July 2012

MONTHLY EVENTS

Newsletter Volume 4 Issue 1

2.30 PM Sunday school

2 30 to 3 30 PM Adoration

of the blessed Sacrament

3 30 PM song practice

4.00 PM Prayers before the

Holy Mass

4.30 PM Holy Mass

Contact Information: Fr. John Kuriakose,

222 Ridley Blvd,

Toronto, ON, M5M 3M6

Tel: (416) 485 7781

[email protected]

Sunday Liturgy

Malankara Catholic Church St. Mary’s Mission Toronto

St. Eugene’s Chapel◊13 Regina Avenue◊Toronto, Ontario◊M6A 1R2

www.stmarysmalankaracatholicchurchtoronto.ca

Inside the Issue

Defender of our Faith 2-3

Recite-The Holy Rosary 4-5

Snippets from science 6-8

Saint of the month 8-9

Altar Service Schedule 9

Kids Korner 10

July 2012

© St. Mary`s Malankara Catholic Church Toronto

July 7 - New Comers

Meeting @ 6pm

July 14 - Women‟s

Prayer Meeting (Jaison

& Jessy) @ 6:30pm

July 21 - Parish Picnic

July 22 - General-Body

Meeting

July 28 - Monthly Pray-

er meeting (Thomas &

Bindhu) @ 6:30pm

sary given by our Blessed Mother.

Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote, “It is

important not to lose this precious inher-

itance. We need to return this practice of

family prayer and prayer for families,

continuing to use the Rosary.” This is also

confirmed by Servant of God Father Pat-

rick Peyton, who said “The family that

prays together stays together”.

In the article with this bulletin,

the reason behind these bold statements is

uncovered and explained. We also uncov-

er another important aspect of our faith;

the Holy Scripture. In this month‟s Snip-

pets of Science, Amit Mathews divulges

the origins of the Bible and how man

compiled the Holy Book that guides us

through life. Additionally there is a bonus

section regarding ancient mathematical

problem. Lastly, we focus on the life of

St. Maria of Goretti as Betty Thazhamon

reveals what this young saint went

through at the tender age of eleven and

her journey to sainthood. So, we hope you

can take the time to remember our Fa-

thers, learn about the gift of our Mother,

understand our Holy Book came to be and

be inspired by the life and faith of young

St. Maria of Goretti in this month‟s bulle-

tin! Thank you and God bless!

- The Editors

This month‟s bulletin focuses on

the commemoration of our fathers; from

our faith to our families. On July 3rd, the

founding Father of the Church in India

joined with our Heavenly Father and, co-

incidently, our founding Father of the

Malankara Catholic Church who re-joined

with the Holy Father on September 20th ,

also joined our Father in heaven, in July

as well, on the 15th. Both of these Fathers

of our faith contributed to the fruition of

Jesus‟ mission to us before He ascended

into the heavens. In an article by Francis

Thazhamon the fruition of our Malankara

Catholic Church is shown by following

the life and journey of St. Thomas to that

of Servant of God Mar Ivanios. Through

their steadfast faith and defence of unity

they allowed for us to be a part of this

Church, where fathers can pass this mes-

sage down to their sons.

This month we also commemorate

those fathers who we know personally

within our own families. On July 17th, St.

Mary‟s Toronto children, MCYM and

Sunday School, showed its appreciation

with meaningful words, heartfelt songs

and thoughtful present. However, it is not

just to our own Church Fathers and our

own fathers that we focus on in this bulle-

tin. In an article by Rajesh Jacob, we

delve into the importance of the Holy Ro-

mailto:[email protected]

Malankara Catholic Church


The uniqueness of the Christ-

experience of St.Thomas very well

reflected in the three texts of St.

John`s gospel. St. Thomas was

ready even to forsake his life for

his master (John 11:16). He real-

ised that Jesus Christ, the Son of

God is the Way, the Truth and the

Life (John 14:16). The climax is

the profound manifestation of his

faith and total surrender of his life

for the kingdom of God, in his fa-

mous confession "My Lord, My

God" (John 20:26)

The steadfast faith and sacrificial

love for the Lord made St. Thomas

gladly take all the challenges in-

cluding travelling to the distant

land of India with totally unfamil-

iar culture and language. St. Thom-

as is traditionally believed to have

sailed to India in 52 AD to spread

the Christian faith among the Jews,

who were present in Kerala at the

time. He is supposed to have land-

ed at the ancient port of Muziris

near Kodungalloor. He then went

to Palayoor (near present-day

Guruvayoor), which was a Hindu

priestly community at that time.

