It's a thursday, which means its a day off for the volunteers at the various sites around Kolkata, India. Thursdays are the MC sisters day of prayer and so it's also an opportunity for volunteers to catch up on sleep and call home and all that jazz. So... i utilized the day accordingly. I slept in this morning, got breakfast, made some calls, wrote, had lunch and made some more calls. It's pretty chilled today, not too much going on at all.
Yesterday I met Craig and Erica, brothers and sisters from the states. Craig is the one I mentioned earlier in my blog that is a high school teacher. Anyways, I ran into them again because they had their orientation and i came 2 hours early before adoration to catch some time to pray in front of Mother's tomb and do some adoration on my own (when you do adoration at the given time you only get about...20 minutes or so of your own quiet time). anyways I invited them to come to adoration at 6 and I could show them around and have dinner together. 6 came around and they both joined for adoration and stayed the whole hour. It amazes me how united we are to any denomination through prayers. They werent catholic but the power of prayers and praise speaks volumes and they were able to stay for benidiction, liturgy of the hour, the rosary, and some quiet time. Walking back towards sudder st we went to JoJo's for dinner (i'm growing quiet fond of JoJo's because i know the servers and owner their by name and they know me by name as well) but we just sat and talked about God over dinner. which was pretty amazing. Because whether they werent catholic and i was, we all agreed of the Love of God for us, his ultimate sacrifice and example of love and also our call to love on another as he did, especially in the poorest of the poor. God is good all the time.
Today coming back from breakfast i was writing a letter and the coolest thing happen (it's been happening often but I keep forgeting to write about it) but... it would be really chilled wheather and then suddenly the cloud would get darker and you get this huge gust of wind. Clothes would be flying off the clothesline and then an outpouring of water from the cloud. It's intense! It's like bucketsize raindrops...that's a bit of an exageration but still it was pretty cool. No more than a minute and the street gutter is flooding and various parts are beginnig to flood. But Monsoon season still has not truly hit. The rain only last for about 5 minutes and then it clears up in seconds and become humid again.
Today I had some good veg. noodles at this random fastfood stand on sudder... I think it's called Tirupati. Anyways it was amazing! i had some kimchi and pancake from there also. Yummy. It looks extremly sketch but it's delicious. Ive ate from worst place, on the way to Mother's House; which I would never recommend any tourist to eat at but there's some things that you just gotta try. ... like the swatty potty without TP, haha.
Well there are many things that are going extremely great for me here, and I'm loving the life in India Kolkata. It's not as bad as I thought it'd be but I truly believe that i would not be able to do the work or live this life style if I wasn't able to attend mass daily or go to adoration. For all those that are traveling to visit the Mother House, I strongly recommend daily mass and adoration... if not both one or the other... or visiting Mother's tomb. It the craziness of India the Mother house is so peaceful, CLEAN, spacy and prayerful! Being in India you must always remember to take time to take care of yourself. And that doesn't only mean feeding yourself well, keeping good health, but spiritually ... otherwise you can easily loose your sanity getting so frustrated with things. I believe the hardest part of being in India is the people I leave back at Home in the States. Whether wishing they can be with me sharing and creating memories, talking at the end of the day about all that went on, or just goofing off having fun... i truly love and miss my beloved ones and can't ever express it signficantly enough when I'm away. So thankyou all for your love and support and letting me know that i'm loved also. You have my love and I wish i can convey it somehow. (YUCA- sunshine).
Well it's nearing dinner time so i'm going to meet up some friends and was invited to catch a movie... an english movie? hahaha... sweet. It's nice sometime when everything around you is in a differently language or in a strong accent, to just kick back and watch a movie so I think i'll do that tonight.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
~1 corinthians 13:1-13~
PRAYER:
Teach me to live by your example of love. For it is in giving that we recieve your love and dying to ourself that we may rise to eternal life with you. Help me give all of me to you through the service of love, charity, and advocating peace to all I meet. May I learn to be humble in my work and in all things as you humbling become one with your creation and perfected what it means to love. Love is no longer selfish because of your love. All love is a work of God's kingdom. May I become a message of love; a pencil in the hands of God as Blessed Mother Teresa was to the world. Blessed Virgin Mary, I constantly flee to you since you are the Mother of Our Beloved Lord. No more than human but lived out what it meant to be truly holy; may you pray for me to the Lord our God.
