My dear ones, the essence of this Covenant retreat is rooted in what happened on December 7, 2004, at 2:30 PM. The Blessed Mother appeared on the altar of Kreupasanam in a silver-grey color, with a clock worn upon her chest. She told us that a disaster was going to happen and that we must pray.
Ten years later, when the ten years of intercessory prayers following the apparition were completed, God gave us the Covenant as a sign confirming the apparition of the Blessed Mother. Through this Covenant, millions of people today are coming to know who God is. They are coming to understand what God is, and how God intervenes in our lives during difficult times. This knowledge gives us immense joy, comfort, and zeal.
The Covenant is a heavenly plan, and the Lord has given you an opportunity to participate in it. Some people use this opportunity fruitfully. Some receive it as a calling from God. Others think only of how to use this opportunity for some temporary need. There are all kinds of people, and in our usual Covenant retreat, we look at different examples.
We use these model testimonies for a detailed study of the Word. This is truly a study class of the Covenant, and it is broadcast every Tuesday. People study it regularly, base their lives on the Word, seek Marian intercession, and look to Mary as their model. Thousands of people on every continent are approaching the Covenant in this way.
But some people are simply looking for quick fixes. They do not even attend the Tuesday retreat. I am not saying how many, but such selfish people only look for what they can get wherever they go. They ask how they can benefit, but they are unwilling to do the hard work. They will say the easiest prayers, such as the Apparition Prayer, and leave it at that.
With such an attitude and hypocrisy, you are only coming to Alappuzha in vain and bringing trouble upon yourselves. You are revealing your own hypocrisy in the presence of God, and that brings consequences. It is as though a person says, “I am here only for my own needs. God does not matter to me. I only need a job. I need a house. Stop my foreclosure. Get my pension. I do not need to know anything else.”
When you have that attitude, you become careless with the Covenant and live against its conditions. That causes problems. Once God sees through your hypocrisy, He will not draw near to you. This is the real issue, and we must always be very careful about it.
You must remember that people who go on pilgrimages are often those who go everywhere looking for quick solutions. Wherever there are signs of miracles, they go, examine the place, and pray there. In my opinion, you should not stumble into Kreupasanam in that way.
Truly, this is for those who are willing to live the Gospel with Mary as their model, to bear witness to it, and to cooperate wholeheartedly and meaningfully with God’s heavenly mission of apparition. These are testimonies of encountering God, speaking directly with Him, and walking hand in hand with Him.
Therefore, without striving for a high-quality experience of God, do not reduce this to a small matter and bring your hypocrisy again before the divine presence. Listen to every Covenant retreat with utmost attention. You should always do more than what is given to you in the Covenant, never less. We give only light burdens that an ordinary believer can carry, and even those were not given merely by us.
This large Covenant book was written in just seventy-two hours, so you can understand how much of the Lord’s anointing is upon it. We have only told you the things the Lord revealed in it: fasting on Wednesdays or Saturdays, reading the Word of God for half an hour every day, attending the Tuesday Covenant updates, comparing your life struggles with the testimonies of others through Scripture-based teaching, and doing weekly acts of mercy.
Above all, you must pass on the faith. People who lived worthless lives for seventy or eighty years, being of no use to God, have today become His own. By passing on the faith and witnessing to it, they have become people whom God Himself can look upon and say, “This is My child.” That is why we are entering a new formation, a formation of faith.
The Covenant places before us a lifestyle that many have practiced and succeeded in. Naturally, my children, you should always do more than this minimum, never less. Everyone has a tendency to do less. For example, when there is an L-shaped road, have you not seen people taking a shortcut across the grass instead of going all the way to the junction and turning properly? A person may save five or ten meters that way. That is human nature. Man always looks for how to do less.
But you must never do that with the Covenant. That is not the mind of God. After fulfilling everything commanded from here, you should not reduce it according to your convenience. That is the first place a person begins to falter.
If we ask you to read the Word of God for half an hour, my children, read at least thirty-one minutes. Do not reduce it to twenty-nine. Thirty minutes means thirty minutes.
Not everyone can attend the Tuesday retreat in one stretch because it takes place during the daytime, when many are at work. So you are asked to attend it in segments, even ten minutes at a time, whenever you get time within that week. We have not placed an unnecessary burden on anyone to finish it all at once.