Then he went to the southern part

of what is now Kerala State, where

he established the Ezharappallikal,

or "Seven and Half Churches".

These churches are at Niranam,

Palayoor, Nilackal (Chayal),

Kottakavu (Paravoor), Kokkaman-

galam, Kollam, Maliankara

(Kodungallur) and Thiruvitham-

kode (Half Church)

The hymns of St. Ephraem provide

the beautiful picture of the sum-

mary of the missionary work of St.

Thomas in India. "It was to a land

of dark people he was sent, to

clothe them by Baptism in white

robes. His grateful dawn dispelled

India's painful darkness. It was his

mission to espouse India to the

One-Begotten. The merchant is

blessed for having so great a treas-

ure. Edessa thus became the

blessed city by possessing the

greatest pearl India could yield.

Thomas works miracles in India

and at Edessa and he baptized peo-

ple."

St. Thomas, The Apostle of India

was martyred in 72 AD by a fanat-

ic at Little Mount, near Madras and

his body was brought to Mylapore

and was buried there. We celebrate

his feast: Dukhrana or commemo-

rate his martyrdom on July 03.

Mar Ivanios: The Defender of

Faith

The church St. Thomas founded in

India went through many challeng-

es, though she had her own eccle-

sial, liturgical, spiritual and admin-

istrative traditions. Intervention of

Portuguese missionaries during the

16th century and their efforts to

latinise the St. Thomas Christians

led to divisions in the church. Arri-

val of the Protestant missionaries

during the 19th century contributed

to further splits. By the end of 19th

century there were numerous de-

nominations among the St. Thomas

Christians, some were apostolic

and some were non-apostolic.

Many leaders made numerous ef-

forts including mediation since the

16th century to unite the divided

church and most of them were fu-

tile. In the meantime there were

tremendous litigations, fights and

disputes among many divisions for

wealth and power. The situation

becomes more chaotic due to disa-

greement in faith and lack of spirit-

uality!

...continued to next page



“The Catholic Church is the only

true and perfect embodiment of

historical Christianity; the religion

that Jesus Christ brought into the

world…The Catholic Church alone

fulfils the purpose for which God

became man, for the salvation of

individuals and society. She alone

is the mystical body of Christ on

earth. She alone teaches the truth

and gives the life that is in Jesus

Christ, our Lord and God…The

Catholic Church is the home of the

Holy Spirit on earth.” These are

the words of a great visionary, who

realized the truth and devoted his

life and activities to the fulfillment

of that truth. He is none other than

Archbishop Geevarghese Mar

Ivanios, the Prophet of Ecumenism

and the father of Reunion Move-

ment in the 20th century Malanka-

ra Church.

In 1925, the Malankara Associa-

tion chose Fr. P.T. Geevarghese as

Bishop-candidate at the order of

the Malankara Metropolitan. He

insisted to consecrate him as Bish-

op of Bethany, a congregation that

he established when he was a

priest. He was not interested in

becoming a diocesan Bishop, as he

was disillusioned with the conflicts

in the church for money and pow-

er. It was a time when the Malan-

kara Orthodox Church suffered

serious setbacks in the law suites

and litigation and the Episcopal

Synod decided to merge the Ortho-

dox Church into some other an-

cient church. Mar Ivanios had al-

ready realized that the only solu-

tion to unite the church is to return

to the true church – the Catholic

Church. He suggested in the Synod

to re-unite with the Catholic

Church. The Synod appointed Mar

Ivanios to make dialogues with

Rome.

In 1929, the Orthodox Church won

the law suit against the Jacobites.

The other Bishops, along with the

Malankara Metropolitan decided to

revoke their decision to re-unite

with the Catholic Church. But Mar

Ivanios was firm on his decision.