Yesterday I met Craig and Erica, brothers and sisters from the states. Craig is the one I mentioned earlier in my blog that is a high school teacher. Anyways, I ran into them again because they had their orientation and i came 2 hours early before adoration to catch some time to pray in front of Mother's tomb and do some adoration on my own (when you do adoration at the given time you only get about...20 minutes or so of your own quiet time). anyways I invited them to come to adoration at 6 and I could show them around and have dinner together. 6 came around and they both joined for adoration and stayed the whole hour. It amazes me how united we are to any denomination through prayers. They werent catholic but the power of prayers and praise speaks volumes and they were able to stay for benidiction, liturgy of the hour, the rosary, and some quiet time. Walking back towards sudder st we went to JoJo's for dinner (i'm growing quiet fond of JoJo's because i know the servers and owner their by name and they know me by name as well) but we just sat and talked about God over dinner. which was pretty amazing. Because whether they werent catholic and i was, we all agreed of the Love of God for us, his ultimate sacrifice and example of love and also our call to love on another as he did, especially in the poorest of the poor. God is good all the time.
Today coming back from breakfast i was writing a letter and the coolest thing happen (it's been happening often but I keep forgeting to write about it) but... it would be really chilled wheather and then suddenly the cloud would get darker and you get this huge gust of wind. Clothes would be flying off the clothesline and then an outpouring of water from the cloud. It's intense! It's like bucketsize raindrops...that's a bit of an exageration but still it was pretty cool. No more than a minute and the street gutter is flooding and various parts are beginnig to flood. But Monsoon season still has not truly hit. The rain only last for about 5 minutes and then it clears up in seconds and become humid again.
Today I had some good veg. noodles at this random fastfood stand on sudder... I think it's called Tirupati. Anyways it was amazing! i had some kimchi and pancake from there also. Yummy. It looks extremly sketch but it's delicious. Ive ate from worst place, on the way to Mother's House; which I would never recommend any tourist to eat at but there's some things that you just gotta try. ... like the swatty potty without TP, haha.
Well there are many things that are going extremely great for me here, and I'm loving the life in India Kolkata. It's not as bad as I thought it'd be but I truly believe that i would not be able to do the work or live this life style if I wasn't able to attend mass daily or go to adoration. For all those that are traveling to visit the Mother House, I strongly recommend daily mass and adoration... if not both one or the other... or visiting Mother's tomb. It the craziness of India the Mother house is so peaceful, CLEAN, spacy and prayerful! Being in India you must always remember to take time to take care of yourself. And that doesn't only mean feeding yourself well, keeping good health, but spiritually ... otherwise you can easily loose your sanity getting so frustrated with things. I believe the hardest part of being in India is the people I leave back at Home in the States. Whether wishing they can be with me sharing and creating memories, talking at the end of the day about all that went on, or just goofing off having fun... i truly love and miss my beloved ones and can't ever express it signficantly enough when I'm away. So thankyou all for your love and support and letting me know that i'm loved also. You have my love and I wish i can convey it somehow. (YUCA- sunshine).
Well it's nearing dinner time so i'm going to meet up some friends and was invited to catch a movie... an english movie? hahaha... sweet. It's nice sometime when everything around you is in a differently language or in a strong accent, to just kick back and watch a movie so I think i'll do that tonight.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
~1 corinthians 13:1-13~
PRAYER:
Teach me to live by your example of love. For it is in giving that we recieve your love and dying to ourself that we may rise to eternal life with you. Help me give all of me to you through the service of love, charity, and advocating peace to all I meet. May I learn to be humble in my work and in all things as you humbling become one with your creation and perfected what it means to love. Love is no longer selfish because of your love. All love is a work of God's kingdom. May I become a message of love; a pencil in the hands of God as Blessed Mother Teresa was to the world. Blessed Virgin Mary, I constantly flee to you since you are the Mother of Our Beloved Lord. No more than human but lived out what it meant to be truly holy; may you pray for me to the Lord our God.