Yet there are people who have missed three or four consecutive retreats because they have lost the grace. It is not merely that they did not attend. They lost the grace to attend. They give more importance to selling their property than to the Covenant. Here, there is a slight possibility of going astray right from the beginning.
The reason is that, for some, the Holy Spirit does not operate powerfully within them. When the Holy Spirit is not working, the spirit of the world takes over. Once the spirit of the world operates and a person travels down that path for a while, it turns into an evil spirit. Eventually, it becomes a demonic spirit. There is a difference between the Holy Spirit, the worldly spirit, the evil spirit of vice, and the demonic spirit.
Many people cannot recognize when the evil spirit of vice enters them. It is a spirit of addiction, a deep attachment to certain things. It may be endless watching of Reels. It can stop you from praying. Even if you are casually watching comedy and laughing, if it begins to control your spiritual life, it is truly working against you.
Or it may be constantly listening to political news while lying down, eager to hear what one leader said and what another replied. After a while, that too can begin operating within you like an evil spirit. You are not meant to live like that.
Everyone needs recreation, and if politics is your profession, that is different. Politicians need political observation to understand movements. It is related to their mission and calling. I am not speaking about matters connected to your profession.
But if you are doing these things merely for recreation or relief, after a while they can work like an evil spirit within you. If you receive a message from that evil spirit, activate it, and allow your spirituality to be destroyed, it can become demonic.
If you are not careful, the evil spirit takes over. That is why a specific instruction is given in the Covenant for Catholics: you must go for family Confession every two weeks. No matter how holy you are, you must confess fortnightly.
But this Confession is not merely about confessing in an ordinary way. When you live in the Covenant, there are Covenant sins, and those must be brought to Confession.
God has made a bilateral agreement with us. God is one party in this Covenant, and we are the other. The wild olive shoot cannot be grafted in by its own merit. This grafting is an addition that comes entirely through the promise given in the Lord’s mercy.
Mary stands as intercessor for this, and Mary is made the Mediatrix. In the covenants of Abraham and Moses, there were no mediators. Because there were no mediators, they had no one to give them proper advice or instructions. There was no intercessor to guarantee them before God, no surety. Abraham’s covenant had no guarantor. The covenant made with Moses had no guarantor either.
But the Covenant you make here at Kreupasanam has a guarantor. Who is that? The Blessed Mother is your guarantor. Even if you falter in a step, the guarantor answers for it. That is exactly why it is called the Marian Covenant.
We must remember that no one else can ever have as much influence with Jesus as His Mother has. For the Mother to have such influence with Jesus, her life had to be entirely invested in Him and set apart for Him. It was a life set apart solely for Jesus. God Himself decided and ordained that Mary’s life would be exclusively for Jesus.
That is why she could not simply lie comfortably at home to give birth. “The place I will show you” is always an important theme in the Word of the Covenant. We cannot simply choose the place we want for ourselves. This concept of “the place I will show you” is central to the Covenant, just as it was when the promise was given to Abraham.
When the promise is given, it comes from God. It is not based on what Abraham demands.
Therefore, when receiving the promise, God has His own choice because He is the one making the offer. This is why God tells Abraham, “You cannot receive My promises if you remain in your own house, living among idolatrous and wayward people.”
So God commands him, “Leave the city of Ur, leave Haran, and go to the place I will show you.” A shifting is always required in a Covenant.
Genesis 12:1 says, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.’”
So there is always a shifting required before entering a Covenant. You may have your own group of friends, people you always speak with, or even drinking companions. You may have a particular set of people with whom you associate for different matters. But their ways, their mindset, and the way they speak may be completely against the Covenant.
What should you do then? You need to shift away from them. The problem with going back to those groups after making a Covenant is that when they open their mouths, they may speak curses, use double meanings, or utter pure foolishness. That is all they are capable of because their hearts are filled with impurity. If you have such impure people in your circle, be careful. I am not telling you to fight with them. Rather, set yourself apart and move away from them, because those are not the ways of the Covenant.
There must always be a separation when you walk the path of the Covenant. As a person who has made a Covenant, when it is time for your evening prayer, if someone tells you, “Sit here and listen to this; aren’t we going to work together tomorrow?” you must have the courage to say goodbye and go to pray. Those who lack the backbone to do this should not take the Covenant. They are making a covenant with their stomach, not with God.
When you constantly obsess over jobs, houses, marriages, visas, or permanent residency, it all comes down to the stomach. It is all about mere survival. If we do not realize this, our stomach will eventually become our god. Scripture warns us about this.