He abandoned everything that he

had and while leaving his own

Bethany monastery at Perunad, he

blessed it saying: Bethany Malaye

Push Bashlomo (The hill of Betha-

ny, abide in peace). On 20th Sep-

tember 1930, Mar Ivanios and Mar

Theophilos along with Fr. John,

Deacon Alexander and Kilileth

Chacko, knelt before H.E. Aloys-

ius Maria Bensiger, Bishop of Qui-

lon and made their profession of

faith in the Catholic, Apostolic,

One and Holy Church. On 11th

June 1931, the Malankara Hierar-

chy was established by H. H. Pope

Pius XI. Mar Ivanios was raised to

the status of Archbishop of Trivan-

drum and Mar Theophilos became

the Bishop of Thiruvalla. Servant

of God Archbishop Geevarghese

Mar Ivanios passed away to his

eternal reward on 15th July 1953.

We all believe that Jesus Christ

sent St. Thomas to India to found

His Church here. We believe Jesus

Christ Himself chose Mar Ivanios

by the prayer of St. Thomas to de-

fend the faith of Malankara Church

and many through this church.

During this month, when we com-

memorate the martyrdom of St.

Thomas on July 03rd and the feast

of Servant of God Archbishop Mar

Ivanios on July 15th, let us pray to

both of them to intercede for us to

the Lord to help us achieve His

dream: “I have other sheep that

do not belong to this fold. I must

bring them also, and they will lis-

ten to my voice. So, there will be

one flock and one shep-

herd” (John 10:16).

- Babu Thazhamon



The Holy Rosary is a great spiritu-

al tool to have our blessed mother

intercede for us. It‟s one of the

most spiritually rewarding tradi-

tions the Holy Catholic church has

handed down over generations.

Looking back into each of our an-

cestral generations we can defi-

nitely find grandparents who have

well realized the power of this

great prayer and who depended on

it to seek graces from our heavenly

father, and thus bring showers of

blessings on our families. Howev-

er, in these days we let aside this

great spiritual tool with abhorring

excuses like lack of time, being

busy, boredom from monotonicity

of the prayer etc. Yet all the saints

in the past have held the Holy Ro-

sary close to their heartbeat. Have

we travelled far enough from God

so as to be blinded about the inter-

cessory power of our blessed

mother?

St. Elizabeth received our blessed

mother into her house, and she was

filled with the Holy Spirit, sang

praises and the infant in her womb

leapt with joy. The scripture says

thus, “During those days, Mary set

out and travelled to the hill country

in haste to a town of Judah, where

she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth. When Eliz-

abeth heard Mary‟s greeting, the

infant leaped in her womb and

Elizabeth filled with the holy spirit

cried out in loud voice and said

“Most blessed are you among

women and blessed is the fruit of

your womb” and how does this

happen to me that the mother of

my Lord should come to me? For

at the moment the sound of your

greeting reached my ears, the in-

fant in my womb leaped for

joy.” (Luke Ch: 1 Vr: 39-45

NAB).

St. Elizabeth‟s prayer was so in-

spired that the church later on uses

her prayer repetitively as we recite

the rosary. We can infer from this

Holy Scripture that when our

blessed mother is in our house, we

too will receive the Holy Spirit

like St. Elizabeth. We too can

praise and cry out in a loud voice

praising God, and our infants

(children and family) will leap

with true joy. Not transient joy and

gratitude towards parents that

comes when their momentary de-

mands are met (e.g. getting the

right Christmas gift, prompt pay-

ment of their mobile phone bills or

shopping the most trendy attires)

but an everlasting gratitude for

providing them with what they

really need. Bringing our blessed

mother home, transforms each of

us, she intercedes for the Holy

Spirit to work freely in each of us

and the ultimate gift is true and

everlasting joy and peace.

A true dependence on our blessed

mother‟s intercession is depicted

by relentless recitation of the Holy

Rosary. Just as repetitive and mo-

notonous it may sound to those

who have not experienced its

power, the graces it bestows on

the one who recites it, and their

family is overwhelming. In to-

day‟s day and age with the rosary

being recorded as a melodious

hymn on a CD, and being visually

presented with attractive pictures

on television media, many faithful

are tempted to put that on the

background and get engrossed in

many other day to day chores as

the rosary is being played on a

music player, or on the television.

