A powerful sermon by Fr. Augustine Vallooran, on the proper way to offer our sufferings at the altar in order to have them transformed by the healing power of the Holy Eucharist. A must listen:
Thank you for posting. Will look at it later. Last year, I attended a retreat in Singapore that was led by this Fr Augustine and another wonderful priest.
Thank you Richard, that was powerful indeed. It is easy to become complacent when at Church and do exactly as he said. Sleep. If not physically then spiritually. I will remember this and think about what he said at next Mass.
Powerful words indeed. In fact, this is probably the best sermon I've ever heard on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It will make my participation at Mass all the more fruitful going forward.
Just some background information : Fr Augustine Vallooran is the director of Divine Retreat Center, Potta, Kerala, India. Potta-Divine Retreat Ministry is part of the renewal Movement of the Vincentian Congregation in India, based on the spiritual traditions bequeathed by St. Vincent de Paul. Today, Divine Retreat Centre is the largest retreat centre in the world. Since 1990, over 10 million pilgrims from all over the world have attended retreats here. Weekly retreats in 7 languages are held back-to-back non-stop every week of the year. It is truly an achievement only possible through the grace of God!
That's good to know and the opposite of what I've read recently about some priests in India who, if the reports are accurate, seem to be under the impression that Catholicism is only a slight variation of Hinduism or Buddhism.
This is very interesting SG. I attended a retreat in 2008 with Fr Joseph Bill a Vincentian priest from Kerala. He was here in the US for a series of retreats. It was VERY powerful. He has since died. I am glad to hear his order is still on that path. Fr Bill had an amazing story of the direct intervention of Christ in his life. I felt sad that I would never get to see him again—on this side of heaven at any rate.
I think there is some truth there. One of my colleagues is originally from Kerala, and he left our Catholic faith to become a non-denominational Protestant. Precisely because the churches he went to, incorporated Hindu elements into Catholic worship. I've been trying to get him to see that just because of one or two or more bad apples, the whole basket isn't rotten. But he's pretty much indoctrinated with Protestant thinking. I still try at every opportunity I get though, to draw him back to the one true faith
AED, since the retreat I attended,I have known about the divine retreat centres in India, UK and Australia, but I just found out through Google that there are many more: "Vincentian Congregation is a religious and clerical society founded in the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly of South Kerala, India, on 20th November 1904 by Fr. Varkey Kattarath with three diocesan priests based on the common rules of St. Vincent De Paul. The Congregation has taken its motto, "The Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor..."(Luke 4:18) which was a source of inspiration to St. Vincent himself. The pre-eminent purpose of this Congregation is the evangelization of the poor. This is recognized in parish retreats, preaching ministry and missionary work through charitable social and educational apostolate. The Congregation is divided into three provinces having 480 priests as its members. It was raised to Pontifical Status on 11th Feb 1968. One of the most popular ministries of the Congregation emerged as Potta-Divine Ministry is spread around the world. Divine Retreat Centre Kerala is the largest Catholic Retreat Centre in the world. There are 46 other such centres in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and Australia." The following is from the UK website: "If you don’t believe in miracles, step into the flinty Gothic structure of the St.Augustine’s Abbey in Kent and a miracle and an answer to prayer is what you will find. An answer to the fervent prayer of many devout Catholics – the mum of a local priest and a group of devout nuns, included. At St Augustine’s Abbey, hundreds of pious have worshipped – since AD 597, making it one of Britain’s oldest monastic sites. In the late sixth century, Pope Gregory I dispatched a small group of monks led by St Augustine to bring back Christianity to southern England. King Ethelbert of Kent was easily converted and donated land to set up a monastery. Some 940 years of monastic life, scattering of treasures, a redesign by Augustus Welby Pugin and much restoration later, renewed activity has come back in 2014 (The monastery is now gone but the abbey survives – albeit with its Whitby sandstone a little smudged. The abbey was one of four Benedictine monasteries in Great Britain. It was donated to the Church by the famous architect Pugin, who also built the nearby Grange and church) When the abbey was up for sale in 2013, the mother of local parish rector Fr. Marcus Holden prayed that it would not become the grounds for a pub or a hotel, but would be used for spiritual work. A group of nuns of Mother Teresa’s order saw the ‘on sale’ board and went a step further. They threw a miraculous medal into the compound, fervently praying for a miracle. A miracle is what they got – when Vincentians from India bought the abbey; it was blessed and renamed the Divine Retreat Centre UK, on 16 March, 2014. The centre is run by the Vincentian Congregation, who pioneered the charismatic renewal in India, based on the spiritual traditions bequeathed by St. Vincent de Paul. The two main aims of the Vincentian Congregation are: preaching the good news and caring for the poor and the afflicted. Since 1950, Indian Vincentian priests have been travelling worldwide, conducting and leading popular mission retreats in parishes and establishing retreat centres. The effect has been overwhelming – it has brought out a dynamic spiritual transformation in the lives of people all over the globe. Today, the Divine Retreat Centre in India, is the largest Catholic retreat centre in the world. Retreats are held simultaneously in seven languages apart from English. Since 1990, over 15 million pilgrims from all over the world have attended retreats at the centre. Large crowds flock to VC centres around the world, from the USA to Australia, to various parts of Africa. The work brings solace to the sick, the brokenhearted, and those seeking spiritual deliverance from vices including alcohol and drug addictions. VC priests establish and run homes for the aged, the sick, for the AIDS sufferers and the orphans." http://divineuk.org/about-us/our-story/ The other priest at the retreat I attended was Fr Joseph Edattu. He is a great preacher and has a good sense of humour. I loved his recount of his answer to a Protestant about why Catholics pray the rosary. He also told us about the many miracles which have occurred.
This is wonderful! Thanks for the article. Fr Bill was definitely one of them. Very charismatic and very gifted.
