VOL. 39 ISSUE C-4 MONTH-APRIL YEAR-2007
IS THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR FAITH? :: PRAYER  OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN, OUR MEDIATRIX AND CONSOLATRIX" :: THE LITANY OF THE PASSION OF JESUS :: WARM EASTER WISHES :: BIBLE QUIZ :: LIVING WITNESSES OF GOD IN JEEVAN DHAM :: GUIDE MAP TO REACH JEEVAN DHAM


IS THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR FAITH?

 Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father? Do you believe in the resurrection of the dead (a part of the profession of faith which the Christians proclaim)? Do you believe that Jesus is present with us in Spirit and will give us the everlasting life in Heaven? If yes, then your faith in the risen Christ is complete and mature. The Resurrection of Christ is one of the cardinal facts and doctrines of the gospel. As St. Paul says, If Christ be not risen, our faith is vain ( 1Cor.15:14) because it is the foundation of the Christian faith. If you, being a Christian, do not hope of being resurrected through your faith and the grace of Christ on the last day, then your faith is pointless just like an arrow hit in the dark aimlessly. It will be like a tree without roots, like a house built on sand. St. Paul gives the following argument for those who do not believe that Christ arose from the dead -
 "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."( 1Cor.15:13-26)

 The whole of the New Testament revelation rests on the resurrection as an historical fact. On the day of Pentecost, Peter argued the necessity of Christ's resurrection from the prediction in Ps.16:1-11 (Acts2:24-28). In his own discourses, also, our Lord clearly intimates his resurrection (Matt. 20:19; Mk. 9:9; Mk. 14:28; Lk. 18:33; Jn.2:19-22).
The evangelists give circumstantial accounts of the facts connected with that event, and the apostles, also, in their public teaching largely insist upon it.

Ten different appearances of our risen Lord are recorded in the New Testament. They may be arranged as follows:
(1) To Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre alone. This is recorded at length only by John (Jn. 20:11-18), and alluded to by Mark (Mk.16:9-11).
(2.) To certain women, "the other Mary," Salome, Joanna, and others, as they returned from the sepulchre. Matthew ( Matt.28:1-10) alone gives an account of this appearance.
(3) To Simon Peter alone on the day of the resurrection. (See Lk.24:34; 1Cor.15:5.)
(4) To the two disciples on the way to Emmaus on the day of the resurrection, recorded fully only by Luke (Lk. 24:13-35. Compare Mk.16:12, Mk.16:13).
(5) To the ten disciples (Thomas being absent) and others "with them," at Jerusalem on the evening of the resurrection day. One of the evangelists gives an account of this appearance, John (Jn.20:19-24).
(6) To the disciples again (Thomas being present) at Jerusalem (Mk.16:14-18; Lk.24:33-40; Jn.20:26-28. See also 1Cor.15:5).
(7) To the disciples when fishing at the Sea of Galilee. Of this appearance also John (Jn. 21:1-23) alone gives an account.
(8) To the eleven, and above 500 brethren at once, at an appointed place in Galilee (1Cor.15:6; compare Matt.28:16-20).
(9) To James, but under what circumstances we are not informed (1Cor.15:7).
(10) To the apostles immediately before the ascension. They accompanied him from Jerusalem to Mount Olivet, and there they saw him ascend "till a cloud received him out of their sight" ( Mk.16:19; Lk.24:50-52; Acts1:4-10).

It is worthy of note that it is distinctly related that on most of these occasions our Lord afforded his disciples the amplest opportunity of testing the fact of his resurrection. He conversed with them face to face. They touched him ( Matt.28:9; Lk.24:39; Jn.20:27), and he ate bread with them (Lk.24:42, Lk.24:43; Jn.21:12, Jn.21:13).