Philippians 3:19 says, “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.”
When we speak of idolatry, do not think it only means worshiping statues. We can also idolize gold. Are there not people who stop going to church because they had to pledge their gold chains and no longer have them to wear? That is idolatry. For them, the chain around their neck is greater than the Holy Mass.
In life, we may have to pledge jewelry for our children’s education or admission. But skipping church because you are worried that neighbors will notice your bare neck is sheer idolatry. It means your gold and what others think of you are more important than God. So who is your god? You yourself have become your god. You have turned yourself into an idol.
This attitude will deeply affect the Covenant, because the Lord has a full report of everything. You keep acting as though you are God. When we come to Covenant Confession, we must repent like this: “Lord, I gave the importance meant for You to myself and to my status before others. Worrying about what others would think, I forgot You.”
Do not say these words mechanically. You must feel genuine sorrow. To feel true sorrow, you need a profound love for God. Without that love, there will be no real repentance.
If the Lord grants us this love of God through this retreat, I would say we have completed three-quarters of the Covenant journey. The Covenant is all about the love of God. Those who lack love cannot live it. Those who do not have a deep love for God simply cannot live the Covenant.
My children, whatever your mindset or expectations may be, you will surely have your own idea about everything. Sometimes, life may happen completely contrary to those ideas. What do you do then?
When we speak about intellect, we remember the gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit, which we learned in catechism. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is Counsel. There is an intellectual aspect to this. When things happen in life contrary to your ideas, thoughts, or expectations, and you experience real affliction because of it, you must pause and reflect.
Suppose you planned to go abroad, and when you reached Nedumbassery airport, they told you that your emigration was denied. You would be shocked. You might cry out in shame, wondering how you could go back home. You may think, “I said goodbye to everyone. Where will I go if I return? Maybe I will stay in a lodge. Maybe I will just die.” Such things can happen in life.
The Lord wants us to see life as it is. That is why Jesus warned us about tribulations. He told us to take courage, not to destroy ourselves.
John 16:33 says, “In the world you have tribulation. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
What Jesus is telling us is that during tribulations, we should not run around depending on people here and there. He did not tell us to rely on them. We must place our complete reliance on Christ Himself.
Do you understand? You must rely on Christ. He says, “I have overcome the world.” He has passed through all these tribulations and attained victory. Therefore, He can sustain you in grace and help you overcome.
John 14:19 says, “Because I live, you also will live.”
That means, “I live, and therefore you will survive and overcome.” When these two words are brought together, we understand that even if there is tribulation, we will overcome. Be of good cheer, because Jesus has already overcome the world. The Jesus who has overcome tells us, “I have overcome, and therefore you too will overcome these tribulations.”
Therefore, during such times, do not show off with your tongue. That is a major problem many people have. The moment a small test comes, they begin talking restlessly, calling their aunt, her daughter, their uncle, another uncle, friends, and everyone else, making a complete mess.
This is the problem of not having the Holy Spirit. If we have the Holy Spirit, He will speak to us. The Lord says, “I will counsel you with My eye upon you, showing you the way you should go.” But without Jesus, you stumble. You call everyone in town, and they advise you according to their own worldly ways.
You must become calm. When an issue arises, realize that God is near. In calmness, surrender your mind, thoughts, and counsels completely to God. Keep your contemplation still, pondering these things in your heart like the Blessed Mother. Keep meditating on it, because when the time comes to live it, the Lord will open the gates.
If there are things we can do humanly, legally, or practically, we will do them. We can do what we must. But after a while, when your senses and intellect mature, you will realize that there are many things in life we simply cannot control. Many things do not happen by merit. Not by merit, but by grace.
You must always remember that many things are beyond human capability. Where do such matters rest? Solely in the grace of God. This is the first principle of the Covenant.
“Not by our abilities, but by Your mercy.” This is a word you must never forget.
In places where we have no merit, or where our merit and qualifications are not enough, grace steps in. The Covenant is there to upload God’s mercy and grace into that situation through the means given by God. That is where your works of charity come in.
Some people wander restlessly like lost souls even after making the Covenant because when we reach a state of zero merit, we need a source through which grace can be carried over.
Zero merit means that by your own ability alone, you cannot succeed. Suppose you know you cannot pass an exam. You realize it while studying with friends. You see that they are much smarter than you. When you compare yourself with all the other students taking the exam, you see the truth. You may find yourself at the very back. That means there is no merit.
