It
is a new year - the last year of the first decade of a new
millennium.
What
is new in this new year? We'll know soon if we'll have a new
international deal on climate change. Somethings will be new
in Fr General's Curia (See p. 20). Jivan will have a new editorial
office. Handing over the New Leader back to the archdiocese
of Madras-Mylapore and its office to my successor, I am moving
to Loyola College, Chennai. The Culture and Communications
Centre in Loyola, in the oldest building in the campus, will
serve as Jivan editorial office. So please note the new mailing
address.
What is new in this issue? We are beginning a new column called
'Young Voices' (See p.16) in order to present the views of
young Jesuits in formation. They are the future of the Society.
So what they think and feel matters a lot, right? What do
you think? Hope our young people will keep this column going.
I know it is difficult to get today's youth to write. Theirs
is more a visual culture. So a film or video will appeal to
them more than a book or a magazine. Further they are busy,
burdened with anxieties about academic performance and expectations
of formators, battling doubts and distractions, obliged to
find time for prayer and studies. In spite of the early training
in formation houses, many, though comfortable with local languages,
find English different and difficult.
But this may be a good occasion to voice their views, without
worrying about the language. May I invite our young people
to get in touch with Benedict Santosh, SJ, the young Jesuit
at De Nobili, who won twice the Jivan award for creative writing.
May I request our formators to encourage their wards to write
and tell us what they think.
The first cover story describes a bold, new initiative undertaken
by a Jesuit in a place that will scare any sensible person
away - a region that has become synonymous with terror unleashed
by foreign terrorists and local militants and army excesses.
What Fr Joseph Kalathil has managed to do in Jammu-Kashmir
in three years is just the unfolding of a bold, beautiful
dream. What is surprising is that this former Provincial had
to seek exclaustration for three years to try this apostolate.
But what is heartening is the news that the Central Zone of
our Assistancy has taken this up. It means the dream will
not die. Thank God.
New ideas in this issue that might give you food for thought
in the new year are many. Let me point out just two: One comes
from a young Jesuit, Arockia Doss, (See p.16) who says that
many of our present ministries like education and healthcare
will soon lose their relevance, as there are non-Jesuits who
offer much better services today. He argues therefore the
only relevant ministry will be the 'Word of God' ministry.
That means if you want to be relevant your field should be
just religion or spirituality - not education, social action
etc.
The idea that seems to contradict this comes from a Jesuit,
who has seen the world, has been at the top rung of Jesuit
administration and is internationally known as an original,
free thinker. Michael Amaladoss, SJ says (See p. 19) there
will be less and less need for religion in the future. Although
Asia has not become secularized (Godless) like much of Europe,
and we still have "need-based religion for the poor and
palliative religion for the rich and the middle class, ...
true religion remains the concern of a few. This may be true
even for priests and religious," he says. Because the
dimension of transcendence has gone or is going from our lives,
"the relevance of priesthood may also be questioned,"
says Amal. If priesthood is nothing but serving people while
symbolizing the spiritual (God) dimension, how do you, as
a priest, symbolize God in a secularizing world? "Would
we limit our services to the few remaining religious persons"
he asks. New ideas, new questions.
The beautiful poem on p.2 proclaims that all things are new.
It invites us to rejoice over the miraces we will meet, truths
(and joys) that wait for us in unexpected places and smiles
of love on fascinating faces.
A grace-filled new year! May God bless you with a future that
"sings of wondrous things to do"!
Kashmir
was known as 'the paradise on earth'. Anyone who has seen its
beauty will know that it is not an exaggeration. It is so breathtakingly
beautiful. But the beauty of Kashmir is not merely its natural
beauty. Its real beauty is its peace-loving and very hospitable
people. I realized this only after I came here to live in Kashmir
and developed close contacts with Kashmiries.
Now most people believe that the erstwhile 'paradise on earth'
has become in the recent decades a haven of violence and terror,
a hell on earth. But it is not quite true. The media have so
exaggerated the violence that many seem to think that any one
coming to Kashmir would be shot dead!
