Gerald D'Cunha

  “A clear mind heals everything  that needs to be healed.” Byron Katie   I think, Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such words have entered our lexicon mechanically – yes, just like that. To be frank, you and I very, very rarely feel their profound meaning when we voice them, several times a day... The reason for that - again, I think – is, that we rarely get into a silence before we voice these words... Only in silence we can really feel the profound meaning of such words – Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such... T wo days ago, I was waiting outside the Cath lab of Parel’s Gleneagles Hospital (earlier known as Global Hospital). My wife was taken inside for the angioplasty of her left coronary artery (LCA) which had ninety percent blockages. Just a month ago, she had under gone the angioplasty of her right coronary artery (RCA) which had hundred percent blockages. The long passage of that waiting area had ma...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty T here is only one God and we all are His children. So, as our Father, he cares for us. Yes, a Father never forsakes his children. “Pray for Chennai.” I have been receiving this appeal on social media repeatedly since yesterday. It is pouring relentlessly in Chennai… It has wrought havoc everywhere there… Loss of property and lives… breakdown of communication and transport system… People are stranded at the airport and railway stations… Power is off at several places… There is no food to eat or clean water to drink at other places… Times like this are terrible… “God please help these hapless people in Chennai.” That’s my prayer to God. Yes. Here, in Mumbai, the story is exactly opposite. We did not have enough rains this year. The water shortage is already felt by us… The situation would turn grimmer as days pass by. “Please pray for Mumbai.” Yes, this has been an appeal for quite some time. “God, send us some rain… Have mercy on us.” ...

If I tell you, today, 8 th September, is the feast of Nativity, you will surely ask me, “What is that?” Yes, unless you are a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic like me. So, I will take a short-cut here and tell you, today is Mother Mary’s b’day.  And, let me tell you, that it is a big day for all of us… a real family day. As little kids, we would go around our neighborhood in Mangalore and collect the choicest flowers to offer Mother Mary. That was in the evenings after coming from school. The next day, early in the morning, before going to the school, we had to take our beautifully flower-decorated plates and go to our church. We would go in a procession, singing the famous Mother-Mary hymn in Konkani, and shower Her with our flowers. There would be one ‘special’ flower in the plate… and, that had to be kept at Her feet… we would bend down and kiss her feet: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now… And at the hour of our death. Amen” ...