A Trust can be understood as a group of like-minded people formally coming together with a common purpose of doing something good for the public.  A Trust can be either a private or public Trust.  A private Trust exists for the benefit of a particular person(s), whereas a public Trust exists for the benefit of the public, irrespective of class, caste, religion, etc.  Here, we shall limit ourselves to the Public Trust, in which we are all involved.

The word “trust” means a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. Here it is applicable to the founder trustee(s), who, having placed his/her/their trust in the reliability of the future trustees, have bequeathed his/her/their property or assets for the beneficiaries of the trust.  The Indian Trust Act of 1882 defines a Trust as an obligation annexed to the ownership of property and arising out of a confidence reposed in and accepted by the owner, for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

A Trust is a legal entity created by the founder, who authorizes the trustees to hold the right to manage the founder’s assets or property for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the Trust.  The person who reposes the confidence is the founder of the Trust; the person(s) who accept(s) the confidence is the Trustee; the person(s) for whose benefit the confidence is accepted is the beneficiary; the subject matter of the Trust is the Trust property;  and the Instrument by which the Trust is declared is the Trust Deed, which spells out the objects of the Trust.

Essential Elements 

Thus, a Trust has these five essential elements: Founder, Trustee(s), Beneficiaries, Trust Property and Trust Deed with the Objects of the Trust clearly spelt out.  As per Section 6 of the Indian Trusts Act (1882), a Trust is created when the Founder of the Trust shows his/her intention to create a Trust, spells out the Purpose of the Trust and its Beneficiaries, identifies the asset/property he/she would like to pass on to the Trust and legally and irrevocably transfers the same to the Trust.  This is done in a public forum. Once done, it becomes a public legal entity.

To become a public legal entity, the Trust Deed has to be registered with a public authority, who, after approving the same, registers the name of the legal entity in the official register with its registration number and date of registration and issues a certificate to the same effect.  This is called the Trust Registration Certificate.  The legal entity comes in to existence the day it is registered with the public authority.  A Charitable Society or a non-profit Company under Section 8 is also created in a like manner with a public authority.

When someone becomes a Trustee, he/she inherits all that has gone before in the making of the Trust, especially, its purpose (objects), property and beneficiaries and gives his/her best to fulfill the purpose for which the Trust has been created.  Hence it is necessary that every Trustee becomes familiar with all the clauses of the Trust and runs the Trust as a custodian, with a sense of great responsibility, so much so that, even if the Trust Deed is amended, its original purpose and beneficiaries cannot be altered.  Hence, a Trust cannot be wound up at any point of time, and, even if it were to be done as a last resort with due permission, the assets are to be passed on to another Trust with similar purpose and activities. Thus its sacredness is preserved for ever.

In the next issue, we shall see how a Trust is run.

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“Let us enter the contest to win perfectly not only outward martyrdom, but also the martyrdom that is in secret.” (Exhortation. to Martyrdom, Ch. 21)

There is no direct information about Origen.  We know about him from Eusebius, Jerome, Photius, Gregory Thaumaturgus and some of his students in Caesarea.  He was born in the year 185 CE to a Christian family in Alexandria and enjoyed a Christian upbringing.  When his father suffered martyrdom during Septimus Severus’ persecution in 201, he too desired the same but was restrained by his mother.  His family’s possessions were confiscated and he began a school to provide for his mother and six younger brothers.  Given his zeal, the bishop of Alexandria entrusted him with the task of instructing catechumens. He traveled to various places preaching the gospel and was held in high esteem.  His episcopal friends ordained him and this invited the ire of his bishop Demetrius, who expelled him from the country.  He went to Caesarea in Palestine, where he began a new school.  During the persecution of Decian in 250/52 he was imprisoned and tortured.  The authorities tried to make him recant his faith in public, but to no avail.  He was set free, but his health was broken and he died around the year 254.

Origen was a prolific writer, who was condemned by the Church two centuries after his death.  His genius was, however, recognized during the Renaissance and the 20^th century reinstated him to the position he deserves.  Hans Urs von Balthasar would call him as ‘towering a figure as Augustine and Aquinas.’  He combined personal holiness, great intellectual ability and a universal openness to all currents of thought.  He was passionate in his search for the truth and firmly believed that the fullness of truth can only be found in Christ.  A major contribution of Origen was the scholarly contemplation of Scripture, with his six-column edition of the Old Testament, Hexapla, being an important work.  He is known as the father of ‘allegorical’ interpretation and looked upon exegesis as a religious experience.  Though he was strongly influenced by Plato, he viewed the divine-human relationship in terms of concrete historical processes, rather than a world of unchanging spiritual realities.  Besides Scripture, his other works included an apologetic work Contra Celsum, a monumental theological work of four volumes, De Principiis, a treatise on prayer titled, On Prayer, a commentary on the Songs of Songs where his spiritual theology is expounded and, finally, a work that extolls martyrdom, titled Exhortation to Martyrdom.

The initial quote from the Exhortation to Martyrdom was in the context of the persecution faced by the early Christian communities.  They believed martyrdom to be the true and perfect form of discipleship.  Martyrdom resulted in: a) the perfect imitation of Christ and b) the perfection of Christian wisdom.  Authentic discipleship always involved some kind of death and hence the ascetic and martyr were presented as spiritual persons within the church.  This is why Origen spoke of an ‘outward martyrdom’ as well as a ‘martyrdom which is secret.’

The spirituality of explicit and secret martyrdom is as relevant to us today as it was in the 3^rd century.  Though millions have embraced ‘outward’ martyrdom during the last century, such martyrdom is not the calling of most Christians.  All are, however, called to the ‘secret martyrdom,’ where one bears witness to one’s faith by swimming against the current and standing up for the values of the Kingdom of God.  The personal witness and writings of Origen offer us an inspiration to live our daily martyrdom – our daily kenosis of dying to oneself in order to live for Christ.

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We are used to quoting Western studies on religious life and other aspects of church life. Don’t we have local, culturally situated studies? Why don’t we study pressing local issues rather than simply quote European or American studies.

Fair enough. We interviewed someone who did a well-researched doctoral thesis on the issue of multiculturalism among religious. In fact, it is the most comprehensive study of this kind done among Catholic religious in India. Further, the author is a member of his congregation’s general council, and hence exposed to religious life in different parts of the world. Having been his doctoral guide, I can vouch for the fact that the writer is a competent and thorough researcher, as well as a clear thinker. Thank you, Paulraj, for sharing your insights and suggestions—based on valuable research data—with our readers on a topic of utmost relevance.–Editor

1.How did you get interested in the issue of Multiculturalism?

Culture always fascinated me, and, later, the issue of multiculturalism. Even as a small boy, I very much liked the idea of people from different religions and cultures living together peacefully. My village of birth consisted of people of many religions living in peace and harmony. We all participated in the festivals of others; a shared culture was my experience.

When I became a religious, I suddenly realized that it was not a joyful and peaceful experience for all. What once appeared to me a very joyful experience appeared bitter for many. A bishop told me, pointing to the crucifix, how each day he was being crucified by a certain section of priests belonging to a particular group. A priest friend poured out his heart narrating how his bishop punished him and treated him shabbily because he spoke a different language. In sessions for religious, I met many major superiors facing tough multicultural challenges for which they had no solutions.

I found some strong and efficient leaders (Provincials and Generals) broken and fragile before these multicultural challenges. This made me aware that consecrated life must grapple with this problem. I decided to study this phenomenon more thoroughly. Why and how do consecrated men and women and priests find it hard to live this multicultural reality, while ordinary lay people do not find it so? Sharing in private circles by many priests and religious motivated me to do a serious study. I wished to find solutions and strategies, since many religious leaders were grappling with the challenges of multiculturalism and it was sapping their energy.

2.How do cultural factors affect the Church and society?

Culture is all pervasive. Culture and society are inseparable. The Church is not an isolated entity; we cannot think of a church or a congregation unaffected by the societal events of today.

Multiculturalism—living, working and growing together with persons who differ from us in race, language, tribe, caste, religion or class—is an evident fact and challenge of secular society and of the church. As Martin Luther King used to say, “We either live together as brothers and sisters, or perish together as fools.” The Church is multicultural by nature because it lives and moves within the society. Jesus called his disciples to leave everything and follow him. The disciples “left house, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God” (Lk 18,29). The solidarity of the family was not allowed to stand in the way of this new solidarity which characterized the “kingdom” (Lk 9,59-62). Then how do we explain the efforts of a number of priests and religious in India to form a type of solidarity based on ethnicity, language, rite, caste, diocese, tribe and so on…?

3.The Gospels are to be inserted creatively in each culture, and also challenge the inhuman elements of every culture. Are we doing that in India?

It is very difficult to answer this question, especially concerning India. It is such a vast and varied country with multiple cultures, religions, languages and traditions. I do not need to explain that. But what we must not forget is that the Gospel message is universal and it addresses all cultures, peoples and nations. At the same time the Gospel is culturally conditioned. It must be creatively interpreted and inserted in each culture with care and sensitivity.