For the past three years I have been working in Jammu and Kashmir
(J&K) and have been going around practically all over the
state several times. So far no one has shot me down nor any
harm has been done to me. Rather my health has improved a lot.
I am convinced that till my time comes, no one can physically
harm me and when my time comes, wherever I may be and whatever
I may be doing, I will have to go. No power on earth can stop
it. I do not like to live just for the sake of living. I would
prefer to live for just a day as a free man and work for a cause
without fear rather than continue to live on for years aimlessly
as a slave of fear and indecision. We should have a reason to
live - a cause. Here in Kashmir I have found a noble cause to
live for, perhaps the noblest I have ever come across in my
life. It is 'to be an agent of peace'.
Today, violence seems to be the order of the day in some small
pockets of J&K. However, the question is: Do the people
of J&K want it? A very loud and strong 'NO' is their response.
A vast majority of the people of J&K are peace loving people;
they neither subscribe to violence or to militancy nor do they
want them. The people, by and large, want peace and would like
to live in peace. Hence the great challenge for us has been:
'How to respond to the aspirations of the people for peace?'.
We have been searching for a way to establish peace here in
this strife-torn state of J&K since Swamy Sachidananda Bharathi
visited us in June, 2007. Bishop Peter Celestine of Jammu-Srinagar
(J&S) Catholic diocese made good use of the opportunity.
As a fruit of several meetings with several people and organizations,
Jammu-Kashmir Peace Mission (JKPM) emerged as a socio-spiritual
movement initiated by peace-loving people of J&K under the
aegis of the J&S diocese. The Bishop appointed me the Director
and the State Co-ordinator cum Chief Executive of JKPM. Slowly
a small committee was formed with Mr Muni Lal Gupta (a Hindu)
as the President, Mr Shreyans Kumar Jain (a Jain) as the Vice
President, Mr Hamidulla Hamid (a Muslim) and Mr Vikram Singh
(a Sikh) as members of the Governing Body.
We were determined to take it to all the people of the state
of J&K as a very special gift to them. However, it was very
important to win the confidence of all. Everyone had to be convinced
that there was no hidden agenda behind the JKPM. We knew that
honesty and transparency were essential to establish our credibility.
The main objective of this movement is to bring about peace
in J&K by uniting all its people together on one platform
- people of different religions, cultures, political parties
and different mentalities in order to initiate a process of
dialogue among them.
We understood it was really a herculian task. We also slowly
learned to consider all the differences as gifts from God and
use them as complementary to each other, so that by learning
from one another we can grow together and build bridges of peace.
It wasn't easy in the beginning. However we felt the presence
of the Lord very tangibly from the very beginning of this movement.
With his grace and help, the dialogue process progressed more
smoothly than I had expected.
I am convinced that JKPM is of utmost importance, not only for
J&K, but for the whole country, if India has to survive
as a sovereign republic. Politically Pakistan will always make
every effort to create divisions among the peace-loving people
of J&K through supporting and promoting militancy, trying
to exploit religion. The Pakistani army and some of its politicians
feel that it was India that divided their country into Pakistan
and Bangladesh. They want to divide India by supporting the
separatists. If they succeed and Kashmir is separated from India,
next to go will be the seven States of the North East. Punjab
will follow. Slowly the whole country will be disintegrated
into several small republics and you can imagine the consequenes.
Hence JKPM has strategically a very important role to play.
One of the initial difficulties was to have such a movement
based in a 'church'. But slowly the apprehensions that some
had about having such a movement starting from a church were
cleared. They began to give their whole hearted co-operation.
The people slowly became so open that many of the non-christians,
(Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Muslims) even expressed their desire
to visit the church. After seeing it they said, 'How could we
ever know about it unless an opportunity was given to us to
come here to see?'
There were, of course, people who had vested interests and wanted
to take advantage of the occasion and to 'fish in the troubled
waters'. At the same time there were people who came with an
open mind and learned from JKPM. A staunch Hindu girl drew a
picture of Jesus and gave it to me, saying she had begun to
believe in other Gods too.
