1. Editor's Note

2. Bible Readings for Friday, Saturday and Sunday

3. Sermons for Friday, Saturday and Sunday

4. Inspiration for Today

God is faithful.

5. Featured: Palm Sunday and What Jesus' Passion Means to Us

Christ arrives a king triumphant today and dies as a criminal on Friday. Christ is honored with palm branches today and crowned with thorns on Friday. Christ is adored with singing today and mocked with jeers on Friday. Christ is born in victoriously on the foal of an ass today and bears the burden of the cross on Friday. ...

6. Book Excerpt: With Christ In the School of Prayer - Lesson 30: The Ministry of Intercession

A priest is a man who does not at all live for himself. He lives with God and for God. His work is as God's servant to care for His house, His honor, and His worship, to make known to men His love and His will. He lives with men and for men (Heb. 5:2). His work is to find out their sin and need, and to bring it before God, to offer sacrifice and incense in their name, to obtain forgiveness and blessing for them, and then to come out and bless them in His Name.  ...

7. The Priest Does Not Just Do a Job ... He Is a Man Impassioned for Christ by Pope Benedict XVI

I know that there are so many parish priests in the world that give all their strength to evangelization, to have the presence of the Lord and of his sacraments. I have said that it isn't possible to do all that one wishes to do, which perhaps should be done, because our strengths are limited and the situations are difficult in a society that is increasingly diversified, more complicated. ...

8. No Accident

Jesus was born crucified. Whenever he became conscious of who he was, he also became conscious of what he had to do. The cross-shaped shadow could always be seen. And the screams of hell's imprisoned could always be heard. This explains the glint of determination on his face as he turned to go to Jerusalem for the last time. He was on his death march. ...

9. The Importance of Loving Every Aspect of Christ

So many people today love the "soft" side of Jesus, yet they forget about the fact that He will also judge. So as you worship Christ, remember that while those pictures of a sweet, gentle Jesus are true, they're only part of the picture of the Lion and the Lamb who loves, but will also judge. ...

10. Family Special: Coming to Terms With the Past

God does not want us to be forever burdened with our past sins. .. So too is the promise for our marriages, which so often bend under the load of sins, both past and present. We must be honest with ourselves, with the Lord and with each other about memories or habits or activities that may be eroding our relationship and then deal with them. But we can do so in the joy of knowing that in Christ we can find forgiveness, restoration and a new start. ...

11. Health: Studies Find an Aspirin a Day Can Keep Cancer at Bay

Three new studies added to growing scientific evidence suggesting that taking a daily dose of aspirin can help prevent, and possibly treat, cancer. ...

12. Recipe: Pessaha Appam (INRI appam)

One of the favorite recipes for the traditional bread for Pessaha. More recipes can be found in Malankara World.

13. Memory

Two middle-aged couples were enjoying friendly conversation when one of the men asked the other, "Fred, how was the memory clinic you went to last month?" ...

14. Position, Motivation

Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn't seem to get to work on time. Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late...

15. About Malankara World

Lectionary of the Syrian Orthodox Church
http://www.MalankaraWorld.com/Library/Lectionary/Lec_Great-Lent.htm

Friday before Hosanna (40th Friday) - March 30

Sermons, Bible Commentaries and Bible Analyses for the 40th Day (Friday) in Great Lent

http://www.Malankaraworld.com/Library/Sermons/Sermon-of-the-week_40th-Friday.htm

Saturday before Hosanna (Lazarus' Saturday) - March 31

Sermons, Bible Commentaries and Bible Analyses for the Lazarus Saturday

http://www.Malankaraworld.com/Library/Sermons/Sermon-of-the-week_Lazarus-Saturday.htm

Palm Sunday (April 1)

Sermons, Bible Commentaries and Bible Analyses for Palm Sunday

http://www.Malankaraworld.com/Library/Sermons/Sermon-of-the-week_Palm-Sunday.htm

More Sermons

God is not a man that he should lie; neither the Son of man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? -- The Lord sware and will not repent.