All cultures, no doubt, need purification. History teaches us that. The problem in India today with some is that they see their culture as beyond correction and above other cultures. They act as if their culture were pure and blameless. The truth is that there are humanizing and inhuman aspects in every culture. The Gospel challenges us to keep the good and boldly reject the bad.

What are the parameters to identify the human and inhuman elements in them? Who will take the call? How do we begin the process of purification? There is no denying the fact that the Gospels are to be inserted creatively in every culture. The Church in India has not been able to go much beyond adaptation of certain rituals and rubrics in our liturgical practices. Though we are aware that the Indian Church has grown in maturity, greater awareness and realizations of Christian equality, tolerance of other cultural groups, rites and languages and participation of various minority groups, etc., in the actual and concrete situations, radical changes have not been carried out. We have not, by and large, walked the talk.

4.What are the main findings of your doctoral research?

My doctoral research was centered around multiculturalism. More than 750 Religious women and men from four states of Southern India belonging to different congregations took part in this study. They were in the age group of 25-58 years. The study tried to see if there is resistance to multicultural living among the Indian religious, and if yes, the causes, the effects and the ways to handle them, etc. The study generated enormous data, not only on the issue of multiculturalism, but also on other aspects of Consecrated Life: recruitment, formation, mission, community life, happiness in religious life, etc. In this article, however, I shall limit myself to the issue of multiculturalism in religious life: How do religious see (and experience) living with “others”—persons who differ from themselves in mother tongue, place of origin and caste? (Since the setting of the study was South India, the main challenges of multiculturalism regarded mother tongue and caste. If done elsewhere, other factors may be more crucial, such as, race or tribe.)

Here are my main findings:

4.1. There are divisions among Indian religious based on language and caste: Many religious speak about this in private or in some secluded gatherings. Some find it hard to acknowledge its presence. As for numbers, 89.6 per cent of the religious who responded agree that there are divisions based on cultural factors like language and caste among the Indian religious.

4.2. Such divisions stem from the quest for power and money. Eight out of ten respondents say that the divisions based on language and caste have their roots in the quest for money and power. It appears that attachment to money and possessions, to honour, to positions and authority, are seen by the religious as instruments to boost their self-importance, social standing and popularity.

4.3. The Church is deeply divided by caste affiliation: The religious are not the only ones who indulge in such activities. They are part of a larger Catholic Church; and the society in which the Church exists is deeply divided. This is evidently a betrayal of the Christian teaching on God’s fatherhood: “the Church in India cannot fight against casteism unless she herself is redeemed from its odious clutch. This caste mentality is an outright denial of the Fatherhood of God, because casteism renders meaningless the brotherhood of man.”[1] In the survey, 7 out of 10 respondents (70%) agree that the Catholic Church herself is beset with these problems.

4.4. Many religious are reluctant to live in community with “others”: About two-thirds of the respondents (62 percent) say that there is reluctance among them to live with the religious from other cultural groups (differing in language, caste or place). Some religious organize themselves –secretly or otherwise—into groups based on such factors and offer support to those from one’s group.

4.5. Most were unaware of such divisions in religious life before they joined: A large majority (88 per cent) of the respondents said that before they joined religious life they had no idea at all about caste and culture being a major factor in the power games in religious life. And 50% said that they would not have joined religious life if they had known about this earlier. This finding has to make us pause and think. From whom and from where do people pick up such divisive tendencies?

4.6. Positive experience of multicultural living: In apparent contrast to data listed so far, eighty per cent  of the respondents have positive experiences and happy memories of living in multicultural communities.  Only a very small per cent of them seem to have had bitter experiences.

4.7. Friendships beyond one’s ethnic group: Another positive finding from the survey is that a large number of respondents (89%) say that their circle of friends goes beyond language/caste and other groupings. And about two-thirds (67%) say that when they are in trouble they do not turn to a person from their own cultural group.

4.8. The vast majority want multi-cultural communities: A sign of hope:  9 out of 10 respondents want multicultural communities of religious life in the future, rather than persons drawn from mono-linguistic, tribal, regional or caste groups.

4.9. Open dialogue on cultural differences is needed: Divisive activities are carried out not in the open, but in secret. So, 80% of the respondents agree that one way to reduce and sort out the problems is to talk about them in open forums and facilitate sincere dialogue.

4.10. Divisions based on ethnicity (language, caste, tribe, etc.) must be banned in religious life: Most of the religious (90%) in our survey propose banning culture-related divisive tendencies. Eighty percent want a law banning such divisions in the church in India.

4.11. Priests and religious must give prophetic witness in this area: More than 91 per cent of the respondents say that multicultural living among the priests and religious in India is a great witness to the message of Jesus Christ. We need prophetic religious who will play a prophetic role in showing the way.

These are my main findings on the issue of multiculturalism in religious life in India.

5.You are part of the General Council of the Montfort Brothers. You have been exposed to various cultures. Could you mention some of the positive and negative aspects of our Indian cultures?

My mission has taken me to many countries. I have used these opportunities to interact with lots of people at a closer level.  And the culture of each country always attracted me and I observed them closely. At a first look, what is striking about India is: India is a country of many colours and flavours. But living in such a multicultural context has not been and is not an easy experience for us. We Indians know that, where there is diversity, there will always be friction.

According to one old census of India, there are 1652 languages and dialects in the country. On our currency note, the amount (e.g., Ten Rupees) is written in English, Hindi and fifteen regional alphabets.The culture of India has been shaped by its long history, unique geography and diverse demography. India’s languages, religions, dance, music, architecture and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality. The culture of India is an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are several millennia old. Thus, most states differ from one another in language, culture, cuisine, clothing, literary style, architecture, music and festivities. How do we move from here? Is it a weakness or strength? I see the positives of Indian culture/s: We are people culturally more aware. Indians are subconsciously more aware about other cultures. Indians also know more about various religions. We are more empathetic. This awareness subtly contributes to an understanding about the other’s viewpoint.

We are more tolerant. This has also resulted in a greater tolerance for other cultures. It is not uncommon to see a temple side by side with a mosque or a Church and a pure vegetarian restaurant side by side with a Mughal non-veg one. We are also compassionate. Indians have by default an implicit compassion for other cultures. This is the reason why many Indians are happily living in all types of cultures all over the world. Indians easily merge into other cultures and it is so easy and simple for us. Finally, we are also accommodative. Unlike many other nations, India does not prohibit anyone from occupying any posts. Religion, language, region, caste or tribe, ultimately does not matter. But things are changing today!

What is saddening in Indian culture is our inability to see, study, deepen and value these multicultural realities. These realities have to be acknowledged and respected, even celebrated, as parts of a whole, as that which defines contemporary Indian culture. I wish to share an interesting point here. I am a Tamilian by birth and heritage. When I moved to North India, I suddenly became “Madrasi.” This label never meant anything to me. In fact, it was irritating. On the other hand, when I go to other countries, I am an “Indian.” There was something comforting in that umbrella term and in fact that label made it easier for me to relate and negotiate overseas. I learned a ‘multi-culti’ way to meet people whose culture I completely ignored before. It was really good to meet Tamilians, Malayalees, Kannadigas, Telugus, North Indians and others and know that, though we’re quite different, we’re now made known to one another because we are suddenly categorized as Indians outside India. Today we have to consciously refrain from these narrow labels, the terms imposed on us and this is the shift we Indians find it hard to make while living in India.

6.What suggestions would you make to readers of MAGNET—bishops, major superiors, other religious, priests and educated laity?

I shall limit my suggestions only to the area of multicultural life in the Indian Church and the Consecrated Life circles.

My first suggestion to the readers of MAGNET is to take multiculturalism seriously in contemporary ecclesial discourse and in consecrated life  and develop ways to understand and respond to the challenges associated with cultural and religious diversity.

Secondly, in any actual society, people will mix and associate with those of other races/cultures, while also keeping some kind of social or cultural identity (e.g., based on religion, ethnic group, rites, local area, group affiliation, caste and diocese affiliation, subculture…). This is unavoidable. But it is important for the religious leaders to oversee that these affiliations are not politicized and made to become monsters later.

Thirdly, in the Indian Church/es today the practice of allocating authority/power and financial resources according to ethnicity, language or region or caste, have forced people to identify themselves in terms of those ethnicities, and those ethnicities alone, inevitably setting off one group against another. We need to handle this with sensitivity and firmness.

Fourthly, an important point to note for the leaders: More than 70 per cent of the respondents agree that the emergence of casteist and regional political parties in the States of India have contributed to the casteist and divisive tendencies among the priests and religious. The caste-based politics in India is not a new phenomenon. But now, a number of  religious are also affected by this politicized atmosphere. We are aware of some of the tragic events that have happened.

Fifthly, the consecrated religious must direct their lives to the apostolic goals of the society. Then they would discover that the class distinction and traditional cultural distinctions are obstacles. This is a call for re-foundation and re-configuration of the congregations. It is a vast topic in itself.

