The last part

I have always been intriguied by the secrets of Fatima , here is the last part...may it inspire you to look beyond the futile petty things and live freely and compassionately..

"LUCIA REVEALS THE THIRD SECRET OF FATIMA

You may be inspired by this message and perhaps inspire others to change
....

October 30, 2008 -
Sr. Lucia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart
Nationality: Portuguese
Born: 3-28-1907, Aljustrel, Portugal

Died: 2-13-2005
(aged 97)
Convent of Carmelitas
Coimbra, Portugal

LUCIA REVEALS THE THIRD SECRET OF FATIMA

Regardless of whatever Creed or Religion, it is better to be
prepared and be in good terms with GOD,...who created us;
for we never know when we will be leaving this world.....
LAST SECRET OF FATIMA
The Church has given permission to reveal to the people the last part
of the message. The Blessed Virgin appeared to three children in Fatima,
Portugal, in 1917........ this is a proven fact;one of these children was
Lucia, (died 2-13-05)
She was a cloistered nun, and lived in a monastery in Portugal.
Lucia disclosed the message for the first time; to Pope Pius Xll who,
after reading , sealed it and stored it away without making it public.
Later Pope John XXIII read it and, in the same manner as his predecessor,
he kept it out of the public eye because he knew
that once revealed; it would bring desperation and panic to mankind,

But now the time has come, and permission has been granted from Pope John
Paul II to reveal it to the children of God;........ . ........ not to
create panic, but to make God's people aware of this important message
and be prepared.
The Virgin told Lucia:
'Go, my child,
and tell the world what will come to pass during the 1950's - 2000's. Men
are not practicing the Commandments that God has given us. Evil is
governing the world and is harvesting hate and resentment all over. Men
will fabricate mortal weapons that will destroy the world
in minutes!.... .. where half of the human race will be destroyed.
The war will begin against Rome, and there will be conflicts amongst
religious orders...... .....
God will allow all natural phenomena like smoke, hail, cold,
water, fire, floods, earthquakes, winds and inclement weather to slowly
batter the planet.
These happenings will come to pass before the year 2010.!!!!
"For those who don't/won't believe..... . . this is the time.....
Your beloved mother told
you:-
..........those lacking charity towards others, in words & deeds and
those who do not love their neighbour like my beloved Son has loved you
all ....... cannot survive! They will wish to have died.

God will punish severely those who do not believe in him, those who
despise him and those who did not have time for him."
'I call upon all of you to come to my son Jesus Christ.
God will help the world, but all of those who do not show fidelity and
loyalty will be destroyed!'
Father Agustin, who lives in Fatima, said that Pope Paul VI
gave him permission to visit Sister Lucia,a cloistered nun (she did not
leave the monastery nor was allowed to receive any visitors). Father
Agustin said that she received him greatly overwhelmed and told him:
'Father, Our Lady is very sad
because nobody is interested in her prophecy
of 1917, though the righteous are walking through a narrow path, the
evil ones are walking through an ample road that is leading them straight
to their destruction! Believe me, Father, the punishment will come very
soon. 'Many souls will be lost and many nations will disappear from the
earth.
But, in the middle of all these, if men reflect, pray and practice
sincerity, good deeds, kindness and respect, the world can be
saved....... . .. However, if men persist with evil ways....greed, hatred,
selfish acts, rivalry, and rif, the world will be lost forever!.
The time has come for all to pass on the message of our Blessed Lady to
their families, friends, and to the entire world.
Continue praying, make penitence and sacrifices. We are close to the last
minute of the last day and the catastrophes are near. Due to this, many
that were
far from the Church will return to the open arms of the Church of Jesus
Christ.
The joining of the churches will result in one Holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church; ........England, Russia, China, Jews, Buddhists,
Muslims, Hindus,Protestants, etc..... All will return believing and
worshipping God our Creator, in his beloved Son and in Blessed Mother
Virgin Mary.'
WHAT AWAITS US???
Everywhere there will be 'Peace Talks', but punishment will come.
A MAN IN A VERY IMPORTANT POSITION WILL BE ASSASSINATED AND THIS WILL
PROVOKE THE WAR.
A POWERFUL ARMY WILL DOMINATE ALL THROUGH EUROPE AND THE NUCLEAR WAR WILL
COMMENCE.

