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Pope Francis’ Formula for Holiness

Pope Francis released an Apostolic Exhortation entitled, Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be Glad) on 9 April 2018. Normally, an Apostolic Exhortation arrives after a synod. Often, they’re written following a gathering of bishops, known as a synod—but not always, as was the case with Gaudete et Exsultate. Some experts put apostolic exhortations third in the rank of papal documents, after apostolic constitutions and encyclicals. Francis’ Gaudete et Exsultate will be his third apostolic exhortation, after Evangelii Gaudium, widely considered the roadmap of this pontificate, and Amoris Laetitia (On family). This document is basically a reflection of Vatican II’s universal call to holiness (Lumen Gentium 40). Here are the five basic themes of the document.

1. Be human, Be Holy

Holiness is not associated with the beatified or canonised alone. Francis mentions holiness of the ordinary, “saints next door.”  He sees holiness in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, and in elderly religious who never lose their smile. He calls it as a middle class of holiness (7). Doing works of mercy is higher to acts of worship. Francis invites us to holiness, invoking St. Thomas Aquinas to argue that “works of mercy towards our neighbour” give greater glory to God than even acts of worship (106). This is the holiness in being ordinary in an extraordinary way: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the French Carmelite who found holiness in doing small tasks; St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Jesuit founder who sought to find God in all things; St. Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratorians, who was renowned for his sense of humour. Francis offers examples of everyday sanctity, like a loving parent raising a child; as well as “small gestures” and sacrifices that one can make, like deciding not to pass on gossip. He even mentions that saints are ordinary people, with lots of imperfections (22).

2. Misleading Views

Francis warns of two false forms of holiness that can lead us astray: Gnosticism and Pelagianism (35). The first is Gnosticism, from the Greek word gnosis, to know. Gnosticism is the old heresy that says that what matters most is what you know. No need to be charitable or do good works. All you need is the correct intellectual approach. Today Gnosticism tempts people to think that they can make the faith “entirely comprehensible” and leads them to want to force others to adopt their way of thinking. “When somebody has an answer for every question,” says Francis, “it’s a sign that they are not on the right road (41).” In other words, being a know-it-all is not going to save you. The second thing to avoid is Pelagianism, named after Pelagius, the fifth-century theologian associated with this idea. Pelagianism says that we can take care of our salvation through our own efforts. Pelagians trust in their own powers, don’t feel like they need God’s grace and act superior to others because they observe certain rules.

3. Humour and Holiness

Christian joy is usually accompanied by a sense of humour (126). Francis mentions three saints who had a sense of humour: Saint Thomas More, Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Philip Neri. Ill-humour is no sign of holiness (126). He warns of an individualistic and consumeristic culture that offers passing pleasures of life. The real joy is in sharing and being shared. “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving” (Acts 20:35). “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). Francis puts it right when he mentions the beatitudes in one’s life. “The word “happy” or “blessed” thus becomes a synonym for “holy.” It expresses the fact that those faithful to God and his word, by their self-giving, gain true happiness (64).”

4. Beatitudes and Holiness

Pope Francis writes that “Jesus explained with great simplicity what it means to be holy when he gave us the Beatitudes (cf. Mt 5:3-12; Lk 6:20-23),” such that “the Beatitudes are like a Christian’s identity card” (63). The Beatitudes are a roadmap for holiness. As you might guess from the document’s title, the Beatitudes—“Blessed are you when…”—are central to this exhortation. The Beatitudes are not only what Jesus means by holiness, they are also a portrait of our Lord himself. So, we are called to be poor in spirit, meek, peacemakers, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on. He concludes each beatitude with a simple and practical exhortation for all. For example: “Seeing and acting with mercy: that is holiness. (82).”

5. Formation to Holiness

What are the ways to be holy? Stated positively, the Christian should rather be patient and meek (112-121); joyful (122-128); bold and passionate (129-139); communitarian (140-146); and constantly prayerful (147-157). Pope Francis calls for following and becoming more like Jesus, a life-long effort which leads us to and is sustained by the Eucharist. To attain holiness, there is a spiritual battle that we need to face. “The Christian life is a constant battle. We need strength and courage to withstand the temptations of the devil and to proclaim the Gospel (158).” He encourages us to exercise the process of discernment in matters both small and great. Finally, Francis exhorts all to pray “in dialogue with the Lord, a sincere daily “examination of conscience (169).”

6. Quotable Quotes

No Individual Holiness: “In salvation history, the Lord saved one people. We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual (6).”

Saints Next Door: “Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them ‘the middle class of holiness’ (7).”

Helping hands better than chanting lips: “Here I think of Saint Thomas Aquinas, who asked which actions of ours are noblest, which external works best show our love for God. Thomas answered unhesitatingly that they are the works of mercy towards our neighbour, even more than our acts of worship (106).”

The devil is real: “Hence, we should not think of the devil as a myth, a representation, a symbol, a figure of speech or an idea (161).”

Humorous saints: “Far from being timid, morose, acerbic or melancholy, or putting on a dreary face, the saints are joyful and full of good humour (122).”