Sixthly, Bishops and Major Superiors need a heightened awareness that caste is both a historical truth of the Indian subcontinent, and a reality of modern-day India. Some of us are still unaware of the extent to which caste remains an ordering principle in our society today. If we want to beat caste, we need to understand it. The problem exists. With all the talk of modernity and progress, discrimination is till rampant. A policy document released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) recently admitted  for the first time that Dalit Christians face discrimination and untouchability.

Seventhly, the Church has made it very clear that “every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, colour, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God’s intent.” (Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, no.29, II).

Lastly, many educated and ordinary lay people keep telling us that the problems related to castes, rites, regions, dioceses, and languages in the Indian church are not of their making. They have nothing much to do with them. The laity feel that they are the creation of certain members of the hierarchy and clergy and religious of the Church in India. Well, this needs to be studied.

7.How do you see the present situation of religious life, and its likely face in the coming decades?

It is very hard to speak of one face (we need to speak of many faces) of Indian religious life in the coming decades. I wish to cite here Evelyn Woodward. In her work Poets, Prophets, Pragmatists: A New Challenge to Religious Life, she notes that because of the massive impact of pluralism, religious life is a ship afloat on an ocean of time whose tides are now governed by the swell of pluralism. According to her, navigation demands special gifts, which she identifies as the insight and appreciation of the poet, the challenge and goading of the prophet, and the planning and programming of the pragmatist. I feel we need this strategy for Indian religious life too.

I foresee the Indian religious in the coming decades living in a very polarized context. What can happen is: instead of fighting polarization, we may get caught in it. What we see now happening in many units or congregations/dioceses is the whole generations are being split into two or three or four and more factions. A sense of shared culture is being threatened. Emotional and partisan rhetoric overturns the Constitutions, Rule books, their future and their own sense of self. This is a danger.

There is also another face of the Future Indian Religious life. Many minority linguistic/cultural groups in India already feel that they have experienced exclusion or the denigration of their contributions and identities in the past. The majority linguistic/caste/regional groups have held power for too long, they feel. Hence there are some cultural voices seeking the inclusion of their views and contributions of diverse members of society/Institute while maintaining respect for their differences and waiting for their turn to emerge as the dominant culture.

The present breed of Indian religious can learn much from the following incident that touched me deeply.

Recently, I was in Rwanda, an East African country. A Rwandan university professor narrated this incident with a deep sense of pride. It happened after the inter-tribal massacre of 1994, in which nearly a million persons were murdered.

One day, after the massacre was over and things began to be peaceful, a group of men from Congo came to the bordering areas of Rwanda. They went to a school and ordered the students to stand according to their ethnic groups (Hutus and Tutsis). The students, who were just recovering from the brutal genocide, refused. They stood together. “We do not have Hutus or Tutsis here, we are Rwandans,” said one of the students. The attackers again asked them to separate themselves according to ethnicity, but the students stood their ground. The men killed all the children. Today these children are hailed as national heroes and martyrs in Rwanda. They were simply teenagers who dreamt of the things that teenagers dream about. But when they were put to the test, they chose unity over division and sacrifice over selfishness. And if these teenagers could do it, can’t we, religious and priests, do it?

Another face of the coming decades is: Multiculturalism will also make life more interesting. I am convinced that the very issues which face the Indian Religious today are those which the Church will have to deal with in the future. What threatens the vocation of the Indian religious today brings us also into the heart of the Church’s own struggles to live authentically its calling in a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic context of India. As Pope Francis insists, “the only future worth building is one that includes everyone.”

Presently the religious orders have a lesson to learn. As people journeying in faith, the Indian religious need to celebrate the diversity. Sadly, some of us have allowed cultural factors to promote fear and mistrust among us. We have at times emphasized our group identities over our common vocation and mission. As is evident from the findings, 71 per cent of the respondents say that cultural tensions and rivalries among them sap most of their energy and evangelical vitality, and hence very little time is left for any creative work. The religious have only to believe that their differences could enrich their visions and their joint struggles against common enemies—injustice, divisions, exploitation and cruelty.

If we nurture and celebrate our differences, such diversity can be a great springboard for creativity and fresh energy. Our shared faith and call to mission call us to establish communities which create, guarantee, and encourage spaces within which different communities, groups and identities are able to grow at their own pace. At the same time, it means creating a public space in which these communities and groups are able to interact, enrich and thus work for human promotion.

I would like to end by proposing some strategies for the direction of our energies. The National CRI can help the Congregations and Dioceses to develop strategies for managing cultural differences. The individual congregations and dioceses could develop and put in place relevant social support systems for the priests and religious. Efforts must be made to setting up multicultural communities at all levels in the Church/ congregations and this will go a long way in creating healthy situation for the entire Church.

When the commitment of the religious is more oriented towards the poorest and the neediest (“the peripheries,” as Pope Francis is constantly telling us), then sectarian identities lose their pull, and our energies are focused on a Gospel-inspired and inspiring way of life and mission. For this, we need credible prophets and witnesses who show us the way, especially among our leaders.

Our societies—in India and elsewhere—are multicultural. Whether we see it as a problem or a gift, is a choice and matter of our core values. Celebrating diversity and counteracting divisive forces effectively is a stark challenge facing Indian religious today. Constructing such communities and such a society is, of course, a tall order. But the alternative—division, fragmentation, mutual bigotry and public scandal—is far worse.

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Kevin

The United States has long been one of the most church-going nations in the western world, and Catholics have been the largest religious denomination in the country.  However, for the past several decades, Church attendance by Catholics has been declining drastically (from 58% in 1965 to 22% in 2016.) The second largest denomination in the country is former Catholics, whose numbers have grown four-fold since 1965.   Increasingly, poorly catechized Catholics are abandoning the faith to join evangelical mega-churches.

Whether driven away by scandal or lured by programs and services with high production and entertainment values, many report having the desire for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Evangelicals in this country have long been challenging its members and those it recruits to aspire to that personal relationship.  Catholics in particular, whether out of ignorance or a misguided notion that Catholics follow the Pope and not Christ, are accused of not aspiring to such a noble relationship with their Lord and Saviour. We hear the criticism so often we run the risk of believing that we are somehow missing something in our spiritual lives.  For nearly fifteen million former Catholics, most of whom still attend their new churches regularly, something was truly missing from their appreciation of the Catholic faith.  But is there really something missing? Or do we have everything we need? I have come to appreciate that our Catholic faith offers us all we need and then some. The Gospels and the teachings of our Church offer us more than a mere “personal relationship” with Jesus. However, I have to admit that for a number of years I let myself settle in on the Evangelical notion that having a personal relationship with Jesus would provide me with peace and joy.

Now obviously there is nothing wrong with the fact that I was seeking a relationship with Jesus.  Yet I found little peace or joy in those days.  Whether it was a lack of appreciation of the nature or the quality of my relationship with Christ or just plain spiritual laziness, little in my life changed for the better. Yes, I prayed and attended Sunday Mass, but the burdens of providing for a young family kept me thinking of Jesus as more of a mere acquaintance than a close friend. I managed to treat Him much I like I treated all my other friends, with benign neglect, confident in the belief that He would be there for me if I needed Him and if He needed anything from me He would let me know. This is probably not the personal relationship our evangelical friends had in mind. So what is the right answer?

If we think about our own lives we have lots of relationships of varying natures. Should we seek to relate to Jesus as a loving mother or a distant father? Should we be as involved with Him as we are with a best friend or avoid Him like a pesky co-worker? If this relationship with Christ is so important, where can we find guidance on how to relate to Him? For me the answers were to be found in the Bible and the Church’s teaching on marriage, where we are told that the two are to become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:8, and Ephesians 5:31)

My wife Crystal and I obviously shared a relationship. Yes, it was “personal” and at times even intimate, yet we still struggled as many married couples do to live in peace and joy.  We had a relationship, but, at the same time, we had other roles and important responsibilities, such as being loving parents and providing for the family.  These other duties sometimes impacted our marriage so that we would become quarrelsome and less than unconditionally loving toward each other.

Fortunately, on a married couples retreat we were introduced to the notion that God’s desire for our relationship was unity. He didn’t want us to merely come together and raise kids who would themselves become good Catholics. No, His desire was that we be in true communion with each other, that we share in one life. He sought a relationship where our goals weren’t about me, they weren’t even about the other. They were to be about us.

It was a call to become a couple united in Christ, sharing His love with our family and our Church. Our journey has been a long one with plenty of twists and turns, but most often joyful and grace-filled.  It has helped me to understand that a personal relationship with Jesus isn’t about the relationship I want to have but it is about the one He desires. For me it has come most significantly in His invitation to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood.  In and through the Eucharist, I hear Jesus calling me to be one with Him, to be in true communion with Him and his Sacred Heart so that together we can bring more love into the world.

So these days I would say to my evangelical brothers and sisters, “Not only do I have a relationship with Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior but I seek to live united to Him in my heart and my soul.” Regardless of our vocation, it is this union we seek to strengthen each time we receive Him in Holy Communion where His true presence becomes part of who we are.   It is so great to be Catholic! How could anyone ever walk away?