This war will destroy everything; darkness will fall over us for 72 hours
(3 days) and the one
third of humanity that survives this obscurity and sacrifice, will
commence to live a new era; they will be good people.

On a very cold night, 10 minutes before midnight, A GREAT QUAKE will
shake the earth for 8 hours. This will be the third signal that God Is,
who governs the earth.
The righteous and those who propagate the faith and the message of the
Lady of Fatima is :
'ONE SHOULD NOT FEAR, DO NOT BE AFRAID'.

WHAT TO DO??? : Bow your heads, kneel down and ask God for
forgiveness. Because, only what is good and is not under the power of
evil will survive the catastrophe.
In order for you to prepare and remain alive and safe, I will give you
the following signs:
ANGUISH..... ... AND IN A SHORT PERIOD THE EARTHQUAKE WILL COMMENCE...
THE EARTH
WILL SHAKE.....

The shake will be so violent that will move the earth
23 degrees and then it will return it to its normal position.
Then, total and absolute darkness will cover the entire planet....
All the evil spirits will be mingling around and free, doing harm to all
those souls that did not want to listen to this message and those who did
not want to repent.

To the faithful souls, remember to light the blessed candles,
prepare a sacred altar with a crucifix in order to communicate with GOD
and implore for His infinite mercy....
All will be dark; and IN THE SKY A GREAT MYSTIC CROSS
will appear to remind us the price that his beloved Son had to pay for
our redemption.. ...
In the house the only thing that can give light will be the
HOLY CANDLES... Once lit, nothing will put them off until the three days
of darkness are over. Also, you should have holy water that should be
sprinkled abundantly on windows and doors. The Lord will protect the
property of the chosen ones....
Kneel down before the powerful cross of my beloved Son, pray the Rosary
and after each Hail Mary you must pray the following:

'Oh God forgive us our sins, preserve us from the fires of hell, take all
souls to heaven, especially those who are in more need of thy mercy.
Blessed Virgin Mary, protect us, we love you, save us and save the
world'.
Pray 5 Creeds and the Rosary which is the secret to my
immaculate Heart. All those who believe in my words go and take the
message to everyone,

DO NOT FEAR! FEAR NOTHING DURING THE LORD'S GREAT DAY.
Talk to all, now that there is time. Those who keep quiet will be
responsible for all those souls who will perish in ignorance.
All those who pray humbly the rosary will have the protection of heaven.
Those who are bound to die, I will help them die in peace, and they will
be holy when they
enter the other world.
I wish all my children to attend mass every first Friday and every first
Saturday of each month; to confess and receive Holy Communion; and in
doing so, save the world from its TOTAL DESTRUCTION. ..!!
When the earth shakes no more, those who still do not believe in our Lord
will perish in a horrible way:-
The wind will bring gas and it will disperse it everywhere, then the sun
will rise.
Maybe you will survive this catastrophe.
Do not forget that God's punishment is holy and
ONCE IT HAS STARTED YOU SHOULD NOT LOOK OUTSIDE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE
!!!!
GOD DOES NOT WANT ANY OF HIS GOOD CHILDREN TO SEE WHEN HE PUNISHES THE
SINNERS..... ......... ....
All this encompasses with the writings of the Holy
Scriptures.. ....
Read on the New Testament: Lucas 21
- 5:121, 12:19, 20:20,
29:33 Letters of St Paul 3 - 8 - 14 Isaiah 40, 1:5:9.
You must understand that God allows all this to happen. The Pope
and Bishops are now awaiting another message that speaks
about repentance and prayer. Please remember that God's words are not a
threat, .......... but good news.....
Please reproduce these pages and send them to all you know so we all can
have the opportunity to repent and be saved.

