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After hiding in a toilet from would-be murderers for ninety-one days, and coming out weighing just 29 kilos, a twenty-one year old woman turned her bitter experience into a great lesson in living. So did a survivor of the terrorist attack in Mumbai. How did they do it? Can we do the same?

“I live happier now than when I had everything,” a serene Immaculee Ilibagiza affirms at a Leadership Excellence and Development (LEAD) 2017 Forum presentation.

Her story of brokenness goes back to April 1994, just before celebrating Easter. The shooting down of the plane over Kigali airport on 6 April 1994, left Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, belonging to the Hutu tribe of Rwanda, dead! This triggered the beginning of a three-month long genocide in which the Hutus (the majority tribe) massacred the Tutsis, the other Rwandan tribe.  The Rwandan holocaust, in a span of just one hundred days, left a million people dead and over two million refugees. A Tutsi survivor of the holocaust, Immaculee Ilibagiza was a barely twenty- one years old university student. Along with seven others, she hid in a small toilet measuring four feet by three feet, in the house of Pastor Simon Murinzi, a Hutu, for ninety-one days!

During this time, her entire family was brutally slaughtered. After nearly 275 days in darkness, hunger and thirst, stench, fear and extreme anxiety, Ilibagiza emerged a different person. She had weighed 52 kilos the day she went into hiding; her weight was down to just 29 kilos when she came out. Her bones stuck out of her frail body, but her heart was strong and forgiving. In her book, Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, she confesses that it was in that toilet that she discovered God. She learnt to cling on to hope, and she could forgive unconditionally, while she experienced the power of prayer and love. Her very name, Ilibagiza, means to ‘dispel the darkness’! A small bible that she borrowed from Pastor Murinzi and the last gift of a red and white rosary by her father to her, proved to be the defining supports for dispelling the darkness of those ninety-one days. Today, twenty-three years later, Ilibagiza is a staunch Catholic, a motivational speaker, author and member of the ‘Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Restorative Justice Forum.’ She takes time to care for a number  of orphans. Her life is ‘gracefully broken.’ She uses the many ‘lessons learnt’ in that dark toilet to help other broken lives to find ‘grace’ and ‘love.’ She is no more the ‘Tutsi-cockroach’ waiting to be slaughtered but a beloved image of God to be imitated and loved.

Light in the darkness

Behind every dark cloud, there is a silver lining. The end of every tunnel is always ‘light-embracing.’ Ahead of every failure lies a step toward success. Beyond the pain of every loss, there is a new arrival. Life somehow, even miraculously, recreates the broken! Our history is chequered with lives of personalities who have faced the utmost hardships, shattered to a thousand pieces, broken beyond repair, torn apart like shredded cloth, disfigured beyond recognition and failed a thousand times over. And yet, these same lives radiate a deep connect with God that expresses itself outwardly through joy, serenity, peace, forgiveness and hope. Light radiates through the cracks in their lives.

Kia Scherr, whose husband Allen and daughter Naomi Scherr were shot dead at the Trident Hotel on  26/11/2008, when terror struck Mumbai, is a beacon of hope. Her peaceful life was torn apart by the brutal acts of Kasab and his gang. Surrounded by pain, loss, the need for revenge and hopelessness, Kia chose to be a ‘peace entrepreneur’ and started a whole movement called ‘One Life Alliance’ that promotes the sacredness of life. “Revenge isn’t a word in the lexicon of Kia,” quotes Jyoti P. Lavakare. In her ‘Letter to a Terrorist,’ now made into a short nine-minute documentary, Kia writes, “I feel, with each passing day, more alive than I have ever been!” Kia and Ilibagiza share the same line of thought. Both gracefully broken!

The Japanese have developed an unusual art form: ‘Kintsugi’ or ‘Kintsukuroi’ or the art of ‘golden repair.’ Broken ceramic jars are artistically joined together with a special lacquer dusted with gold, silver or platinum. The golden joinery, in fact, makes the broken ceramic container more beautiful and expensive. What would naturally have found its way to the waste bin, is now displayed on a showcase for all to admire.