God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. -- Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day -- Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. -- All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

I COR. 10:13. Num. 23:19. ‑Heb. 7:21. Heb. 6:17,18. ‑I Pet. 4:19. II Tim. 1:12. ‑I Thes. 5:24. ‑II Cor. 1:20.

by Fr. Andrew

Christ arrives a king triumphant today and dies as a criminal on Friday. Christ is honored with palm branches today and crowned with thorns on Friday. Christ is adored with singing today and mocked with jeers on Friday. Christ is born in victoriously on the foal of an ass today and bears the burden of the cross on Friday.

Our Christian faith isn't about an emotion or feeling, it isn't about priests or people we like, and it isn't about a guarantee of smooth sailing. It is about the fact of this week: God became man so that he could share in our life and even our death. In Jesus Christ, God has experienced the worst of human pain and suffering so that we are not alone in ours.

A priest friend of mine describes hell as "looking at your problems, your pain, your sin, your sufferings, your life, and wondering 'What am I going to do?' Heaven is looking at the difficulties of your life and praying, 'My God, what can you do for me? Look and see the cross in our suffering, to see confession in our sins, to see the resurrection in your pain."

When you are lost, when your loves are cold and gone, when you are alone - where is God? When your dreams and hopes come tumbling down, where is God? When you are gripped by pain, lost in sin, despairing innocence, drowning in shame, where was God?

He was on the cross. All along, He was on the cross. You are not abandoned, you are not alone, you are not alone. My God was on the cross.

From the Question-and-Answer session with Pope Benedict XVI and Priests (June 2010)

Q: I am Father Jose Eduardo Oliveira y Silva and I come from America, specifically from Brazil. The majority of us here present are involved in direct pastoral care in the parish, and not only with one community, but at times we are parish priests of more parishes, or of particularly extensive communities. With all good will we seek to meet the needs of a society that is very changed, no longer wholly Christian, but we are aware that our "doing" is not enough. How should we proceed, Holiness? In what direction?

Pope Benedict XVI: I am well aware that today it is very difficult to be a parish priest, also and above all in countries of ancient Christianity; parishes become increasingly more extensive, pastoral unity ... it is impossible to know everyone, it is impossible to do all the works that are expected of a parish priest. And thus, we really ask ourselves how we should proceed, as you have said.

But I would like to say first of all: I know that there are so many parish priests in the world that give all their strength to evangelization, to have the presence of the Lord and of his sacraments, and to these I would like to say a big "thank you," at this time. I have said that it isn't possible to do all that one wishes to do, which perhaps should be done, because our strengths are limited and the situations are difficult in a society that is increasingly diversified, more complicated. Above all, I think it is important that the faithful can see that the priest does not just do a job, hours of work, and then is free and lives only for himself, but that he is a man impassioned for Christ, who bears in himself the fire of the love of Christ.

If the faithful see that he is full of the joy of the Lord, they also understand that he cannot do everything, they accept the limitations, and help the parish priest. This it seems to me is the most important point: that one be able to see and feel that the parish priest really feels himself called by the Lord; and is full of love of the Lord and of his own. If this is the case, one understands and can also see the impossibility of doing everything. Hence, the first condition is to be full of the joy of the Gospel with our whole being. Then choices must be made, priorities set, to see how much is possible and how much is impossible.

I would say that we know the three fundamental priorities: they are the three columns of our being priests.

First, the Eucharist, the sacraments: to render the Eucharist possible and present, above all to offer Sunday Mass, in so far as possible, for all, and to celebrate it in a way that it really becomes the visible act of love of the Lord for us.

Then, the proclamation of the Word in all the dimensions: from personal dialogue to the homily.

The third point is "caritas," the love of Christ: to be present for the suffering, for the little ones, for children, for persons in difficulty, for the marginalized; to really render present the love of the Good Shepherd.

