home

5 September: Day of Charity

The International Day of Charity was originally a Hungarian civil society initiative. It was supported by the Hungarian Parliament and Government in 2011, and was instituted on September 5 to commemorate the anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly resolved to incorporate the Hungarian holiday and make it international.

The UN recognizes that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. This calls for a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable.

Poverty exists in every country around the globe, from powerful industrial nations to the least developed countries. It continues to affect millions of people, regardless of their social and cultural situations, and is a barrier to true prosperity and equality.

On 5 September, the UN invites all its Member States, international and regional organisations, non-governmental organisations and individuals alike to commemorate the Day of Charity by encouraging charitable acts in their respective communities.

The prime purpose of the Day is to raise awareness and provide a common platform for charity-related activities all over the world. These activities are dedicated to defending human rights, providing disaster relief and promoting peace. The central concerns are: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership.

On the International Day of Charity, the emphasis is placed on enhancing visibility, organizing special events and increasing solidarity, social responsibility and public support.

So if you’re looking for a new charity to support, or if you would like to get more involved with a specific charity, then September 5 is the perfect day to do it.

16 September:  Ozone Layer Day

Ozone (O₃₎ constitutes a very small but vital part of our atmosphere. About 90% of this ozone resides in a region called the stratosphere, between ten and forty kilometres above the earth’s surface.

 The ozone layer is a fragile shield of gas that helps to preserve life on the planet and protect its climate, by limiting the harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the earth. Without this protection, life on earth will cease to exist. Human, plant, animal life and even underwater life will be destroyed.

The ozone layer is getting thinner. The phenomenon of ozone depletion over Antarctica is referred to as the “ozone hole.”  The effects of depletion are deadly—skin cancer, melanoma, and premature ageing. This has alerted the international community to protect the ozone layer.

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was adopted and signed by 28 countries, on 22 March 1985.

In September 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was drafted. Its principal aim is to protect the ozone layer by controlling the total global production and consumption of substances that deplete it. This means the control of nearly a hundred chemicals.

A number of commonly used chemicals are extremely damaging to the ozone layer.

Halocarbons are chemicals in which carbon atoms are linked to halogen atoms (fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine). The man-made chemicals that have provided most of the chlorine and bromine for ozone depletion are methyl bromide, methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and the families of chemicals known as halons, chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

These are widely used in medical equipment, cancer therapy, refrigeration, foam, solvents, aerosol, fumigation and fire-fighting sectors, commercial, marine, defence, and aviation industries.

What should we do in India?

We should limit the use of private vehicles, use eco-friendly products, have a total ban on pesticides, reduce the use of chemicals, and have strict norms and conditions for rocket-launching.

The Earth’s protective ozone layer is starting to repair itself because certain chemicals, like those used in aerosol cans, were phased out in the 1980s.

Let’s leave a cleaner Earth to those who come after us!

Meanwhile:

• Protect yourself by avoiding excessive exposure to the sun. (We need it, of course, but too much of it is harmful.).
• Minimize your appliances that impact the ozone layer.

---

Sr Esme da Cunha FDCC

To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe

God Is Not Dead—I
Director: Harold Cronk. Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper, Benjamin A. Onyango. 2014. 113 minutes.

Adapted from a book by Rice Brooks, the movie addresses the issue of militant atheism in a university setting. In the very first philosophy class, Professor Radisson wants everyone to sign a declaration of atheism,  “God is dead.” A student called Josh refuses, declaring that he is a Christian. Radisson challenges Josh to prove that God is not dead, or else he will fail him. Radisson uses the writings of atheistic thinkers like Richard Dawkins and Michael Foucault to mock religious belief. Josh has to do his defense before the entire class who will be the judges.  He ably does so before a more or less skeptical group. His courage and sincere faith influence many of his classmates who are troubled about their faith or have no belief. When a classmate asks Josh why he is ready to risk his college career by defying Radisson, Josh replies, “I think of Jesus as my friend. I don’t want to disappoint Him, even if everyone else thinks I should. See, to me, He’s not dead. He’s alive. I don’t want anyone to get talked out of believing in Him because some professor thinks they should.”

At the end of much discussion on belief and unbelief,, Josh says, “What I’m hoping you’ll pick up from all this is that you don’t have to commit intellectual suicide to believe in a Creator behind the creation.” Later in the story we come to know that Professor Radisson’s hatred of God sprang from the traumatic experience of his mother’s death when he was just twelve years old. Eventually, he too comes to Christ when he is fatally sick.