Crystal

There’s a saying in the diet world that you are what you eat. The implication is that if you eat junk food, you will become overweight and unhealthy. If you eat healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, you will be physically fit. I believe that the same can be true in our spiritual lives. As Catholics, we have the great blessing of access to the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  We are not only figuratively temples of the Holy Trinity, but literally vessels of His presence in the world. Understanding this incredible grace should make us super Christians, abounding in love and kindness and forgiveness for everyone we meet, most especially our spouses. And yet how difficult this concept of unity is for our human minds to grasp, especially when the opportunity for Communion is so available that it can become habit rather than the recognition that it is the source and summit of our faith.

In marriage, when unity is broken, it is usually because one or both of the spouses have taken their eyes away from each other’s needs and focused on something that was self-seeking. When it comes to Christ, we know that any lack of unity with Him is always going to be a result of our attitudes or behavior. God is ever-present, loving us with an unconditional love that goes far beyond what we truly deserve. God yearns for fullness of relationship… so much so that it reminds me of a pregnant woman who is literally connected to her child by the umbilical chord, nurturing her child with her very blood. Like that embryo, we are often blissfully unaware of all that God is doing for us to bring us to fullness of life in order that one day we will be with Him.

As a simple married woman, the incredible greatness of the gift of the Eucharist is beyond my ability to fully comprehend it. I only know that I must continue to pray for the grace to believe that, with Him, I will receive the ability to be one with my husband as I strive to be one with Christ.

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“Acceptance of oneself is …the acid test of one’s whole outlook on life.” (C.G. Jung)

Dolores was very upset. “I don’t like myself. Actually, I hate myself. I hate my body. I hate the person I have become. I get angry so often. I shout and scream at people. I don’t succeed in what I undertake, and get blamed so often,” she said with anger and disgust.

It’s hard to accept oneself, and more so to love oneself, when we are confronted with so many of our frailties and weakness. Yet, self-acceptance, as the great psychologist Carl Jung points out, is not only an essential requisite for emotional wellbeing, but colours our way of being in the world.

In the last few issues of MAGNET we have been exploring in this column sources of health and happiness. We looked at psychological theories and some essential experiences we need to grow up healthy and happy. We also looked at the impact these experiences have on our spirituality.

Starting this month, we shall look at some characteristics of an emotionally healthy person.

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A foundational requisite for emotional health is self-acceptance.

If we want to be emotionally healthy persons, we need to accept the whole of ourselves without rejecting any aspect: body, gender, mind, limitations and weakness, strengths and talents, and our personal and family histories.

When we accept ourselves as we are, we are genuinely able to say with the psalmist, “thank you for the wonder of my being” (Ps. 139, 14). Unfortunately, many of us cannot honestly say that, because we really don’t like who we are.

Self-acceptance is based on genuine knowledge of self, grounded in realistic appraisal of our resources and limitations. This involves critical receptivity to what others are saying about us. Based on that knowledge, we have genuine appreciation for our own worth, and we do not engage in irrational self-reproach. When we accept ourselves and are pleased with who we are, then we do not feel the need to boast of our accomplishments or to inflate them.

We are willing to admit our faults and failures without embarrassment, rather than try to cover up or deny them. We are willing to accept corrections.

When we accept ourselves this way,  others too will find it easy to accept us and relate to us, since we do not feel any compulsion to hide or defend our mistakes, or to boast of our talents or achievements

A corollary to this self-acceptance and self-appreciation is the ability to allow others the right to be themselves. We are able to accept others as they are with their foibles and limitations. We do not impose our own views, expectations or needs on others. Neither do we feel the need to put others down or downplay their achievements.

When we accept ourselves as we are, we can easily appreciate others. We are not threatened by the beauty, giftedness or achievements of others; rather we are able to rejoice with them and speak appreciatively about them to others.

Father Andrew is a wonderful model of this kind of self-acceptance. He was himself a brilliant professor, much loved and appreciated by his students. After many years of teaching he was joined in his department by a young priest, Fr. Edwin, as teacher. Fr. Andrew recognized that Edwin was really a brilliant teacher. Andrew did not feel insecure and threatened by the gifted new comer. Rather, he would often tell his students, “Our new young professor is terrific. He is so competent in his subject and really knows how to teach. You are really going to benefit much from him.”

A true sign of self-acceptance is not feeling threatened or developing an inferiority complex in the presence of those better than us. Instead, we are able to appreciate them and rejoice with them.

Self-Rejection

Self-rejection, on the contrary, shows itself in the following unhealthy forms of behaviour: chronic self-disapproval and self-disparagement; feelings of being unworthy; excessive guilt; pretending to be who/what we are not, going out of the way to boast or impress others; feeling others are against us, view us unfairly, or don’t understand us.

When we do not feel good about ourselves, when we lack self-esteem, we may try to over-control our environment. We become overcautious about making mistakes. We feel the need to do everything right and perfect. This can lead to a disorder called Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder.

Lack of self-acceptance often results in scrupulosity. Because of the fear of rejection by others and especially by God, we aim at becoming perfect by striving to avoid even the least wrong doing. Since we reject ourselves because of our short comings, we tend to believe that others and God also will reject us if we are not “perfect.” Perfectionism deafens us to the good news that a loving God unconditionally accepts and loves us just as we are, that we don’t need to earn God’s love.

Challenging Situations

Self-acceptance becomes a special challenge for women because of the relentless media pressure to conform to a perfect body shape and appearance offered as ideal. These images tend to confirm self-doubts about the goodness of one’s own body, leading to a feeling of not being “good enough” and frenetic efforts to change one’s figure and looks to match the ideal. When one fails in the attempt, one tends to live with a sense of deficiency.

Some of us have deformities or blemishes that affect our self-image and our capacity to function effectively or relate well. Remedial measures such as corrective surgery here is wholesome. However, often expensive cosmetic and surgical interventions are purely to allay our feelings of inadequacy and fears of non-acceptance by others, or simply to conform to ideal images of beauty, even when we are endowed with sufficient grace and beauty.

These expensive non-surgical cosmetic procedures (I am not referring here to efforts all of us make to look good, such as proper grooming, make-up and dressing attractively)  are just what the name implies – cosmetic! The effects usually last less than a year and then all the self-doubts and fears about attractiveness and acceptance return to haunt us. The surgical procedures on the other hand, doctors tell us, often have their negative effects. It is good to remember here that attractiveness and acceptance depend on more than just physical appearance.

Acceptance of oneself, particularly of one’s body, becomes difficult especially in cases of sexual abuse. Abuse survivors often feel that their body is now “good for nothing” or “damaged goods’ and develop a very negative attitude toward it. The other consequences of abuse also make it difficult for survivors to accept not only their body but also the person they have become as consequence of the abuse. Healing from the effects of sexual abuse is essential to restore sense of goodness and worthiness of one’ self.

The power of Self-Acceptance

The power of self-acceptance is demonstrated by the wonderful accomplishments of physically challenged athletes and artists. These men and women have disabilities that profoundly affect their mobility and other capacities.  However, they are able to accept their limitations and triumph over them and go on to win laurels.

Emotionally healthy persons are able to accept themselves as they are, with their deficiencies and their limitations. This acceptance is not resignation. One accepts, but also strives to overcome the limitations wherever possible.

Introspection

• Am I able to accept myself, with my frailties and limitations, or am I like Dolores, rejecting and despising myself?

• What image do I have of myself?

• Am I able, like Fr. Andrew, to appreciate and speak well of those who are better than I am?

• What is my challenge in regard to self-acceptance?

 

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Consecrated life is beautiful and meaningful if it is lived for service and commitment. It is not just remaining unmarried. It is a joyful and loving life! It is the vow of love. In the words of Pope Francis, “A joyless community is one that is dying. The people of our time are waiting for words of consolation, the availability of forgiveness and true joy. We, consecrated men and women, are called to share this joy with a mother’s tenderness as facilitators and not as controllers of grace. The Church is not a refuge for sad people, but a house of joy.”

In this fragmented and fractured world, we are called to create relationships with nature, God and others through the vow of consecrated celibacy. It is a commitment to equality in a discriminating society. This vow frees us to be available at any time and for any ministry and even to die for others. Celibacy is not about being perennial adolescents whose lives are controlled by the superior. Our loving and happy life must be seen by others in our service to the unwanted poor.

The positive meaning of the vow of chastity is a quest for expansive love: loving God and the people in one’s ministry. Hence the emphasis could be changed from chastity to solidarity, compassion, tender and delicate love and non-violence. In practice, such an evolving meaning of the vow of chastity would take the emphasis off sexuality and take us toward an “expansive love of humanity,” sharing with those in need and rejecting the traditional human divisions of race, ethnicity, class, gender and/or sexual orientation.

The great scandal among the twelve apostles was not their failure in chastity. Most of them, if not all of them, were probably married. But one of the twelve apostles chose to betray Jesus for money (mammon). God’s competitor is not sex or marriage, but mammon (love of money),\.

Celibacy was not a major issue in the Bible. Paul, writing to Timothy, says that the bishop should be married only once. (cf. 1 Tim 3:2). Other ministers, like Aquila and Priscilla, who were endowed with evident charisms, were married.