And then, a very important priority also is the personal relationship with Christ. In the Breviary, on Nov. 4, we read a beautiful text of St. Charles Borromeo, great pastor, who truly gave all of himself, and who says to us, to all priests: "Do not neglect your own soul: if your soul is neglected, you cannot even give to others what you should give them. Hence, also for yourself, for your soul, there must be time," or, in other words, the relationship with Christ, personal conversation with Christ is a fundamental pastoral priority, it is the condition of our work for others!

And prayer is not something marginal: it is in fact the "profession" of the priest to pray, also as representative of the people who do not know how to pray and do not find the time to pray. Personal prayer, above all the Prayer of the Hours, is essential nourishment for our soul, for all our action.

And, finally, to recognize our limitations, to open ourselves also to this humility. Let us recall a scene of Mark, Chapter 6, where the disciples are "stressed," they want to do everything, and the Lord says: "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while" (cf. Mark 6:31). This also is work -- I would say -- pastoral work: to find and to have the humility, the courage to rest.

Hence, I think that passion for the Lord, love of the Lord, shows us the priorities, the choices, helps us to find the way. The Lord will help us. Thank you all!

by Max Lucado

It has all the ingredients of a good sermon illustration.

It's emotional. It's dramatic. And it's a story that'll break your heart. Heaven only knows how many times preachers have used it.

There'd only one problem. It's not accurate. Maybe you've heard it.

It's the story of an engineer who operated a drawbridge across a mighty river. With a control panel of levers and switches, he set into motion a monstrous set of gears that either lifted the bridge for the river traffic or closed it for the oncoming train.

One day he took his young son to work with him. The fascinated boy hurled question after question at his dad. It was not until the span had opened to allow the passage of a ship that the father noticed the questions had ceased and his son had left the room. He looked out the window of his control cabin and saw the young boy climbing on the teeth of the gears. As he hurried toward the machinery to get his son, he heard the whistle of an approaching train.

His pulse quickened. If he closed the bridge there would be no time to retrieve his son. He had to make a choice. Either his son would be killed or a trainload of innocent passengers would be killed. A horrible dilemma mandated a horrible decision. The engineer knew what he had to do. He reached for the lever.

A powerful story, isn't it? It's often used to describe the sacrifice of Christ. And it is not without it's parallels. It's true that God could not save man without killing his son. The heart of God the Father did twist in grief as he slammed the gears of death down on Jesus. And it's sad, yet true, that the innocent have whizzed by the scene of the crime oblivious to the sacrifice that has just saved them from certain death.

But there is one inference in the story that's woefully in need of correction.

Read this quote from the first sermon ever preached about the cross and see if you can find the revealing phrase.

Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 1

Did you see it? It's the solemn phrase in the paragraph. It's the statement that rings of courage, the one with roots that extend back to eternity. It is the phrase which, perhaps as much as any in the Bible, describes the real price God paid to adopt you.

Which phrase? "God's set purpose and foreknowledge." The Revised Standard Version calls it "the definite plan and foreknowledge of God." Today's English Version translates the phrase, "In accordance with his own plan." Regardless how you phrase it, the truth is ever so sobering: The cross was no accident.

Jesus' death was not the result of a panicking, cosmological engineer. The cross wasn't a tragic surprise. Calvary was not a knee-jerk response to a world plummeting towards destruction. It wasn't a patch-job or a stop-gap measure. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril.

No, it was part of a plan. It was a calculated choice. "It was the Loxes will to crush him."2 The cross was drawn into the original blueprint. It was written into the script. The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the mallet placed the spike against the wrist of God, a master plan was fulfilled.

What does that mean?

It means Jesus planned his own sacrifice.

It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which his cross would be carved.

It means he willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast.

It means he voluntarily placed his Judas in the womb of a woman.

It means Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem.

And it also means he didn't have to do it—but he did.