We do not know if those receiving this message believe or not in
GOD,....but just think that, if you are receiving this message it is for
a good reason!!.. from God who created us and loves us so much!

Our Creator is giving us the chance to be saved, no matter what religion
or creed we may be. If you don't believe in this message, at least send
it to others, it costs you nothing.
To all those receiving it, they can have the opportunity to judge and
decide for themselves.
Remember, we can avoid a great deal of evil if we practice the
Commandments that Our Loving Father God gave us.... Just 10 simple ways,
that if we all put into practice we can obtain God's pardon.

Amen."

Hold it right there fella !

Well in my recent travels and interactions with people in and outside the state I have come across some very warped perceiptions of goan women .. especially young goan women.
Just because we are passionate about life and live with no regrets doesnt mean we have no morals or boundaries , we may give into the moment and not look back but that doesn't make us any less respectful than the next ...
You may not be used to women this free and alive but that doesn't take anything away from us or our dignity ..
We are probably the most caring, talented and charming creatures you've come across in and while that may intimidate you , that has nothing to do with who we are ... so open your minds a little you'll be amazed at what life throws your way then ..

And then the glitter faded

So my idealistic bubble has burst .. attribute it to what you may 'the ugly truth' or whatever you want .
This isn't about love or the lack of it ,those illusions have long been dispelled (my youthful cynicism, isn't it just infectious?)
Well I've another one of those epiphanies, moments in life where reality slaps you in the face and the underbelly that lays hidden behind rose tainted reality lays open to be viewed.
The grinding poverty, the heights of frivolity, rampant corruption, the vague glimpses of hope that get us jumping for more ..
The question to be asked is are we not the ones in control of what goes on , I mean apparently this is a democracy so why don't we make changes.
See now that's the really upsetting is that people have gotten so comfortable in the chaos that surrounds them , it takes too much time and effort to try and alleviate someone Else's pain, to care about what surrounds you , We search for the easy way out of each situation. Garbage flung out of the windows onto the road, leave your taps running , I mean we have worked for it who gets to tell us how to use it ?
There is almost no sense of civic responsibility left.
We won't get off our high horses and do something. Why , well because someone else will do it , its not our job to care. Well now that 'Someone Else' is done being taken for granted.
Our feilds are dying, the weather is getting worse, food prices rising, garbage increasing. We deserve better we all know that yet we aren't willing to change the way our economy works .. we aren't willing to take the green way out .. we aren't willing to fight a collective battle .. we aren't even willing to do our own little part...If everyone just paid attention to the hundred feet around them there would probably be a day we could look forward to ,a change we could look forward to.
For one of the fastest rising economies this country sure doesn't look it and when you travel to poorer countries with better infrastructure you wonder .. if they can , then why cant we ?
The lack of motivation to do something for someone other than yourself , greed , desire to overlook others in effort to get your big break... it all just adds up .
I guess at the end of the day everyone just wants their own luxury and are unwilling to look at the bigger picture because its futile sometimes there are sacrifices to be made and there isn't anyone to do.
I applaud all those who committ themselves to the betterment of society, sometimes even putting themselves on the line ...and those that still believe in the Utopian dream and work for it .. I one day hope to join the ranks of these ..

Is Goa losing its culture?

A few thousands of years ago the earth was populated by nothing other than dinosaurs and foliage,but today the very existence of the dinosaurs seems surreal. The dinosaurs just vanished into thin air, wiped out.

Some opine that Goa and Goans in the same way are being wiped out , or rather is losing its culture, some even go to the extent of saying that we have long forgotten our culture and have no true identity but to ape the rulers that held us captive for so many years.An example shows itself clearly in the attendance of the ‘Semana da Cultural Portuguesa’as opposed to the attendance and enthusiasm seen toward the same program been held to celebrate the regions culture , the difference between both is far from marginal.