But because you have no merit, should you stop living? Where there is no merit, should you go drown yourself? No. You must use the new option God has set before us for situations where we have no merit. “Not by merit, but by grace” is the profound truth given to newcomers.
Ephesians 2:8 is the motto of the Covenant: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. It is not because of works, lest anyone should boast.”
The original context speaks about eternal salvation, but in the Covenant we understand it in the light of Zechariah 4:6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.”
This means that a matter is not resolved by our merit or ability. Suppose you know you need four million rupees. Even if you borrow, even if you sell everything, you cannot obtain that much. You know this well. You are not standing on your merit. Many of the intentions you have placed are not based on your qualifications or abilities.
Zechariah 4:6 says, “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.’”
Who is Zerubbabel? During the Babylonian exile, the intelligent and capable people of Israel were taken captive. The skilled, educated, and strong were taken to build up Babylon. Years passed, and the descendants of those captives became settled there. Then the Lord chose Zerubbabel.
He was neither a judge nor a prophet, but everyone recognized him as a good leader among the people. The Bible presents Zerubbabel as a prototype of Christ.
God told Zerubbabel that He would bring the people back to their Promised Land. It would not happen by might or by power, but by His Spirit. God lifted up people who were enslaved and had lost hope. The word He gave them was this: “Not by your ability, but by My grace.”
If this grace is received not by our merit or ability, but by the Lord’s grace, then prayer is one of the plans set before us to attain this grace. For small matters, prayer may be enough. But what do we do when a multipurpose issue arises? A multipurpose issue requires more energy. Grace is the energy of God. It is the power and strength of God.
2 Corinthians 12:9 teaches that grace is the power of God. So what do we do when something requires immense power?
Sometimes, people who do not know God seek His mercy through external acts during church feasts. Some roll on the ground. Some crawl on their knees. People do all kinds of such acts. They do this because when a problem cannot be solved by ordinary prayer alone, they perform some kind of ritual before God. Sometimes, because of God’s mercy, matters are resolved.
But if that person has no real relationship with God, you may see them later drinking and misbehaving even after doing such things. I am not speaking about everyone who makes a vow.
But many turn pilgrimages into pleasure trips.
Those who turn pilgrimages into pleasure trips become worse than an ordinary sinner. Why? Because the journey is supposed to be toward the presence of God, but they use it for drinking and worldly behavior. Their actions contradict their purpose.
I once told a man that he was treating his trip to Velankanni like a business trip. From the time he left until he returned, he spoke only about business. He even spoke business to the Blessed Mother. What good did that do? Did he change at all?
When we turn pilgrimages into pleasure trips or business trips, we misuse God and His holy places. After misusing holy places for a while, we become numb. Everything begins to feel normal, while in reality our actions are abnormal. Eventually, the download of grace goes wrong and keeps decreasing.
Therefore, we must always be careful. The Covenant is not a pilgrimage or a pleasure trip. It is a bilateral agreement between God and us.
Now, what is the challenge before us? I am not worthy to make a Covenant with God. Therefore, in humility, after making the Covenant, I must use the rules and conditions of the Covenant to become a competent partner. I must strive to become a worthy partner in every area of my life.
I will visit the sick. Why? Because the Lord has said, “I was sick and you visited Me.” He said, “I was hungry and you gave Me food. I was thirsty and you gave Me drink.” Since He says, “You did it to Me,” we understand the importance of these works.
Many ordinary organizations, such as Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, and other voluntary groups, do good works in our villages. But there is a difference between an ordinary good deed and a work of grace.
Good deeds are natural, humane actions done for the benefit and survival of humanity and society. Such philanthropic actions spring from human nature. But this is not all that is expected from a Covenant person. It must not be merely a good deed. It must become a work of grace.
The person who performs them must know the difference between good deeds and works of grace.
For example, if we see a sick person, we can easily take 500 rupees from our purse and give it to them. There is nothing wrong with that. But you must ensure that it is not black money or tax-evaded money. It must be money earned through your honest labor.
Some people can easily give thousands. Why? Because they may be people who constantly cheat the government and the public. There is no need to show off by giving a little from such ill-gotten wealth. That does not count for anything. The money you give must be genuine.
The Lord speaks about a woman who gave two coins.
