Prøve GULL - Gratis

A Contract for a Miracle!

Outlook

|

August 01, 2024

The Kreupasanam Marian Shrine in Kerala is in the business of miracles through a divine’ newspaper

- Shahina K K

A Contract for a Miracle!

THE Kreupasanam Marian Shrine was teeming with devotees, a sea of faces marked by grief, desperation and faith. In the crowded hall, a line of people eagerly awaited their turn to give their testimonials, sharing stories of 'miracles' that had changed their lives. Their voices, sometimes cracking with emotion, filled the air with tales of miraculous healings, unexpected financial blessings and deliverance from addiction. As they spoke, the crowd listened intently, tears streaming down many faces, moved by the power of the 'divine interventions'. On the other side, a solemn procession formed a queue before a priest, who was carrying a vessel of holy water. One by one, he blessed each devotee, pouring the 'sacred water' on to their heads, murmuring prayers for healing and relief. The mood was hysteric and the atmosphere was thick with the scent of incense and the sound of sobs, as people brought their problems-grief, diseases, debt, and addictions-before the altar, seeking solace and redemption.

Forty-six-year-old Ramya Mohan, while standing on the dais in the shrine, weeps as she testifies about the miracles the Kreupasanam Marian Shrine has bestowed in her life. A few years ago, she lost her three-year-old son in an accident and she too was severely injured. Being a devotee of Kreupasanam Shrine, she often asked Mother Mary why she had been given such a curse in her life. She was told that her child was sent to a better place where he is more secure and safe. Later, her health gradually improved. She received the answer from the 'divine force' that every bad thing in life is a test by the Almighty. Ramya said she was a Hindu by birth and finds peace of mind every time she comes to the church for serving the 'covenant prayer'.

Outlook

Denne historien er fra August 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.

Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.

Allerede abonnent?

FLERE HISTORIER FRA Outlook

Outlook

Outlook

The White Lies Mughals

The new NCERT history textbook is undermining multiplicity and criticality, dispelling any possibility of dialogue, debate, or discussion

time to read

4 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

The Politics of ‘Push Back’

More than 300 Bengali-speaking Muslims from Assam were forced to go to Bangladesh in the past couple of weeks. The state calls them illegal immigrants. But are they?

time to read

5 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

Behind the Façade: Mental Health and the Cost of Academic Pressure

The rising toll - India's most prestigious universities are home to excellence, aspiration-and increasingly, emotional turmoil. Student suicides, once considered isolated tragedies, are becoming distressingly common.

time to read

3 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

Stolen Lives, Buried Truths

What happens when the police chase the illusion of justice, not the truth?

time to read

5 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

The Ghosts are not Silent

The Indian cemetery in Gaza and the Indian government's silence on the genocide

time to read

6 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

Those Suspected Citizens

A year after the Citizenship Amendment Act, citizenship screening still scares Bengali Hindus, as evident from the panic over the 'anti-migrant drive' and voter list revision

time to read

5 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

Rethinking Decolonisation

In defiance of the Western gaze and the dominance of Euro-American institutions, the Bihar Museum Biennale creates space for museums of the Global South to lead the cultural conversation

time to read

5 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

The Waiting Room

India's bloated system of justice has a silent, devastated majority: the undertrials

time to read

7 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

Divided They Speak

The Valley is wary of Hindi and non-Kashmiri indigenous languages such as Dogri of Jammu, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party pushes for both, against the official dominance of Urdu

time to read

6 mins

August 11, 2025

Outlook

Outlook

Carpet Sahib & the Ghosts

Strange moving lights, the churail’s scream from a deserted village, unseen terror ... Jim Corbett did not encounter man-eaters alone; he also had a faceoff with ghosts and supernatural powers

time to read

5 mins

August 11, 2025