By doing so we somehow derive

some solace that we have been a

part of it. Audio-visual media def-

initely plays a great role in pre-

senting the Holy Rosary to us in

an inspirational manner, but it

cannot be a substitute for our ac-

tive participation in reciting the

Holy Rosary verbally ourselves.

The Holy Rosary is not to be just

heard or seen with us paying no

attention to it, but rather it needs

to be actively recited. In doing so,

it makes us recite the scripture, the

faith of our church and reminds us

to prepare for the final destiny of

our soul.

...continued to next page



Following are a few noteworthy

points from the Apostolic letter

Rosarium Virginis Mariae written

by Blessed Pope John Paul II:

Among creatures no one knows

Christ better than Mary; no one

can introduce us to a profound

knowledge of his mystery better

than HIS mother. The Rosary

though clearly Marian in charac-

ter, is at heart a Christocentric

prayer. With the Rosary the Chris-

tian people sit at the school of

Mary and is led to contemplate the

beauty on the face of Christ and to

experience the depths of HIS love.

Through the Rosary the faithful

receive abundant grace, as though

from the very hands of the Mother

of our Redeemer.

The Rosary is an exquisitely con-

templative prayer. Without this

contemplative dimension it would

lose its meaning. Pope Paul VI

pointed out “Without contempla-

tion, Rosary is a body without soul,

and its recitation runs the risk of

becoming a mechanical repetition

of formulas - - -“

Psalm 55: 23 says, “Cast your

burden on the Lord and HE will

sustain you.” To Pray the Rosary

is to hand over our burdens to the

merciful hearts of Christ and HIS

mother.

Blessed John Paul II exhorts in

this apostolic letter to pray the Ro-

sary in our families.

He writes thus “It is important not

to lose this precious inheritance.

We need to return this practice of

family prayer and prayer for fami-

lies, continuing to use the Rosary.

The family that prays together stays together. The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective as a prayer, which brings the family together. Individual family mem-bers, in turning their eyes towards Jesus, also regain the ability to look one another in the eye, to communicate, to show solidarity, to forgive one another and to see their covenant of love renewed in the Spirit of God. To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily “pause for prayer” with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underesti-mated. It could be objected that the Rosary seems hardly suited to the taste of children and young people of today. But perhaps the

objection is directed to an impov-erished method of praying it. Fur-thermore, without prejudice to the Rosary's basic structure, there is nothing to stop children and young people from praying it – either within the family or in groups – with appropriate symbol-ic and practical aids to under-standing and appreciation. Why not try it? Blessed John Paul II ends this ap-ostolic letter by saying thus “May this appeal of mine not go un-heard!” Let us all trust in HIS divine Mercy and open our hearts so that we can experience her love and care and thus call upon the mother of our Lord, as my mother !!! AMEN - Rajesh Jacob



THE PATH THAT LEADS TO THE BIBLE

Modern Biblical Scholarship

Ever wonder how the Bible we read arrived in our

hands? The answer is mind-blowing. From studying

sheepskins and exploring dusty caves to utilizing

razor‟s edge NASA technology, the Bible is the

culmination of centuries of intense hard work and

some incredible scholarship. Advanced infrared

imaging retrieves invisible words from a fragment

of parchment. Statistical analysis shows correlations

and discrepancies in the phrasing of the Pentateuch.

