The way of St. Ignatius: Walking for spiritual strength and faith

The St. Ignatius JSO Church will be conducting a short walk to the church from the Honda showroom in Pai Layout, K.R. Puram, Bangalore. It is planned in a way that all age groups can participate and gain strength from it. The relic of St. Ignatius Elias III in the church in K.R. Puram assures us of the presence of the Holy Father. Walking to church is a walk of faith and walk of assurance. It is knowing that we are walking with God and when we walk with God nothing can ever weaken us.

Micah 6:8 says “He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the Lord is requiring from you— to act with justice, to treasure the Lord’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.” Walking with God and interceding to a saint is a way of assuring ourselves of the presence of God in our lives. Everyone has a reason to walk. It could be the need to be healed, it could be to feel spiritual or it could be to put the body and soul through the same path of spiritual awakening.

No one should be kept out of a spiritual walk and shorter walks help everyone to join and be part of a spiritual quest. We invite everyone to come and be part of the spiritual walk tomorrow and in further walks in the coming months. May the intercession of St. Ignatius Elias III be of refuge and help to all.

All day and night prayer with intercessions to St. Ignatius Elias III

The all day and night prayer with intercessions to St. Ignatius Elias III will be conducted at the St. Ignatius JSO Church, K.R. Puram, Bengaluru from 7:00 in the morning from Saturday October 15, 2016 to Sunday morning October 16, 2016. Rev. Fr. Shibu K.Y., Wayanad, will lead the meditations this year.

Saturday, October 15, 2016
7 A.M.- Walk to church with intercessory prayers from Honda showroom Pai Layout, K.R. Puram, Bengaluru

7:45 A.M.- Morning prayer in church

8:30 A.M.- Holy Qurbana

10:00 A.M.- 11:00 A.M.- Intercessory prayers and reading of Psalms

11:00 A.M.- 1:00 P.M.- Meditative sermon

1:00 P.M.- 2:00 P.M.- Reading of Psalms and convention songs

2:00 P.M.- 3:30 P.M.- Meditation and prayer

3:30 P.M.- 5:00 P.M.- Meditative sermon

5:00 P.M.- 6:30 P.M.- Intercessory prayer, reading of Psalms and meditation

6:30 P.M.- 7:00 P.M.- Evening prayer

7:00 P.M.- 9:00 P.M.- Meditation and meditative sermon

9:00 P.M.- 9:30 P.M.- Prayer

9:30 P.M.- 7:00 A.M.- Reading of Psalms, meditations and intercessory prayers  

Sunday, October 16, 2016

8:15 A.M.- Morning prayer

9:00 A.M.- Holy Qurbana, sermon

11:30 A.M.- Blessing

St. Ignatius Elias III wrist band

For the first time in the history of the Malankara churches in India, the St. Ignatius JSO Church, K.R. Puram, Bangalore is bringing out St. Ignatius Elias III wrist bands for the faithful in Bangalore. This is a first for the church and we thank Rev. Godson Samuel, a proponent of making things out of palm leaves. His interest has seen him making several artifacts with palm leaves. The St. Ignatius Elias III wrist bands are eco friendly and can be used as book marks or as a hanging adornment after use. With this we join hands with Rev. Godson in encouraging local palm workers and small scale industries by using their eco friendly products. It will lead to helping several families and communities which earn their subsistence through palm leaves. The wrist bands will be distributed to the public during the church festival and interring of the relic of St. Ignatius Elias III on Feb 20 and 21, 2016 in the St. Ignatius JSO Church, K.R. Puram.