Contemplatives in Action: “It is not healthy to love silence while fleeing interaction with others, to want peace and quiet while avoiding activity, to seek prayer while disdaining service….. We are called to be contemplatives even in the midst of action, and to grow in holiness by responsibly and generously carrying out our proper mission (26).”

Jesus through Saints: “Every saint is a message which the Holy Spirit takes from the riches of Jesus Christ and gives to his people (21).”

Ordinary Holiness: “There are inspirations that tend solely to perfect in an extraordinary way the ordinary things we do in life (17).”

Imperfect Saints: “Not everything a saint says is completely faithful to the Gospel; not everything he or she does is authentic or perfect (22).”

Faithful to Our Deepest Self: “Do not be afraid of holiness. It will take away none of your energy, vitality or joy. On the contrary, you will become what the Father had in mind when he created you, and you will be faithful to your deepest self (32).”

True Happiness: “The word ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’ thus becomes a synonym for ‘holy.’. It expresses the fact that those faithful to God and his word, by their self-giving, gain true happiness (64).”

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Crystal shares with our readers what made her join a retreat team for women prisoners, and some of the heart-rending stories she came across.

“Oh my goodness, why in the world are you going into prison to give a retreat? Aren’t you afraid for your own safety?”  This has been the usual response I receive from well meaning friends and family members when I tell them that I have joined a group of women who present weekend retreats within the prison walls to women whose sentences range from one year to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.

The Terrible World of Prison

To be honest, when a friend of mine initially invited me to join the prison ministry, my first reaction was guarded.  In our society, prisoners are a group of people for whom most people feel little sympathy. There is a general attitude that they deserve whatever unpleasant conditions they experience while incarcerated. It is easy for most of us to feel superior to the imprisoned, because we judge we would not have ever committed the crimes for which they are being held. Movies that portray the rough, brutal manner of prisoners continue the perception that they are of a lower class of human beings, without conscience or morals. How easily we all make the mistake of condemning people without realizing the individual circumstances that result in their imprisonment.  We who have no direct experience with anyone who is imprisoned can allow fear of violence and anger at brutality to keep our distance from ministering to them. We can think of prisoners as ‘them’, not as our brothers and sisters in Christ. How quickly my eyes were opened once I took the time to learn the truth.

The United States has the dubious distinction of being the leader in the number of people being held in prison, with 2.3 million people incarcerated. This sad statistic doesn’t reflect the individual causes of incarceration: prisons and jails are literally overflowing with poor, uneducated people, about half of whom suffer from mental health or substance abuse problems. Once I started reading about the true conditions in prison, I learned other alarming facts: “We’ve sent a quarter million kids to adult jails to serve long prison terms, some under the age of twelve. We’ve been the only country in the world that condemns children to life imprisonment without parole…We’ve given up on rehabilitation, education and services for the imprisoned because providing assistance to the incarcerated is apparently too kind and compassionate. We’ve institutionalized policies that reduce people to their worst acts and permanently label them ‘criminal,’ ‘murderer,’ ‘rapist,’ ‘thief,’ ‘drug-dealer’—identities they cannot change regardless of the circumstances of their crimes or any improvement they might make in their lives.” (Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson)

First Visit to the Prison

As I read these words, I was immediately reminded of the famous quote by Ricardo Sanchez: “The devil knows your name but calls you by your sin: God knows your sin but calls you by your name. “ As a sinner who will be forever grateful for the mercy of God in my own life, I was hooked. I joined the Kairos prison ministry and began preparations for my first retreat.

I will admit that when I entered prison for the first time I was initially a bit nervous.  As our group walked through the guard station and onto the grounds, I heard the click of the gates locking behind us and saw the barbed wire looming above.  As we walked through the prison campus, I noticed large groups of women being led by guards from one location to another. Here was my first surprise! Dressed in identical clothing of white shirts and blue pants, many were young, normal looking women who could just have easily been walking to their next high school gym class. Many waved and shouted hellos to us, knowing that we were coming as ‘friends’ for the retreat that only a few were lucky enough to be given permission to attend.

Once inside the gym, women started trickling in, looking for a place to sit. As I started to talk with them, I realized that they were more nervous than I was! I tried as much as possible to make them feel welcome before the retreat began, thanking them for coming and taking a chance on us old ‘church ladies.’  How quickly suspicion and fear melts away when we can sit with each other at a table and share a smile.

Stories of Pain and Hope

Throughout the next two days, eight of the retreat leaders stood up and witnessed how God’s love and mercy had changed their lives. One elderly woman, Ann, shared the pain of being sexually abused by her father beginning when she was seven years old, then being “shared” with his friends to pay for his alcohol addiction. Another woman, Mary, spoke of the grief she experienced when her father abandoned the family; her mother and siblings fell into a life of extreme poverty. Susan spoke of the shame she felt when her boyfriend coerced her into having an abortion, and the deep regret she felt for having done so once she became a Christian. Delilah shared that as a teenager she became hooked on drugs, which led her to into petty theft and imprisonment. One by one, these “church ladies” stepped up and shared that their lives had been filled with abuse, poverty, addictions and bad decisions.  But each story was also filled with the eventual awareness that God was there all along, loving them and giving them the grace to forgive themselves and those who harmed them.