Breakthroughs in DNA research make it possible to

trace the lineage of recovered manuscripts to the

animals whose skins were used to make them. The

late 19th and 20th centuries have witnessed major

biblical documentary finds at St. Catherine‟s mon-

astery in the Sinai, the Cairo genizah in Egypt, and

among university collections. The most important

discovery and for the past half century a laboratory

for cutting edge technologies has been the Dead Sea

Scrolls, some of the oldest known biblical manu-

scripts. The remains of some 900 of the scrolls are

currently being probed, digitized, photographed,

and analyzed – paleographically, statistically, ge-

netically and chemically – and are being meticu-

lously assembled together (For more information,

check out the article “The Dead Sea Scrolls” in the

June 2012 issue). Displays in Bible bookshops re-

veal the growing demand for Bibles tailored to the

interests of niche markets. There are storybook Bi-

bles for parents to read to their children, devotional

Bibles, study Bibles such as the HarperCollins®

Study Bible, which is about 60% scripture and 40%

notes, with updated information based on recent

study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other archeologi-

cal discoveries. Among the most popular Bibles are

those designed to be used in private devotion. Peo-

ple who commute to work can listen to the Bible

being read on audio CDs. For those who like to read

Scripture wherever they may be, there are pocket

Bibles. What‟s more, there‟s even a Bible „app‟ for

the iPhone™! Supplementing the many Bibles are

such works as Bible encyclopedias, dictionaries,

atlases, concordances and commentaries. An esti-

mated 9 out of 10 households in North America have at

least one copy of it and 75% have more. The Bible is

the most awe-inspiring, paradigm-shifting and game-

changing manuscript to have ever been written down. It

is not only divinely inspired, it is also a testament of

History and a Science anthology rolled into one. It is all

encompassing and the source of all knowledge. It is the

Book. Besides, it remains the best selling book in the

cumulative history of all mankind.

The Cairo Genizah

Since Jewish Law forbids the destruction of sacred

texts, when such items suffer damage they are often

stored in a room in the synagogue called the genizah.

The immense value of the genizah was recognized in

the 19th century. In 1896, two learned Scottish twins,

Margaret Dunlop Gibson, and Agnes Smith Lewis,

bought some manuscript pages from a Cairo dealer.

They took their purchase to University of Cambridge

researchers, where it was identified as part of the long

lost Hebrew original of the Book of Ecclesiasticus. Sus-

pecting that the documents had come from the ninth-

century Ben-Ezra synagogue in Cairo, researchers set

off to “empty” the synagogue‟s genizah. They swal-

lowed the “dust of centuries” as they removed more

than 100,000 fragments dating from as early as the 6th

century. Among the fragments were biblical and tal-

mudic texts, liturgical and legal documents and letters,

including one by Maimonides. Perhaps the most excit-

ing finds were two incomplete and overlapping copies

of a text now known as the Damascus document. Re-

searchers dated these manuscripts to the 10th and 12th

centuries and because they used biblical Hebrew, they

dated the text on which they were based to before the

destruction of the temple in 70 AD. References to the

“Teacher of Righteousness” and the “Man of Scoffing”

led them to believe that the manuscripts described a reli-

gious sect. When fragments of the Damascus fragments

were also found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Uni-

versity of Cambridge manuscripts were identified with

the Qumran sect.

Piecing the jigsaw Before scholars can begin to study the contents of badly

fragmented scrolls and parchments, they must sort out



which pieces belong to which documents. Easier

said than done. Most of the times it‟s even worse

than looking for a needle in a haystack, for the nee-

dle is also a piece of hay! The amount of work it

takes is mind-boggling. Paleographers can work

for months reconstructing a single page. Research-

ers usually begin by looking at the type of material

used to make the scroll, whether papyrus or parch-

ment, and at the relative thickness and color of

fragments. They also match up the “guide” lines,

or scorings, used by the scribe to write his text

evenly, and consider the relationship of script to

lines. Paleographers often assist in matching pieces

by distinguishing the hands of individual scribes.

The computer‟s ability to amass and provide rapid

access to huge amounts of data has proved ex-

tremely useful in several areas of biblical study.

Computers can swiftly compare script styles and

fragment shapes and identify and chart linguistic

formulations, such as repetitions of words, gram-

matical construction, punctuation, and sentence

and syllable lengths. In addition, computer generat-

ed concordances allow scholars to do searches for

specific words and thereby make close compari-

sons of the use and context of those words in the

various biblical manuscripts. Many of the scrolls

are non-biblical also and scholars must match frag-

ments only on the basis of similarities in their

physical characteristics, subject matter, and the

pattern of the damage they have sustained. Genetic

research provides further physical evidence. Scien-

tists have recovered DNA from the remains of

Egyptian mummies and woolly mammoths, so un-

less the parchment has suffered extensive damage,

there‟s a fair chance that they can recover DNA to

carry on the analysis. Beginning in 1994, scholars

at Hebrew University recovered the DNA from

minute samples of various scrolls. After examining

some “key” genes, the team identified the sample

skins as mostly goat. Moreover, by checking the

DNA against genetic material taken from animal

bones at other sites in the area, scholars hope to

establish the geographic origins of the herds and,

extrapolating from that information of the docu-

ment itself. For the Dead Sea Scrolls, DNA testing

may prove whether all of the scrolls came from the

Qumran community, or if the caves, served as a

repository for documents originating in other parts

of Palestine.

