TESTIMONY 67

TESTIMONY 67

Name: Ms. Ruthamma 

Surname: Gode 

Date & Place of Birth: 70 years old, Vatluru 

Profession / Occupation: House wife 

Address: Calderaro Nagar, Peddavutapally Village, Unguturu Mandal, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh State 

Relationship: Direct Witness 

Date of Written Witness: 2006 

My name is Ruthamma; I knew Brother Joseph Thamby since my childhood days. When I was 10 years old, some children and I used to walk with him. He loved the children and liked their company. 

He had tender love for the poor people and was ready to eat what they offered. One day as we were walking, some boys stoned at us. Immediately, together with Brother Joseph Thamby, we ran and took refuge in an old woman’s house. On seeing that old woman, Brother Joseph Thamby asked her, with his broken Telugu language, ‘Mother, give me something to eat’. She replied, ‘I have nothing to give you’. Then Brother Joseph Thamby said that he was hungry and by all means to give him something to eat. ‘I don’t have anything with me, there is no one to support me; then how could I give you something to eat?’ she sadly explained to Brother Joseph Thamby. ‘Did you not bring with you rice just now? I wish to share with you a little of it? You are hiding this from me’ he said. The old lady exclaimed, ‘How could you know this?’ With a gentle smile on his face, he said, ‘I know it’. Soon she brought some cooked rice in a plate and a little pickle along with it. The Servant of God thanked her and ate it. After this, while returning he left me at my home and Brother Joseph Thamby went to the Church. And I still remember everything of those days. 

The servant of God had the spiritual gift of knowing the hidden things. When some children and I moved to another part of our village with Brother Joseph Thamby, he visited a house and asked the couple, ‘What did you have for lunch?’ They answered that they had nothing to eat. Then Brother Joseph Thamby asked them, ‘Did they have any curry with them for lunch?’ The old couple admitted the truth, and brought some rice along with a little fish curry. Brother Joseph Thamby had only two pieces of fish and thanked them and ate it. 

I have great faith in the intercessory prayers of Brother Joseph Thamby. After my marriage at the age of 18, one day a speck fell in my eye and it turned up into severe ailment for a week. During a ‘Eucharistic celebration’, I pleaded Brother Joseph Thamby to obtain healing for me. By the time we finished chanting the ‘Our Father’, I was instantaneously healed from the ailment. Since then I, together with my husband regularly visit the shrine of the Servant of God. 

Ms. Ruthamma Gode 

2006