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EIGHT ESSENTIALS FOR A RELIGIOUS SUPERIOR

There is much writing on leadership today. Plenty in print and on the Net. There is no doubt that, in any organization, whether secular or religious, the leader makes a huge difference Think of Pope Francis or any head of state or head of government. Attractive vocabulary (Transformative Leadership, Servant Leadership, etc.) is not enough. We need persons who truly help the group to reach its goals effectively and in a lasting way.

Who is a leader? Definitions abound. I prefer the simplest one: A leader is someone with followers. A good leader is someone who helps followers to reach the goal or perform a task. Thus, there are always two elements to keep in mind when we talk of leadership: a group of persons and a task (or tasks) to be performed. The art of leadership is to be truly concerned about the persons in one’s care, and to get the tasks (or goals) achieved.

There are many ways of talking about leadership. Basing myself on what I have learnt from observing leaders (both religious and secular), from some experts and books, as well as from my own experience, I plan to present the essentials of religious leadership under eight heads. To make it easier for the reader to retain the matter, I am organizing the article this way: One point under heading 1, two points under heading 2, three under heading 3, etc.

Ready? Here we go!

1. Only One Leader!

A seminarian once told me about Father Rosario Krishnaraj, a charming and wonderfully inspiring Salesian priest whom I knew well: “After meeting Father Rosario, I believe more in Jesus. Many things I had heard about Jesus I find in him…

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

‘Having all, Leaving all, Finding ALL in all!’

Herein I find the KEY underpinnings of my vocation story, synonymous with my life’s journey. To write about this love-story gives me a rush of “spiritual adrenalin” which is difficult to control or direct!  For how can a tiny finite mind capture Infinite Love and confine it to words /expressions that pale in significance before It? Nevertheless, I offer this feeble attempt of mine as a song of Glory and Gratitude to One who continues to “spoil” me with Love through the ups and downs I face, to the extent of allowing me an overwhelming Joy in finding All, my All!

Having all…

In my early childhood I remember having a totally happy, carefree life; the earliest memory of myself is at age 2, dancing with my doll. I had it all…the priceless gift of BOTH parents who incarnated for me Unconditional Love, together with four siblings, two older and two younger, who were great companions. I lacked nothing.

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Sr Manisha Gonsalves RSCJ

As mentioned earlier, Part III of the Constitution of India, consisting of Articles 12 to 35, deals with Fundamental Rights which are armed with constitutional remedies.  Let us have a look at those fundamental rights.

1. Right to Equality (Art. 14 – 18)

Article 14, upholding the right to equality before law, prohibits the State from denying any person equality before law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. Article 15 prohibits the State from discriminating any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth.  Further, no citizen shall on the grounds mentioned above be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to access to public places and use of public amenities dedicated to the use of general public maintained wholly or partly by the State.  Article 16 empowers the citizens with equal opportunity in public employment or appointment to any office under the State without any discrimination.  Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden and made an offence punishable under the law (Art. 17).  Titles, not being a military or academic distinction, are abolished (Art. 18).  The law treats everyone equally and does not favour anyone. The concept of proportional equality expects the state to take affirmative action in favour of disadvantaged sections of the society within the framework of liberal democracy.

2. Right to Freedom (Art. 19 – 22)
3. Protection of Fundamental Freedoms (Art. 19)

Article 19 guarantees certain fundamental freedoms to the citizens.  All citizens shall have the right: (a) to freedom of speech and expression; (b) to assemble peaceable…

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Fr Ravi Sagar SJ

CRYSTAL

Here in the United States, there is a witty comeback when someone is acting bossy and trying to take charge of a group. We might say, “Who do you think you are, Mother Superior?”  While said in jest, this is a recognition that the role of Mother Superior is such that only one person is responsible for making the decisions and applying the rules that affect many. Whether those decisions and rules are appreciated or scorned, the role of a leader is important to maintain consistency and harmony in the community.