Five Life Skills

Here are five simple life skills to convert your brokenness into something gracefully miraculous:

1. ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE ‘PERFECTLY IMPERFECT’: There is great freedom in learning this life skill. Trying to live our lives ‘perfectly-perfect’ takes a toll on every cell in your system. Life was never meant to be a 100% success story, devoid of flaws, failures or tragedy. In fact, it is the ‘imperfectness’ of our lives that makes us more humane and brings out the compassionate and fragile-self of our lives. In embracing the imperfections in us, we find it easier to accept the brokenness of others. Life is a never-ending journey into becoming the best of who we were meant to be. But, this journey has to necessarily pass through periods of brokenness.
2. COURAGE TO GATHER THE FRAGMENTS: We were not created to live shattered lives forever. In the journey of life, we do break and fall apart. It takes a lot of courage, and humility too, to get down on our fallen knees and gather the fragments. Every fragment is an important piece in the mosaic of your life. Your history cannot disown your painful past. It is only in hind-sight, we learn to appreciate the events of our past. Steve Jobs was right when he said, “We need to connect the dots. No one connects the dots with reference to the future. We always connect them with reference to our past.” In connecting the dots, the tapestry of our life becomes more vibrant and significant. No dot can be left out.
3. SHARE THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE: The narratives of every life are important. They inspire and motivate people to take on a new direction in life. Hollywood and Bollywood are full of true life stories that inspire and give hope. Your life too can be inspiring. There is no shame in admitting your failures and brokenness. When your life is put to the test, it is your friends who come out the best.
4. ACCEPT THE BROKENNESS OF OTHERS: Just as you are ‘perfectly-imperfect,’ accept that there are others like you in the same boat. It would be hypocritical to hide behind a ‘better-than-thou’ attitude. Perfection is not a competitive struggle we need to engage in. In our imperfections, we recognise our need for support, formation and compassion.

ALLOW GOD TO “KINTSUGI” YOU: Great saints were broken sinners who allowed God to Kintsugi their lives. Our brokenness is the very reason for divine intervention. The Psalmist rightfully says, “God comes to heal the broken-hearted and to bind up all their wounds” (Psalm 147:3) and “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves those crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). With God’s Grace, we are assured of a happier future than all the shame and hurt of our past. Let not your tomorrows be a continuation of your broken past. Jesus, the master carpenter, knows best the art of joinery. He can mend your brokenness gracefully. Allow Him to turn you into a masterpiece.

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Discerning the layers of desires within us

Part 1. Begin with the Word of God:

Read the following Text:  John 1: 35-42

Focus on the question of Jesus in John 1:38:

• Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, “What do you want?”

(In other translations, the question is: “What are you looking for?” or “What do you seek?”

Part 2: The Layers of “What We Seek”

Do we really know what we want?  Our desires are multi-layered and often enmeshed. For instance, in the prayer of St Augustine, “Oh Master, give me chastity and continence, but not yet,” there are at least two layers of desire.  There is a desire to be chaste (may be at a deeper level), but there is also a desire to be wayward. If we get swayed by our shallow desire, then we may end up being empty, and in due course, frustrated and unhappy.

Similarly, there could be, at a deeper level within us, a desire to leave a legacy behind, but at a shallow level there could be a desire to be popular and famous. Both these are related, but if I focus on the shallow desire I might lose myself in overworking and getting burnt-out, or in putting down others in order to be popular.  On the other hand, if I focus on the desire to leave a legacy, I may achieve what I want more gracefully, including the legacy of good relationships.

Can you identify the layers of desires within you? Using the reverse of this sheet, write down as many desires as you can get in touch with. Answer the question (What do you want?) as sincerely and fully as you can.  Write your responses at appropriate levels as you might perceive. Now, please turn over!

Part 3: What is all this about?