God Is Not Dead—II
Director: Harold Cronk. Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Ray Wise, Jesse Metcalfe, Hayley Orrantia, David A. R. White, Ernie Hudson. 2016. 121 minutes.

This is not a sequel to the earlier movie. It addresses the question of witnessing to faith in an increasingly antireligious secular society where the church-state separation (in the US) is misinterpreted to mean a denial of the right to speak out on one’s faith. It centres around Grace Wesley, a school teacher, who is brought to court by the School Board for violating the church-state separation by airing her Christian belief and quoting the Bible. The case arose while Grace was discussing the idea of nonviolent resistance as practiced by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. A student asks the question whether these men were inspired by the Sermon on the Mount. Grace clarifies that they were. One of the pupils sneakily reports this to her secular-minded parents at home. They complain to the principal before whom Grace has to defend her position. She refuses to apologize before the School Board.  The prosecutor declares it as a case which once and for all will prove that God is dead. He even argues in the court that if the teacher is not punished, it will be disastrous for American society. A former atheist turned Christian apologist is brought in as expert witness. He points out to the court that the Gospel cannot be a conspiracy borne out by the fact that none of the Apostles of Christ ever retracted their witnessing of the Resurrection even in the face of death. Despite the manipulatory tactic in and out of court, the judgment vindicates the teacher. The movie ends on a note of rejoicing in the face of persecution in secular society where prayer in faith is indicated as the chief defense against it.

---

Dr Gigy Joseph

To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe

The Practice of Spiritual Direction
by William A. Barry & William J. Connolly (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2009)

The book is probably the best introduction to the subject available in English. The authors explain what spiritual direction is, and how to become  a spiritual director. Just as we need foodstuff for cooking, the “stuff” of spiritual direction is the directee’s religious experience. The spiritual “director” respectfully listens and responds; does not “direct” or tell others what to do. The main quality required in a spiritual director is the capacity to communicate love—a love that is patient, and makes a person give fully attention to the other and seek what is best for the other. The book deals with: Defining spiritual direction, fostering the relationship between the directee and God, and aspects of the relationship between director and directee. Other chapters are about how spiritual direction works, how one is trained in spiritual direction, and about supervision and its importance. The authors are experienced spiritual directors, and were involved in the training of spiritual directors. Highly recommended.

What Counsellors and Spiritual Directors can Learn from Each Other
Edited by Peter Madsen Gubi (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017)

Counselling and spiritual direction have influencing effects on each other. The contributors to this book offer insight into the similarities and differences between counselling and spiritual direction, and what the disciplines can learn from each other. All the contributors bring their extensive experience to advocate working with psychological and spiritual issues. In one of the studies quoted here, when people from the different but related professions were asked to place issues on a spectrum going from the purely psychological to the purely spiritual, most participants placed the largest number of issues at the meeting point of both disciplines. Hence there is much more overlap than difference between the two ways of helping.

Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls: A Guide to Christian Approaches and Practices.
Edited by Gary W. Moon and David G. Benner (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004)

This book is divided into three parts. The preface that explains the theme of spiritual direction and Christian soul care. Part I presents the practice of spiritual direction in each of the seven major traditions of Christian Spirituality (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Reformed, Wesleyan, Social Justice and Pentecostal). Each chapter is written by someone from that tradition. In Part II, three chapters address these areas: Spiritual direction and psychotherapy: conceptual issues; spiritual direction and psychotherapy: ethical issues; spiritual direction and pastoral counselling. Then, a creative fourth chapter discusses the case of a pastor in his fifties who is confused about a number of things happening in his life, and seeks help. We see how a psychologist, a spiritual director and a pastoral counsellor deal with his situation. This discussion brings the particular competence and contribution of each approach into sharper focus.

Basics in Spiritual Direction
Edited by Jose Kuttianmattathil SDB (Bangalore: Kristu Jyoti Publications, 2014. Rs 170)

Among the books on spiritual direction published in India, this is probably the most practical and accessible. Its thirteen chapters, written by ten Salesians, deal with various aspects of spiritual direction and how spiritual direction needs to be attuned to the needs of particular categories, such as youth and women. Starting with Jesus’s style of accompanying, it goes on to present the basics of spiritual direction, themes in spiritual direction, spiritual mentoring of the young, vocation discernment, spiritual direction of women, guidelines for making spiritual direction more fruitful, spiritual direction in the Christian tradition, its specificity when compared to psychotherapy, the common elements and differences among spiritual direction, counselling and confession, transformation by the Holy Spirit, and Don Bosco’s way of giving spiritual direction.