Two practical insights given by Fr. Joe Mannath might help us to understand this vow better.

* To teach in a school or to work in a hospital, we do not need celibacy. In the West, such issues were faced decades ago, when they had to hand over the leadership of schools and other institutions to the laity. It is time we train laity for leadership roles in the church. The reason for celibacy is not work, but the inner awareness of being called by God to this particular way of living and loving.

* In many parts of the world, a vow of chastity is probably no longer a meaningful symbol to represent a commitment to God. I myself know—you, too, probably—excellent gifted, God-centred, apostolically oriented young people who are fervent, prayerful and generous, but who are not at all drawn to the vowed life that we religious are offering.

Here are some practical tips to live our life of chastity joyfully and meaningfully.

• Choosing celibacy makes sense only if God is real for us. A person can stay unmarried for a variety of reasons—family obligations, work, escape from family obligations, love of power, dedication to a profession. None of them is what the Catholic Church understands as celibacy. Celibacy makes sense only if Jesus and the Gospel way of life attract a person’s heart. Without this central attraction, it does not make sense to give up two of life’s best things—spousal love and parenthood.
• Without the discernment to see if God is calling a person to this way of loving, we have no right to coax anyone to give up marriage and parenthood.
• The vow of chastity is a call to love. We are called to love the poor, the unwanted, the marginalized, the migrants, the excluded, etc.  So, too, celibacy does not become convincing or inspiring if I limit my care to those of “my group.” We are called to walk through the world as Jesus did—excluding no one from our love.
• We should learn to relate to others in a mature way.  Most people need help to mature emotionally, and to learn to relate to men and women in life-enhancing ways.

• We must be careful to avoid temptation. We must not put ourselves in situations that might lead to sexual activity, such as being at close quarters with someone to whom we are physically attracted and not to be together in secluded spots, unless we absolutely know that we are fully in control of ourselves.

• We all need love, compassion, and respect. If we do not find this in the community, a vowed celibate life can be hard.  So we may be tempted to watch movies and TV shows, engage in social media like the ‘Facebook’ and even venture into pornographic websites. These are the temptations that we should firmly reject.
• A chaste celibate life is for mature people, not protected by someone watching over us. It is a life lived by adults. One of the gifts of the Spirit is ‘self-discipline’ (cf. Gal: 5: 23-24).
• In the admonishing words of Pope Francis: “One of the dangers of a ‘sterile’ form of celibacy is bitterness and gossip. When a priest disagrees with his bishop or bishops disagree with others, they must air their difference face to face. This might bring negative consequences, but we must be ready for our cross.”
• The key to a fruitful life lies in opening oneself in prayer to God. A celibate who does not pray closes himself to the Holy Spirit. Transcend yourself and resist the temptation.
• Chastity has more to do with being loving than in sacrificing sexuality. We cannot limit our love to friends, family, caste, tribe and like-minded people. It calls us to an all-encompassing love rather than to a restrictive one.
• To be celibate is far more than being a mere bachelor or spinster.

Questions for Reflection and Sharing:

1. What meaning do you find in a celibate life? How would you explain its meaning to a family member or close friend or to Catholic college student?
2. Are most lay people inspired by most celibates they meet?
3. Are we really proposing a vocational choice based on a God-experience, or only recruiting hands for work?
4. Love is a must. Celibacy is not. Do most celibates come across as loving women and men?
5. Pope Francis has spoken several times of the importance of joy. Do most celibates appear joyful?
6. If you are a celibate: Do you find this way of life meaningful? Are most celibates you know joyful and loving persons? Would you recommend this way of life to a young man or woman you love (e.g., a close relative or friend)?
7. If you are a married person: What meaning do you find in having celibate clergy and religious? Will you be happy if your son or daughter were to choose this path?
8. Neither marriage nor staying single makes anyone happy or good. What can celibates learn from married couples? What can couples learn from celibates?
9. Think of two or three celibate women and men who have inspired you. What have you learnt from them about the art of living?

If a friend or colleague from another religious tradition were to ask you, “Why are you and other sisters, brothers and fathers celibate?” what would you tell them?

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Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist, defined life as a ‘luminous pause between two great mysteries which themselves are one.’ On the other hand, the Spanish poet and philosopher, Miguel De Unamuno, wrote about ‘the tragic sense of life.’ French philosopher Sartre would claim that ‘life begins on the other side of despair,’ while Dostoevsky affirmed that ‘suffering is the origin of life consciousness.’

All very profound statements! Difficult to comprehend at first, and still more complicated to understand fully. We all are caught in a world of extreme contradictions. Health and sickness, success and failure, tranquillity and turbulence, death and life, the sacred and profane are but a few such extreme contradictions. We define and bracket life by the distance between these contradicting extremes. “Where is my place in such an extreme cosmos?” we ask.  Is peace possible amidst the ever-flowing undercurrents of uncertainty, doubt, chaos and conflict?

SUDDEN TURBULENCE: My mind goes back to 1998, when I made a visit, along with my family, from Zanzibar to Changuu Island, also known as Prison Islands. The small island is about six kilometres North West of Stone Town, Zanzibar. We sailed in a small eight-seater canoe. The sea was as calm as a glass sheet—the waves so gentle, the breeze gentler still. The sailing was peaceful.

But then, on our return trip, a few hundred metres before we touched shore, the wind grew stronger, the waves lashed over our tiny canoe, and the poor boatman was nervous and helpless. No amount of paddling could steer our fragile boat to safety. Death stared us in the face. A watery grave was ready to swallow us alive. Our prayers seemed to go unanswered. Our boat drifted off like a matchstick way beyond the wharf. The screams of the people on the shore only added to our anxiety. Our heart beats raced as never before.

But then, out of the blue, the miracle waiting to happen arrived. We touched shore a good hundred metres away from our expected point of arrival. Drenched in sea water, our tears never felt so salty! Safe at last, but with an experience that would haunt us the rest of our Zanzibar safari.

Turbulence is an enemy to life and one that we would not want to befriend. And yet, turbulence is part of our ‘luminous pause’ in life.

FACING THE UNEXPECTED: With all our faith, it is but a myth to believe that life is a turbulence-free journey. One’s peaceful life is suddenly interrupted with chaos. Financially stable jobs are punctured with a sudden economic crisis. Healthy bodies are weakened by deadly viral fevers. Intelligent minds are accidently damaged and erased of all knowledge. Emotionally balanced lives are shattered by tragic psychological experiences, while spiritually upright ones backslide the downward spiral to live lives in darkness and meaninglessness. In such unexpected instances, how does one walk through life with a sense of tranquillity, meaning and sense of purpose? One has two choices: take control of the circumstances around you and make ‘eureka experiences’ out of them, or, more sadly, become a victim to the external forces and dwell forever in ‘caramba experiences’ that negate the very meaning and purpose of life.

FINDING TRANQUILITY: Being tranquil is a gift we all long for and wish to embrace all our life. It is an inner state of being that empowers one to remain calm even when externally we are caught in the storms of confusion and despair. Here are a few simple steps we can take to cultivate this gift of tranquillity:

1. Dwell in the Luxury of Doing Nothing: Caught in a world of intense activity, we need to step out of it at times and just dwell in the luxury of doing nothing. There is great wisdom in this. Our lives are so determined by ‘how much we do’ that we pay very little attention to ‘just being me.’ My ‘being’ is more important than my mere ‘doing.’ An idle mind is a devil’s workshop, we were told. This adage has been the cause of much activism. Our workshop has become so cluttered with noise, debris and useless activity and we have become the ‘devil.’ Many of us would simply love to make the words of this song come true: ‘Stop the world and let me go, I’m tired of going round and round.’ It is important to just stop the clock every day and dwell in constructive moments of doing nothing.
2. Surround Yourself with Soft Music: The world is a noisier place than ever before. Speeding vehicles, bursting crackers, noisy festivals, and blaring street music have raised the decibels of noise pollution. Listening to soothing classical music is not in our culture. But doing so enables us to experience greater serenity and peace, lower heart rate and improved brain functions, too. Soft music stimulates the happy hormone ‘serotonin,’ a neurotransmitter that allows us to sleep like angels!
3. Sync with Nature: Take a dip in the river, build sand castles on the sea shore, climb the delicate branch, scale the mountain peak, run after the butterfly, savour the ever-ripe mango, sleep under the starry skies, ride the camel’s back, relax by a waterfall, smell the perfumed flowers, cuddle your favourite pet, ride across the rugged beaten path, harvest the fields, whistle your favourite song. Sounds easy, but believe me, most of us would not find time to sync with nature. There is a world we miss out on when we imprison ourselves in our concrete jungles. Tranquillity is nature’s best gift to us.
4. Connect with the Divine: All our material and earthly problems can only find their solutions in deep spiritual quests. The Divine-Human adventure is ever at work. One needs to daily live in the awareness of a supreme God who wants our human nature to be open to his Divine grace. Taking time to meditate, to read Holy Scriptures, to chant religious hymns, to practice mortification and reach out in charity, to live in harmony with peoples of other faiths and to participate in one’s religious services and sacraments with a pure heart—all these are sure means to live a tranquil life. Inner turbulence and chaos are often overcome through sincere forgiveness and inner healing. The foundation of all tranquillity or inner peace is union with the Divine.
5. Change Your Perspective of Self and Others: I have always believed that changes in perspective lead to procedural outcomes. When we believe in ourselves and accept ourselves, we also change our perspective of others and the world around us. We are all ‘human-beings-in process.’ We are never a finished product. We need to embrace a ‘Mary’s heart in a Martha’s world’ scenario. Lest we get caught up, like Martha, in the worry and anxiousness of our busy everyday lives, we need to have the courage like Mary to choose the better part. Celebrate your uniqueness and appreciate the differences in others. Learn to enjoy the little things of life. Make your life a great contribution to others around you.