Mark 12:44 says, “For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Listen carefully to what is said about those two coins. Three things are said. Others gave from their abundance. She gave from her poverty. She gave all she had to live on. That means she gave even the money for her dinner that day. Through this, she gives us a message: “My God is greater than my livelihood.”
This is what prayer partners and Covenant partners must understand. This is not a casual journey. How can a person become a worthy Covenant partner? Your God must be greater than what you use for survival.
Examine when this becomes true in you. Suppose your visa is rejected today. The next morning, if you wake up late and say, “Until yesterday I lit the candles on time and fasted, but my visa did not come,” and then you stop praying, what does that show? It shows that your God is smaller than your livelihood.
When the visa was not approved, your prayer stopped. In this place, many people have this cheap attitude. Their god is their stomach. Our God must be greater than our intentions in the Covenant.
When I speak about becoming a competent and worthy partner of the Covenant, this is what I mean: God must be greater than the intentions you have placed here. We must always examine whether we truly see God as greater than our intentions. God will test us on this. He surely will.
In this test, many who run here in a rush to make the Covenant will fail. Why? Because they lack teaching. Without teaching, there is no conviction. That is the real issue. Why do we take classes for the Covenant? Because conviction must be formed.
When the Apostle Paul was about to depart, he announced his approaching death and told Timothy not to think he was left alone. Even if Paul was no longer there, Timothy had to move forward and form conviction in the people.
2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
This is the point. Conviction must be generated in others. The teaching of the Word of God includes reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. Some people cannot accept rebuke. They act as if they are greater than God. The moment they are corrected, they become violent. Such people are living in the flesh. Rebuking is part of teaching because conviction must be formed.
Take the example of someone whose emigration is denied at Nedumbassery airport. Instead of returning home, they go and stay in a lodge because they are ashamed. They ask, “If I go back home, how will I face people?” Yes, there will be shame. But you may need that shame so that you can say, “Lord, these are the tribulations in my life. I offer them for Your love. Still, I will move forward with You in faith and courage.”
That is a lesson given to us. It is homework. We must not fail in that homework.
When we were children, we had dictation tests. The teacher would tell us to stand at attention, take our slate, and turn around so we could not see what the others were writing. Then the teacher would call out a word, and we had to write it. When the teacher came, we showed the slate. Sometimes we even received a smack on the back. I have received them.
In the same way, dictation tests will come in life. If we are not completely faithful to the Covenant, these tests may increase. There is no point in speaking to God after proving ourselves unfaithful to the Covenant. God says, “You have made a Covenant with Me. First, become worthy of making this Covenant with Me.” Some people understand this. They quietly say, “Sorry, Jesus,” correct themselves, and move forward.
My children, I heard a testimony recently, and what I loved was the way it was told. It was about Akhila and Rinku. Rinku is the husband, and Akhila is the wife. They are young, probably around twenty-four or twenty-five. The things such young people do with the Lord are truly astounding.
When we consider how twenty-five-year-olds should live with the Lord today, and how they use the new resources and situations the Lord has provided in this era to grow in grace, we are left astonished.
Akhila had an illness. She married Rinku, and they were living together. Then she became pregnant. Later, when the doctor did scans on the baby, they found something wrong. The doctor said, “There is no point in continuing this pregnancy. There is a problem, but we do not know exactly what it is. The baby may not have arms or legs. We do not know the exact issue, so it is better to terminate the pregnancy.”
But Akhila had a deep connection with Jesus. She told Jesus, “Jesus, I have no desire to terminate this. I do not want to kill my baby. Even if the baby is disabled, I will raise it. I only need Your help.” So she cut ties with the doctor regarding that decision.
Everyone around her told her, “Girl, this is going to be a lifelong trauma. You are saying you will raise the child because you are young and naive. When we are all gone, this child will become a burden to you.” They kept telling her this and troubling her deeply. She was walking around with a swollen belly, filled with sorrow. Her only communication was with Jesus. Everyone else was telling her, “Abort the baby.” But she had no desire to abort it.
She told Jesus, “Jesus, let me give birth to this baby. Whatever the deformity is, even if the baby is blind, I will raise it.” People told her, “You are foolish. You are just a child. You do not know what life is.” Even though they opposed her constantly, she was not ready to terminate the pregnancy. She held tightly to Jesus.