---

By Sr Theresa Phawa FMA

To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe

Spiritual Direction: What Great Teachers Say

To receive spiritual direction is to recognize that God does not solve our problems or answer all our questions, but leads us closer to the mystery of our existence where all questions cease.
– Henri Nouwen

It is easier to find someone to tell you what to do, than someone to be with you in a discerning, prayerful companionship as you work it out yourself. This is what spiritual direction is.
– Eugene H. Peterson

Spiritual direction involves a process through which one person helps another person understand what God is doing and saying.
– Richard J. Foster

The whole purpose of spiritual direction is to penetrate beneath the surface, to get behind the façade which one presents to the world, and to bring out one’s inner spiritual freedom and inmost truth.
– Thomas Merton

In spiritual direction there is absolutely no domination or control.
– Richard J. Foster

Henri Nouwen once asked Mother Teresa for spiritual direction. “Spend one hour each day in adoration of your Lord,” she said, “And never do anything you know is wrong. Follow this, and you’ll be fine.”
– John Eldredge

“When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.”
– C. S. Lewis

“Spiritual direction is a very simple process of putting out what you really want and most deeply desire, and having someone to respond to that, and help you live from what you really want.”
– Sr Mary Ann Scofield

“A total spiritual direction given to the whole life and the whole nature can alone lift humanity beyond itself.”
– Sri Aurobindo

“If you are driven by the right WHY, God will lead you to the right WHAT.”
– Anonymous

---

To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe

Excellent
I have come across your magazine and it was excellent in researching Christian identity and communication.
Malar R, Psychotherapist in Private Practice, Bengaluru

Valuable Lessons about Education
This magnetic Magazine, unique in its features, truly motivates our quest for Light, so that we evolve as effective joyful witnesses in the midst of our challenges to mould the young hearts by being a prophecy of a life lived in sincerity and truthfulness.
Coming to the MAGNET issue on education (June 2019), education is a constant striving to become more effective as a vehicle of transformation in society: Fully Human and fully Alive.
Archbishop Menamparambil, a man of vision, wide experience and intellectual calibre,  speaks of the need to train effective leaders. We need to educate people to be a Force for Good in Society by promoting value education.
Sr Marie Gabrielle tells us how “Katy, her colleague, took her teaching profession to heart. “I touch the future: I teach.” She strove to bring the best in the students. “I have no time to lose in gossip.” Katy’s spiritual journey is the way she treats others with respect, and her willingness to move on with forgiveness when hurt. Working with her has been the greatest blessing on the writer’s human and spiritual journey.
Prof Rekha has illustrated well her personal experience of the values of Catholic Education. Yes, education, as all will agree, is different by the quality of the people it moulds. We need to focus on our vision in forming our students into balanced personalities with a sound ethical base and a deep sense of what is right and wrong. We need to have the courage to look into our souls and proclaim to the world: “We made a mistake; we owe you an apology, we are sorry.” This is the power of prayer we carry within, and believe that we make a difference.
Bro Brendan has offered an alternative to the current educational system. He insists that a radical change is imperative.
Sr Marian Mathew has shared the precious lessons she has learnt about education through experiences that touched her heart. Do we as educators live our vision in forming our future citizens? Today we need to look at our educational institutions—what we are meant to do and are actually doing. Teaching academic subjects is not enough. Students need to be formed integrally, and no human formation is complete if students do not learn to do something for others, especially the most needy, so that they can discover horizons of hope and give their contributions to the people around.
Sr Joyce de Melo FdCC, Prema Mandira, Benson Town, Bangalore

Feedback in an Acronym
M– MAGNIFICENT
A– Attractive
G– GENUINE
N– NICHE
E– Educative
T– Tantalizing
Anonymous

Don’t Know Where to Start
After seeing the August issue of MAGNET, I do not know where to start. I go through the feeling of a child who is given many attractive toys at a time.At one glance, I can say that each issue is better than the previous ones. I should not be comparing them at all, because each one is excellent. As always, just by looking at the contents, I am full of enthusiasm and eagerness to read all the
articles (which are most relevant, attractive and of superior quality).
MAGNET has indeed helped in improving the quality of my life too.
Many Congratulations to you and your team.
Sr Marina Thomas SU, Rathnagiri, Maharashtra

New Feature on Technology
Thank you for the new feature ‘TecHuMan’ which appeared in the August issue. Its relevant information on the use of emergency calls is commendable. We know to how use smart phones, but we are not SMART enough with the technical use of these gadgets. MAGNET in general is an inspirational monthly.
I look forward to reading TecHuMan-2.
All the best to all the Magnet team.
Mercy Minj, Secretary and Accountant, New Delhi

---

To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe

There is Someone who loves me far more than I do.  Knows my needs much better than I can. Thinks of me tenderly day and night. Longs to help me more than I want to be helped. Forgives and gives me a new chance even if I (foolish and blind that I am) spit in His face. This news is too good to be true.

