GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE | KAIROS GLOBAL | MAY 2021

Author: Jims Alackel

Intro: A dream job that materialized when least expected. Jims Alackel tells us of how God has worked the impossible in his life.

Our God is a God of the impossible – this is something I completely believe and trust. I have been journeying with the JY movement for almost fourteen years and throughout, this belief has deepened my faith through various experiences. I am not a fan of the sentence, ‘It is not possible,’ especially when it comes to planning and envisioning youth initiatives, since I know that with the Lord, everything is possible, and the battle belongs to him. 

All my life, instead of my seeking an encounter with Jesus, it has rather been Jesus constantly seeking me out and changing me in different ways. In 2007, through a Discipleship Training Programme (DTP), I witnessed many young missionaries and contemporaries who were passionate about God and evangelisation, and this challenged me as well. There were many elders of the movement, who journeyed with me as mentors and helped build my relationship with Jesus. From early on, God gave me a strong passion for reaching out to more people for him. One of my favourite quotes and prayer is from St. John Bosco, ‘Give me souls and take away the rest.’ God has been faithful to this prayer and has given me a lot of opportunities and taken me to different places. 

One of my prayers towards the end of my Engineering studies in India was for a job through which I could glorify and proclaim God each day, which would sustain me financially as well. I never imagined such a job could actually exist and the prayer eventually got forgotten. 

After working in India for a couple of years, I moved to Canada for my Master’s in Engineering from the University of Ottawa. The period after the course was not easy. Despite applying for many jobs across Canada, I could not find one. My email inbox had more application-rejection emails, while my batchmates were working with good companies. Nevertheless, the fellowship within the movement helped me to be in good spirits and I never took a step back from the ministry and responsibilities God had given me. Being the zonal coordinator during that time, I knew God had a plan. After 27 months of joblessness, I came to know about a Youth Coordinator opening for the Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas through some of my friends who had done a one-month mission there. It came as a shock, because I could only imagine such a job. I did not have the required educational qualification but what I did have was my availability for God and the experience of working with youth. A full-time job in youth ministry, to bring Christ to youth in the indigenous communities in Northern Canada. This was a missionary diocese, one of the largest dioceses by area in Canada and I would mainly be working with the native people of Canada. God again showed me that nothing was impossible by answering the prayer I made eight years ago. This is now my third year with the Archdiocese and God has tremendously blessed me in all areas of life.

It does not matter to God how talented you are and how capable you are, he only needs our availability, the rest he can provide or work around. I am not good at public speaking, music or being on stage, but I am available to God and he has been using me wherever and however he requires. Much of my ministry is being available – to talk, to spend time and to pray. Even during this Covid situation, God has been beautifully using me to bring his Good News, giving me many opportunities to proclaim him through online programmes, parish outreaches, prayer initiatives, training and workshops. 

Our journey with the Lord is never an easy one, so too for me. There were plenty of hurdles, roadblocks and speed-breakers along the way but it was the formation and fellowship which helped me overcome them. The love I developed for Holy Communion and Confession was one of the strongest pillars in my life. Early on in the movement, I had asked for the grace to attend Holy Mass and Jesus has blessed me ever since, even during the Covid restrictions. I was able to attend Holy Mass daily being put up at the Bishop’s House. He is faithful to his promises and if there is a lapse, it is only because of my fault; he always gives me the options. I embrace the confessional so often that I know I am unworthy to receive him into my soul. I get all my strength and comfort from the sacraments. I have hit rock bottom many times and thought there was no way back, but when I turn to Jesus, I know he can bring me back to him. When I look at the life of King David, St. Paul and St. Augustine, it gives me hope and courage to trust more and more in his mercy. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool (Isaiah 1: 18).

Another big blessing I have received has been good friendships and brotherhood. There were many times in my life when I was low, and God sent me help through friends. Their presence, without judgement during difficult times has helped me immensely. The genuine love and warmth that I have experienced, is also something I try to practice. 

Over the years God have given me opportunities to get to know and work closely with different youth movements and organisations such as CCO, NET Ministries of Canada, Canadian Catholic Youth Ministry Network (CCYMN) and Western Canadian Association of Catholic Youth Ministers (WCAYAM) but the JY movement stands out. Here, everyone is welcome, and we have the strong fellowship that helps us to grow in spirituality. The main aspect which captured my heart was the freedom to reach out to more and more people to draw them to God. The movement is a good platform to bring people to Jesus and community. 

Jims Alackel is the National Coordinator of Canada and works as a Youth Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Keewatin – Le Pas. An engineer by profession, he lives in Canada.