As the retreat continued, the prisoners became more and more willing to share their own stories. Many had suffered both physical and sexual abuse, most had lived in poverty, and many were incarcerated for crimes that occurred while they were addicted to drugs or alcohol. Jane shared her story of how she was with her boyfriend who made a stop to buy drugs.  While she waited in the backseat of the car, she heard shots which she later learned left two men dead. She was serving thirty years in prison for “her part” in the crime.  Christina shared that she became hooked on drugs given to her by her father before he sexually assaulted her, and she later turned to prostitution to support her habit. Donna admitted that after she became addicted to heroine, she neglected her children and was sentenced to prison for endangering their lives. Their stories were all heart-breaking and sadly similar. They were raised in an environment filled with danger and with little or no exposure to faith.

By the end of the retreat, many of the women state that being imprisoned was in fact a blessing from God, as it was there that they had the opportunity to come clean from their addictions. Not only that, but for some it was the first time in their lives that they were exposed to reading the Bible, attending church services as well as being with other women who acted as Christian mentors for them.

In the closing ceremony, the retreat leaders form a circle and sing to all of the prisoners this song; “You are loved, you are beautiful. You are a gift from God, Love’s own creation. You are a gift to everyone… you are loved, God danced the day you were born.”  On that first retreat and all the others I have attended since, tears flow freely from every face, some tremendously moved that for the first time in their life, they truly understand that they are loved by God and by others, unconditionally. We exchange hugs and promises for prayers, believing that our sisters in Christ now understand that they are accepted and loved, by us and by God.

A few months ago, an elderly lady approached me in tears at the end of the retreat, saying, “Thank you so much for coming. In here, we are ‘offenders’ and are called by a number. You loved us and called us by our names.” I think that’s God way of winking at me and saying…. Carry on!

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Do priests and religious have a right to their ancestral property?

Religious Renunciation: Is it voluntary or mandatory?

Through the sacrament of ordination, a Catholic priest shares in the ministerial priesthood of Christ.  Similarly, a Religious is called to live the life of Christ and His mission more radically through the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.  Both the priests and the religious make voluntary renunciation of their possessions for the sake of the Kingdom.  Nowadays, this voluntary renunciation has become a tool to deny their constitutional and civil rights, especially property rights.  In several cases, they are forced to fight their families because they are denied their rightful share of property for the fact that they are priests or religious.  In other cases, when they divide their ancestral property, either parents or siblings leave out their son/daughter who is a priest or a religious.  Many of the priests and religious struggle to make both ends meet when they choose to leave the dioceses or congregations.  The following case will shed some light on this issue.

A case

Raphael and his wife Mary had three children—George, Xavier and Eleeswa. George, the eldest son, passed away before his parents. Eleeswa, his sister, died leaving behind six children on 4 April 1961.  Xavier entered a religious congregation and was ordained a priest in 1943.  After his ordination, his parents made a will by which they bequeathed their property to him.  Xavier sold a portion of the “Willed Property” to his relations by executing two sale-deeds. The rest of the property, not liable to be divided, remained with him.

Does he suffer “Civil Death” on becoming a priest?

Three children of the deceased George approached the Trial Court seeking partition of the property excluding Xavier and also for a declaration that the two sale-deeds executed by him were not binding on the property.  They contended that no rights derived from the “Will” to Xavier, since he had already become a priest and taken the vow of poverty before the “Will” was made.  They also asserted that Xavier was at best a manager only who had suffered a ”Civil Death” on becoming a priest and that the disputed property was to be divided without giving him a share.

The Trial Court held that Xavier cannot claim right to ancestral property as he was ordained prior to execution of the “will.”  Applying the principles of the Code of Canon Law, the Trial Court declared that priests or nuns cannot hold property once they enter into the Holy Order.  The Trial Court, further, directed the property to be divided among the legal heirs excluding Xavier who had suffered a “Civil Death” on becoming a priest.

Right to Ancestral Property

Xavier, along with others, came up in appeal before the Kerala High Court, pointing out that applying the principles of Canon Law, the Trial Court ignored the statutory provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (ISA) which are applicable to all ‘Indian Christians.’ Disposing the case, on 7 June 2017, the division bench of the Kerala High Court declared that the Priests and the Religious have right to their ancestral property and denial of such right would amount to violation of their constitutional right to property.

“To hold that one would suffer a ‘civil death’ and be deprived of his property on entering into the Holy Order would be a naked infringement of Article 300-A of the Constitution of India”, the High Court said.  Referring to a case decided by the Supreme Court “If a priest can hold a job, he can have right to ancestral property too,” the High Court said, “We wonder how a priest or nun would suffer a ‘civil death’ for the purpose of succession alone when he/she is very much alive and competent to accept a job on salary or practice as a lawyer receiving fees.”

Being a Priest or Religious is not a “Civil Death”

The Code of Canon Law is a body of principles, standards, rules and norms internal to the Catholic Church, distinct from the civil law.  Being a norm internal to the Catholic Church, it has ceased to be a customary law after its codification in 1917.  Civil rights, especially inheritance and succession of parties, cannot be decided on the basis of Canon Law.  In its pristine sense, when priests and religious severed their natural family ties on entering dioceses or religious congregations, they may be said to have suffered a “civil death” making them ineligible to inherit property either by intestate succession or testamentary succession.  “Civil Death” is inflicted by the courts on persons convicted for the crimes especially against the state, or any adult determined to be legally incompetent because of their mental disability; as a result a citizen loses all civil rights.  By becoming a priest or a religious, does one undergo a “Civil Death”?

