Even children—and persons of other faiths—know who Jesus was, what He taught and how he related. The essentials of His teaching do not require any great learning to understand. He spoke simple, lived a life of love and compassion, and used power only to heal. People like Don Bosco or Mother Teresa, noted for their Christlike love and goodness, were not prompted by higher degrees in theology!
We all know this.
When we decide to become religious or priests, or decide—after a good retreat, for instance—to lead a life closer to God, our model is Jesus. We join religious orders, not to follow Saint Francis or Ignatius or Teresa or Don Bosco, but to become more Christlike.
This is the common goal and vision that unites all believers in Christ.
Basic to this is to become a good human being—honest, loving, just, compassionate, standing up for truth, and ready to live and (in extreme cases) die for what we are committed to.
And yet, the Church itself finds that the weak part of religious and priestly and religious formation is human formation. It is easier for a novice mistress or preacher to speak about the life of the founder/foundress, than to help a young candidate become emotionally mature, loving and compassionate.
This month’s cover stories are about this. They look at our ideals, achievements and failures as human beings, and at good people we can learn from. After all, we learn best from people and life experiences, rather than from magazines, lectures and sermons.
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When Father Dominic Veliath SDB, a close friend of mine and a famous professor of theology, died last year, numerous people paid him glowing tributes. More than his intellectual brilliance, which was undeniable, what most people spoke about was his goodness. Without exception, they all referred to him as an extremely kind and compassionate man. Having known Fr Dominic well for decades, I fully agree with their assessment.
What people need most from us, and what people expect most, is not our cleverness or our qualifications, but our humanity. This is what makes our message credible, and our teaching appealing.
In the cover stories, you will meet wonderfully inspiring human beings. You will also come across the pain and disappointment of good people who felt they became worse after joining religious life. No structure guarantees maturity or holiness. Rules and timetable do not assure goodness of heart. For that, younger people need to meet, and live with, truly good human beings.
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Our regular columns continue to be relevant, competent and gripping.
Psychology deals with the issue of man-women friendships among celibates. Life on the Margins speaks of a much-debated contemporary topic: Minimalism. Tips for Superiors presents the centrality of the Eucharist in our life. Candles in the Dark presents, as always, an inspiring human being we can all learn from. Finance presents a current issue in clear and systematic ways. Canon Law addresses a legal point in non-technical vocabulary. Social Issues looks at the plight of working children. Special Days looks at the International Day of Peace. The book and movie reviews present titles many readers many not know, but are worth reading and watching. Testimony of a young person who moved from blunders to desperation to deep peace will move and help all of us. The vocation story is genuine and touching. The interview presents someone whom those she worked for called another Mother Teresa
Good people to learn from.
May your life and mine increase the goodness in the world, and make it more human.
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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