JKPM had its first meeting on 28 June '07. It was perhaps one
of the most difficult meetings because of two difficult tasks:
first to convince the participants that there was no hidden
agenda behind the JKPM and the second was to face effectively
various accusations and attacks on the institutions run by the
different organizations of the Church. Once again we literally
felt the presence of the Lord who gave us lot of patience. I
learnt that we can win the hearts of people by patiently listening
to them. The participants were given complete freedom to say
whatever they wanted. To the attacks and accusations, my response
was a smile and silence. Soon, our defenders came from among
the participants themselves and they responded to the attackers.
Attackers were pacified and from then on they became our supporters.
Since then we have had over 35 fruitful meetings. All the meetings
were attended by an average of 40 people. Every time about 50%
of the participants were new members. One meeting was held in
a Jain Temple, Talab Tillo; two meetings were held in the Namdhari
Gurudwara near 'the Jewels' in Jammu city; one meeting was held
in a Scout office in Gandhi Nagar, Jammu; one meeting was held
in Maralia villge and the rest of the 30 meetings were held
in the parish hall of St Mary's Garrison Church, Gandhinagar,
Jammu.
Though every effort was made to hold meetings in different religious
and ethnic surroundings and places, many were not ready to hold
peace meetings in their places due to different reasons like
lack of adequate facilities and financial constraints.
However small the group might have been, in general the participation
of those who attended the meetings was very positive and encouraging.
There was always a free exchange of ideas and opinions in a
spirit of 'give and take', though there were some tensions and
apparent dissentions between some groups in some of the meetings.
By and large, the people began to have trust and confidence
in the Bishop and me, and they would listen to us, which helped
to resolve whatever tensions and dissensions we came across.
Dialogue has several aspects. One of the best means of dialogue
is common celebrations of feasts. Hence, soon after launching
the JKPM, we celebrated the Independence Day in the premises
of Jain Mandir in Talab Tillo on 15 August '07 in which Lt.Gen.(Rtd)
Anup Singh Jamwal was the Chief Guest. Over 400 people were
present in the celebrations during which we offered a fairly
good explanation of the newly formed movement of JKPM. We mentioned
that one of its objectives was to initiate a process to create
a 'corruption-free society'. It was welcomed enthusiastically
by the audience, though with much apprehensions and prejudices.
Ten schools participated in the cultural programme. Most of
the expenses of the celebration was met by the Jain community.
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, 2007 after taking part in
the common celebrations held in Mubarak Mandi, Jammu, the JKPM
members visited the children's home in Janipur where over 100
orphans are being educated, and distributed to the inmates fruits
and sweets. On the occasion of Diwali 2007, the members visited
Paramprasad Ashram in Aknoor run by the Sisters of the Birds
of the Air Congregation, where nearly 25 wandering women and
over 15 orphan children are served. All of them, including the
staff, were given a new sweater each. On the occasion of Christmas
2007, the members visited Choti Teresa Ashram in Bakshi Nagar
run by the Brothers of the congregation of the Birds of the
Air, and distributed to about 130 poor inmates and the staff
new sweaters and winter uniforms. All the money came from the
generous efforts of the members.
Having a very successful and enriching experience during the
first six months of JKPM in the year 2007, we began the new
year of 2008 with all enthusiasm and great hope. However the
political situation in J&K became very unstable and very
disturbing. It was an unforeseen challenge for JKPM. However,
with strong faith in God and with trust in people, JKPM took
great risks to face the challenges coming from the disturbed
political situation. The number of peace-loving people began
to increase which gave us more courage and strength.
In all these and in many other ways we felt that the Lord was
with us. I recall the day when I was sitting in the cathedral
church when a man in kakhi shorts, white shirt and a Gandhi
cap with the national flag in his hand walked into the church.
I thought he must be an RSS worker. Out of sheer curiosity I
stopped him to ask who he was. He introduced himself as Dr Karan
Gupta, a government medical officer and an activist against
corruption. I invited him to our JKPM meetings and ever since
he has never missed even a single meeting. He has become one
of our biggest supporters and promoters.