(11) In addition to the above,
mention might be made of Christ's manifestation of himself to Paul at Damascus, who speaks of it as an appearance of the risen Saviour (Acts 9:3-9, Acts9:17; 1Cor.15:8; 1 Cor . 9:1).
It is implied in the words of Luke (Acts1:3) that there may have been other appearances of which we have no record. The resurrection is spoken of as the act
(1) of God the Father (Ps.16:10; Acts 2:24; Acts 3:15; Rom. 8:11; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; Heb.13:20);
(2) of Christ himself (Jn.2:19; Jn.10:18); and
(3) of the Holy Spirit (1Pet.3:18).
The resurrection is a public testimony of Christ's release from his undertaking as surety, and an evidence of the Father's acceptance of his work of redemption. It is a victory over death and the grave for all his followers.
The importance of Christ's resurrection will be seen when we consider that if he rose the gospel is true, and if he rose not it is false. His resurrection from the dead makes it manifest that his sacrifice was accepted. Our justification was secured by his obedience to the death, and therefore he was raised from the dead ( Rom.4:25). His resurrection is a proof that he made a full atonement for our sins, that his sacrifice was accepted as a satisfaction to divine justice, and his blood a ransom for sinners. It is also a pledge and an earnest of the resurrection of all believers ( Rom.8:11; 1Cor.6:14; 1Cor.15:47-49; Phil.3:21; 1Jn.3:2). As he lives, they shall live also.

 It proved him to be the Son of God, inasmuch as it authenticated all his claims (Jn.2:19; Jn.10:17). "If Christ did not rise, the whole scheme of redemption is a failure, and all the predictions and anticipations of its glorious results for time and for eternity, for men and for angels of every rank and order, are proved to be chimeras. 'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.' Therefore the Bible is true from Genesis to Revelation. The kingdom of darkness has been overthrown, Satan has fallen as lightning from heaven, and the triumph of truth over error, of good over evil, of happiness over misery is for ever secured."

   PRAYER  OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN, OUR MEDIATRIX AND CONSOLATRIX.
 
 (Below are a few brief excerpts taken from this prayer)
 O Most Blessed and sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God, filled with all tenderness, Daughter of the most high King, Lady of the Angels, Mother of all the faithful,  On this day and all the days of my life,  I entrust to your merciful heart my body and my soul, all my acts, thoughts, choices, desires, words, deeds, my entire life and death, So that, with your assistance,  all may be ordered to the good according to the will of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
...From your beloved Son, request for me the grace to resist firmly the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. ..
 My most holy Lady, I also beseech you to obtain for me true obedience and true humility of heart  so that I may recognize myself truly as a sinner--wretched and weak-- and powerless, without the grace and help of my Creator and without your holy prayers. ..
  Obtain for me as well, O most sweet Lady, true charity with which from the depths of my heart
I may love your most holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and, after Him, love you above all other things. ..
 Grant, O Queen of Heaven, that ever in my heart I may have fear and love alike for your most sweet Son. 
 I pray also that, at the end of my life, you, Mother without compare, Gate of Heaven and Advocate of sinners, will protect me with your great piety and mercy, and obtain for me, through the blessed and glorious Passion of your Son and through your own intercession, received in hope, the forgiveness of all my sins. When I die in your love and His love, may you direct me into the way of salvation and     blessedness. Amen." 

 THE LITANY OF THE PASSION OF JESUS"

 Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven,
God the Son,Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Jesus, the eternal wisdom,
Jesus, conversing with men,
Jesus, hated by the world,
Jesus, prostrate in prayer,
Jesus, strengthened by an angel,
Jesus, agonizing in a bloody sweat,
Jesus, betrayed by Judas,
Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver, Jesus, bound by the soldiers,
Jesus, forsaken by your disciples, Jesus, before Annas and Caiaphas.
Jesus, struck by a servant on the face,
Jesus, accused by false witnesses, Jesus, declared deserving of death, Jesus, spat upon in the face,
Jesus, blindfolded,
Jesus, smitten on the cheek,
Jesus, thrice denied by Peter, Jesus, delivered up to Pilate,
Jesus, despised and mocked by Herod, Jesus, clothed in a white garment, Jesus, rejected for Barabbas,
Jesus, torn with scourges,
Jesus, bruised for our sins,
Jesus, regarded as a leper,
Jesus, covered with a purple robe,
Jesus, crowned with thorns,
Jesus, struck with a reed,
Jesus, demanded for crucifixion,
Jesus, condemned to death,
Jesus, given up to your enemies,
Jesus, laden with the Cross,
Jesus, led as a lamb to the slaughter,
Jesus, stripped of your garments,
Jesus, fastened with nails to the Cross,
Jesus, wounded for our iniquities, Jesus, praying for your murderers, Jesus, counted with the wicked,
Jesus, blasphemed on the Cross,
Jesus, reviled by the malefactor,
Jesus, giving Paradise to the thief,
Jesus, commending St. John to your Mother as her son,
Jesus, forsaken by your Father,
Jesus, given gall and vinegar to drink,
Jesus, testifying that all things written concerning you were accomplished,
Jesus, commending your spirit into the hands of your Father,
Jesus, obedient even unto death,
Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Jesus, made a propitiation for our sins,
Jesus, taken down from the Cross,
Jesus, laid in the sepulchre,
Jesus, rising gloriously from the dead,
Jesus, ascending into heaven,
Jesus, Our Advocate with the Father,
Jesus, sending down the Holy Spirit, Jesus, exalting your Mother,
Jesus, who shall come to judge the living and the dead,
Be merciful, spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord.
From all evil, deliver us, O Jesus.
From all sin,
From anger,hatred,and every evil will,
From war, famine, and pestilence,
From all dangers of mind and body,
From everlasting death,
Through your most pure conception,
Through your miraculous nativity,
Through your humble circumcision,
Through your baptism and fasting,
Through your labours and watchings,
Through your cruel scourging and crowning,
Through your thirst, and tears, and nakedness,
Through your precious death and Cross,
Through your glorious Resurrection and Ascension,
Through your sending forth the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
On the Day of Judgement, we sinners, we beseech you, hear us,
That you would spare us,
That you would pardon us,
That you would bring us to true penance,
That you would pour into our
hearts the grace of the Holy Spirit,
That you would defend and
propagate your Church,
That you would preserve and
increase all societies assembled
in your holy Name,  
That you would bestow upon us
true peace,
That you may endow us with
sincere humility and charity,
That you would give us perseverance in grace and in your holy service,
That you would deliver us from unclean thoughts, the temptations of the devil, and everlasting damnation,
That you would unite us to the company of your Saints,
That you would graciously hear us,
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,  spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, O Lord.
L: We adore you, O Christ and we bless you
All: Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Let us pray
        Lord, by these most holy sufferings which .we, your unworthy followers, devoutly call to mind, and by your holy Cross and death deliver us from the pains of hell, and be pleased to take us where you took the penitent thief who was crucified with you. You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen.


WARM EASTER WISHES  

 May the Joy and Peace of the Risen LORD be always with you. HAPPY EASTER TO ALL! - from the EDITOR

 



BIBLE QUIZ
 XXXVI  THE PENTECOST & THE FIRST BELIEVERS
 Chs.1-3: THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

 


Complete the following Bible  verses taken from the Chs.1-3 of the Acts of the Apostles, locate them in the book and also find out and mention the person(s) who gave these statements / prophesied them(in the Old Testament).
 1. "I have no ____ or ____, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of ________,  stand up and ____."
 2. "Men of _______, why do you _____ looking ___ toward _______?"
 3. "And I will show portents in the _______ above and signs on the _____ below, _____, and ____, and smoky _____."
 4. "...for he was ________ among ___ and was allotted his _____ in this ________."
 5. 'The _____ your God will raise up for ___ from your own _______ a _______ like me."
 6. "...for ____ baptized with _____, but ___ will be baptized with the Holy ______ not many days from now."
 7. "For ___ will not abandon my ____ to _____, or let your _____ One experience _________."
 8.  "And in your _________ all the ________ of the _____ shall be _______."

Answers to Last month’s Quiz
XXXV  THE PASSION & RESURRECTION OF JESUS
Chs.19-21: THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
1.Peter,Thomas,Nathanael,Zebedee. (Jn.21:2)
2. Nicodemus, myrrh, aloes, hundred. (Jn.19:39)
3. finger, hands, side, doubt. ( Jn.20:27)
4. Jesus, bench, Stone, Gabbatha. (Jn.19:13)
5. old, hands, belt, take. (Jn.21:18)
6. cross, Place, Skull, Golgotha (Jn.19:16-17)
7. forgive, them, retain, retained. (Jn.20:22)
 8. soldiers, side, spear, water. ( Jn.19:34)

Send Your Answers to:
JEEVAN DHAM, H.No. 696/ Sec-22, Faridabad-121005, Haryana.Rules to be followed:
1. Answers may be sent by post or e-mail latest by the end of the month. Answers received after that will not be considered.
2. You should clearly specify your name and postal address. Mention the quiz number and title before the answers written in order.
3. Prizes will be awarded to the winners of three consecutive quizzes.
4. Answers and winners of each quiz will be published in the subsequent issue of the newsletter.