Finally, Jesus had to make a decision. Jesus knew that what the doctor said was true. But she would not move even an inch from her faith. She had to be saved. When she was eight months pregnant, she went into labor, and the baby was stillborn. It was a great relief in one sense, because otherwise she would have suffered immensely. God has a solution for everything.
In this test, she scored full marks. Many people score zero and fail in such situations.
My children, if you fail before God, it is very hard to win later. That is why Jesus taught us in the very first prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” Most people who fall into such temptations end up wounded. Once you are wounded like this, you cannot move forward without healing that wound. Remember, we are stumbling before God Himself.
What is the biggest risk? The biggest risk is that we cannot see God face to face and speak to Him directly. Because we cannot see and speak to Him directly, faith has immense value. If we could see God and talk to Him as we speak to another person, faith would not have the same value.
Having said that, I will not say that we absolutely cannot see God. Most people who have taken the Covenant would not say that. Why? Because in one way or another, they are seeing God, or at least the Blessed Mother. In the past two thousand years, ordinary people have not had such widespread experiences where a single prayer brings visions of the Blessed Mother, the scent of jasmine, rainbows, and dreams. There is now a great outpouring of such experiences among ordinary people. Many in the Covenant understand this deeply.
Akhila took her firm stand because she had heard these teachings and listened to these retreats again and again. After the stillbirth, the doctors tested Akhila’s blood. They told Akhila and Rinku, “Akhila, you should not become pregnant again. We need to find out why this baby was stillborn. We need to know why the baby developed deformities in the womb. We must find the cause and treat it before you consider another pregnancy.”
After hearing this, they began praying. The doctors carried out numerous tests, focusing particularly on her blood work. Eventually, they discovered the root cause. She had an autoimmune condition that was adversely affecting her pregnancy. Her body was producing antibodies that reacted abnormally, causing complications and making it difficult to sustain the pregnancy.
During that time, Akhila met another woman who had gone through the same thing. That woman had given birth five times in seven years, and all five babies had died. Because they had the same condition, Akhila asked her about it. The woman told her, “Girl, this is not going to work out. There is no medicine for this.” And in one sense, she was right. Medical science knows many autoimmune diseases, and for some of them, there is no simple cure.
Akhila found herself in a deep crisis. Remember, she was only around twenty-four or twenty-five years old. Yet despite her young age, she fought a spiritual battle in faith worthy of a person much older. It was during this battle that she came to know about the Covenant. She came and made the Covenant. After making the Covenant, she took the Covenant oil, applied it to her stomach and body, and recited the Apostles’ Creed.
Because of this illness, her blood would clot on its own. Blood had already clotted in several places in her legs. Because the blood flow was blocked, her legs turned blue and then black. The doctor even told her that both legs might have to be amputated. Do you understand how serious the issue was? The blockages were everywhere. If a baby was conceived, the blood in the umbilical cord could clot and kill the baby, because the baby receives nourishment through the umbilical cord.
But the moment she applied the oil, her clotting problem completely disappeared. It reached the point where she did not even need medicine anymore. She became fresh again, just as before. The Covenant worked quickly. Why? Because she already had a foundation of faith. Faith is a core element in all this. Never push faith aside when faced with a problem.
When a problem rises before us, we often see people becoming afraid and losing faith. But that was not the case with Akhila. Even while going through trials, her faith kept growing stronger.
There is a grand scheme to faith. Just as we speak about subsidies, grants, and loans in financial terms, God also looks at a person’s past file. If He sees that a person is not someone who simply abandons Him, but someone who desires to walk in union with Him, God continues to help. There is a kind of automatic help.
Have you not skipped prayers for silly reasons in the past? Have you not gone months without praying? Do you know how dangerous that is? At the time, it may feel comfortable to watch a movie, come home, skip the Rosary, and sleep. But when a real issue strikes, such people pay the price.
Imagine your house catches fire. You reach for your phone to call the fire engine, but you cannot remember the number, and while the fire spreads, you discover that your phone has no charge or no network. You are finished. It is the same when you cut ties with God over small matters, disrupting your prayers and spiritual life.
With the Covenant, you must restore all of this.
Some people have made a habit of drawing close to God for a need, walking with the devil for a while, and then running back to God when another problem arises. They keep swinging back and forth. Through the Covenant, they must correct themselves, live truthfully with God, make amends for past hypocrisies, and begin again.
