Marbaniang, Domenic

Honorable Director, Respected Chief Guest, Principal, Teachers, and Dear Friends: It gives me great honor to speak on the occasion of the 66th Independence Day Celebration of India. As we know, our country went through various phases of foreign domination, finally falling subject to the British Crown, before we saw the Sun of Freedom rise over our nation. But we were never slaves to anyone. In our minds we were always a free spirit. Mahatma Gandhi said, "The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. Freedom and slavery are mental states." Freedom begins within, first, then comes in action externally. The Austrian psychologist Viktor Frankl said, "Forces beyond control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation." This sense and life of freedom, subject only to the Law of God, to the Law of Justice, Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity, is the spring and fountain...

Anne Frank (12 June 1929 – early March 1945) From The Diary of Anne Frank WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1944 ...... I don't believe the war is simply the work of politicians and capitalists. Oh no,the common man is every bit as guilty; otherwise, people and nations would have re- belled long ago! There's a destructive urge in people, the urge to rage, murder and kill. And until all of humanity, without exception, undergoes a metamorphosis, wars will continue to be waged, and everything that has been carefully built up, cultivated and grown will be cut down and destroyed, only to start allover again! I've often been down in the dumps, but never desperate. I look upon our life in hiding as an interesting adventure, full of danger and romance, and every privation as an amusing addition to my diary. I've made up my mind to lead a different life from other girls, and not to become an ordinary housewife later on. What I'm experiencing here is a good beginning to an interesting life, ...

THE YOUNG WARRIOR stood motionless On the bloodied ground where battle Had raged yesterday with vehemence Of heat and sound; of flashing metal Clashing, slicing, piercing, battering, Flying, falling, striking, slaughtering Men and women in the battle of pride, Filling the air with blood curdling cries As bodies fell one after the other with sighs – All now calmed; the violence, stilled; the battle, won. “But, what did I win here?” the Prince thought, As his eyes gazed around the tormenting scene Of strewn bodies that had once valiantly fought A battle of dignity and the right to be rightly free; “What have I gained now?” the Prince sighed, “An open grave, a banquet to worms and vultures, A treat to hyenas.” “It’s not so,” the devil lied “They deserved this for being against your culture!” A little child came walking with tears in his eyes; “My remorse shall equal all my sin,” the Prince began… “For every act of violence that I have done, Ten thousand acts of non-violence shall I return...

"But what was it that delighted me save to love and to be loved?" - St. Augustine, Confessions. From the depths of infinite eternity, One would expect some dark, deep, ditch of emptiness; But, that depth is filled with Divinity Of the Triune God, in eternal mutuality, LOVE Himself! From the spring of this Mutuality Was patterned the Human Community, In the image and likeness of God, In the very figure of LOVE Himself. The essence of Mutuality: One soul in two bodies, Mutual procession, each from the other, Selfless spirit, two individualities; Two for sure, but relationally one. By two and two, that’s the order; For, the lone man is an abyss of emptiness; Void, devoid of the presence of an other, Void, devoid of the sense of one with another. In mutuality does one discover one’s identity; One is always one in relation to another – Who you are is who you mean to someone; What you become is what you become in relation to another. Just two Laws did God ordain: Love God, Love fel...

The kind of "believe in yourself" that is dangerous is the one that: Is out of connection with reality, fact, or truth. Is wishful and presumptuous. Tends towards absolute autonomy, as if one has no need of anybody else (oblivious of the fact that man is a very contingent and dependent being). Believes that knowledge of self alone defines fulfillment in life. Is disconnected from God: from His Truth, His Love, and His Power. "The church's concept of faith has been corrupted by our American culture. People in this country have been feeding on a demonic gospel of self-esteem, self-worth, self-help. We've been told, "Believe in yourself." Then add to that our obsession with "instant everything" -- instant meals, instant drinks, instant information, instant gratification." - David Wilkerson, Delivered From This Present Evil World "THOROUGHLY worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims whi...

A Story by Domenic Marbaniang © 2012 “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes… Then each one’s praise will come from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5) The Stadium was filled with cheers, applauses, and feverish excitement. The runners all took positions and geared up waiting for the signal shot. Gerald sensed the sublimity too. The seconds of time between the start and finish line of the 100 meter track was all the reality that meant everything to him. All of space-time was crammed therein for him now. He felt highly elated. After seven years of rigorous training, throughout which his formidable form had emerged as the unbeatable image to all, he was now on the test to prove to the world that it now had the giant of athletics it had long been waiting for. He had watched the other competitors and marked their dispositions. Some looked quite confident. He scoffed at them in his heart. In his heart he said to them, “This will be the day to break your pride, man!” There were one or two...

“Love…keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) (Written for a Youth Magazine forthcoming) The scenic valley of the Satpura range in Central India bustled with fresh streams, chirping birds, grazing cattle, and woodcutters chopping wood in the forest. A few women were gathering the yellow flowers that fell from the Mahua ( Madhuca Longifolia )trees that were all over the forest. The nearby fields were all ready for harvest and one could see little boys and girls, with school bags on their back, singing and hooting and hurrying along the hedges of the fields to the little Government School in the village. But, little Ashruti, seven years old, walked very slowly with head bowed down, a frown on her face, and swollen cheeks. She didn’t seem to be in a very happy mood. From her little shack in the distance, made of mud walls and a thatched roof, her mother watched her walk very sadly away. She was, evidently, sad about her daughter that day. She had been angry with Ashruti and had s...

From Mere Christianity, Book 2, Chapter 4: Perfect Penitent Now before I became a Christian I was under the impression that the first thing Christians had to believe was one particular theory as to what the point of this dying was. According to that theory God wanted to punish men for having deserted and joined the Great Rebel, but Christ volunteered to be punished instead, and so God let us off. Now I admit that even this theory does not seem to me quite so immoral and so silly as it used to; but that is not the point I want to make. What I came to see later on was that neither this theory nor any other is Christianity. The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start. Theories as to how it did this are another matter. A good many different theories have been held as to how it works; what all Christians are agreed on is that it does work. I will tell you what I think it is like. All sensible people know that if you are ti...

One has not even begun to walk until one has first taken his cross- his own cross