Or, is it?

It is true. This Someone is real, and close, and wants to show me the way.

If so, the smartest thing to do would be to listen, learn what this Lover seeks to give me, and allow myself to be guided.

But there is a danger—since I am not sure if I hear Him right, or even have the right image of Him—that I may be misguided. What I take as His guidance may only be camouflaged egoism. What I claim is God’s will may simply be my fantasy.

Hence the need to check this out with someone. Someone wise and caring who has my genuine interest at heart. Who will listen to my words and my unsaid sighs, understand me in depth, and points out milestones that I missed.

This kind of conversation is what spiritual direction is about.

Most people plod through life in boring mediocrity. Some seek wrong short cuts and mess up their lives. A few seek wisdom and want to be guided by this Inner Voice.

This is a surrender—as in all forms of love. It is supremely freeing, not limiting.

These seekers learn from the best human beings they have known. They move from trifles to passion, from surface to depth.

If you enjoy pursuing this sort of conversation, you are into spiritual direction. It takes some digging, but it will bring you both ecstasy and peace.

I believe strongly in spiritual direction. I have benefited greatly from it,  and seen the happy changes it brings about in others.

Hence, truly from the heart, I wish you the same—the grace to meet someone who helps you explore your deepest self, and, perhaps, to become such a person yourself.

This is, believe me, far more thrilling than discussing cricket scores or the latest scandals, more demanding and life-giving than grumbling and gossip sessions, more delightful than fashion shows and gourmet food.

I found Sharon Gray’s article on spiritual direction from a woman’s perspective so wise and practical, that I decided to give it central place. I know Sharon from the time we taught at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, and know what a wise and wonderful human being she is.

One more reason to read Sharon:

In India, most religious are women, but most spiritual directors are men. We can all learn much from a knowledgeable and experienced woman spiritual director who has trained others in this ministry, and who is deeply aware of the issues women face, and ways of helping them. She knows India first-hand as well. We will be a fuller and wiser Church if we had more women spiritual directors.

After all, for most of us, our first spiritual director was our mother.

Look deep. Love much. Live fully. Become the best possible version of yourself. You will then do your part to transform the world too. This is what spiritual direction can help us achieve. All the best!

---

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe

Both women and men are actively involved in education.

When it comes to medical work, Sister Doctors and Sister Nurses manage and work in most Catholic hospitals and smaller medical centres. This is largely their world. Men religious and diocesan priests play a very minor role here.

India has 1,000 Sister Doctors. They form an association called the Sister Doctors Forum of India (SDFI). This forum conducted a survey among its members in 2018. They did it in collaboration with the Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI), which covers over 3500 centres, includes five medical colleges and has over 76,000 medical professionals in their institutions.  The results give us interesting and inspiring details about their life, work, location, concerns and struggles—and what sustains them in their demanding ministry.

As their report says, “eighteen per cent of the world’s population lives in India, and many states of India have populations similar to those of large countries. [See the map.] There is inequality of burden across states and across diseases status… India also faces a triple burden of disease communicable, non-communicable and nutritional. This is compounded in women with the addition of reproductive health associated disorders. Out of pocket expenditure is the norm and the brunt is worse in rural areas. The current healthcare systems fails to reach out to the underprivileged poor, a gap that the Sister Doctors are in a unique position to fill.”

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

---

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

I belong to Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Graces (FSLG). It was my childhood dream to become a missionary for Jesus and to go to the villages to tell them about the love of God. And I wanted to be far from my home. So, I joined a congregation based in UP. Our superiors had a dream of having a doctor in the congregation, and asked me to go for MBBS. I didn’t want to, because of the fear of losing my vocation and my laziness to study.

 But God’s plan was that I should become a doctor. That is why I am a sister doctor today. I joined the 1983 batch of MBBS in St John’s Medical College, Bangalore. I have fond memories of my batch mates and of our undergraduate life.

After I took charge in the Our Lady of Graces Hospital, Sardhana, UP, I felt lost. It was a completely different scenario from St. John’s: Twenty beds, no other doctors, no facilities. Staff: Three sister nurses and me.