Thanks for taking the Quiz! Good Luck!

 

 A) HE BLESSED US WITH A GIRL AFTER 12 YEARS OF OUR MARRIAGE!

  Praise be to Jesus! Thanks be to Jesus!
     I, Pushpa(age-30 years), got married to Upendra(age-32 years) 12 years ago and I have been attending the Sunday prayer service at Jeevan Dham for the past 2 years. Within a year of our marriage we had learnt that we would not have a child. We took treatment from various hospitals in New Delhi and Faridabad. Everywhere the doctors gave the same pessimistic result that we could never have a child. But the reasons for this problem were uncertain. There was not a single ray of hope anywhere for us. We spent over sixty (60) thousand rupees on the treatment for the past twelve years but with no result.
Two years ago, one day our neighbour told me about the miracles happening at 'Jeevan Dham' and assured me of getting a child through prayers keeping faith in almighty God. I started coming here the next Sunday onwards for the prayer service regularly. Fortunately for us, through the grace of loving God, I became pregnant within a month. We used to pray at home everyday and ask for God's blessings. Last year I gave birth to a baby girl 'Khushi ' through the mercy of Divine Almighty God. Today, I have brought her to give our testimony before all for the wonderful gift that God has presented to our childless family. All thanks, glory, honour and praise be to Him.
Pushpa, Upendra , Faridabad
"He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children." (Psalms 113:9)

 

 B) GOD SAVED MY DAUGHTER FROM THE CLUTCHES OF DEATH! ALLELUIA!


 Praise be to Jesus! Thanks be to Jesus!
     I, Motilal Verma(age-48 years), today came here with my daughter to give her miraculous testimony. Last year in July she had caught high fever which later damaged her brain thereby leading her tolose  consciousness. First I took her to E.S.I. Hospital in Faridabad. The doctors there gave up and referred her to AIIMS. I took her to AIIMS, Delhi where she remained in the same state for 10 weeks. When the doctors could not help her anymore, I took her to Apollo Hospital in Delhi. After examining her, when the doctors discovered the irrecoverable damage incurred by her brain, they declared that she had almost no chances of survival. Still, I gave her the Ayurvedic treatment from AIIMS for 4 months. I spent over three (3) lakh rupees on her treatment within a year, but her condition did not improve at all. She neither opened her eyes, nor walked or spoke a word. I had to put liquid food, milk, and juices through a tube into her mouth. Last year in December, one gentleman told me about the healing service being held at Jeevan Dham and brought me here one Sunday. I took her there once and to the centre's residence (at Sec-22) two-three times. Surprisingly, one day while praying she opened her eyes and later started to speak. I prayed for her everyday and read the Naya Jeevan prayer book. Almighty God gave the strength to her body gradually. Two weeks back she gathered up strength and  stood on her own and today she walked on the stage without any support. Praise the Lord! Such a sight brought tears of joy rolling down my eyes. Moreover, she no more needs the tube for taking the food in.      
Motilal Verma, Archana, Faridabad.

 

GUIDE MAP TO REACH JEEVAN DHAM



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Are you … grappling with a lot of problems in your life?
Then visit this place chosen by God & see for yourselves all the incredible miracles happening here.This place is ‘JEEVAN DHAM’. Believe in God and attend the prayer session held every Sunday at St.Anthony’s School (ground), Sec-9, Faridabad from morning 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. organized with the grace of Almighty God by ‘Jeevan Dham’- H.no.696/ Sec-22, Faridabad. Obtain invaluable graces & heavenly blessings & witness the miraculous healings performed by Him.
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Scriptural references in DIVYA JYOTI are from the New Revised Standard Version (© Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers)1989
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