Bringing the Word to light Biblical scholarship now benefits from technology devel-

oped by NASA. Whereas the human eye sees only a lim-

ited portion of the light spectrum, the use of infrared pho-

tography extends the visible range. When Dead Sea Scroll

fragments are photographed with infrared-sensitive film,

written words appear darker and backgrounds are blanched

out (See the accompanying Figure). Technologies pio-

neered by NASA for the space program – including ad-

vanced infrared techniques for remote sensing of the

earth‟s surface – discern even longer wavelengths in the

light spectrum than infrared photography. In the summer of

1994, researchers from the Ancient Biblical Manuscript

Center, Hebrew University, and NASA‟s Jet Propulsion

Laboratory were able to make substantial gains over all

earlier efforts to read a number of the most damaged Dead

Sea Scrolls. The fragments were recorded with an instru-

ment called an imaging spectrophotometer, which picks up

slight variations in light, and the resulting digitalized pic-

tures were fed through computers. The images were then

“tuned” on the computer screen, highlighting and defining

features of the text and bringing out more of the previously

obscured words. Most biblical scholars are especially inter-

ested in obtaining precise dates for the sectarian Dead Sea

Scrolls. They believe that the dates may shed further light

on Judaism and the origins of Christianity. Dates obtained

by paleographers can now be compared to the results of

radiocarbon dating, a procedure that indicates the amount

of Carbon-14 isotope – a class of atomic element – present

in a formerly living material, goatskin for instance. Carbon

-14 decays at a known rate; so by measuring the amount of

Carbon-14 in a given artifact, it is possible to determine an

age for the artifact. In 1995, a team of University of Arizo-

na scientists and Israeli scholars examined fragments from

18 Qumran documents. The carbon dating tests confirmed

the results reached independently by paleographers. Time-

honored methods of scholarship still raise intriguing ques-

tions. In 1995, Carsten Thiede of Germany asserted that

papyrus fragments from a copy of the Gospel of Matthew

at Oxford University are the remains of the oldest known

New Testament document. The handwriting style, he not-

ed, along with the appearance on one fragment of an early

Christian abbreviation for divinity, suggest a date from the

mid 1st century. It is highly unlikely that it is validated.

Next time we hold the Holy Bible in our hands, let us take

a moment to reflect upon the centuries of indefatigable

hard work, meticulousness and scientific dexterity that

have sifted through eons worth of dust and rubble to bring

out the Bible in all its glory.



As a child and even today, whenever saints are mentioned, an image that

comes instantly to mind is usually that of a pious and holy man or woman but

rarely that of a child. I guess it is due to the association I made that all chil-

dren were like me growing up in the faith – going to church not because we

understood the importance of it but merely attending because our parents

made sure we did. So how is it children could be made saints? Growing up I

always thought of saints as these extremely spiritual and religious individu-

als, who prayed constantly and lived in seclusion from society much like a

hermit. The children I knew were neither spiritual nor religious and were

constantly playing video games or playing outside and definitely did not live

on their own. Thankfully as I grew up and matured, I realized my notion of

saints was misconstrued. In fact there are many young saints and the saint we

are focusing on this month is St. Maria Goretti – one of the youngest saints to

be canonized in the Catholic Church.

St. Maria Goretti was the third out of the six children to Luigi Goretti and

Assunta Carlini. She was born on October 16 1890, in Corinaldo, in the

Province of Ancona, then in the Kingdom of Italy. Her family was so poor

that they were forced to sell their land and move and work for other farmers.

Her father became sick with malaria and died was she was nine years old.

With the passing of her father, the family moved to Le Ferriere, where they

lived in a building called “La Cascina Antica” were they shared with another

family which included Giovanni Serenelli and his son, Alessandro. St. Maria

took on the role of doing all the household chores, while her mother, brothers

and sisters worked on the field. Although the family went through many

hardships because of their deep love and faith in God, they never saw their

life as a burden or curse.