After completing Part 2, have a second look at the waves of desires (on the reverse of this page).  In the box below write down your thoughts and feelings about the exercise.  What does this reality tell you about yourself?

The Waves of Desire:

Write down as many desires as you can possibly identify within yourself, layering them in terms of deep and shallow desires.  Write deep ones at the bottom of the page and the shallow ones on top.

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Fr Sahaya G. Selvam SDB

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You did not choose me. I chose you! (John 15:16)

That was where it all began—this venture into the unknown, following an unheard voice, an unseen face, into an unfathomable future. We had a mysterious attraction to this childhood God who suddenly or gradually caught hold of our lives and would not let us go!

Every consecrated person has a story to tell. Having to deal with young Religious, I would often start with these stories. Some stories were long, beginning from the womb of their mother. Others burst in at a very young age—First Holy Communion or thereabouts. Others were drawn in adolescence or teenage or even later. Whenever and however the call came, it just did not leave us in peace, until we made up our minds, one way or the other. The “If you wish…” of Jesus required a willing answer, not a forced one.

What drew most people to the Religious Life was usually a strong inclination towards prayer or a deep-seated urge towards some kind of apostolate.  After many years of living as a religious or a priest, most of us can honestly say that we seldom had great difficulties in our prayer life or the apostolate. Very few have gone through the ‘dark night’ of some of the saints. Very few have been persecuted because of their ‘apostolate.’

The Tough Challenge

Most of our difficulties in the Consecrated Life have come from an unexpected area—community living, the give-and-take of living and working together with other persons called to the same state of life.  In our youthful enthusiasm, we admired our priests and religious. We thought that because of their evident holiness they must be nice to live with.  But once in the community ourselves, we soon discovered the human elements of community living.

As an old and humorous saying has it:

“To live in love with the saints above,

Oh, what heavenly glory!

But to live and grow with the saints below,

Well, that’s another story!”

It is worthwhile to recall what drew us to the Consecrated Life in the first place. Did we find what we were looking for?

Now, several years after our formation days, what are we looking for? Are we satisfied that this is just what we wanted or felt called to?  Have we grown … grace-fully?

The real freedom, joy and serenity in Consecrated life come from our intimacy with the God who called us /calls us, who walks with us and sustains us. We were not called merely for something. We were called by Someone!  Jesus calls us to discipleship and only then does He send us out on a mission. Giving priority to our work, which we sometimes confuse with mission, at the expense of prayer and gratuitous fraternal love and service, is like placing the cart before the horse. Sooner or later we will burn out, or, if we drag on long enough, retirement will deflate the balloon of our self-importance!  How many disgruntled and disillusioned people we see, who seem to have forgotten their first love!

Whatever be our age, Consecrated Life holds its beauty, its attractiveness. Following in the footsteps of Jesus, living the values He proposed, growing in our likeness to Him, relating with others with His unconditional and forgiving love, serving gratuitously without seeking any reward … all these make our life more genuine, more divine, more worth living, more satisfying from a spiritual as well as a human point of view. We become more humane, more mature, more contented, more at peace with ourselves and with others.

This is the real freedom and joy of a life dedicated to God, a prolonged blessing!  And it is ours for the asking. He has called us and never goes back on His promises. We may have fallen, but He picks us up again. We may have strayed, but He willingly brings us back again.

He calls us even today. It is never too late. Oh, if today you hear His voice, harden not your heart!

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Sr. Esme da Cunha FDCC is a Canossian sister. Her experience includes: College Lecturer in physics, Co-ordinator of Preparation for Final Vows for fifteen batches, member of the provincial and general council.

Mohandas Gandhi: The Story of My Experiments with Truth

In 1999, Harper Collins Publishers cited Mahatma Gandhi’s The Story of My Experiments with Truth among one of the one hundred best spiritual books of the 20^th century. This book tells us of the formation of one of the most influential and revered personalities of the last millennium. In five parts, it covers his life from early childhood to the beginning of the Non-Cooperation Movement. In its deep introspection, passion for truth, godliness in all things and a consequent concern for personal integrity and love of one’s fellow creatures, it has touched many readers around the globe.