In May 2008 the government of J&K fell due to the issue
of allotment of 800 kanals of land of Amarnath Shrine Board
to make adequate arrangements for the pilgrims who visit the
Amarnath Shiv Temple. The political situation began to grow
from bad to worse. During July-August, 2008 the RSS and the
BJP hijacked the entire Jammu area of ten districts declaring
strikes continuously for 61 days without a break. No offices
could be opened, no market was open, no school could be open,
no public transport was available, most of the ordinary people,
especially the daily labourers, could not go to work and began
to starve. Seeing such a pathetic situation, many of the JKPM
members asked us to do something about it. It was a crucial
time when every one felt completely lost. That was also the
time when we felt the presence and help of the Lord. Trusting
in Him JKPM started inter-religious prayer services - just to
read from the scriptures of various religions and pray according
to different religious traditions without making any speech
- first in Shiv Mandir, the Hindu temple in Gandhinagar and
then in Santom-ki-Gurudwara in Nanakpura and later in Lakshmi
Narayan Mandir in Shastrinagar. These brought people of different
religions together to denounce the happenings that led to such
suffering.
In appreciation of such innovative and effective efforts for
peace JKPM was awarded the Gandhi Peace Medal on 2 Oct 2008.
It came as a great public recognition of our efforts and a great
source of strength which helped us to take JKPM to other places.
In Sept '08, Fr Thomas Kunnunkal SJ conducted a one-day seminar
on peace in Jammu, which was attended by 85 people. Every one
appreciated the seminar and became more convinced that all should
work towards establishing peace in J&K. On 10 Feb '09 JKPM
organized a big seminar on the topic: "Brshtachar Mukt
Samaj" (Corruption Free Society). Fr Dominic chaired it.
The Director General of Police (CID) Mr Ashok Bhan, IPS was
the chief guest and chief speaker. Mr Gopal Reddy IPS, the Vigilance
Commissioner, was the guest of honour. Over 300 people participated
in the seminar which was very much appreciated.
On 8 March '09 JKPM celebrated the International Womens' Day
in collaboration with the Presentation Sisters and the Mahila
Sangh and a few other organizations. Over 400 women took a rally
through the city of Jammu and had a cultural programme in the
grounds of the Presentation Convent School. There we decided
to form a Trust in order to help financially poor girls who
want to pursue their studies and develop their talents.
Now over 300 people have registered their names as the members
of JKPM in Jammu area and the people and the authorities have
accepted JKPM as an effective force for peace and reconciliation.
Seeing this, many other organizations like Nirankari Mission
have begun to invite JKPM to work in collaboration with them.
During the last meeting of the Nirankari Mission, one of their
influential office-bearers asked me to take some Bible classes
for their Sunday Satsang because, according to him, 95% of their
people (Nirankaries) do not know anything about the Bible and
that they should know the truth about the Bible. Though teaching
the Bible is not a priority for JKPM, this openness shows how
JKPM has helped the people to become receptive to unfamiliar
cultures, religions and ideas - necessary to bring about peace
in the area.
JKPM has people of all religions and of all castes and people
of all social strata as its members. One common thread that
binds the members of JKPM is the spirituality of humanness which
rises above all religions, castes or social status.
One of the aims of JKPM is to help the children from poor families
to study and to develop their talents. JKPM initially decided
that all its members will sacrifice one meal a week in order
to feed a hungry child, in order to show one's solidarity with
the poorest who cannot feed their children. There are hundreds
of such children in Jammu who go to bed hungry. With the money
saved by this act of sacrificing a meal a week, we tried to
feed the hungry children of Jammu. JKPM members learnt that
this spiritual practice of skipping a meal a week helps not
only the children who are poor, but it develops discipline and
will power and is also beneficial to health. Over 150 poor children
who live in the juggies of transport yards and study mostly
in Mother Teresa School were selected to be the beneficiaries
of this programme.
Now JKPM works in collaboration with like-minded people and
organizations like Kashmir Welfare Association, Apna Ghar, Pradham,
Hope Disability Centre, Jammu Kashmir Development &Action
Group, and others. Quite a few schools generously extend their
co-operation, by starting 'Peace Clubs' for students.