I then asked the Lord Jesus, “What do you want me to do?”  He told me to convert this building to a hospital, to improve the health of women and children. “Fear not, for I am with you.” And I said yes.

Sardhana is twenty kilometres from Meerut city and about ninety kilometres from New Delhi. It was a small township, more like a remote village. According to the 2011 census, its population is 58,252, of which 64% are Muslims, 29% Hindus and others 7%. Christians number around five hundred in all.

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

---

Sr Liza FSLG

Merciful Thief

Late one evening, I received a call in my mobile from a friend of mine.  I was shocked to know that he had met with an accident and was taken to a nearby hospital.  I rushed to the hospital. I found that my friend had a number of minor injuries and that his clothes were torn. As soon as he could move, I took him to a ready-made store and got him new clothes.  We realized, too, that his mobile phone was missing.  I asked him about the call I received; and then we tried calling his number, which was switched off.  We understood that the mobile phone was stolen; and we were also surprised to know that the thief had done a noble task of informing me by calling the Emergency Contact saved in my friend’s mobile.

ICE – Emergency Contacts

Most of us—including those using a mobile for years—do not seem to be aware of the Emergency Contacts, or ICE-Emergency Contacts (In Case of Emergency – Emergency Contacts).  This Emergency Contact is for use by someone other than the owner, when the owner meets with some emergency.  First of all, we should check whether we have provided the Emergency Contact in our mobile; secondly, we should know how to use this Emergency Contact during any emergency situation we may come across.

Storing Emergency Contacts:

How do we store these Emergency contacts? That depends on the type of phone we are using. There are basically these three types of mobiles available today. I shall explain how to store the Emergency Contact numbers in each of these models.

Simple Mobile with Key-Pad OR Smart Phone without Screen-Lock	Smart Phone with Screen-Lock	iPhone
1. Store your close relatives’ numbers as    Father / Dad    Mother / Mom    Husband / Hubby    Wife 2. To have these contacts in the top of the contact list, store them as    .Father    A.Father, etc.	When you want to store one or more numbers to appear in the ICE-Emergency Contacts: 1. While adding a new contact, use the option ‘Groups’ (which will be as Not Assigned) 2. Choose the option : ICE – emergency contacts	1. Open the Health app and tap the Medical ID tab. 2. Tap Edit, then scroll to Emergency Contacts. 3. To add an emergency contact, tap   under emergency contacts. Tap a contact, then add their relationship. 4. To remove an emergency contact, tap   next to the contact, then tap Delete. 5. Tap Done.
	Note: Please do not use ISD number, for this option

How to use ICE – Emergency Contacts:

When we come across someone in an emergency situation, where the person is unable to use the mobile or tell us whom to contact, we can help the person by contacting someone whose number is stored in the mobile phone:

Simple Mobilewith Key-Pad OR Smart Phonewithout Screen-Lock	Smart Phone with Screen-Lock	Locked iPhone
1. Call any of the relatives’ or friends’ contact number, which may have been saved as: Father / Dad  or  .Father  or  A.Father, etc.,    OR 2. Call the last called number and enquire about the person; or get the close relatives’ or friend’s number and contact that person.	1. Swipe the Phone icon at the bottom of the phone 2. Tap the Emergency Call 3. Contact any of the ICE – Emergency Contacts you see in the display/	1. Go to Emergency Call 2. Tap the Medical ID 3. You will find the emergency contact 4. Use those Emergency Contact number; and call from the same mobile

---

Rocky

A doctoral thesis I guided at Madras University was on the impact of religious practices on depression. The research scholar, Johnny KK, tested the depression levels of terminally ill patients before and after “religious therapy.” There was a measurable diminishment of depression.

The dissertation also included a 136-page Review of Literature which showed the mounting evidence for the impact of religious practices on mental health. The evidence grows each decade.

Psychology and spirituality (or religion), once seen as enemies or rivals, are close allies today. One of the main reasons for this is the abundance of psychological research that shows that spiritual practices (such as meditation) or religious practices (such as private or common prayer or church attendance) promote mental, and even physical, health. In one word, people who practise meditation and regular prayer enjoy better mental health, and, in a number of cases, faster recovery from illness.

The findings are worth quoting.

Meditators have lower blood pressure than non-meditators.

Meditators manage negative emotions, such as depression or anger, better than those who do not meditate.

Practically everyone I know who has practised Vipassana meditation spoke of its positive impact, such as, facing situations more calmly and being aware of oneself.

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

---

Fr Joe Mannath SDB