His father’s uprightness, his mother’s piety and strict adherence to the rules of her religion—these become the standard by which young Gandhi measures his own conduct. These dearly held principles are tested against the experiences of every day existence, developing his strong moral character. In Part I we read the candid report of his boyhood struggles to overcome temptations of various kinds. In South Africa he encounters racism and social oppression. He engages in principled opposition to these, and experiments with community living. This becomes the training ground for the historic undertaking—the Indian Freedom Struggle. His vow of celibacy in marriage, his cooperation with the British as relief worker during the Boer war and the World War I are narrated in sections III and IV. Part V narrates the founding of the Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad, the Champaran Satyagraha, and his resistance to the Rowlatt Act.

By then Gandhi has become a man of many parts—newspaper editor, educationist, and a leader whose vision eventually created a great democratic nation. In all his experiments he insists on truth, non-violence and realisation of God. God is truth, and truth can only be realised through ahimsa. It is aspiring after truth that turned him to politics and indeed into all areas of life. Truth, politics, and religion therefore belong together, despite what people claim. With deep humility and a prayerful mind he declares that he seeks to reduce himself to zero and be the last among fellow creatures, and asks readers to join him in prayer to the God of Truth that he may be granted the boon of ahimsa in mind, word, and deed.

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Nelson Mandela: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM (Macdonald Purnell, 1994)

Mandela is to South Africa what Mahatma Gandhi is to India. He spearheaded the anti-apartheid movement and won for his fellow men their freedom and rights. And he helped create a country of racial harmony, avoid a blood bath, which many had feared. Long Walk to Freedom recounts his life as a freedom fighter and the shaper of African destiny. It tells the story of the native people’s struggle against the indignity and brutality of the European hegemony and attain equality and self-determination denied to them for centuries.

Mandela was transformed by the education he received, and this made him realize the vital significance of education as the route to liberation. He became active in the struggle for the rights of Africans and was cruelly treated. Arrested in 1962, he was imprisoned for twenty-six years! In prison he gained the status of a martyr and an icon of human rights. Released in 1990, he was elected the African President of South Africa, in the first multi-racial election the country ever had. The book is an inspiring, passionate epic of the triumph of a man’s determination, suffering, and resilience in the face of severe trials.

A lesson from Mandela: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Another lesson: “If I do not forgive, I will still be living in a prison (of hatred).”

Mandela insisted, when elected president, that what the country needed was not revenge, but healing. For his noble-minded approach to public life and his lack of bitterness towards those who had ill-treated him (, he became one of the most respected statesmen in the world. No wonder there were over ninety heads of state at his funeral—the largest ever.

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True Grit (2010)

Runtime:             110 minutes

Genre:                 Holly wood Revenge drama. (Remake of the 1965 version)

Written & Directed By:     Joel and Ethan Coen

Cast:                    Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper

On the surface, the Coen Brothers’ version of True Grit it is a suspenseful quest across the Wild West, with the climactic gunfight and the bad guys killed by the good guys, etc. At a deeper level, it focuses on the paradoxes of natural ‘justice’ in contrast to the idea of Grace. Maddie Ross, a determined fourteen-year-old girl forces the drunken one-eyed Marshall Rooster Cogburn to avenge the treacherous outlaw Tom Chaney her father’s death. Maddie joins him along with La Boeuf, a Texas Ranger. The chase ends in the dangerous Indian territory where Cogburn and LaBoeuf shoot down Chaney’s fellow outlaws. Maddie shoots Chaney and thus gets her vengeance. The recoil of the gun thrusts her into a snake pit where she is bitten. Cogburn desperately attempts to save Maddie. She survives, but she loses her bitten arm. In the closing sequence, a much older Maddie, a spinster, goes to visit Cogburn—only to learn that he is dead. As the one-armed woman moves into the distance, the hymn “Oh how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way / Leaning on the everlasting arms…” is heard. It reminds the viewer of God’s grace that Maddie has missed, in the unforgiving pursuit of justice.