We can all rise above the storms that put us down. Christ is our Peace! May we all add up to increase the ‘tranquillity index of the world’ and overcome all forms of turbulence that rock the boats of our everyday journey to wholeness. It is worth trying. It is doable. The results are worth the effort.

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(San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999).

Reviewed by Dr. Gigy Joseph

“Quite simply, Paul Vitz’s Faith of the Fatherless is a minor classic, a book that should be on the short list of all those who want to understand, in the deepest terms, the ill effects caused by failures of fatherhood.” (Benjamin Walker, Author, Architects of the Culture of Death)

“In deploying Freudian theory against atheism itself, Paul Vitz has proven beyond a doubt what’s missing from secular accounts of secularization, namely, actual human beings. His thesis is intellectual jujutsu of the first order.” (Mary Eberstadt, author of The Loser Letters and Adam and Eve After the Pill)

In Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism, Paul Vitz, professor of psychology at New York University, revisits Sigmund Freud’s “projection theory,” which proposes childish craving for security or “wish-fulfilment” as the basis for religion and God. He turns it on its head, proving that the argument could equally be used to understand atheism. Freud concluded that psychological factors render belief itself suspect or false. Vitz argues how, by the same logic, unbelief also can be explained.

The loss or absence of a father, or having an abusive and violent father in the formative years, can result in different degrees of rejection of God because a child’s “psychological representation of his father is intimately connected to his understanding of God.” He notes that the “atheist’s disappointment in and resentment of his own father unconsciously justifies his rejection of God.” Vitz makes a historical survey of more than twenty prominent thinkers of our time.

Special attention is given to political atheists, like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong, each of whom were victims of violently abusive fathers. The similarity of their upbringing, like the similarities among the regimes they led, are striking.

Complementary to this is Vitz’s survey of believers, converts and apologists of Christianity, where he finds very few defective fathers. His list includes outstanding figures like Chesterton, Martin Buber, Bonhoeffer and Blaise Pascal.

Vitz also makes a comparison of male and female atheists. Female atheists are not as many as the male—something worth thinking about. Vitz does not say that there is psychological determinism at play. People are not automatons. The point is that, though bad fathers or failed fathers do create a strong predisposition to atheism, in the end it is the choice of the individual that decides, plus some circumstances that may offer moments of choice. This we see in the case of atheistic converts to belief.

A touching true story to conclude with. At the end of a talk by Paul Vitz on this topic, a young man from the audience told Vitz: “My life fits your theory to a ‘t.’ I am an atheist and my father abandoned our family when I was small. What advice do you have for me?” Dr Vitz replied, “Go, find a child who is in the same situation that you were in, and be the father figure for that child.” David Charlesworth, who narrated this incident, adds, “There wasn’t a dry eye in the audience; I’m still moved just relating the exchange.” (Amazon.com, under reviews of this book.)

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Here are four inspiring human beings who displayed an exceptional dose of humanity, wisdom and goodness. Their death anniversaries occur this month.

Some years ago, the British Council Library in London organized an unusual exhibition—on the contribution of the Benedictines to European civilization. Unusual, to say the least, for a very secular organization to highlight the contribution of a Catholic monastic order.

The fact is: The monastic tradition that goes back to Benedict did much to promote civilization. They copied manuscripts and built up libraries. Monasteries became centres of education and learning.

In a culture that despised manual labour (and relegated it to serfs, who were semi-slaves), the monks engaged in manual labour. They tilled the land, cultivated food, invented medicines.

At a time of strict social hierarchy, monasteries promoted equality. All monks were treated as equals, whether they came from the land-owning classes or from serfs.

All this was revolutionary for the time.

It was the result of the spiritual quest of one man—Benedict of Nurcia. As a young man, put off by the worldliness of his peers, he became a solitary and lived alone. Others sought him out, and asked for his guidance. This is how the Benedictine monastic tradition started. As a help for his monks, he wrote a simple Rule, which became a classic—Regula Sancti Benedicti (St. Benedict’s Rule).

According to Benedict, the monks were to live in community, not alone. They prayed together, worked together, interacted. Benedict did not believe in extraordinary physical penances or deprivations, but in a life of moderation.

Such seekers needed wise guidance. Hence the crucial role of the abbot, who was expected to be strict and caring, wise and open to others’ ideas. In fact, knowing how the vow of obedience could be misused by a callous superior, Benedict warned that, if an abbot imposed on the monks what he wanted rather than what God wanted, he would go to hell!

The monks taught Europe to combine prayer and work, silence and activity, intellectual pursuits and manual labour. That remains relevant even today—in any culture.

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Imagine a giant of a man—six feet six inches in height—a former solider with a notorious bad temper and addicted to gambling who said he wanted to look after the sick. He did work hard, but his fierce temper made those in charge of the hospital dismiss him. I remember a radio play on him in which his military superior tells him, “The best favour you can do us is to go and join the enemy.” Gambling led to his losing all his possessions. An unlikely candidate for sainthood, right?

Further, he suffered from a very painful and disfiguring wound on his leg most of his life. He set up a group of men who were interested in looking after the sick, and treating patients as human beings. You may ask what is so novel about that. The novelty was remarkable, for the way sick people were treated in those days ranged from bad to awful. Caring for the sick, especially in times of the dreaded plague, was not a work normal people wanted. So, criminals were roped in to do the work.

Camillus would go to the hovels of the poor to find the sick and treat them. His men looked after wounded soldiers on battlefields. In fact, the large red cross on the Camillian habit was the forerunner of the now famous Red Cross. A number of his companions died of contagious diseases contracted while caring for the sick.

A religious experience attributed to Camilllus was a message Christ gave him from a crucifix in Rome: “Why are you afraid? Do you not realize that this is not your work but mine?”

Inspired by the same Lord, a laudable initiative his followers—the Camillian Fathers—have done in India is to work for AIDS patients, and to train others in this work.

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An unusual man who lived in unusual times.

The setting: The Spanish conquest and colonization of South America. The original inhabitants were seen by the conquering Spaniards as less than human, with no rights. The majority of them died, through ill-treatment and disease brought in by the colonizers.

De La Casas was a Spaniard, who at first benefited from the racial oppression of the natives. He later became a priest and worked in Latin America. As a Spaniard, he was given an “encomienda” (an estate) with gold and slaves.

He saw more and more clearly that, while the church preached the Gospel to the local people, the colonizers’ main motivating force was greed. They were not after souls, but gold. He started criticising the cruel practices of his countrymen towards the “Indian” populations—a stand that won him many enemies.

Later, he joined the Dominican order. His opposition to the cruel treatment of the natives became stronger. He pleaded with the Spanish government to see the Indians as human beings with their own rights. In this sense, he is considered a pioneer of human rights. In fact, he engaged in debates with another Spanish theologian who held that the Indians were not fully human.

Partly to get rid of him, the church made him bishop of Chiapas in Mexico. There, a number of Spanish Catholics turned against him, when he insisted that priests should withhold absolution from anyone who did not free his slaves. He went back to Spain, where he continued his struggle for the rights of the conquered peoples, who were seen by many of his countrymen—including church officials—as less than human.

In the sad and cruel combination of the merchant-military-missionary thrust into non-European cultures, the colonizers displayed exceptional greed, cruelty and racial bigotry. Bartolomé de las Casas was a courageous and noble exception—a prophet ahead of his times.

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What can a Salesian—who has had a number of Jesuit professors, colleagues, students and close friends—write about this well-known saint?

One: That Ignatius practised and taught a “worldly spirituality”—not one of withdrawal from the world, but of “finding God in all things.” Thus, the sons of Ignatius have included outstanding teachers, writers, scientists, college administrators, and, of course, missionaries and martyrs.

Two: That the best we can do with our life is to find out what God wants of each of us, and do it generously. This process, called “discernment,” is a gift of God to the church through Ignatius and the Jesuits. The Ignatian “spiritual exercises” are meant to help the retreatant to go through this process. As a famous Jesuit scholar, Karl Rahner, would say, all this theology flowed out of his experience of the Spiritual Exercises.

Three: A saying of Ignatius that I love: Opus divinum, quo universalius, eo divinius. A loose translation would be: “In working for God, the more universal a task is, the more divine it is.” A great antidote to petty interests and narrowness of mind. Right from the beginning, Ignatius, like other great founders, sent his brother religious to distant missions and faraway cultures.