I should express my immense gratitude to Fr John Ariapilly,
the Provincial of Delhi. If it were not for him, JKPM would
never have been born!
Such a mission cannot be realized without sacrifices. As Fr
Tom Kunnunkal told me, 'No good is done except at the cost of
the one who does it.' The biggest sacrifice I had to make was
to request for exclaustration three years ago in order to come
here and to start this mission. The three year period of exclaustration
is over and I have to return to the province. I thought it would
have been better if a Jesuit had come to continue this work
- which I consider an important mission - before I went back
to Jamshedpur on 30 April this year. It didn't happen, but now
the Jesuit Central Zone has accepted in principle that they
will work in J&K. I am confident that the Society of Jesus
will take JKPM ahead with greater strength and enthusiasm. If
JKPM is something God wants to use as an instrument to bring
peace and life to his people in J&K, I am sure he will find
a way of nurturing it.
Fr
Joseph Kalathil, SJ, currently stays at Bishop's House, Sector
19 A, P.B. 709, Chandigarh - 160 019
Our
dialogue with life among the Santals By Shyam Kishor Tudu,
SJ
This is
a personal sharing but it gives a picture of the kind of inter-faith
dialogue that Jesuits of the Hazaribag province are involved
in. It is not a centre or particular person who is involved
but basically all the comparatively new ventures in the province
like Santal Mission and Dalit Mission are involved in the
dialogue with life in the inter-faith arena.
I am a product of RTC, Ranchi. One very strong point of theologizing
I learnt there is: being with the people who are our focus.
Those days in order to learn "contexts" I used to
go to villages many times and sit with the people celebrating
certain aspects of life either in the form of feasts or rites
of passage. This behaviour pattern remained with me. Even
today my inroads to people of other faiths among the adivasis
remain the same. Now, that they know that this particular
naeke (term used for a Santal priest) is interested in the
life and culture of all, regardless of their religion, they
invite me to be with them whenever there are celebrations
of any type.
In these visits there is no formal 'dialogue' as such. I sit
with the elderly who matter to the villagers. After geting
to know them, I ask a few friendly questions, or sometimes
they may ask me. But such visits do build up relationships
that bring about a lot of understanding and respect for all
religions. During the times of difficulties such people of
other faiths are ready to sit together with us and talk about
the problem itself rather than point to the religious faiths
that we belong to.
As a parish priest for one year, I also started what is knows
as "Small Saving Scheme". This scheme was already
there but mostly restricted to the Catholic community. This
was opened up to all the adivasis who were ready to learn
to save in order to educate their children. This and many
such schemes started to bring all groups of Adivasis to a
common platform. They began to see us Christians as a community
that is not in anyway a threat to them. There were times when
I had to explain to the Sarna (the tribal religion of the
Adivasis ) groups that we do not make Christians out of anybody.
But if, after having known us and our religion, somebody wants
to become a Christian we help them to reflect and make up
their mind. These approaches worked wonders in terms of building
up relationships. There is now a lot of trust and mutual give
and take among the tribal people of different faiths.
Christians have been celebrating the adivasi feasts along
with them or sometimes separately. Christian groups started
taking extra care that we celebrated the feasts in such a
way that they did not look like insult to the Sarna brethren.
For certain feasts, the Sarna brethren used to come asking
for chanda (financial contribution). With a lot of dialogue
many villages have come to an agreement that instead of giving
and taking chanda, celebration part will be like a social
gathering where all will come and 'celebrate the feast'. So,
in many villages, there are common Christmas gatherings,
May gatherings, Karma gathering and so forth. This was not
possible ten years ago.
Our Christian communities live in places where generally Sarna
brethren are the majority. In a particular village if there
are five Christian families they may face a lot of problems
that may be related to social practices. A village lives under
a headman and 'panches'. To solve this problem we decided
that to take care of the social practices we Christians need
not separate ourselves from the rest of the villagers. We
will live under the guidance of same headman and the 'panches'.
This is a big jump in the social relationship on the part
of the Christians! These headmen of the villages today are
so comfortable with us that before a particular event they
come and ask us what their roles should be in that particular
event. They perform their part of 'the duty' well and feel
good about it and the village remains one.