Dealing with the obligations and rights of clerics, the Code of Canon Law restricts the management of goods belonging to lay persons, including giving sureties and signing promissory notes (Can 285§4).  Further, the professed religious, by virtue of the vow of poverty, renounces the capacity of acquiring and possessing in favour of the religious institute (Can 668§5).  As a consequence of their voluntary renunciation, they neither own nor administer any property movable or immovable as their own, but administer the same for the achievement of the aims and objectives of their institute in accordance with its rules and regulations set forth.  They bequeath all their property, assets, credits, both movable as well as immovable, in whatever character or wherever situated.

Legislation has Primacy over Personal Laws

The statute passed by the Legislature has primacy over the personal law, and the provisions of the statute shall prevail and override personal law, usage or custom prevailing before legislation.  Governing all ‘Indian Christians’ as regards their inheritance and succession, ISA does not make any departure in the matter of inheritance or succession to Christian priests or religious, whether or not they have taken the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.  There is no statutory prohibition for them to claim their legitimate share out of the estate of their father or mother. Hence, there cannot be any automatic deprivation of property acquired by way of intestate or testamentary succession by the mere fact that one has entered into the priesthood or religious order and renounced his/her worldly pleasures.  Priests or religious are individuals with all civil rights, who can also voluntarily and freely relinquish the share of their property as per the manner of life they have chosen.

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Fr. Ravi Sagar SJ is a law graduate and holds PG diplomas in labour laws as well as in human rights.  He founded the Legal Cell for Human Rights Guwahati (LCHR) and served as its director till July 2017.  He has been a practising advocate at Gauhati High Court, Guwahati, for over 15 years. ravisagarsj@gmail.com

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The story of a humble watchman who, in the midst of poverty and illness,  found peace in praying to Jesus.

Nagaraj, the security guard at a local nursing home, was a weaver at the erstwhile Binny and Co., a company set up in the 19^th century by John Binny, which was later amalgamated with the Bangalore Mills and came to be known as the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills. When the company shut shop due to flooding of its premises in 1996 followed by a lock out declared in 1997, Nagaraj found himself without a job. He worked at sundry jobs, including that of a porter and painter.  Soon after, he and members of his family were plagued with illness one after another. Their finances plummeted. Starvation looked him in the eye. During these trying times he visited several temples and sought the help of many people, but to no avail.

The Votive Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was on his route to work. One day, Nagaraj hesitantly stepped into the portals of this Church and cried to the Lord, seeking His intervention in solving the desperate situation his family was in. On leaving the Church, he realised that his mind was at peace and his sense of despair had left him. He said: “The Lord Jesus not only took away our troubles and healed us of our ailments. Nothing unfortunate has happened to us since that fateful day when I visited the Church for the first time.”

By religion, Nagaraj is a Hindu, not a Christian. But any of us can learn from his godliness and the very devout way he attends Mass. Rain or sunshine, Nagaraj has been attending the Eucharistic celebration every morning at the Votive Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the last five years. There are days when the city faces bad weather—including torrential rain and flooding—with the result that very few people turn up for Mass. Even on such days, Nagaraj’s six-foot frame can be seen in one of the pews at the rear of the Church. Hearing of his Church visits, his wife started going to a Church close to their home and more recently has become a member of the Pentecostal Church.  I jokingly asked him, “When do you take a day off from Mass?” Pat came the reply, “Only when the church is on leave!”

What amazes me is his attentiveness during Mass, whether standing or kneeling, day after day. He is there before most daily Mass-goers come in and begins his exit as soon as the distribution of Holy Communion starts. He walks up to the Crucifix at the back of the church and reverently prays before it, placing his hands on the Crucifix and then on himself—eyes, ears, and the rest of the body—and finally making a deep bow before leaving the church.

Since he leaves before the Mass is over, he does not interact with anyone in the parish, nor can I remember anyone inquiring about him. I asked him if he knew anyone in the parish. He replied: “Only one or two doctors who practise at the Nursing home where I work and a few other people who come to the nursing home recognise me. I am not in uniform, you see! After Mass I get to the nursing home, change into uniform and am at my post on time. I believe in being punctual. I also try to help everyone who comes to the nursing home, be it getting a parking space or giving a helping hand to an elderly patient.”

Nagaraj has learnt all the prayers and hymns and participates in the Eucharistic celebration like any devout Catholic. Says he: “Today, my life is only around Jesus. I am thinking of receiving Baptism and becoming a Catholic.”  He is blessed with two sons, both of whom remain unmarried because of their poverty, but Nagaraj has tremendous faith in the Lord. He says, “Jesus will provide; I am not worried about our situation”.

He also said to me, “I will continue to come to Church, pray and trust in the Lord Jesus as long as I live… No turning back, no turning back!”

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Ordetta Mendoza

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What attracts young people to religious life are not slick brochures or the so-called “vocation camps,” but their own God-experience and the inspiring lives of religious.