Four: Ignatius’ heart was in the right place—keen on seeking God alone. Hence his famous prayer (called Suscipe in Latin): “Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me.”

May that be enough for each of us, too.

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Part II

The Assessment Process

Part I of this article (MAGNET, May 2017, pp. 6-11) explained how psychological assessment ought to be done. After explaining the ethics of such screening, the author presented the main tests used in such assessment. This second part deals with other practical issues—how the tests should be administered and the results interpreted, how the reports are to be prepared and communicated, and to whom. The author then explains how this type of assessment is a positive formation tool and a help in vocational discernment. The article concludes by presenting the Church’s stand on the use of psychological tests.—Editor.

Administering the Tests

Administering psychological testing requires both attention t/o the details of testing procedures,  as well as attention to the client. To gain the candidate’s cooperation and best effort, it is important to build a good rapport with her/him. In order to develop this rapport, the psychologist ought to convey a sense of respect for the candidate, interest in what s/he has to say, and empathic understanding toward whatever discomfort or difficulty that may be experienced. Simple courtesies, such as, being in a comfortable room, proper seating, providing drinking water, opportunity to use the bath room, etc., matter for the interview.

The assessment can be turned into an opportunity for dialogue between the psychologist and the candidate about the candidate’s situations and self-understanding. It is good to check with the candidate what s/he knows about psychological assessment and how s/he feels about taking it and what she expects from it.  “What is your understanding of what assessment is about and why we are doing it?” is a good question to ask. “How do you feel about doing this assessment?” is another very important question that can open up a number of issues. The psychologist could make the assessment a collaborative effort by asking “What would you want from the assessment?” and “What can help us get the most accurate results?” Sometimes candidates can provide helpful suggestions.

The psychologist then provides his/her own explanations about what the assessment is about, what s/he expects from the candidate, and obtains a written consent from him/her to be a willing participant in the assessment process.

He then administers the tests and conducts the interview in a helpful and relevant sequence. Since many candidates may have difficulties in English and since most of the test content and procedures are presented in English, the psychologist gives due attention to explaining the procedures and content of tests to make sure candidates understand them right. Sometimes this may require the psychologist’s reading and explaining each item of a test.

Scoring

Proper scoring and analysis of the tests require that the psychologist records the candidate’s responses fully and accurately. The responses in some of the tests, like the Rorschach and the TAT, have to be recorded verbatim. All this requires great attention from the psychologist.

Scoring takes a good deal of time. In many tests, the psychologist’s job includes a sizable amount of clerical work, e.g., assigning scores to responses, computing ratios, transforming raw scores into standardized scores, obtaining composite scores, etc. Every step in this process is vulnerable to human error. It is a healthy practice always to double check (especially computations) before moving on to analysis and interpretation.

The raw data (the assessment tools used and information provided by the candidate) remains with the psychologist and is not returned to the candidate or the formator who commissioned the assessment. The psychologist has the ethical responsibility for the safe storage of these materials. The shelf-life, that is, the validity of test results, is generally accepted to be five years. Hence, after five years the psychologist destroys all the raw data and the report he prepares based on them. It is the responsibility of the one to whom the assessment report is given to destroy it after five years (or at least not to use the report for any further evaluation).

Interpreting the Results

The psychologist has to analyze the wealth of data collected. To be able to do this, a psychologist should possess a wide range of psychological expertise: knowledge of developmental and personality theories and of abnormal psychology, as well as expertise in regard to the tests used.

The first important question the psychologist has to consider in analysis and interpretation is: “Are the test scores valid?” When, for some reason, the validity of the results is questionable, or caution is needed in interpretation, this must be explained in the report. If there are situational factors (noise, language problems, stress, anxiety, …) that may modify or bring into question the validity of the assessment, they should be noted with statements like, “The test result should be viewed with caution, because …”

If there are contradictory findings in different tests, the psychologist should point this out and offer reasonable explanations.

A second question is this: “What does the testing add to the understanding of the client?”

This question implies that the psychologist’s initial understanding of the client is based on history, interview data, and the referral question. The testing and the face-to-face structured contact between the psychologist and the client supply additional information. The report should provide a representational description of events during the assessment, that is, behaviour of the candidate during the assessment process.

A third question: “How should the referral question be answered?”

Based on the test results the psychologist should provide answers to the referral question, that is, the reasons why testing was requested. The referral question must be answered clearly and fully. He also needs to identify other issues that came up during the assessment process and from the test results and provide suggestions as to how these need to be addressed.

Preparing the Assessment Report

The assessment report integrates the multiple test scores with information derived from interview data, referral sources, and observed behaviour during the assessment, all in the context of the referral question.

The psychologist has the responsibility to prepare the report in such a way that it not only answers the referral question but also to use a language that makes the results and interpretations easily understandable to the candidate and the formator.

In presenting the test results, it is useful to give a brief description of each test, highlighting what the test is intended to measure.

It is important that the psychologist emphasizes what stands out and is unique about the individual rather than make broad generalizations. He points out positive signs of emotional and spiritual maturity, as also the presence of gross inadequacies.  As a general rule, information should only be included if it serves to increase the understanding of the candidate.

In stating his conclusions it is important that the psychologist indicates his relative degree of certainty. Conclusions should be based on data and not be a mere speculation. When he is not certain, it is important that he be tentative and use phrases such as “it appears,” “tends to,” “probably” and so on. This helps the candidate and the formator to distinguish what is clearly established and what is tentative.

Over the years, a standard format for written reports has developed. The generally accepted format (components) of the Report is:

1. Identifying information (e.g., client’s name, sex, date of birth, date of assessment, name of examiner, date of report, etc.)
2. Referral question
3. Tests administered
4. Relevant history (Interview data)
5. Behavioural observations
6. Test results
7. Discussion and conclusions
8. Recommendations and follow-up plans

Communicating the Results

The usefulness of the assessment comes from the self-knowledge that the candidate gains and the knowledge about the candidate that the formator gains from the assessment. This depends not only on the manner in which the assessment report has been prepared but also on how it is communicated.

The psychologist takes reasonable steps to ensure that he can communicate the report in person to the candidate and the formator rather than just sending it to the formator and expecting her to understand it by herself and communicate it to the candidate.

It is a practice among many psychologists not to give the whole report to the candidate or the formator to read, as there is likelihood of their misinterpreting it. They prefer to paraphrase and elaborate on selected portions of the report. This increases the likelihood that the candidate and the formator will readily understand the most important material and will not be overloaded with too much content.

The detailed report could be several pages long. It is useful to provide the candidate and the formator a single page summary of findings and recommendations in simple jargon-free language that is easily understandable.

Feedback need to be collaborative as well. The psychologist first presents the report to the candidate, highlighting his major findings. He checks with the candidate how s/he feels about the conclusions of the report and listens with interest to her comments and incorporates her feedback into the report, modifying the report if found relevant.

The psychologist then gives feedback to the formator about his findings and interpretations. He also tells her the opinions and reactions of the candidate to the feedback. In case he has modified the original report based on the candidate’s feedback, he communicates this too to the formator.

It is to be noted here that the psychologist gives the report only to persons authorized by the candidate to receive them. It is important to specify who these are in the consent form that the candidate signs before the assessment begins.

The original complete assessment report is usually given to the formator for safe keeping. It is her responsibility that the report is not accessible to anyone who is not authorized. As pointed out earlier, the validity of an assessment report is considered to be five years. Hence, it is the responsibility of the formator (or whoever is authorized to keep it) to discard it after five years and not to use its content for any evaluations after that period.

Assessment as a Formation Tool

The psychological assessment can be made into an effective formation tool. This depends very much on the way the feedback is given to the candidate and the formator.

As indicated above, feedback given in person is much more effective than one that is just mailed to the formator. Communication in person enables the psychologist to turn the feedback mechanism into an effective dialogue. He gets the reactions of the candidate and the formator. He can share and discuss with both candidate and the formator the client’s strengths and weaknesses and suggest ways to deal with issues.

The formator can dialogue with the candidate on the results and conclusions of the assessment and use them to help the candidate toward a better understanding of herself and use that understanding as aid to growth in her humanity and her spiritual journey. Based on the   candidate’s personality profile provided by the assessment and the recommendations made by the psychologist, the formator, along with the candidate, can draw up a plan for the candidate’s further growth on the formation journey.

Often it happens that there is not enough time in the pre-novitiate to work with the candidate on issues highlighted in the report. Hence it is helpful to share the assessment feedback with the novice master or mistress. This can be done in two ways. The candidate herself can share the results, including the short written summary statement, with the novice mistress. A second, and more effective, way is for the pre-novitiate mistress, with the written authorization of the candidate, to give a feedback to the novice mistress in person,

In practice, however, many formators—like Sr. Leonie, presented at the beginning of Part I of this article—see the psychological assessment only as a screening tool. They do not see its possibilities for enhancing the formation process. Many psychologists who do assessment also consider the assessment only as a screening or selection tool. Their feedback methods fail to harness the potentials of the assessment to be a growth-promoting exercise.