God has created a time in our lives where we can communicate directly with Him. That is why I always tell you, my children, listen to the testimonies. No matter how many times you hear a testimony, it will only do you good. In these testimonies, we see how people discovered God, how they followed Him, and how God lifted them by the hand out of their darkest moments.
Akhila never thought her autoimmune disease would vanish simply by applying the Covenant oil. The doctor later told her she did not need an amputation. Everything was fine, and there was no more clotting. The doctor had no idea what had happened.
When the Blessed Mother takes up a matter, this is what happens.
On the other hand, the reason I constantly admonish you is so that you do not bring hypocrisy or a divided life into this. When we speak about those afflicted by demonic forces, we use the word diabolical. A person with a divided personality acts one way in the divine presence, appearing extremely submissive, humble, devout, and prayerful, while in real life they become an entirely different character. That is diabolical.
Among believers, many have such divided personalities. In the presence of God, they stand looking pitiful, shedding tears, and acting deeply moved. But in daily life, they show their true character. These two must become one. This is a massive challenge in the Covenant.
You must discover who the real you is. Often, that real self may not yet be capable of making the Covenant sincerely. When property agreements were made, when partition deeds were done, when business deals were struck, and when marriages were arranged, were you using God’s standards? Or were you using tricks, manipulation, and deceitful tactics? That is the real you that must be examined.
Such a person is not worthy of the Covenant. Covenant Confession means examining whether you have primitive, inherited, or ancestral diseases of vice that make you unfit for the Covenant. By an ancestral disease of vice, I mean a pattern where the moment a person opens their mouth, they lie; they think of betrayal; instead of going straight, they take the crooked path; when dealing with others, they think only of how to exploit them and profit from them. Those afflicted with such patterns must pay special attention.
Honestly speaking, in this test, Akhila passed with very high marks because she stood firmly on the Lord’s side. When she corrected her stance and walked that path without listening to worldly advice, the Lord prepared the next blessing.
Do not ever stop praying just because something failed once: an emigration process failed, a foreclosure happened, a hope did not come to pass, a property did not sell, a daughter’s marriage did not happen, or a house could not be bought. When you face a blow like this, my children, never let your mind waver because of that single issue.
Many of you are forty or fifty years old, while Akhila is only twenty-five. These are truly epic examples of faith.
When I think about the new generation, I used to have great anxiety. I grew up in an environment where I lived closely with God. Even in the seminary, after playtime, before bathing, I would sit before the Lord for half an hour. I would speak to Him about whatever came to mind until my sweat dried, and only after leaving His presence would I go bathe. At night after dinner, before going to the bedroom, I would stand before the Lord for an hour or so.
I used to think, “My God, if only everyone did things like this.” But now when I look, I realize that people are going beyond this. That gives me immense hope. When I see the honest lives of these young people and their victories in faith, I feel deeply moved.
In earlier times, many people entered the spiritual realm only after growing old. But now, because young people are educated, there is also education in their faith. They know that faith is not about blindly praying to fool God or doing a minimum program to snatch some blessing. Those with wisdom know that faith is meant to be lived, and that faith is for bearing Gospel witness.
There are people who are sixty years old and have not passed on the faith to even one child. What is the use of such a believer? I feel great sorrow about this. Some fathers are sixty or sixty-five years old, and they have not brought even one person to the Lord. What a wasted life. After a while, they will die, and the whole lifetime will be wasted.
But today it is different. Those who come into the Covenant are bringing thousands of people into the faith.
After that, Akhila went to Karnataka because her husband was working there. When she arrived, she needed a job. There was a school near their house. She went there once with her CV, attended a brief interview, and immediately got the job.
This happened because she had already passed a test of faith, and God had placed His trust in her. Think of how many applications may have been pending in that school. But when a child of the Blessed Mother walks in, others step aside. Grace operates not by human merit, but by God’s favor. When God decides to bless someone, human merit and qualifications no longer matter.
There were many candidates more senior than her, yet she received the teaching position in that prestigious school. The interesting part is that she was the only one who did not know Kannada. All the other teachers knew Kannada. Even though they taught in English, they had to explain things in Kannada for the children to understand. Yet she still received the job.
Getting the job is not the main point. When God takes charge of our lives, His intervention is magnificent. My children, if you ask me what the real blessing of the Covenant is, I will say this: God takes over. But for that to happen, you must prove yourself worthy for God to take over your life, just as she proved herself through her firm stance.
