TESTIMONY 62

TESTIMONY 62

Name: Ms. Mariamma 

Surname: Parabatina 

Date & Place of Birth: 70 years old, Manikonda 

Profession / Occupation: House wife 

Address: Manikonda Village, Unguturu Mandal, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh State 

Relationship: Direct Witness 

Date of Written Witness: 2006

My name is Mariamma Parabatina. My village is Manikonda. I have seen that Brother Joseph Thamby was compassionate and loving towards the children. At the age of 25, I came to know Brother Joseph Thamby and saw him wearing the brown habit. I noticed that when some children threw stones at him, he did not show any anger. When some children called him ‘mad-man’, their parents scolded them. Knowing this, Brother Joseph Thamby told them not to scold the children, and that they are innocent. He was heroically patient and considered children innocent. 

Brother Joseph Thamby had the extraordinary gift of stigmata and I had seen him in his agony. I offered myself to wipe the blood from his bleeding wounds, but whenever I asked him, he strongly discouraged me from doing so. 

My husband used to drink alcohol. When I was crying, Brother consoled me saying that your husband will change. Soon he stopped drinking and takes care of the family well. He has no timings for sleep. He used to wake up early morning by 3 or 4o clock. He used to pray a lot. We used to offer him something to eat, but miraculously the eatable used to increase in quantity. 

When the villagers quarrel, he used to advise them not to quarrel. He used to pacify people in their problems. He was here in our village 3 to 4 months and then went to Avutapally. He is a very good man. At least one in every family is named after Joseph Thamby.