There have been cases when a particular family wanted to become
Christians. We asked the family to get the permission of village
headman before they were baptized. These headmen usually give
their consent, because by now they know what Christianity
is all about.
Education has made a general impact on the people. There was
a time when Sarna brethren thought that if they sent their
children to Christian schools they would make them Christians.
That kind of distrust and suspicion are completely gone. Today
in some of our schools and hostels we have more Sarna children
than Christians. Growing up together brings about a generation
who understand the merits of co-existence and unity.
We bring togeher the high school students, irrespective of
their religion, to reflect about social issues, especially
those that touch them directly. Such common reflection and
discussion has brought about a lot of trust among the younger
generation. As a high school teacher I became aware that many
young students studying in different colleges yearn for fellowship.
I started to bring the students together, without worrying
about their religious identity. The students were informed
clearly that they needed to be only Adivasi (Santal) to become
members of this group. For the last two years, there have
been several common activities but religion has not come in
the way. We keep on looking for common platforms that give
us opportunities to come together as just tribal people and
reflect on issues that affect us.
Sometimes, such dialogue happens because of strange, unexpected
events. A few years back, a man walked into my room to greet
me. I asked him to be seated and enquired how I could be of
help to him. He said he was a Sarna practicing person. His
elder brother who was a Christian had died recently. He wanted
to perform the last rites for his brother but did not know
what to do. He came to ask me about what he needs to do. I
started sharing on what the Christians do and what the Sarna
brethren do to perform the last rites. Finally, we agreed
that we shall have a Mass where he would offer a he-goat (a
traditional offering at last rites. Animals are offered not
only by the family members but by all who attend the last
rites), all other people coming to attend the last rites would
also offer the animals they bring along, the priests will
bless the goat and all other animals; and at the end of the
Mass the animals will be killed, cooked and shared by all
as part of the last rites meal.
At this particular Mass all Christians and Sarnas took part
and my homily was more on the faith of the ancestors in the
life after this life. I concluded with what a writer, recently,
had to say about a person who has gone ahead of us. All took
part very actively in the puja and then the meal. And what
a meal that was!! It was an occasion where everybody understood
that we were worshipping and eating together, forgetting our
differences. Was this inter-religious dialogue? Not explicitly.
But while responding together to an event, people of different
religions came together. This is what we mean by dialogue
of life. We don't worry too much about whether something is
'sacred' or not. But we approach with respect whatever others
value.
We have realized that one of the common platforms where everybody
can come together is health care. Health care makes everybody
realize that there is a healthy alternative to ojha-ism and
sorcery. Offering people life-saving information and help
at moments when they are ill and feel vulnerable builds relationships.
Displacement, NAREGA projects, environment-related issues,
Panchayati Raj, self-help group movement etc are other issues
where we can work together and dialogue.
The process of inculturation keeps happening regularly at
every level in Santal missions. Inculturation, I realize,
is a process and not an end. The process might have begun
in a place like RTC but concrete opportunities come when we
work in the field. The pastor is obliged to 'inculturate'
when he has to make Christ and his message known and familiar
to the local people. My experience tells me that sometimes
such pastoral innovations shock and scandalize even the respected
professors of RTCs.
Not knowing the people's language remains a big hurdle. Specially,
among the Santals, if one does not know Santali, a non-Santal
remains a diku no matter how hard he may work for them. Recently,
I happened to preach a Lenten retreat to parishioners of a
particular parish. During the breaks many men and women came
to see me to discuss their personal or family problems. After
listening to them I realized that some of the problems could
have been very well discussed with the parish priest and I
told them that. Their response was simple: 'The parish priest
is not a Santal. He will not understand our problems.' In
this particular case the parish priest did not even know Santali
well, although the good man tries to work hard for the Santal
people with a lot of good will.
Inculturation is an important aspect of dialogue of life.
Dialogue meetings and seminars where intellectuals of different
religions meet and share ideas may be important and in some
areas necessary. But here among the tribal people it is the
dialogue of life that matters.