The movie opens with a half quote from Proverbs 28:1: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth ...” Its second part,” but the righteous are bold as a lion” is not shown but is implied in the later episodes. The movie opens and closes with the violent execution of ‘justice’ by hanging and shooting. The closing hymn tells us what it is all about. Those who champion justice as vengeance are indeed right in seeking it but all get hurt in the pursuit. The distinction between the good and the bad is blurred. All are in need of God’s grace.  Justice comes at a cost, but God’s grace is freely offered to the good and the wicked alike. Maddie’s words in the  opening, “No doubt Chaney fancied himself scot-free, but he was wrong. You must pay for everything in this life, one way and another. There is nothing free, except the grace of God,” applies to her too.

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Runtime:            143 minutes

Director:            Andrew Adamson

Cast:                   Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson.

Film adaptation of the first story of C S Lewis’s children’s classic The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is set against the background of World War II. The brilliant allegoric fantasy involves four children, several mythical animals, a witch and a lion named Aslan.

During the German bombings of London, the Pevensie children are sent to the country for safety. While staying at the country house, Lucy, the youngest, finds a wardrobe which she opens and magically enters a snow-covered fantasy land called Narnia. There she meets a friendly Faun, Tumnus, who is a slave of Jadis, the Witch who wants to enslave people. Lucy’b siblings too enter Narnia, where her brother Edmund is

Narnia was once a happy place ruled by the majestic lion Aslan, now in exile. They are also told about the prophecy about Adam’s children who would one day come to claim the Kingdom.  They soon meet Aslan, who is waiting for them. Aslan helps them free Edmund from the witch, but has to make a secret arrangement with her in terms of his ‘Deep Magic.’ Aslan offers himself as sacrifice in place of Edmund, but in the final battle the witch realises the real significance of the sacrifice. Aslan returns powerful and helps the children with their army of mythical animals to win the final battle against the Witch and they are crowned the royal family of Narnia. It is a spectacular entertainer—with talking animals, great scenery, a gripping fable, powerful battle scenes and strong characters, both good and bad, with the Christian redemption story set in a fairy tale mode.

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When college students in Tura, Meghalaya, were asked this question, these are the answers they came up with. Their replies show what young people see as priorities today in their setting. It would be interesting to ask the same question to young people in other parts of India.

1. If I were a politician, I would ban alcohol completely in Meghalaya. I would give employment to unemployed people, bring about infra-structural development, and develop the tourism industry. (Bidansal M. Sangma,  5^th semester B.Sc)
2. If I were a politician…I would first repair all the roads of the Garo hills and try to promote tourism so that it would help unemployed people in earning their livelihood. (Tange Chenang B. Marak: 5^th Semester B.Sc.)
3. “First and foremost, I will develop the transportation system in the entire Garo hills so that tourists will come and our economy will improve. Secondly, for those who don’t want to go to school, I will strive to provide opportunities to live on their talents—opportunities to develop their talents and earn their livelihood. Thirdly, since I’m elected by the people, I will work for the people. I will listen to their demands and try to fulfill them, provided they are meant for nation-building. (Chigarikkim K. Marak, 5^th Commerce)
4. “I will develop the entire Garo hills and our State of Meghalaya. Students are not getting admission into colleges.  Therefore, I will welcome the setting up of more colleges.  This will open up opportunities for higher education for our youth.

I will have an airport in Jengjal, in the Garo hills; and railway stations, too, since  affordable transportation is a big problem in the North-East India.  This will boost economy, trade and commerce—and therefore better livelihoods. (Aleg Friedial G. Momin, 5^th Semester Commerce)

5. “We need development. But small development leads to big development. Since in our country, rape is rampant, I will ensure safety of women, using new technology. For example, using drones in crowded places; and in secluded places, I will get CCTV cameras installed.