On July 5, 1902, St. Maria was attacked by was Alessandro when she was

….continuation from page

Fun with Numbers:

Ganita Sara Samgraha

The Ganita Sara Samgraha dated 850 AD is special for several reasons. First it is the only existing treatise on

arithmetic by a Jain scholar. Second, it included essentially all mathematical knowledge of mid-ninth century

India. It is the earliest extant Indian text devoted entirely to mathematics. It was written by Mahavira, who lived

in southern India. It was noted for its explicit assertion that the square root of a negative number did not exist.

One particular problem in the book has delighted scholars for centuries, and was worded as follows: A young

lady has a quarrel with her husband and ends up damaging her necklace. One-third of the necklace‟s pearls

scatter toward the lady. One-sixth falls on the bed. One-half of what remains thereafter and one-half of what

remains after that and so on, counting six times in all falls everywhere else. A total of 1161 pearls were found

remaining on the necklace. How many pearls did the young lady originally have in total? The astonishing an-

swer is that the young lady originally had 148,608 pearls on her necklace! Let‟s reflect on the problem. One-

sixth fell on the bed and one-third scatted toward her. This means that the remaining pearls that are neither on

the bed nor near her are half of all the pearls. The remaining pearls are halved six times, so ((1/2)7) x = 1161,

where x is the total number of pearls; thus x is 148,608. A necklace with 148,608 pearl beads. It sure was worth

quarrelling over!

- Amit Mathews



alone in a room sewing. He threatened to kill her if she

did not comply to want he said in which he was intending

to rape her. She would not submit, rather she protested

that what he wanted to do was a mortal sin and could go

to hell for it. She desperately fought to stop the nineteen

year old from abusing her and kept screaming “No! It is a

sin! God does not want it!” As she insisted more and more

that she would rather die that submit to him, he stabbed

her eleven times. The injured Maria tried to reach for the

door but Alessandro stopped her by stabbing her three

more times before running away. Maria's little sister Tere-

sa awoke with the noise and started crying, and when Se-

renelli's father and Maria's mother came to check on the

little girl, they found the bleeding Maria and took her to

the nearest hospital. She underwent surgery and halfway

she woke up and insisted that it stay that way. The phar-

macist of the hospital in which she died said to her, "Maria,

think of me in Paradise." She looked at the old man: "Well,

who knows which of us is going to be there first?" "You,

Maria," he replied. "Then I will gladly think of you," said

Maria. The following day, twenty hours after the attack, hav-

ing expressed forgiveness for her murderer and stating that

she wanted to have him in Heaven with her, Maria died of

her injuries, while looking at a very beautiful picture of the

Blessed Mother, and clutching a cross to her chest.

On June 24, 1950 St. Maria was canonized by Pope Pius XII

and is the patron saint of chastity, rape victims, youth, teen-

age girls, poverty, purity and forgiveness. Let us learn from

St. Maria that we all be called saints, simply by living ac-

cording to God‟s will and not giving into sin.

- Betty Thazhamon

Date Candle 1 Candle 2 Marbahasa 1 Marbahasa 2 Bell Thurible Readings

July 1 Alexi Cyrus Isac Jerome Br. Jobin Lynn Sebin

July 8 Alvin Annugrah Sarath Aaron Samson Br. Jobin Deepak

July 15 Alexi Sarath Aaron Neil Christopher Br. Lynn Br. Jobin

July 22 Annugrah Jerome Aaron Cyrus Neil Br. Jobin Sebin

July 29 Alvin Christopher Isac Deepak Samson Lynn Deepak

Assigned Readings Names Backups Date

Ex 25: 1-9, Isa 40:27-31, Hos 14: 1-9 Babu Mammotil Ashwathy Mathew July 1

Deut 21: 18-21, 2 Chr 4: 18-31, Isa 43: 22-28 Roji Thomas Rajesh Jacob July 8

Ex 34: 29-35, 1 Sam 4: 12-18, Ezek 16: 1-4 Abhilash Sam John Thomas July 15

Lev 26: 3-13, 2 Sam 2: 1-7, Isa 57: 14-21 Jincy Binoy Joshua Joseph July 22

Deut 12: 1-14, Eccl 7: 1-14, Isa 55: 1-9 Stephina Alexander Jonathan Mani July 29

July 2012

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Transcript of July 2012