DIVINE MERCY
RETREAT CENTRE GOA

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Title: Humbled by the Word of God.
Scripture: Lue 14:11 "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
1 Pet 5:6 "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."

Riding high on the horse of success (like Saul in the Bible), I was thrown to the ground in 2014! I cried, " Why me? I have done everything right, why me?" I wept, and I slept wanting to wake up no more, until one day, the Divine Mercy picture, which a friend had given me, flashed before my eyes and tears rolled down my face and I searched for my God! God led me to the Logos retreat house, Bangalore where I met Fr. Joy, gentle and kind. Being a student of science I had many questions, and having read all or many of the self-help books, Robin Sharma, Paulo Coelho, Wayne Dyer and the likes, except the Bible, Fr. Joy, left an indelible mark on my mind when he said I was like the doubting Thomas! I had no clue of what that meant then, but the seed was sown! Every time there was a retreat in Goa, I did not attend the retreat, but I surely met Fr.Joy for a few minutes. He never once forced me to come for a retreat but like he always gently reminded me when there was one. I had a thirst for the Word then and sought out the people who could teach me more. I learnt, but slowly, about what God was trying to teach me through His Word and my circumstances.

I attended a retreat at Pilar in 2022 conducted by Fr.Joy and his team and experienced a different aspect of my faith. There were people gifted with spiritual knowledge to help, a fact I did not know. There was music (an art I was always drawn to) to reinforce the faith and of course, there was the gentle Fr. Joy who was there for me! A beautiful soul! It was then, that I brushed against Sr. Geeba, Br. Jimmy, and the walking encyclopedia of the Bible, Br. Francis and I wanted to know more but, life happened and it was left for another time.

I believe that God always has a time for those who place their trust in Him and this time, my heart was restless. It was stirred up and I knew I needed a retreat. I attended the retreat at Pilar with Fr Joy and his team and I enjoyed my time there and found my peace. The retreat was so well organized by the volunteers, Sr.Jyoti, and Sr. Karen helping with minimal words, and the loud yet relevant and apt music, by Br. Brian. Prayers in the hall and intercessory prayers by volunteers praying elsewhere, I could make a wonderful inner healing retreat going through various stages of the healing of my body, mind and soul, cleansing the soul by the precious blood of Jesus and imbibing the Spirit of my God. I am renewed in the Spirit of my God and I have been taught how to take care of various issues in my life using the LIFE-GIVING WORD of my Jesus! The experience was so exhilarating, that I thought I could stay there forever, but, did the disciples not feel the same too at the transfiguration? I could not contain God's gifts in me in a tent, I had to come down from my tent at the retreat, back into the world and spread the love I received for all to see, the love of my Jesus, through me.
I know falls will not stop here, I will fall again, perhaps, I pray that it is not too hard then, but I know where I can go to when I do fall, where there is Joy, (Fr. Joy) and I will find my peace restored once again!

Thank you Fr Joy and your wonderful team for helping me have this wonderful experience at your retreat from 11th to the 14th of April 2024. I will continue to pray that you and your team will touch many more hearts. There are many loud preachers, that is good too but there is one soft and calm preacher and that is you, Fr Joy! God bless and multiply your fold!

Title: Miraculously saved from an accident by the hand of God.
Scripture: Jer 24: 6-7 “ I will set my eyes upon them for good”

It was a Saturday afternoon. I attended a retreat at Porvorim, where Fr. Joy was preaching the Word of God- Jeremiah 24: 6-7 “I will set my eyes upon them for good”. While preaching Fr.Joy said, “The eyes of the Lord are upon you for good Lydia.” These words touched my heart and I felt the Lord was speaking directly to me through Fr. Joy. A few days later my husband and I were both travelling on the bike and I was wearing a cap bought from the Holy Land. There was some loose gravel and stones and the bike skidded and we both fell off the bike. I fell backwards on my head. I thought my head was broken. But the cap protected me from any head injury. My Lord saved me and he proved that his eyes were upon me. My husband escaped without any head injury as he had his helmet on. As I tried to move I felt some pain in my head and my back and I screamed ‘JESUS CHRIST’. As I called the name of the Lord all the pain vanished. I give all glory to Jesus Christ and Mother Mary.
- Lydia Lobo (Goa, India)

Title: Physical Healing from Involuntary Movements
Scripture: James 5:14-15: "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.