24 hour prayer: A liturgy after liturgy

A 24 hour prayer will be held by the St. Ignatius Church, K.R. Puram starting at 4:30 P.M. tomorrow, Friday, January 15, 2016 and ending with Holy Communion service in church on Saturday, 5:00 P.M. The prayer is for the smooth conduct of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church Bangalore diocese Nineveh convention on January 18,19 and 20 and for personal requests of church members and acquaintances. The prayer is being planned and worked through the church whatsapp group with an individual or family opting for a half hour slot and the prayer thus being continued for 24 hours. Those who are part of the prayer have the choice to pray in a church or from wherever they are. It goes along with the belief of the Syrian Orthodox Church that worship is liturgy after liturgy. It does not stop but rather gains strength from the body and blood of Christ and continues in an uninterrupted spiritual journey. Prayer helps us to communicate with God, give thanks and praise to God, confess our short comings and ask for help. It also gives us the space to reach out to God for others and not just for our own needs. Prayer is a reminder of us being human and of the manifold blessings that we have received from God by the life, passion, death and resurrection of the only begotten son of God. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)Nothing will happen to us without the knowledge of God and God will in all of God's goodness take care of us. Even as we are tensed because of our lives we are reminded "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."(Philippians 4:6-7) Strong belief is essential for those who want strong interventions from God. St. Mark 11:24 says "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." We are bothered by those who speak against us and those who haunt us with their presence and words on a daily basis. But Christ taught us to love our enemies. "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (St. Luke 6:27-28)Prayer definitely then has to be not just for family members and friends but for those who have maybe hurt us. Prayer makes us ask God instead of feeling bitter and sad about our own life. "You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God." (James 4:2) This is not a prayer to get whatever we want but to get what God wants us to get. God is the best judge of right and wrong and knows specially well what we can take and what we can experience. Do join hands with us in prayer and send us your prayer requests too. "May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:4)

A dream unfolding

The St. Ignatius JSO Church embarked on a journey of accomplishing a dream last year. The dream was a step of faith with almost nothing available to fund the dream. But faith in God with the blessed intercession of St. Ignatius provided the fuel and the foundation for the beginning of the St. Ignatius Community Education Centre. The Community Education Centre (CEC) is a concept of offering literacy, education, counselling and help for the church community and the community near the church. Various programmes and projects can be conducted through this building. The four storey building will have halls, school class rooms and recreational facilities all in one space. With this thought the stone innauguration and stone blessing of the Community Education Centre was done on November 8 and 9, 2014 in the presence of the Krishnarajapuram MLA, Sri Basavaraj, the councilor, the diocesan bishop H.G. Pathros Mor Osthatheos, the Malabar bishop H.G. Zacharias Mor Policarpose, special guests, priests of the diocese and members of the church. Work started in December with members of the church involved in supervision and construction. Thus far we have finished the structure and are working towards the completion of the basement and the top floor. The church was blessed in July by the relic of St. Ignatius Elias III. We were handed over the blessed relic by Archcorepiscopa Dr. Curien Kaniyamparambil. The relic room is now under construction and will be finished soon and consecrated by February, 2016. The church has been growing spiritually in the past one and a half years. We have had special classes and programmes for the elderly, women, youth and Sunday school. The programmes include church picnic, computer literacy for elders, physiotherapy class, classes for choir singing, Sunday school, dance classes, 24 hour chain prayer, fasting prayer, visit and help for a destitute home and several other charity programmes.

Van for the school

By the grace of God the church has bought a second hand van for the St. Ignatius school. This will be useful for transportation of students to various places to and from the school. The van was bought because of the generous contributions and loan of church members and we pray for them and their families and dedicate the van for the glory of God.

Welcome to the St. Ignatius Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Bangalore

A warm welcome to everyone. The St. Ignatius JSO Church is a Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church offering spiritual services to those who want a spiritual home and a spiritual adviser. The church offers once a week Holy Communion service on Sunday's at 8:30 A.M. Children can attend the vibrant Sunday school which starts by 10:30 A.M. The St. Ignatius Church was started in 1994 as a prayer unit which then went on to become a full fledged church. All sacraments are on offer to the faithful when needed and the church has house prayer meetings, house visits, family get together, special presentations on health, spirituality, current affairs, social issues and national and international events and spiritual retreats on a regular basis. Two priests are available for ministering to the congregation and its needs. The upcoming St. Ignatius Church is only 700 meters from the K.R. Puram Railway Station. Do come and be part of this congregation which offers services in Malayalam, Sunday school in English and any service in English on demand.