It was no accident—would that it had been! Even the cruelest of criminals is spared the agony of having his death sentence read to him before his life even begins.

But Jesus was born crucified. Whenever he became conscious of who he was, he also became conscious of what he had to do. The cross-shaped shadow could always be seen. And the screams of hell's imprisoned could always be heard.

This explains the glint of determination on his face as he turned to go to Jerusalem for the last time. He was on his death march. 3

This explains the resoluteness in the words, "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.'

It explains the enigmatic question, "Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!"'

The cross explains ...

Why he told the Pharisees that the "goal" of his life would be fulfilled only on the third day after his death.

The mysterious appearance of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration to discuss his "departure." 7 They'd come to offer one last word of encouragement.

Why John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the crowds as the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"'

Maybe it's why he tore the grass out by the roots in Gethsemane. He knew the hell he'd endure for saying, "Thy will be done."

Maybe the cross was why he so loved children. They represented the very thing he would have to give: Life.

It adds gravity to his prophecies, "I lay down my life for the sheep." 9 "Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."10

The reference to the rejected stone, 11 the anointing for burial, 12 the dismissal of Judas from the Last Supper: 13 All of these incidents take on a sobering dimension when the imminence of the cross is considered. Our Master lived a three-dimensional life. He had as clear a view of the future as he did of the present and the past.

This is why the ropes used to tie his hands and the soldiers used to lead him to the cross were unnecessary. They were incidental. Had they not been there, had there been no trial, no Pilate and no crowd, the very same crucifixion would have occurred. Had Jesus been forced to nail himself to the cross, he would have done it. For it was not the soldiers who killed him, nor the screams of the mob: It was his devotion to us.

So call it what you wish: An act of grace. A plan of redemption. A martyr's sacrifice. But whatever you call it, don't call it an accident. It was anything but that.

References:

1 Acts 2:22, 23
2 Isaiah 53:10
3 Luke 9:51
4 John 10:17, 18
5 John 6:61-62
6 Luke 13:32
7 Luke 9:31
8 John 1:29
9 John 10:15
10 Matthew 16:21
11 Matthew 21:42
12 Mark 14:3-9
13 John 13:27

Excerpted from God Came Near - Chronicles of the Christ by Max Lucado © 1987 by Max Lucado

by Kate Kelland, Reuters

Three new studies published on March 20, 2012 added to growing scientific evidence suggesting that taking a daily dose of aspirin can help prevent, and possibly treat, cancer.

Previous studies have found that daily aspirin reduces the long-term risk of death due to cancer, but until now the shorter-term effects have been less certain - as has the medicine's potential in patients already diagnosed with cancer.

The new studies, led by Peter Rothwell of Britain's Oxford University, found that aspirin also has a short-term benefit in preventing cancer, and that it reduces the likelihood that cancers will spread to other organs by about 40 to 50 percent.

"These findings add to the case for use of aspirin to prevent cancer, particularly if people are at increased risk," Rothwell said.

"Perhaps more importantly, they also raise the distinct possibility that aspirin will be effective as an additional treatment for cancer - to prevent distant spread of the disease."

This was particularly important because it is the process of spread of cancer, or "metastasis", which most often kills people with the disease, he added.

Aspirin, originally developed by Bayer, is a cheap over-the-counter drug generally used to combat pain or reduce fever.

The drug reduces the risk of clots forming in blood vessels and can therefore protect against heart attacks and strokes, so it is often prescribed for people who already suffer with heart disease and have already had one or several attacks.

Aspirin also increases the risk of bleeding in the stomach to around one patient in every thousand per year, a factor which has fuelled an intense debate about whether doctors should advise patients to take it as regularly as every day.

Last year, a study by British researchers questioned the wisdom of daily aspirin for reducing the risk of early death from a heart attack or stroke because they said the increased risk of internal bleeding outweighed the potential benefit.

