An introduction to “A Tribute”
It’s interesting how little we consider the lives of others until our lives, with theirs, are no longer intertwined. Perhaps we acknowledge their existence, give them their due of our company, but it’s only after their deaths, or amidst that pivotal awareness of detachment between our two lives, that we even begin to contemplate that other life and the richness with which it was fulfilled.
I write this book as a story of a priest who loved unconditionally, but more importantly as the story of my brother, whose life I contemplated myself, mere days upon the realization that he was no longer with us. Within the week of his death, on a lonely flight to India, it was in those moments that memories, the product of such reflections, rested heavily on my mind. The product of those memories was this book, with the stubborn persistence that I harbored that such memories must never dissolve away.
My brother and my hero, Father Tom
My brother Fr. Thomas Plathottam had a special gift from God to understand and interact with people of diverse backgrounds. It’s the story of a missionary who made a difference in people’s lives through his work and touched their lives in a unique way. He was a true follower of Jesus. I decided to write this book because in his life story, I saw how nothing is impossible with the Holy Spirit.
I hope this book will inspire others, especially seminarians, priests, missionaries, laypeople and other Christians from all over the world, as my brother’s life inspired me.
A Tribute 