It is such a dialogue that will clear the misconceptions and
suspicions that some tribals have against tribal Catholics
or Christians. It is this that builds trust and will go to
make all the tribal people - Christians or Sarnas - to stand
together as tribals and fight the forces that seek to exploit
them. As a pilgrim Church we need to walk with all people
of good will in in search of truth and life.
Fr
Shyam Kishor Tudu, SJ is acting superior and director of Ankur
Hostel at Hazaribag, Jharkhand.
After a
hectic period of working among tsunami victims for their long-term
rehabilitation for four years in the coastal belt of Nagapattinam
district of Tamilnadu, I joined the tertianship programme, "the
school of the heart" at Raia, Goa. I longed for this so
that I could renew and reenergize myself through re-capturing
the mind of St Ignatius and our forefathers.
After reading the autobiography of St Ignatius, I was able to
understand his sincere search for meaning in life. It is unimaginable
that an ordinary soldier could become a spiritual giant through
his own personal journey with God and come up with Spiritual
Exercises that has proved to be so helpful till this day. I
entered into the month-long spiritual journey which every Jesuit
cherishes in his life, with an open-mind and a generous heart.
What did I gain from the retreat? First of all, I experienced
the overflowing, unconditional love of God and His forgiveness.
When people love me for my strengths and skills, I realized
that God loves me in spite of my weaknesses, brokenness and
vulnerability. He just loves me as I am. I understood my sacredness
and uniqueness. I heard the voice of God saying; "You are
very precious in my eyes and I love you" (Is 43:4). This
assurance of love is my real and lasting source of strength
that would always fill me with energy and enthusiasm and give
my life meaning.
Secondly, I was able to have a glimpse of the mind and heart
of the person of Jesus. Jesus came across to me as a compassionate
person who could enter the hearts of people marginalized in
the Jewish society and understand their emotions. He eats with
the sinners. He touches the lepers. He appreciates the widow's
meagre offering. I was deeply touched by the way he forgave
the woman in the midst of an outraged crowd with stones in their
hands. The compassionate Jesus urges me to be compassionate
to all those whom I come in contact with.
Thirdly, I was able to find my own personal Jesus. Very strongly
I got the image of a shepherd. The shepherd Jesus has always
journeyed with me in all my joys and sorrows. Several times
I have felt that He came in search of me when I had lost my
way, led astray by temptations. But he came after me and guided
me in the right direction. I have begun to pray a simple prayer
as I breathe in and out: "Shepherd Jesus, protect me and
guide me".
Fourthly, when I contemplated the passion and death of Jesus
Christ, I came to the realization that he found me worthy of
such heroic love to the point of death on the cross. I was sorrowfully
present with him from Gethsemane to Calvary. His compassionate
look always fell on me to assure me of his love and grace. "My
grace is sufficient for you" (2 Cor 12:9).
Fifthly, I came to see that death is not the end but the beginning
of a new life. The contemplations on resurrection of Jesus have
given me a new hope and a new life. He has given me the power
of sharing the message of salvation to the entire humanity.
That power draws me and pulls me to be immersed wholeheartedly
in his mission. God is not only present in me, in creation,
and in others but he also labours with the whole creation. This
is the mind of St Ignatius and it has given me a new way of
seeing persons and events - the way God would see them.
Finally, I came to understand that I am not what I possess.
I should be what I am. I found the truth of what Martin Luther
King once said, "I have held many things in my hands and
lost them all. But whatever I placed in God's hands I still
possess".
A.
Irudayaraj, SJ (MDU) (iruraj2020@yahoo.com) is doing his tertianship
at the Pedro Aruppe Institue at Raia, Goa.
Stanley
Coutinho is a much-loved person by all those who are associated
with St Vincent's, Pune. He is an alumnus and a former staff
member of St Vincent's High School, Pune. His close relationship
with this School spans over half a century! He joined St. Vincent's
on 1 March 1950 as a student of Std 1, when Fr. Anton Rehm had
just taken over the reins of this prestigious school from the
legendary Fr Maximillian Riklin.