As a lay person, I have a different appreciation for the title ‘Mother Superior.”  I am a mother and in that sense consider myself the ‘superior’ of my children or grandchildren, not in intelligence or morality or worth, but in my understanding of what my responsibility is toward their growth.  As a mother, I believe that my role is to take the ‘less formed’ individuals whom God has given into my care and serve their needs.  Clearly, how this plays out in the lay world is very different from what happens in religious communities.  But, in both circumstances, I believe that the leadership role is one of service to others, exalting the other rather than oneself.  As Pope Francis has encouraged us: “Let us never forget that authentic power is service.”

Striking Similarities

Members of a religious community take vows of poverty, obedience and chastity. No such vow is required of a lay person.  However, speaking as a Catholic woman who is married and who has raised children and is helping with grandchildren, I do see some striking similarities in our roles.

For example, I see that the vow of poverty can be similar to the need for a mother to be poor in spirit. Any woman who has ever raised children knows full well…

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Crystal and Kevin Sullivan

“You were not like this. What happened to you?” Sr. Anita’s superior asked her with some annoyance in her voice. Anita had been a very self-sacrificing nun, a compliant and pleasing type of person, always saying “yes” to whatever others asked of her. Now she had learned to say “no” and take care of her own needs. While Anita felt good about the changes in her, others were less pleased: they could not now get her to fulfil their expectations that easily.

Fr. Paul had been a difficult person to deal with. He was very demanding on others, used to get easily angry and irritable. He always wanted things to be the way he thought they should be. Now those around him noticed that he had changed. He was more calm and more considerate and understanding. He was now less driven by the need to achieve and they found it easier to relate to him.

What Sr. Anita and Fr. Paul were experiencing was the kind of changes midlife can bring about in our personalities.

These changes are part of the journey toward wholeness that Carl Jung described with the term “individuation.” For us to become more whole, for individuation to occur, it is necessary to bring about greater balance between our masculine and feminine qualities.

Animus & Anima

All of us, men and women, have both masculine and feminine qualities. In the first half of life men develop their masculine characteristics. Their feminine characteristics remain underdeveloped within them and are personified as the anima. In the first half of life women give priority to development of their feminine characteristics…

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Fr Jose Parappully SDB

Buying land can mean heavy expenses and legal complications. Here are the details to be looked into before plunging in. [Part One of a two-part article.]

When we buy land, we may feel that a major life-time project has been achieved. But this euphoria can evaporate quickly, if we end up facing legal problems.  Experience shows that Church-related organizations are infamous for having some land documents without the land or a land without its documents. There are also situations where we have both the land and its related documents, and yet end up fighting legal battles.  There are court cases going on for over sixty years. Recently I celebrated the diamond jubilee of one such case!

To buy a piece of land, one needs to have real knowledge and experience. Sadly, many of us are ignorant in this area.  In seminars on Temporal Administration, some groups ask me, “What all things should be considered before buying a piece of land?”  In response to that query, I am shortlisting the requirements which every Trust has to look into before buying a piece of land.

1. Purpose:

Be clear about the purpose for which you want to buy the land.  The choice of the land and its location will depend on the purpose for which land is to be bought.  For example, we cannot buy a piece of land with loam soil for an institution or a rocky barren land for agricultural purpose or a lonely place out of reach for a school or hospital.  We have Societies that have invested their money on such wrong selection of land and deeply regret the decision.

2. Tribal Land?

Check if the land you plan to buy is a Tribal Land:  In most parts of the country, tribal land…

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Fr Alex Gnanapragasam SJ

Weird Email Reply

I sent an email to the recipients of a particular email group.  In a short while, I was surprised to get this short reply: “I received your email and thank you for the same.  I shall reply to it as soon as possible.”  The surprise is that the sender of the email is a priest who died a year ago.  When I got over my shock, I realized that the email I received is an Auto-Reply he had set in his email account.