Remember, the Blessed Mother secured her a position in that school with the highest salary. Someone who had just walked in was appointed with the highest salary after one interview. Trials would still come, but the Mother would be with her.
The next trial was this: if she wanted to continue and grow in that school, she had to conduct a review class before the PTA and the public. She had to teach a class observed by the parents. The parents came to see how the teachers instructed their children because they were paying for the education. They gathered, observed, evaluated, and graded the teacher. She could continue in the job only if she received good marks from them.
It seems Karnataka’s education system is more advanced than Kerala’s. The time for the review class arrived, and she prayed to Jesus about the challenge before her.
At that time, to secure top marks in these classes, the headmaster and staff made a new rule that teachers had to conduct special classes on Sundays. All the other teachers agreed. But Akhila went to the principal and said, “Sir, I cannot do this.” That was the real test of faith.
She said, “Sir, I cannot do this. Sunday is a day of prayer for me. It is the Lord’s Day. I cannot take classes on Sundays. I am willing to take classes at night, even up to Saturday night.”
Meanwhile, the parents gave her excellent feedback, and she received top marks in her review class. Because of her outstanding performance, the management told her, “You alone are exempted from coming on Sundays.”
This was a test from the Lord to see whether she would compromise and teach on Sunday. When one test ends, the next one begins. If our faith is fake, we immediately compromise and say, “Sir, I will take the class.” We would say, “My job is more important to me.”
If you pass one test, the Lord may send another test to verify whether your victory was genuine. It is a commandment to remember the Lord’s Day and keep it holy. People make excuses: “I have to give tuition. I need to pay fees. If I do not work, who will provide?” If you make all these excuses and go to work on Sundays, go your own way. But later, do not pretend to be deeply spiritual and come to take the Covenant. There is no need for that. Nobody forced you. I have not sent a legal notice demanding you come here.
We must always remember that there is the Lord’s Day. Regarding that day, she told the principal, “Sir, I will not come. I am willing to take special classes even on Saturday night.” She told the Lord, “Jesus, I will stand with You. No matter what job is at stake, You are my priority.” “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me.” That is the firm stand she took.
The real problem could have come from the other teachers who took Sunday classes. But if we stand with the Lord, the Lord will stand with us. They gave her leave on Sundays and told her not to come. Since she did well in the review class, they exempted her.
But another challenge remained. The children who attended Sunday special classes in other subjects might score high marks. If the percentage of children in her class dropped, she could be dismissed. In such a situation, we cannot do anything by ourselves. Who has to act? Because we believed, God Himself has to act.
And God did something incredible. After the Sunday classes were completed, only her students achieved a 100 percent pass rate.
Why do tests keep coming like this? They come so that God Himself can show us that this is a life of faith, and that only those who truly value their faith need to remain. Jesus says that those who cannot accept such a life are free to leave. The reason is this: He has invested His entire life in us, and He cannot tolerate lukewarm, shallow believers.
He was reduced to torn flesh, hanging in agony, beaten to death, holding nothing back. He shed everything for us and showed us that level of commitment. So Jesus says, “I do not want people who sway back and forth just for survival, listening to whatever anyone says.”
Matthew 10:37 says, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
The very One who commanded us to honor our father and mother says this because His investment in us was greater than even theirs. His love and sacrifice for you surpass those of your earthly parents. A true believer is one who unites with the Precious Blood of Christ and lives in communion with His saving sacrifice.
For you, His Heart was pierced open. For you, He gave His very life. In the depths of His agony, as His life was slipping away, He saw your face. He held you close to His Heart and carried you within Him. Such is the measure of His love for you.
Disclaimer: All content in this article is credited to Dr. Fr. V.P. Joseph Valiyaveettil of Kreupasanam Marian Shrine, Kerala, India. This English adaptation has been prepared as a humble effort to make Father’s Malayalam YouTube sharings more accessible to a wider audience, with the assistance of translation and editorial resources. If Fr. V.P. Joseph believes that any content here infringes upon his rights, I will remove it immediately upon his request.
Many of Father’s teachings were originally shared within the context of the Kreupasanam Covenant and may therefore include references or practices specific to that spiritual journey. Nevertheless, this blog is intended for everyone. Whether or not you are a Covenant member, it is my hope that these reflections, biblical teachings, and testimonies will encourage you in your own walk with God.
I warmly encourage everyone to share this website with others who may benefit from these reflections. May all who visit this page be blessed and drawn closer to God.
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