A Journey of Faith
From a carpenter's home in Cochin to parishes in India, England and Canada — one Rosary, held the whole way.
A life guided by faith, prayer and the gentle presence of a Mother.
I was born into a humble Catholic family in Cochin, Kerala, India, where my father was a carpenter and my mother a homemaker. With only primary education, my parents could not guide me in my studies, and poverty often limited opportunities.
At the age of seven, I turned to the Holy Mother as my spiritual mother and to Infant Jesus as my closest friend, asking them to guide me in learning and in life. From childhood, the Holy Mass, the Rosary, and Eucharistic Adoration became the pillars of my strength.
I begin each day with the Rosary and strive to attend the Holy Eucharist as often as possible. My deepest desire is to devote my life to the Holy Mother through Santo Catholic Mission, working every waking hour in her service.
My Promise to Sweet Little Jesus
The day I borrowed a Mother
My father was a carpenter, and during my childhood days his daily wages were around 37 Indian Rupees per day — meaning less than 50 cents. During those days, I used to watch television programmes at my neighbours’ TVs, as we could not afford a TV at home.
For a poor child from a rural part of India, getting education seemed an impossible dream and a luxury in the early 1990s. Because my parents had just primary school education, I had nobody to teach me at home after school or provide help with my school work. Nobody in our neighbourhood had passed grade 10, so I had nobody to guide me in my studies and career.
But still I dreamed about education. And I was always envious of some of my friends in my school who had their moms to help with studies. One day, I asked my mother for help with studies and she started crying. My mother is a very emotional person, and she always had an ‘inferiority feeling’ that she is not capable of helping her children with studies. So she said,
“I don’t know how to teach my son. You go and pray to Holy Mother and she will guide you.”
When my mother tells me something, I obey her. So I ran to our neighbourhood chapel with the holy rosary of my grandmother. And knelt down before the Holy Mother and Infant Jesus and cried out loud:
“Oh my sweet Jesus, I have nobody to help with studies. Can I borrow your mother to help me with studies? If you can help me to learn and study, as I get more education, know more languages and travel to different places, I will tell everyone about you!”
That much desire I had in my heart for education. From that day onwards, I began to consider the Holy Mother as my spiritual mother, and mentor who guided me throughout my life. Ever since that day, I always carried my Holy Rosary with me all the time and hold onto it every time when I study — as if I am holding onto the hands of my own mother.
I am not sure how to explain my love for the Holy Mother. Holy Mother and Jesus mean everything to me. Everything. I live every moment for them.
The Little Donkey of Jesus
“No matter what others may say about you or how abandoned and rejected you may feel, God still needs you.”
Growing up in sincere devotion to the Holy Family and the Catholic saints, I always dreamed of becoming a Catholic priest or missionary. As much as I longed to fulfil that calling, my responsibility as the only son of my parents meant I had to choose an ordinary life in order to provide for them.
The story of the Donkey in the Bible has been remarkable to me since I was a child. My Sunday School teacher taught us that Jesus' choosing of the abandoned donkey was a message from God: that He uses all kinds of people, even those who feel forgotten and used up, because we each have something to offer Him on His journey through our lives.
Those teachings kept motivating me that one day I would become the ‘Donkey of Jesus’, to carry Him everywhere I go.
Parish Journey
Every parish, in order
My Catholic Life
Faith practised daily, in three countries.
Growing up in a devout Catholic household, he learned and practised the prayers and teachings of the faith from an early age — holding the Holy Mother and St. Joseph as spiritual parents and Infant Jesus as his best friend.
Baptised at St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church, Aroor, Alappuzha, Kerala, in September 1984. Every single day begins with a Holy Rosary, and Holy Mass is offered as often as it can be.
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