The young observe us. They have an “antenna” to sense who is genuine and who is not. They can see whether we look happy or not. They can generally make out who is God-centred and who is worldly.

The best do not come for positions or comfort or financial security. They seek ways of getting closer to God, living the Gospel message whole-heartedly and making a difference in the lives of others, especially of the poor.

Are our lives an inspiring and challenging example?

Are we, as Pope Francis—a religious himself—often tells us, joyful and prophetic witnesses?

Here are the things a group of young religious and novices found attractive in the lives of the religious they know.

Want to try guessing their answers before you actually read them? If so, list the three things you think today’s young people find most attractive about religious life. Now check your guesses with the actual replies of thirty-one young religious and novices.

Top-rated Attractions

Prayer came first. It was, very clearly, the top-rated attraction. Thirteen of them found prayer and God-centredness the most appealing aspect of religious life.

Sample responses:

“Complete dedication to live for the Lord attracts me most.”

“What attracts me is belonging to God and being a partner in the mission of Christ.”

“The way religious spend time in prayer.”

“Blending of prayer, work and community life.”

“Silence and unity attract me. It helps me to grow closer to God.”

“Prayer life, especially gazing at the Blessed Sacrament.”

Linked to this is this second aspect: Closeness to Jesus. Eleven mentioned this as the best thing about religious life.

“The person of Jesus attracts me most.”

“To be a joyful witness of Christ.”

“The close intimacy with Christ attracts me.”

“In the ups and downs of life, religious are happy because of their closeness to Christ. This attracts me.”

Next came community life. Seven respondents were inspired by the community life they had experienced.

“Religious from different backgrounds, cultures, languages, etc., live together, set their minds on the person of Christ.”

Six of them were attracted by the service religious render to people, especially to the poor.

“Religious combine prayer life with service to the poor and teaching children.”

“Fight for justice for the poor for whom no one cares—this attracts me.”

Four were inspired by the simplicity of life they noticed in religious.

“The simple way of life attracts me.”

The following traits were mentioned by one or two respondents each: Joy, silence, asceticism, the vows, hard work, teaching children, accepting suffering without complaining.

In one word, religious who are prayerful, close to God, create loving community and serve the poor are the most likely to inspire and attract today’s young people. Nothing surprising in this, right?

The young have got the order right: Closeness to God, loving relationships, service of the poor.

God, love, service: Who can find fault with these priorities?

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(I thank Sr Mariola Sequeira MSA for collecting the responses of the junior sisters and novices.—Editor)

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The Gospel of Luke presents Jesus as the one anointed by God to preach the good news to the poor (4:18). The evangelist brings together verses from the Septuagint version of Isaiah 61:1 and 58:6 in Jesus’ preaching in Nazareth (4:16-20). In these few verses we find the following themes: the anointing of the Spirit, the description of the work of God’s anointed prophet, and the presentation of Jesus’s mission as bringing good news to the poor and fulfilling the Scriptures.

Gospel Teachings:

The Greek word used in Luke 4:18 to refer to the poor is ptochos, which means not just the poor but rather the economically destitute—the ones who are desperately in want. The Hebrew term for the poor anawim has a broader connotation. The anawim refers not just to the economically destitute, but also to the socially marginalized groups, such as widows, orphans, refugees, the mentally ill, the physically challenged, the outcast, and the sick—all those who are victims of one or another form of oppression or exclusion. Later in the history of Israel, the word anawim acquired a religious meaning referring to the ones who have placed their total trust in God (Psalm 86). As Jesus spoke in Aramaic (not in Greek), all these nuances of anawim would have been perceived and implied by Jesus when he announces his mission as bringing good news to the poor. Later, Jesus announces God’s blessing on the poor (Luke 6:20).

Earlier in Luke’s gospel, Mary’s Magnificat praises the Lord for lifting up the lowly and sending the rich away empty (Luke 1:52-53). The spiritual poverty, fear of God or non-attachment to material things, power and positions, is good and a necessary disposition for salvation. But the oppressive and dehumanizing poverty is an evil which needs to be completely eradicated from the face of the earth. Jesus understood his mission as bringing good news to the poor. He identified himself with them and remained totally committed to changing the plight and destiny of the poor.

Jesus as presented by Luke has compassion on the poor, women, Samaritans, sinners, tax collectors and outcasts of all sorts. Jesus eats with the sinners (5:30), his teaching focuses on the dangers of wealth and the need for social justice (16:13; 18:24), he defends the woman who weeps at his feet (7:36-50) and praises the Samaritan leper who returns to give thanks (17:11-19). Inclusive meals and table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners were so characteristic of Jesus’ mission in the synoptic traditions (Mark 2:15-16; Matthew 11:19; Luke 7:34). Like the OT prophets, Jesus was committed to bringing Israel back to God and was in search of the lost sheep of Israel—sinners and those who lived on the margins of the Jewish community (Luke 4: 16-21; 15:6; Matthew 10:6).