“Irrigation is most important. As of now, we are depending on the mercies of nature. If there is better irrigation, there will be better income for the farmers. I will campaign for better irrigation facilities for our farmers.

“There are many government welfare schemes for the poor, but they are not reaching the poor.  If the scheme is of Rupees one lac, the poor receive only about Rupees 20,000. The rest goes to the pockets of the officials.  So I would use new technologies to ensure that the beneficiaries get the entire amount meant for them.

“I would include more youth as my workers; and train them to face the future by giving them more opportunities for exposure. Youth have new ideas, so I will take their help, so  we can discuss together for betterment of the public.” ( Pongrike Nikgam A. Sangma)

6. “As someone who grew up in the village and attended government schools, I will ensure that the government schools in the village function in a better way, by appointing well qualified and sufficient teachers for all subjects. I would make available building funds for the school,  to improve infrastructure like laboratories, library and

 I will develop the roads in the villages, connecting each village.” (Pappose N Sangma)

7. “I will make self-defence compulsory in every school, especially for girls, so that they can protect themselves from sexual assaults and sexual harassment.” (Dipu D Shira)

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(Replies collected by Sr Mariola Sequeira SMA)

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On September 6, 2017, Pope Francis fulfilled a promise he had made some time ago. He had said he would visit Colombia if a peace deal was finalized between the Colombian government and the armed rebels, called FARC. The peace deal was finalized some time ago and as he had promised, Pope Francis left for an official visit to Colombia on 06 Sep.

Why was the peace deal so important to Pope Francis? Because he knows very well the price the Colombian people have paid for the past 52 years because of the war between the government and the group of leftist guerrillas, called FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). More than 220,000 people have died and more than 7,000,000 Columbians have been internally displaced. More than eighty-five priests have been assassinated since 1984, mostly because they have taken a neutral pro-people stand, supporting neither the rebels nor the army and opposed drug trade that brings funds to the armed groups. Bishops, priests and religious Sisters have been kidnapped or threatened by these groups.

The official motto for Pope’s trip is “Let’s take the first step,” which calls the Colombian people to do everything possible for reconciliation after the end of the bitter five-decades long civil war. During the visit the Pope will beatify a bishop and a priest who were killed by the guerrillas. On the stage will be what is called the Bojaya Crucifix, a dismembered image of Christ that survived an explosion in a church that killed more than seventy people – most of them children.

But ‘the candle’ I want to hold aloft now in this column is not Pope Francis. He is already shining like a beacon, isn’t he? But many don’t know the man who played the major role in getting the peace deal signed. He is someone whom the Vatican and Pope Francis have supported and encouraged: Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia, who has dedicated his presidency to ending the war with the FARC. That Santos could bring the rebels to the negotiating table is considered by many his biggest accomplishment. The negotiations began in 2012 in Oslo, Norway and then continued in Havana, Cuba. Finally, after four years of talks, a historic peace deal was signed on 26 Sep last year with a pen made from a bullet. In a referendum held to seek the people’s approval for the peace deal, it was rejected by a very narrow margin. So the talks continued and two months later a revised version of the peace deal was approved by both the houses of the Congress.

Born on 10 August 1951, in Bogota, Columbia as a member of the wealthy and influential family, Santos joined the Navy Academy as a cadet, then went to Kansas, U.S. to study economics and business administration. He later studied at the London School of Economics and Harvard Kennedy School. An award-winning columnist and reporter, he became the Director of  a popular newspaper.

Appointed in 1991 as Colombia’s first Minister of Foreign Trade, Santos expanded his country’s international trade. He later became the Minister of Finance and Public Credit. In 2005, he co-founded and led the Social Party of National Unity, a liberal-conservative party coalition and after the party won, became the Minister of National Defence, who took a strong stand against FARC and other guerilla groups. But he soon came to understand the need for negotiations with the rebels in order to end the violence and bring peace to his much-scarred country. In October last year Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize “for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.” Time magazine named him as one of world’s 100 most influential people.