Other studies, including some by Rothwell in 2007, 2010 and 2011, found that an aspirin a day, even at a low dose of around 75 milligrams, reduces the long-term risk of developing some cancers, particularly bowel and oesophageal cancer, but the effects don't show until eight to 10 years after the start of treatment.

Rothwell, whose new studies were published in The Lancet and The Lancet Oncology journals on Wednesday, said this delay was because aspirin was preventing the very early development of cancers and there was a long time lag between this stage and a patient having clinical signs or symptoms of cancer.

Rothwell and others said deeper research was now needed into aspirin as a potential treatment for cancer in patients whose disease has not yet spread.

"No drug has been shown before to prevent distant metastasis and so these findings should focus future research on this crucial aspect of treatment," he said.

Peter Johnson, chief clinician at the charity Cancer Research UK, said his group was already investigating the anti-cancer properties of aspirin. "These findings show we're on the right track," he said.

In a written commentary on the research in The Lancet, Andrew Chan and Nancy Cook of Harvard Medical School in the United States said it was "impressive" and moved health experts "another step closer to broadening recommendations for aspirin use".

Source: Yahoo News, Reuters

Read more health tips in Malankara World Health Section

by Annie Thomas

Ingredients:

Rice powder (not roasted)-1 cup
urad dal(uzhunnu)-25 gm
1/2 coconut grinded(medium)
pinch of cumin

Directions:

Soak the uzhunnu for a few hours. Grind well.
Grind well the coconut + a pinch of jeera (cumin).
Add everything together and make a dough of idli maavu consistency.
"Keep only for 1/2 hour to ferment." (To remind of Pesaha)

Grease preferably steel plates of medium round shape. Pour batter in one, and
make a cross of palm leaf obtained on Palm Sunday on it. Steam till well done.

Make all other appams same way but with no cross.
Makes about 2 or 3 medium appams.

Paalu kurukku

Ingredients:

roasted rice powder-1 cup
sarkkara(molasses)-1 cup
cardamom powder
coconut-1

Directions:

Please use freshly grinded coconut for making this, otherwise the taste won't be good. Take the juice of coconut. You can put the grinded coconut in blender (mixi) and add some hot water to grind for 30 seconds. Now the juice comes out easily.1st milk should be kept separately. Take 2nd and third milk also. These two should equal 1 litre of milk.

Take molasses and put the in a saucepan. Add some water and heat well. While boiling, a lather forms. This should be cleaned away.

Then add cumin and chukku (dried ginger). Now sieve this through a strainer and you can see lot of stones and dirt in it. This liquid form of molasses should be used in your recipes. I have seen lots of people use molasses directly in recipes, without first melting them.

Remember, all these dirt and stones are dangerous, especially for kids. This commonly happens when we prepare aval vilayichathu, where we use it directly. But be sure to melt it first. The consistency can be achieved by adjusting the amount of water added to it.

Take the 2nd and third milk, molasses syrup and roasted rice powder, bring to a boil. Stir continuously, otherwise lumps will form. Mix cardamom powder with 1st milk and add it last. Also add a piece of palm leaf. Before it boils, take off the stove.

As the tradition goes, the head of the family cuts the appam and gives it to other members, oldest to youngest respectively, after dipping in paalukurukku. This is done in great reverence and pious atmosphere.

More recipes for Pessaha appam can be found in Malankara World Passion Week Supplement.

More Recipes/ Cooking Tips at Malankara World Cafe

"Outstanding," Fred replied. "They taught us all the latest psychological techniques, such as visualization, association and so on. It was great. I haven't had a problem since."

"Sounds like something I could use. What was the name of the clinic?"

Fred went blank. He thought and thought, but couldn't remember. Then a smile broke across his face and he asked, "What do you call that flower with the long stem and thorns?"

"You mean a rose?"

"Yes, that's it!" He turned to his wife, "Hey Rose, what was the name of that memory clinic?"

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