Today’s Challenges:

As disciples of Jesus and consecrated persons, we are called to participate in Jesus’s mission of bringing good news to the poor. Jesus came announcing deliverance, God’s promise of liberation for all the poor and marginalized regardless of nationality, gender, or race. The poor addressed by Jesus would include all—the economically poor, the socially excluded, the politically oppressed, the culturally marginalized, the sexually exploited, the mentally harassed, the humanly abandoned, and the religiously persecuted. Jesus was the good news, and we too must become the good news that we want to proclaim, not so much by more words as rather by our life. Jesus presented God’s love to people in the way he lived, that is, in feeding the hungry, comforting the humiliated, celebrating the dignity of women, healing the sick, and giving hope to the hopeless, sight to the blind, freedom to the captives and sinners, justice to the poor, and life to the dead.

Jesus’ radical poverty, unconditional love and the profound openness to the will of God has to become a source of inspiration for our daily life. We are called to make our own Jesus’ identification with the poor, his blazing anger at injustice, human rights violations and discrimination against women, his radical inclusive approach, and his passion for God’s reign. We are called to say YES to God, to self, and to God’s people—always in favour of God’s choices of the less privileged ones in the church and society, making God’s reign or God’s intervention into human history more and more visible.

In the challenging words of Pope Francis, “If we want to help change history and promote real development, we need to hear the cry of the poor and commit ourselves to ending their marginalization.”

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One day, a diocesan seminarian, my student, tells me, “Why do we say that St John Mary Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests? I find Archbishop Romero a more inspiring model.”

He is making a valid point. There is no one model for holiness. Both Vianney and Romero can inspire us, just as one may be a “fan” of St Therese of Lisieux, while another may learn much from Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela.

A passion for justice and the willingness to challenge oppression, and pay a price for it—this is both Biblical and a much-needed aspect of Christian spirituality.

It is often easier—and can be a selfish escape—simply to pray for the poor or for the world, than to get involved to improve things.

Today, there are many martyrs of justice, men and women who pay a heavy price—loss of job, false cases, opposition from the powerful—for taking a stand for justice.  Think of Sr Rani Maria, or Sr Valsa John, or the Jesuit Martyrs of the University of Central America. They would not have made enemies if they had limited their Christian faith to saying their prayers.

The stand for justice begins in our own homes and institutions. Do we pay our workers a just salary? Are their working conditions fair and human? How do we deal with them? Do we look down on people because of their poverty, or ethnicity or gender?

You may have head the words of the much-loved (and much-persecuted) Brazilian bishop, Dom Helder Camara, “When I say we must help the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a Communist.” While most people are ready to do some charity, they are not ready to be challenged on matters of justice—e.g., land ownership, wages, working conditions.

Archbishop Romero, for instance, said that the most basic form of violence in his country (El Salvador) was structural injustice. Fourteen families owned most of the land. Anyone who protested was opposed, branded a Communist, and even killed. He was shot dead the day after he appealed to the soldiers to stop killing the poor.

Justice is more basic than doing charity. While we need to help at least some people through acts of charity, the more important thing is to create just structures where people are treated justly and get their rights.

For us, members of religious orders, who run institutions, our main concern cannot be how to save money or how to make money for our congregation, but how we serve the people, especially the poor. More basic than doing acts of charity for them (e.g., or giving money during an illness) is treating them justly.

Justice refers to three areas: money, gender and ethnicity.

Money: How is it that the top one percent in our country own 73 percent of the nation’s wealth? Or how can the super-rich swindle the banks for thousands of crores, while a needy person cannot get a small loan? In our own institutions, have we put in place just salaries and working conditions?

Money is the largest area of injustice. The only thing the New Testament calls “the root of all evil” is love of money.

Gender is another area. Do we bring up our sons and daughters with this sense of mutual respect? Do our marriages and the way women are treated in Church circles reflect a sense of equality and mutual respect? How far have we swallowed uncritically our culture’s low esteem for women?

Ethnicity: Do I look down upon some persons as lower, or disparage them, or treat them badly, because they belong to a particular race or caste or tribe? Will every human being, irrespective of ethnicity, get the same and respectful treatment from me?

Justice builds a beautiful world where human beings are treated as human beings, where all have access to opportunities—and no one is excluded from power or freedom or upward mobility because of poverty, or gender or being born into a particular group.

May our faith and our spiritual quest not be limited to conventional piety. May it find clear expression in a courageous and caring stand for justice, both in our institutions and in the larger world. Spirituality is far more than private devotion.

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Taare Zameen Par

Director/producer: Aamir Khan; Writer: Amole Gupte; Cast:  Aamir Khan, Darsheel Safary, Sachet Engineer, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma; Run time:165 minutes. 2007.

The film addresses a usually ignored problem in schools. It tells the story of a dyslexic child who faces misunderstanding and ill treatment from parents and teachers on account of his reading disability. His redemption starts when an understanding teacher steps into his life.

The dyslexic Ishaan Awasthi is an otherwise normal schoolboy of eight. His elder brother excels in studies. Ishaan’s teachers and parents fail to identify his problem and treat him as lazy and truant. In school he is the butt of laughter and ill-treatment. His parents shift him to a boarding school in hope of ‘disciplining’ him. But it only makes matters worse. Lonely and homesick in the new school, Ishaan becomes introverted and withdrawn.