I had been suffering from organic movements ie. shivering of hands or strain on the neck especially during prayers though I was undergoing physiotherapy. When I inquired, I was told it's natural when a person tries to concentrate on something. But my movements did not cease and it became a distraction to those around me, especially while attending meditative retreats. I messaged Rev. Fr. Joy requesting his prayers. Miraculously the very next day all these movements vanished completely. Praise the Lord. Thank you Fr. Joy for your prayers.
- Sr. Lucy.
Mr. Paul Fernandes was diagnosed with diabetes and had to take insulin once or twice a day, by the power of Fr. Joy’s powerful prayers and God's blessings he has been healed completely within two months. Praise the Lord.
- Sr. Lucy.

Title: False allegations and visa cleared
Scripture: Isa 43 1-3: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire,  you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

My son was stuck in UK without a visa. He was falsely accused by his wife, who withdrew the case but did not delete the false allegations recorded. Within 20 days of the case, she came to India and refused to go back to the UK. Hence the false allegations against my son were not deleted. Non-deletion of false allegations records meant no visa, difficulty to continue with his PhD and difficulty in getting a job. On 8th May I approached Fr. Joy at his residence at Porvorim. I poured my heart to him regarding the difficulties that my son was facing in getting a UK visa to do his PhD in mechanical engineering. Fr. Joy listened attentively and asked to read Isaiah 43:1-3, and thereafter prayed for the visa issue to be resolved. Today my son received the good news that he will now be legally allowed to study and work in UK till April 2028. Praise to Jesus Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! May Almighty God with His son Jesus and the Holy Spirit be glorified forever and ever. Thank you Fr. Joy. May your good work continue to reach out to those in need.
- From a grateful father

Title: Withstanding the flames of personality disorder.
Scripture: Isa 40: 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

My son was not in a proper frame of mind after his SSC result. By the time he reached class 12, doctors detected a mental disorder and personality disorder. We were shattered. As the final board exams neared, we thought he would fail as he used to sleep around 15 hrs. He was depressed, anxious and fearful of exams. He scored very poorly in his prelims. Time was running out for boards. On 12th Feb (Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes) I was directed to see Fr. Joy. I clearly remember I typed a message to Fr.Joy asking for an appointment. And after an hour I deleted all the same, since I never had heard of these retreats by Fr.Joy. I lacked faith. However the next morning. I was stunned to see Father’s message saying I could come to meet him. I took my son to meet Father. Father prayed over my son with the cross. I didn't find anything special. But that night my son opened his books by 10 pm and studied till 1 am. From then onwards he continued studying and finally answered his board exams. On the last day of his exam, he had a panic attack but he completed his board exam. We continued praying for my son and so did the intercessors at the Divine Retreat for his recovery and successful result. We are praising God for his success in his exams. At the moment he can carry on his life very well with medication and has now applied for civil engineering. We praise and thank God and surrender our son into his hands.
- By N. P.

All glory and honour to our Lord Jesus Christ

I answered my Neet post graduate entrance exam this year and passed with an excellent rank. With this rank I was blessed with admission at 3 places - a gynaecology seat in all India, Pediatric seat in St Johns Banglore and Pediatric seat in Goa medical college. I chose to pursue MD Pediatrics in GMC. During my preparation I have been regularly attending the half day Saturday retreats in Provorim and have also attended two residential retreats in pillar. During one Saturday service, Fr Febin had prophesied taking my name that God is blessing me with a seat and indeed he has fulfilled His promises. I sincerely want to thank Fr Joy, Fr Febin and all the intercessors for their constant prayers and blessings.
- By Dr Cibeola

2024 Divine Mercy Retreat Centre

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