Stanley passed the Std. Xl Secondary School Certificate Examination
in 1962 and is probably the only student who never required
a Leaving Certificate, as he was retained by his then Principal,
Fr Rudolf Schoch, as a member of the Administrative Staff. It
is amusing to learn that he was interviewed by his Principal
while travelling in his car.
The trust that the successive Principals placed in Stanley over
the past decades, and their encouragement have been reciprocated
by him manifold. His complete dedication to the school and his
rapport with the Principals, Staff, and students has been exemplary.
Many of the past students still affectionately call him "Stanley
Sir," grateful for his personal touch and practical help
he rendered to them.
One of the strengths of Stanley was the warm relationships he
built with the various Government officers of the Education
Department. He earned their personal appreciation and friendship,
thus enabling the Principals to leave all the worries to Stanley
and enjoy peaceful sleep at night, knowing that Stanley would
deliver the goods.
Those who worked with him - be it a Staff member, Ex-student,
member of the Jesuit Community, Sisters of Religious Orders,
Principals and Staff of various Schools - came to know him personally
and appreciate the person that he was. Everyone admired Stanley
for his knowledge, dedication and commitment to his work and
Alma Mater. His skill for public relations was remarkable and
so was his devotion to duty with which he conducted himself
in any matter he undertook in the course of his tenure at St
Vincent's.
Finally, when he retired after 44 years on 31May 2006, he found
it hard to tear himself away from St. Vincent's, which was truly
his second home.
He remains grateful to the Jesuits who taught him dedication
to work. He vouches for the excellent apostolate of the Jesuits
in the field of education.
His love for and identification with the Jesuits is revealed,
when he talks of Jesuits as "We".
What do you like best about the Jesuits?
They are 'kings' in the field of education. They have touched
millions of students and their parents through their colleges
and schools, the world over. In Pune they started St. Vincent's
in 1867, followed by the Technical Institute in 1958. Soon a
non-formal night school was started for the underprivileged,
who could not get formal education. In the 60's Loyola High
School was established on the outskirts of Pune. All this was
due to their vision inspired by St Ignatius.
The
Jesuit saint whose life appeals to you?
Of course, St Ignatius of Loyola. One who gave up nobility but
accepted humility and founded the renowned Society of Jesus.
Here one cannot forget his companion and the great saint who
came to India, St Francis Xavier.
The
Jesuit who inspired you the most?
Fr Romuld D'Souza. He was the Principal at St Vincent's from
1967-73. His capable administration led him to head the Goa-Pune
province from 1973. He was a man of vision who constantly discussed
renewing educational and management institutions. He was a man
who was always on the move and ahead of his times.
The
main contribution of the Jesuits to the country?
Undoubtedly education. Besides education, they are also masters
in disseminating Ignatian Spirituality to the Church in India.
Thousand of their students have gone on to shine in various
fields - like Bishop Valerian D'Souza, former Naval Chief Admiral
Samson, Director of National School of Drama, Ebrahim Alkazi,
Magasaysay award winner the late Dr. Bano Coyaji, renowned cardiologist
Dr. K. B. Grant..
Any
Jesuit anecdote you like or any humorous event, during your
association with the Jesuits?
As a very young altar boy at St Xavier's Church, Pune, I always
opted to serve the late Fr. Hennesey's Mass. Because of his
hearing impediment, we could get away with our own versions
of difficult Latin responses during the Mass. If there was any
other priest offering the Mass, we'll get a good, hard knock
on our heads, after the Mass!
Should
the Jesuits change anything in their life or work?
Yes, men of vision are expected to do so, constantly. Jesuits
need to discern and launch out to new frontiers where they will
cater to the marginalized and poorer sections of Society.
Stanley
Coutinho is a much-loved person by all those who are associated
with St Vincent's, Pune. He is an alumnus and a former staff
member of St Vincent's High School, Pune. His close relationship
with this School spans over half a century! He joined St. Vincent's
on 1 March 1950 as a student of Std 1, when Fr. Anton Rehm had
just taken over the reins of this prestigious school from the
legendary Fr Maximillian Riklin.