Into his troubled world comes the new arts teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh. Nikumbh identifies the little boy’s problem and helps him out of his shell. Ishaan is talented in painting. He has a great feel for nature and animals and is highly imaginative. This becomes his winning point and the arts teacher is able to convince his parents about this. The climax of the movie is when Ishaan comes out winner in a school painting competition. His parents are relieved and overjoyed to see their son in a new light. The movie is a heart-warming experience, enhanced by Shankar Mahadevan’s musical score and some fine graphic animation that evokes the fantasy world of a child.  It is a lesson in empathy for marginalised children, an inspiration for teachers and parents everywhere. As its subtitle says: “Every child is special.”

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Salaam Bombay

Director: Mira Nair. Cast: Shafiq Syed, Hansa Vithal, Chanda Sharma, Raghuvir Yadav, Anita Kanwar, Nana Patekar, Irrfan Khan.  113 minutes, 1983.

The film’s narrative centres on Krishna, a little boy who is sent out of his house by his mother for setting fire to his elder brother’s motorbike. He has to earn Rs 500 to repay his brother for the damages. He works in a circus. One day, when he is on errands, the circus leaves. The little destitute arrives in Mumbai, where street boys rob everything he has. But he soon makes friends with them, especially with Chillum, who finds work for him as a tea-carrier in a red-light district. Chillum is a drug-addict enslaved by Baba, the drug-dealer whose wife is a prostitute.  Baba’s wife is frustrated by the thought of bringing up their only daughter in such situation. But Baba is unwilling to take them elsewhere. Krishna develops a crush on a new girl named Sola Saal at the brothel. He supports her in resisting her initiation into prostitution, and tries to rescue her by setting fire to the house. They are caught.  He is beaten up and fired from his job.  The madam of the house asks Baba to ‘break’ Sola Saal into her ‘work.’ Krishna does all kinds of menial jobs to earn money to support himself and the hopelessly addicted Chillum, including a burglary. Chillum steals Krishna’s money and overdoses himself to death. One night Krishna and Baba’s daughter are taken by the police and put in a juvenile home. The boy escapes to return to the street. Krishna’s hope of eloping with Sola Saal are dashed when she tells him that she is charmed by Baba and does not care about Krishna and moves off to meet her first “client.” The enraged boy kills Baba and tries to run away with Baba’s wife. They get separated in a procession. The movie was developed from the actual experiences of Mumbai street children.  The filming was done entirely on location. It throws light on the conditions of life lived literally in the streets of Indian cities, and the inadequacy and casual cruelty of social institutions meant to help the people living on the edge. We also see the dignity and resilience of people who are treated as “non-persons.”

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I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

By Nujood Ali. Delphine Minoui Linda Coverdale, Translator. 2010.

 This book is the autobiography of Nujood Ali, an illiterate Yemeni girl who received international attention for her courageous stand against barbaric social practices.

Nujood was born into a large Muslim family in Yemen. Her father practiced polygamy. Her brothers went to school. At age nine, she was taken out of school and married to a thirty-one-year old man. There is a Yemeni tribal proverb: “To guarantee a happy marriage, marry a nine-year-old girl.”  Raped by her husband on the very first night, mentally and physically abused by her mother-in-law, Nujood found life a horror. After two months of this, she escaped from the in-laws’ house. Her father’s second wife advised her to seek a divorce. In Yemen, such a thing was unimaginable. She ran away with the money given to her to buy bread, and went to the court. A judge took her into his protection and ordered her husband and father to be taken into custody. The advocates in the city and the press supported her cause.

The young girl’s courage and determination became a sensation in Yemen.  International media and human rights activists made her a heroine of human rights. Her case served to highlight the cause of young girls facing sexual slavery in the name of marriage. Nujood says, “I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”  Shada Nasser (Nujood calls her as “second mother”), a women’s rights activist and advocate, represented her in court. Nujood became the first child bride in Yemen to win a divorce in a country where nearly half the prepubescent girls are married off to senior men. She returned to school with the dream of becoming a lawyer and helping girls in similar situations.  She faced government persecution. In 2008, Glamour magazine chose her, along with Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, as Women of the Year. One result of her action: Yemen raised the minimum age of marriage from 15 to 18.

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Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time.

Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin. 2006.

This memoir of Greg Mortenson, the co-founder of non-profit ‘Central Asia Institute (CAI), Pennies for Peace’ tells his experience of trying to build schools and hospitals in the remote villages of  Afghanistan and Pakistan during the days of Taliban terror. The title refers to the Afghan custom of hospitality according to which the third cup of tea shared with a guest makes him almost a family member. Mortenson had such an experience when he stumbled into Korphe, after his failed attempt to climb K 2, the second tallest mountain in the world to honour his late sister Christa, who was disabled. He ended up building a school for girls in the remote Korphe, tucked away among the Karakoram Mountains.  He saw children attempting to learn writing without the help of a trained teacher, writing with sticks in mud. In return for the villagers’ hospitality, he promised to build a school for them.

Mortenson saved money from his salary as a nurse. His missionary parents had built a hospital and a school in Tanzania where he and his sister grew up.  His struggle to raise funds received the generous support of the wealthy physicist and mountaineer Jean Horni.

Despite the perils of traveling and living in the difficult terrain, as well as personal tragedies at home, he finished the project. His wife and friends also joined in for support.

