solemn burial once dead, and eulogies delivered during the ceremony. […]

Onesimus: More than a slave, but a beloved brother

Paul’s letter to Philemon is noted for its brevity and brilliance of communicating the message of the Gospel. This is the shortest letter of the whole Pauline corpus (334 words) and is (apparently) unique in its genre of a private letter. Though this letter is one of the most personal testimonies of the Apostle, it […]

Lessons a Donkey Teaches Spiritual Leaders

Jacob Chanikuzhy “A hen’s curses have never killed an eagle,” says an African proverb. This proverb seems to say that the curses can never harm anyone anyway. However, in the Bible, cursing is a forbidden thing. Several biblical texts indicate that curses and blessings uttered on others are effective. One might immediately remember the story […]

Living Sacrifice: Offering the Body and Transforming the Life

Benny Nalkara, CMI “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the […]

Power Abuse and Downfall of a Leader…

Jacob Chanikuzhy On anger, Buddha has this beautiful statement to his credit: “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” Once the meek man Moses himself terribly burned his hands by what appeared to be an act […]

Agape: The Excellent Way and the Greatest Virtue

Benny Nalkara, CMI The hymn on love in 1 Corinthians 13 is considered to be one of the most radical and revolutionary statements articulated by Paul in his writings. There are arguments in favour of and against the direct authorship of Paul on this hymn of love. But without any doubt we can conclude that […]

Pope: ‘Synodality is inseparable from ecumenism’

Vatican, Catholic leaders from Europe discuss sexual abuse in the Church