"We are living in a society that has lost the experience of God. At a time when purity of life is not important. Days pass with no place given to God's plan and holy will in one's life. Yet God is calling man: "Walk before me, and be blameless" (Gen 17:1). God is saying this to every human being. Still, people are going their own way with an insatiable competitive spirit." This is the great sorrow weighing on Thomas Paul's heart.

Thomas Paul is the eldest of the seven childern born to Thomas Paul Kodiyan and Anuakutty. The name Thomas Paul, combining the faith of St Thomas and the apostolic spirit of St Paul, is a tradition in the family. His wife is Valsa and his childern are Vidya and James. He did all his studies - he is an engineer - in Kerala and then worked in Calcutta, Jamshedpur, Vishakapatnam, Madras, Mysore, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Mumbai.

"When I received the anointing of the Spirit, I experienced great joy and enthusiasm. The desire began to grow - to share his experience with others. I began preaching. The responsibilities of my job weighed me down, proving an obstacle to my preaching. So I left my job. I prepared myself for the great mandate God had given me by personal prayer, constant meditation on the word of God and intense study of the encyclicals and the teachings of the Church. Thus, the ministry of the word of God, begun in North India, began to widen. At this time complete dependence on God's power and humble acceptance of God's will in every circumstance of life, helped me grow in this experience." As he said this, Thomas Paul's face shone with divine joy. He is fully convinced that it is nothing but God's mercy that enabled him to develop so much in so short a time.

Though it was in the diocese of Jabalpur that the ministry of the word first began, he was soon guided into various other parts of North India.

He preached in mission stations in the dioceses of Jabalpur, Raipur and Nagpur, with great zeal. "Those were the days of great joy in my life." Later, Bilaspur, Delhi, Ajmer, Khandwa, Patna, Mumbai, Mysore and Kerala became, in turn, the venue of his apostolate. As he said this facial expression revealed how fulfilling these experiences have been to him.

"We must make Evangelisation 2000 a great event. The Pope's goal is the goal of the Church. All the people of the world must come to know Jesus. Mt 24:14 says, " This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come." All the Christian denominations of the Universal Church must, together, work hard to present to Jesus in the third millennium, a renewed human race through the proclamation of the Good News of the kingdom of God. Thus a new heaven and a new earth must come into existence. This is what Evangelisation 2000 means. This is the mandate given to every Christian. Christians in Kerala today number 20% of the population, that is, one among five people is a Christian. If this one Christian preaches the Gospel of Jesus to the other four, the whole of Kerala will be evangelised. In the whole of India there is only 2.5% Christians. That is, one among forty people is a Christian. If this single person preaches Jesus to the other thirty nine others, the whole of India will be evangelised. It is Jesus Christ, who has all power in heaven and earth, who has given us this command: 'Go therefore and make deciples of all nations... And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age' (Mt 28:19-20).

"Each one of us must sholder this responsibility. The Lord will give us all the graces necessary to carry it out. So there is no need for anyone to feel anxious about how far Evagelisation 2000 is going to succeed. 'Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom' (Lk 12:32).

If anyone says that after all these retreats and prayers there has been no change at all in my society, he is mistaken. The change is evident from the way today's society is yearning and thirsting to receive the word of God. The number of people who come to participate in retreats and conventions is on the increase. There is transformation in the lives of individuals and families. If that is the case, there is change in society too, certainly. Individuals are the basic units of society. When they change, society changes. Several evangelisers bring others to this spiritual transformation. Thus the kingdom of God spreads. This is very clear when we compare the situation that existed ten years ago with the present situation. In everyone there is love for the word of God. People, young and old, even little childern, show a desire to read the word of God. There is an increase of joy and peace in families.

"Numerous non-Christians now believe in Jesus. These are the repercussions of the change taking place. 'I am the one who has to change.' If only each individual realised this and resolved to change, things would become easier. This is my aim. Therefore I work for personal holiness. 'Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord". We read again, 'This is the will of God, your sanctification' (1 Thes 4:3). 'God did not call us to impurity but in holiness' . Joshua told the Israelites, 'Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you' (Josh 3:5). If wonders must take place in our lives we must sanctify ourselves. God our father sent his son to this earth, so that through him we may be sanctified. That is why much stress is laid on personal holiness in this retreat.

"Those who attend retreats must be people who pray constantly so that they may not go astray again. Personal prayer and a Sacramental life are absolutely necessary so that there is no flagging in zeal but a quickening of the spirit. There must be daily renewal in our life. Or else our spiritual state will become worse than it was formerly.

"In inner renewal of life, the individuals who influenced me most are St Paul, St Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa. Their lives were burning with zeal. What I try constantly is to make their experience mine. They have also influenced me in my ministry of the word. All the same, over and above everything else, Jesus' mercy and love revealed in his words, 'My grace is sufficient for you.' have made me what I am.

"I work hard fully aware that the opportunity given to me to preach the word to many thousands, is a very great privilage. Since I conduct retreats in English, Malayalam and Hindi, days are not enough. My desire is to proclaim Jeasus till the end of my life. I conduct retreats in mission areas without accepting any remuneration. The reason is that eveyone must come to know Jesus. That is the primary mandate given to the Church. That is also the primary mandate given to me, a member of the Church.

"Priests and religious are zealous people. Is that not the reason why they have given up everything in life and are committed to work for the spread of the kingdom of heaven? We need to pray for them daily. I do it. It is the Holy Spirit who is guiding the Church and the members of the Church. I believe that the Holy Spitit is guiding the Church excellently. If we examine the history of the Church in the past two thousand years, we will find that the most powerful action of the Spirit is taking place in this century - and that through the Second Vatican Council. This council led the Church to a new universal Pentecost experience. The waves of that Pentecost experience are what we see. They are seen in the efforts being made for the evangelisation of the whole world.

"I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another" (Jn 15:17). This is the command the Lord has given to the Church and the childern of the Church. Only if this command is oberved to the letter, will the kingdom of heaven spread. "Owe no one anything, except to love one another" (Rom 18:8).

"I receive a good deal of encouragement from Church authorities, all the bishops, priests and religious, who have gladly and lovingly supported me, have played an important role in making me what I am. I am therefore obliged to pray for them daily. Anytime I am asked to conduct a retreat for them, I am ready. Even if there is only one person in the audience, because that one person may effect the salvation of several.

"As I have already said, the strength of my life of faith and evangelisation work, is constant prayer coupled with the study of the Scriptures. The words of Jesus, 'Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation,' are a lamp for my steps in every circumstance of my life. This life is fully surrendered to him."

With these words Thomas Paul, a vessel of election, concluded the interview.

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