General Information on Email & its HOW TO

OFFICIAL EMAIL ID and personal email ID should be differentiated. Personal email ID should be used only for personal communication; and all the official communication should be through an official email ID, like Principal, Provincial, and so on.  In the official email ID, one should not use the personal name in the ID or in the NAME while creating and or changing the email setting.  Let us take, e.g.: Fr. Paul <provincial_mm@gmail.com>. Here Fr. Paul is the name of the provincial at the time of creating the email ID. So, it is better if the official email ID is ‘Fr. Provincial MM.’  The official email ID should be used by the successors in the office; and, each successor should also change the password.

REPLY-TO for an email is set, only in case we need the reply to be sent to a different email ID other than the one we are using.  Without knowing this, some of us have set the same email ID for reply-to as well.  Unknowingly, many of us set a wrong “reply-to” email ID…

Rocky

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Susan was a good girl, whom I knew personally.  As a pre-novice, she was in our community for three months to have an experience of our mission.  At the completion of her pre-novitiate, she was not accepted to the novitiate and was asked to leave the institute.  I feel it is an injustice done to her.  Besides, this decision was made by another provincial superior, though Susan belonged to our province.  When God has called a person to religious life, was it right for superiors—that, too, another provincial—to make such a choice?

Who Can Decide?

Admission to the novitiate is a significant moment for the institute, for the candidate and for the Church.  Going by CIC c. 641 and CCEO c. 519, the right of admitting candidates to the novitiate belongs to major superiors according norms given in the Constitutions.   Each institute’s constitutions have to specify who has the competence, i.e., the superior general or the provincial superior, and determine whether consultation or consent of the council is required for the validity.  With regard to sui iuris monasteries, CCEO c. 453 §1 gives the right to the superior in consultation with the council. [In such monasteries the superior is considered as the major superior.]

The director or directress can only intervene by giving their advice as to the suitability of the candidates. The final decision remains…

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Sr Licia SMI

“There are only two ways to live our life: one, as though nothing is a miracle; the other, as though everything is a miracle.“ (Albert Einstein)

A middle-aged husband and father now and an experienced management consultant, the author looks back at the years he spent in religious life and highlights the best lessons from that part  of his life. Leslie studied in a Don Bosco school, joined the Salesians, and went through several years of formation. After serious discernment, he found it best to choose the life of a layman. What did he pick up in religious life? What impact did it have on his later life and career?

Joining and Leaving

The earliest memory of transformation I have, was from being nicknamed ‘chicken’ in high school to ‘palm tree’ by the end of my novitiate with the Salesians of Don Bosco at Yercaud. Was that a miracle? I certainly felt so.

Something incredible happened to my life the moment I decided to join religious life. From a carefree playful boy, I was graduating to be a more responsible and serious person. I assiduously soaked in the understanding to the new way of life. The motto of St. Dominic Savio (‘Death rather than Sin’) captured my imagination. Despite all my seriousness…

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Leslie D’Souza

The news that Pope Francis would canonize Sr Mariam Thresia on 13 October 2019 was not a big surprise. But I was really surprised that our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, expressed his appreciation and congratulations over the event. In his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “It is a matter of pride for every Indian that on the coming October 13 His Holiness Pope Francis will declare Sister Mariam Thresia a saint. I pay heartfelt tributes to Sister Mariam Thresia and congratulate the citizens of India, and especially our Christian brothers and sisters for this achievement.”

This was a real surprise – and a pleasant one. If you look carefully at the words the Prime Minister has used, you will see why someone like me, who has keenly observed and commented on what happens in our socio-political arena for more than twenty years, would see this as something highly unusual. He says it is a matter of pride for every Indian, not merely Indian Catholics. And he congratulates all the citizens of India and especially “our Christian brothers and sisters.” It would seem as if he is saying that a spiritual achievement of an Indian Christian is a matter of pride for all Indians.

Does this mean a change of heart, a new, inclusive outlook? If it is, we can credit it to the newest Indian saint, St Mariam Thresia. The present…

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Fr M A Joe Antony SJ