Published in L'Echo des Îles - Magazine
of the diocese of Port-Victoria in Seychelles. February 1st 2020
Editor : Fr. Edwin Mathiot - echo@seychelles.net
.
The
Prophet of the 21st Century was in Seychelles
Published in L'Echo des Îles - Magazine
of the diocese of Port-Victoria in Seychelles. February 1st 2020
Editor : Fr. Edwin Mathiot - echo@seychelles.net
.
The
Prophet of the 21st Century was in Seychelles
Fr. James Manjackal, the Catholic, Charismatic, Stigmatize, Indian priest from Kerala who lives in Munich was here in Seychelles for a fortnight from the 30th Dec. 2019 to 15th Jan. 2020 to minister to us. His preaching was profound! He reminded me of John the Baptist in the Gospel of John, chapter 1, 23: “He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.”
Seychelles is his 104th country where he has been preaching the Gospel
of the Lord. Apart from his depth in the preaching of the Word of God,
he carries on/in him the wounds and the suffering of Jesus Christ. He imposed
his hands on every one of us present on different occasions for healings:
spiritual, inner healing as well as physical healings. Many of us have
experienced the inner healing and some people have been physically cured
of cancer, as well as from other serious diseases. A friend of mine who
was supposed to have an operation on her knee some three years ago, but
she kept telling herself, “I do not need an operation for Jesus will
heal me.”
With Fr. James‟ prayers together with her faith in God,
she is now healed completely. In
Mark 11, 22 -24:
11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.Of course, Fr. James expressed that we have to give thanks and glory to God for He is the One who heals. Jesus heals because God the Father is in Him, and He is in Him. John 14, 11 -15:11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
11:24 Therefore, I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.I had the pleasure to follow Fr. James during his stay in Seychelles because I was singing in the choir. I also went to Praslin with him, and miracles happened there too! He insisted on “keeping God's commandments” the commandments that were given to Moses on Mount Sanai were active then as much as they are valid now. The first three commandments are on God: “1. You shall have no other gods than Me. 2. You shall not make any idols. 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” But the fourth one was, Keep the Sabbath day holy, that one was good for the old Testament, now, we Catholic Christians, we must observe and keep Sunday holy because it is the day of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus gave us a Commandment too just before he died. John 15,12:14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.Besides, Fr. James emphasized that we are created in God's image and likeness! Gen 1, 27 - 28:
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.He highlighted that God created us, male and female like in Gen 2,23 -24:1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.A couple must be formed by a man and a woman, they become one flesh in the Sacrament of Marriage and no other way. He insisted that a couple must pray together in family. What God has put together no men must divide them.2:24 Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
He insisted on the Sacraments. As Catholic, we have to be baptized soon after birth, the Sacrament of Confession is very important for our spiritual growth, we have to confess at least every fortnight or once a month. For the purification of our soul, penance is important, promise never to sin again, he also recommended fasting, tithing and charity works. Jesus who saves came to deliver us from our sins. God forgives us our sins but we also have to forgive those who trespass against us like in the only prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, “Our Father”.
John 11, 25 – 26, speaks about forgiveness.
11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.He taught us the importance of the sign of the cross, he said to do it even when we are reciting The Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! He insisted that we pray the Holy Spirit for He is our comforter, our advocate, and the Paraclete. He can always intercede for us if we will ask Him. Besides, the Holy Spirit has nine gifts which He would lavishly give to us. 1 Cor 12,7-11. Furthermore, we have to acknowledge the fruits of the Holy Spirit in us.11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Galatians 5,22-23:
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,He taught us the importance of the Eucharist in our Christian life. What Jesus did during the Last Supper is the same as 2000 years ago as it is today for, we do the memorial of this Eucharist. After the consecration of the bread and the wine, they become the Body and Blood of Jesus. Luke 22,19:5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of me.When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus is present in us and we can speak to Him, tell Him of our intentions. Fr. James explained that there are 153 places where the host has turned into flesh, one is in Lanciano, Italy, where the priest who was celebrating mass was suffering because he was in doubt of, “if the bread and the wine really turned into the body and blood?” While celebrating the Holy Mass the host and wine turned into the Body and Blood. The flesh had undergone scientific tests and they confirmed that it is a piece of the heart of a living person in agony, and the blood is of AB+ group. Therefore, during the consecration, the bread and wine really turn into the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ our Savior. I had the pleasure to see this Chalice in which there is the Body of Christ, where this miracle happened on the 13th October in the year 1999. Let the Eucharist be the heart, the centre in our life, the adoration of the Eucharist is also very important.
I am sure that after hearing his preaching our life will never be the same again for, we are willing to walk with Jesus in the righteousness of God the Father with the help of the Holy Spirit. What I‟ve written here is just a little perception of what he told us, and we may get more of his teaching through his books and on his web- site: www.jmanjackal.net The Holy Trinity desires our love and our holiness. We have to work towards our holiness till eternity! God is the potter we are the clay, mould us to be like You! We kept on singing! In Isaiah 64,8 and Jeremiah 18,5 – 6.
L’Écho des Îles - 1 février 2020
Jane Stravens
Healing session at Baie Lazare |
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Visiting Montagne Posée Prison |
Healing session at Baie Lazare |
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Confession |
Meeting the press. - Praslin |
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