Assessment and Vocational Discernment

The psychologist does not make a judgment about the vocational suitability of the candidate. He does not have the qualifications, expertise or experience to do this. This is the task of the formator. What the psychologist does through the assessment report is to provide a psychological profile of the candidate, pointing out strengths, weaknesses, motivational drives and psychopathological tendencies. He can point out the challenges a candidate with a particular personality profile might face in religious life. All this can assist the formator and the candidate in the discernment process. However, a formator does not rely only on a psychological report in making evaluation of a candidate’s suitability. The psychological report is only one of the resources she has at her disposal for appropriate discernment.

Here I like to recall a very useful tip that an experienced priest psychologist involved in assessment of candidates to the priesthood and religious life shared with a group of formators. He said: “In regard to judging the suitability of a candidate to the priesthood or religious life, your gut feeling (strongly felt conviction) as a formator is a much more reliable tool than the best psychological assessment. You have lived with the candidate and have the kind of experience-based knowledge of him or her that no psychological tool can provide. Go with your gut feelings. You will be seldom wrong.”

This supposes, of course, that the formator is a person of good judgement, and is not biased for or against a candidate.

Unfortunately, sometimes formators abandon their gut feelings and rely more on an assessment report given by the psychologist. I wonder if Sr. Leonie acted as she did because the assessment confirmed her gut feelings or she only relied on a conclusion that a psychologist had arrived at, a conclusion that went beyond his professional competence.

Psychological assessment is a helpful, but not essential, tool in vocational discernment. It is also important to point out that many of the assessment tools have not been validated with the Indian population, although some (like ASPIRES) have been. Hence the interpretations and conclusions based on the tests that have not been validated for the specific population have to be taken with some healthy skepticism. This is further reason for not using the psychological report as the sole criterion for discernment but to use it in conjunction with knowledge of candidates gained from other sources. Knowledge of the candidate gained from the formator’s many personal interactions with the candidate and from observation of her day-to-day behaviour within and outside the formation settings can provide the formator valuable insight into the candidate’s motives, interests, coping capacities, styles of functioning and relating. This knowledge is invaluable in making proper discernment. Insights from the assessment is only an additional resource.

The Church’s View on Psychological Assessment

For quite some time the Church had an antagonistic attitude toward psychology. One of the senior priest psychologists I know once told me that there was a time when priests were not allowed to study or teach psychology. This is not surprising, because psychology too had a very negative attitude toward religion and spirituality.  Psychologists had referred to religion as pathology, illusion, infantile wish fulfillment and so on, and had dismissed it as something ridiculous, meant only for weaklings.

Things are different now. Both psychology and the Church have left behind their mutual antagonism. The American Psychological Association, the largest professional body of psychologists in the world, for example, has acknowledged the role religion and spirituality play in mental and emotional health. It has a Division that deals specifically with religion. It has published a numerous books and journal articles that deal with the interface between psychology, religion and spirituality, as well as research data that have found positive correlation between religious belief and practice and mental and physical health.  It publishes a peer reviewed journal “Psychology of Religion and Spirituality” four times a year.

The Church too has changed its attitude toward psychology. Through its official documents the Church has acknowledged that psychology can be of great help for spiritual growth and can contribute significantly to priestly and religious formation. “The Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes” published by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies for Apostolic Life  in 1990 made a brief reference to the usefulness of psychology in religious formation.

Pope John Paul II’s 1992 post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Pastores Dabo Vobis” did the same in reference to the formation of priests. Referring to the various dimensions of priestly formation, the Pope observed that the human dimension is the foundation of all formation and that psychology can make a valid contribution here.

However, it is in the document “Guidelines for the Use of Psychology in the Admission and Formation of Candidates for the Priesthood” published by the Congregation for Catholic Education on 29 June 2006 that the Church clearly acknowledged and elaborated on psychology’s specific contribution to priestly and religious formation.

The document observes that every formator should be able to accurately comprehend the candidate’s personality, potentialities, dispositions, and the types of any psychological wounds, evaluating their nature and intensity, perceive the candidate’s motivations, discern the barriers that stop the candidate from integrating human and Christian maturity, especially unhealed wounds from the past, see strong and weak points, recognize the level of awareness that the candidate has of own problems, and pick up on any psychopathic disturbances present in the candidate. To that end, much advantage can be derived from meeting experts in the psychological sciences. Therefore, it is very useful, the document noted, for the formators to be able to count on the co-operation of experts in the psychological sciences.

Specifically, the document states that the psychological sciences can help in the formation process in the following specific ways:

1. evaluating the candidate’s psychic state;
2. evaluating the human dispositions of the candidate to respond to God’s call;
3. providing extra assistance for the candidate’s human growth;
4. offering opinions to the formators about the candidate’s psychic state and any therapy that may be needed;
5. and, especially, helping to heal wounds of the past that block the ability to grow in virtue.

The first four points easily come under the rubric of psychological assessment. Hence it is clear that psychological assessment is a tool that the Church considers very helpful in vocational discernment and formation. (Point 5, about healing, is the area of counselling, psychotherapy, spiritual direction and healing prayer.)

The document asserts the Church’s right to verify the suitability of its ministers, including through recourse to medical and psychological science. Moreover, it states that,a especially when there is doubt about one’s suitability, admission to the seminary or formation house will sometimes only be possible after a psychological evaluation of the candidate’s personality.

The Church expects the psychologist who does the evaluation to provide the formators authorized by the candidate his understanding of the candidate’s personality and the problems she faces and is likely to face. He will also indicate the possibilities as regards the growth of the candidate’s personality and forms of psychological support required or will be of help. He is also to help the candidate reach a greater knowledge of herself, of her potentialities and vulnerabilities and their possible consequences. (This implies that the psychologist gives feedback not only to formators, but also to the candidate herself.)

There is something significant in regard to the use of psychology that the document points out. It says that, considering the particularly sensitive nature of specialized psychological or psychotherapeutic techniques, formators must avoid using them themselves. This means psychological work, and especially psychological assessment and psychotherapy, are to be left to the professional psychologists and is not be engaged in by formators who have not been trained to offer these services. Sometimes, formators who do not have formal psychological training offer psychological services. The Church disapproves this.

The document also upholds the candidate’s right to privacy. It points out that recourse to psychological help be done in such a way that the candidate’s reputation and right to privacy is safeguarded. Hence a candidate’s psychological assessment can only begin with her “previous, explicit, informed and free consent” (no. 12). If the candidate refuses to undergo a psychological consultation the formators will not force her. Instead, they will prudently proceed in the work of discernment with the knowledge they gain from other sources.

The document observes that, for candidates to be open to the assessment without fear or misgivings, it is important that the atmosphere of the formation house and the relationship between candidates and the formators be marked by openness and transparency.  The manner in which formators present to the candidate the rationale for the psychological assessment is also an important factor. They need to avoid the impression that a referral for assessment is the prelude to the candidate’s inevitable dismissal from the seminary or house of formation.

The document also observes that the psychologist makes available the results of the assessment only to those formators agreed to by the candidate and that he requires the written consent of the candidate to do so. It calls attention to the obligation the formators have to use the assessment report only for the purpose for which it was undertaken. It is worthwhile to quote verbatim here the Church’s stance. “In order to protect, in both the present and the future, the candidate’s privacy and good reputation, let particular care be taken so that the professional opinions expressed by the expert be exclusively accessible to those responsible for formation, with the precise and binding proscription against using it in any way other than for the discernment of a vocation and for the candidate’s formation” (no. 13).

In case a candidate who has undergone psychological assessment has left or has been dismissed wishes to join another seminary or formation house, the new formators can access the candidate’s psychological assessment report only with the written permission of the concerned candidate. The previous formator also cannot forward the report to them without written authorization from the candidate.

The Church, thus, appreciates the value of psychological assessment as a formation tool and shares with the psychological fraternity a strong concern for the rights, reputation and welfare of those who avail of these services. May all those who use these psychological services, particularly the formation fraternity and Church personnel in general, have the same appreciation and uphold the same concerns.

Five Characteristics of a Helpful Assessment Report

• Is written in clear, easy-to-understand language using non-technical words.
• Clearly answers the referral question.
• Integrates the results of the different tests and knowledge gained from the clinical interview to draw up a useful psychological profile and indicates the implications of the same.
• Highlights strengths and weaknesses and indicates the presence or absence of psychopathological (unhealthy mental and emotional) traits and tendencies.
• Makes 2-4 practical recommendations flowing from the findings.

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Asking the candidate, “How do you feel about doing this assessment?” is very important.

The report should be easily understandable to the candidate and the formator.

The psychologist points out positive signs of emotional and spiritual maturity, as also the presence of inadequacies.

The usefulness of the report depends on how it is prepared and how it is communicated.

The formator should destroy the report after five years, and should not use it for any evaluations after that.

The psychologist does not judge the candidate’s vocational suitability. This is the task of the aformator.

The church insists that we protect the candidate’s privacy and good reputation.

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