A question that is raised often is what really is Goan culture?Fados and spanish guitars or a tiatr? It is well and good that Goa encompasses many different cultures but what we are in fact forgetting is that we existed before the Portuguese , and before they came here we did have a very distinct culture as you can read of in books like “The Saraswats”or look up the Kadamba’s the rulers of goa before the Portuguese. Why don’t most educated goan youth speak konkani fluently ,why would we rather patronise a foreign film as opposed to a regional film, why do we look outward to define ourselves? Culture is something that is innate ,not something you eminate.If something does not come from you , you can never contain hence it has the potential to be lost. The rise of the goan economy has brought many ‘outsiders ’into the state and has slowly led to the intergration of Goa with the rest of India , some consider this as losing of culture ,that is far from true though.Intergration with the rest of India will serve to widen our horizons, this may have its downsides but losing a culture is not one of them.

Rather than losing our culture its is being diluted by the presence of other cultures , but that does not mean it has been wiped out , that merely means that those who deem they possess this culture need to hold true to it. Just because the things around are changing that does not mean that we have lost the goan identity thats just means we need to reaffirm it. Time changes many things as holds good with culture as well, we can not say that we are losing our culture , its merely being redefined.

[This is an essay that had been submitted for some competition a while ago]

A tribute to a man who changed the world

I was fortunate enough to have met in my lifetime a man who exemplified the quote "Be the change you want to see in the world." You may call me an idealist but I say this is possible because I saw it , everyday for almost two years.
He did the very best he could within the boundaries that life chose to place on him, he tried to always be the best man he could, at all times. A jack of all trades and master of most.
He had faith in people that never seemed to die no matter how hard life hit him.

He had faith in me, though I never earned it, He looked beyond the superficial nature of a situation , He saw beyond my rebellion and saw the potential and subtly and in His own unique way managed to to make me dream , dream big to achieve bigger. He challenged his students and ushered them forward but never did He pushed us over the edge.

I honestly feel that the way to change the world is through a classroom and that is why I say Sir Glenn changed the world, for we will never forget him like He never forgot us. We will carry him , his message and his knowledge in our hearts.He once said to us "Take root in the soil but grow and let the branches of your knowledge go throughout the world."

There were a hundred things He could have done yet He chose to teach, because I guess that He knew thats what He was probably born to do. Never have I seen a teacher so passionate about teaching, so passionate about learning and basically about life itself. As my tribute to him I will attain success in measures that He would have wanted me to and spread His passion for life and His ideals through the world. They say good men die young and that was certainly true in this case. We miss you Sir and we will carry your light to the world.

As I smell the coffee

I was just wondering , what are people going to eat ? If they survive global warming, natural disasters and of course , some one Else's war . Love and fresh air sure isn't going to do the trick, I don't think the air will be fresh by then anyway .
Global hunger has officially begun. Maybe be we haven't noticed because we are to busy obsessing over our rising status in the world economy, or maybe we were busy converting agricultural land to commercial land or something of the sort.
What people don't realise is that all the worrying and fretting about development is going to lead them no where, we need to invest now in what is truly important, the environment.
What I would like to ask you is , when all the food and water is gone are you ready to eat money ?

I believe

1) that all good things must come to an end or they would turn bitter and we would not remember them fondly.

2)that world isn't fair , so you don't always get as much as you give , but you need to still carry on giving for the sake of those who have had more taken away from them than you have .

3)that no matter how empty you feel when a dear one has left ,the whole "I can't live without you" is drama. Simply because you lived before them, you will live after, maybe even better than before.

4)that there is no point travelling , if the only feel your going to get of the place is through the window of a seven star hotel.After all what part of them are you taking back?

5)that though there may be many things wrong with the world right now, we need to see the good in each soul. As my Nana always said give someone three faults and then count their positives.

6)that every small action has the ability to make a big change. Your action may not be the cause of the change but it may empower someone else , and you would have taken part in that process

7)we need to stop focusing solely on development , because when all the food is gone you can't eat money.(F.Y.I Global hunger has started )

8)that no ones needs anybody else, but we want them, and that makes all the difference.

9)that feminism is not about saying men are evil pieces of crap, but about gaining respect for ourselves because of who we are through our achievements and not because of what we look like .

10)that you don't need anyone's approval , the validation process begins and ends with you.