The CAI helped to build more schools in the mountains. But the violent Taliban and some mullahs were against girls’ education. The Taliban destroyed some of these schools. Mortenson himself survived two kidnappings and two fatwas. Organisational problems also plagued him in America. The Taliban terrorist groups built madrassas in place of secular schools where they trained boys for terror. He faced opposition and hate from both sides.  This book became an instant best seller and Time Magazine’s Asia Book of The Year.

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Personal Accountability

Accountability comes in when we work for someone else or when something is entrusted to us.  In our religious context, all priests and religious are working for the Church, through our dioceses or religious congregations.  In secular terms, we work for a registered charitable trust or society.  Thus, in both cases, we are working for someone else. Whatever we administer, we administer it on behalf of the Church and the registered trust or society.   This calls for accountability for whatever we do or/and spend, either on ourselves or on the apostolic works. In our religious context, we are accountable to our superiors; in secular terms, we are accountable to the Trust/Income Tax official, who has allowed us the “income tax exemption” status.  Therefore, according to Canon 1284 §1,  all administrators are to “perform their duties with the diligence of a good householder.”

Usually we take a sum of money as advance, from the Minister/Treasurer, for our expenditure.  Going by the understanding spelt out above, it is only natural that we are accountable for it.  This would mean submitting the financial account for the sum of money we have received and spent, whether on personal needs or on the needs of the apostolic works.  It does not stop there.  We are also accountable for the amount of money we receive personally as a gift, donation or remuneration. Thus, it is clear that we are held accountable for the sum of money received for our use from our friends and relatives, the sum of money we received as remuneration for our services, as well as the amount we take from the Minister/Treasurer for our needs or the needs of the apostolic works.

Some of us still do not know how to prepare the accounts.   Normally it is done as shown below:

	Date: __________
Account for personal expenses:
Particulars	Expenditure (Rs)	Income (Rs)
Amount received from the Minister/Treasurer		5000
Received as remuneration/gift		500
Travel with food and auto/taxi fare	2250
Clothes	850
Medicine	1200
Stationery	300
Toiletries	450
Total Expenditure	5050
Balance returned	450
Grand Total	5500	5500
____________
Signature

The account shown here is the master account for personal expenses, prepared and signed, with date, by the person concerned.   Similarly, if the account is for an apostolic purpose, it is mentioned on the top as “school office account,” “staff welfare programme account,” “farm account,” etc.   Below this master account, all supporting bills and vouchers are grouped and attached in the same order as given in the master account so that auditing becomes easier.

From the income tax point of view, it is necessary that we submit the original (pacca) tax paid bills, as much as possible, at least for amounts exceeding Rs 300.  It is always preferable that we pay a little extra and get a tax paid bill than buying from the roadside without any bill, just because it is cheaper.   For travel, we are expected to submit the train or bus ticket and, if it is a flight ticket, the boarding pass as well, all in original. For food during journey and auto or taxi fare, we can write a separate voucher, sign with date and attach the same.  It is much better that we submit our account with all supports immediately after we have spent the money, so that we/our trust does not get in to unnecessary problems with the income tax officials later. As registered public charitable trusts, we have to be accountable for all the income and expenditure we incur on ourselves or on the apostolic works.

Accountability of a Society/Trust

In the case of a Society or Trust, too, we are held accountable. Normally, the Treasurer of the Society or Trust, on behalf of the Governing Body, presents the financial report of the Society to the members of the General Body.  This is how it has to be.  But in many Trusts or Societies, this practice is either not there or even if it is there, it is done as a routine procedure without much seriousness.   As members of the Governing Body, each one has to realize that they are all entrusted with the responsibility of running the Society/Trust and thus take his/her role seriously and be involved in the process of financial accountability.

Normally, the financial report contains the following information: the annual income and expenditure, liabilities and recoverables, new assets purchased, extra-ordinary income (e.g., donations), extraordinary expenditure (e.g., major renovation or construction works), volume of increase in the funds of the Society or Trust, investment income earned and the final surplus or deficit data.  On presenting these data, the members are free to ask for any clarification or give suggestions.

Accountability of an Institution

When an institution raises funds for a particular purpose, we are accountable to all those who contributed for the cause. Normally a thanksgiving function is organized in their honour and their contributions are acknowledged in public.  A report of the activity and its financial report are presented to them in common or are sent to them all by post.  Here too it is clearly shown whether the whole amount is utilized or there is any balance left.

Accountability in a Parish

Accountability plays a vital role in a parish too.  The Parish Priest, together with his Parish Council, is accountable to the parishioners. Be it the Sunday collections or any other collections, the parishioners are informed of all the total collections, expenses incurred and the balance in the account.

Project Accountability

Project Liability is another area in which we all have to be accountable.  Here we are accountable to the donor agency. The accounts are given in the way the agency desires. Some may ask for the financial and activity report together, others may ask for all accounts and at least the copy of all bills and supports. A few others may ask for the audit report or utilization certificate from a chartered accountant.  It is better that we present the financial report against the budget we had proposed to the donor when we submitted the project, so that they can easily follow the report against the budget they had approved.  The future support of the donors depends on the way we are accountable to them now.

The next issue will deal with the budget.

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