As disciples of Jesus who declared, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” we should pray that  the efforts of Santos and Pope Francis to promote reconciliation and peace should succeed.

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When you get into an auto or use other services, do you think of the person doing this job?

“My day begins at six. I prepare tea for my family, and wash my rickshaw. Then my wife Monica, my three daughters and I have breakfast together.  I take my kids to school in my auto and start looking for customers.”

That is how the day begins for Jason (name changed), a forty-two-year-old auto rikshaw driver in Mangalore, Karnataka. He is the youngest of eleven children. His parents were agricultural labourers. He too did the same work until eighteen. Then he went to Mangalore, and did odd jobs in Catholic institutions. His employers helped him to buy a house and a rikshaw, as well as get a driving license. His daughters are studying in classes 10, 5 and 4. One of them is “differently abled.”

Jason’s daily routine includes a ten-minute visit to a church. After that, he goes to the railway station in search of passengers. He tries to be calm and patient in dealing with the passengers, who are tired and harried after their journey and eager to reach home.

“My job has taught me a lot about human nature,” Jason says. “I have learnt to deal with all sorts of people.” He tries to be helpful to the confused, to passengers with luggage, to women travelling with children and elderly persons struggling with their luggage. Some passengers are polite and generous with tips, while others are stingy, paying him even less than the fare.

What are your expenses?

A good part of his earnings go towards the maintenance of the rickshaw. He has insured his autorickshaw, but has no personal accident insurance.

 In between ferrying of passengers, Jason has a cup of tea or spends time talking to fellow rickshaw drivers. He buys lunch (usually a plate of rice) for about Rs. 30. He does not smoke or drink. He arranges his working hours in such a way as to be free to take his children home from their schools. After tea at home, he goes back to his driving and returns home around 8 or 9 p.m., tired but satisfied. He earns Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 per day.

For Jason and his wife Monica, their family comes first. Monica does domestic work in some homes. They both do their best to educate their children and teach them honesty, discipline and hard work. Since they do not have any health insurance, medical expenses are a big burden.

Their idea of relaxation or fun is to enjoy a soft drink (Sprite or Coca Cola) on Sundays, and to go out occasionally for a meal of fried rice or noodles. A few months ago, their two younger daughters received their First Holy Communion. For this special occasion, Jason wore a suit, which a relative lent him.

Jason does not have much of a social life. His reason for not visiting his friends is touching. He understands that for poorer people, feeding a guest can be a burden. So, when a friend or neighbor invites his family for a function, he makes sure that only one family member attends it. “I understand how expensive these functions are. People borrow money to buy food. We should not burden them.”

Jason belongs to an association of autorikshaw owners through which he saves around Rs 200 a month. He has no other money to fall back on in case of an emergency.

“Are you satisfied with your life?” I ask Jason.

“I would have liked my life situation to have been different,” he replies. “But I have no regrets. My parents did what they could, given their financial condition. The schooling I got was what they could afford.”

Then he adds, “God has been with me. He has sent people to help me. With their help, I was able to move from working on a farm to being an auto driver, with my own house and auto.”

Jason does not grumble or complain. He does what he can to improve his situation.

The driving force that energizes him is easy to guess—to provide a better future for his three daughters.

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Do you enjoy traveling? Do you find travel enriching, enjoyable or irritating? Are you put off by the noise, confusion, traffic jams and delays—or more interested in the people you meet, the sights you see, the life unfolding all around you?

Have you notices scenes like these?

Rakesh and Peter, recently retired senior citizens, volunteer to assist in the smooth flow of traffic. They do not have to do it, but they like to do their part in making the city safer and more liveable for all.

There are schools where some of the alumni come to the busy intersection nearby and guide the traffic flow, so that children can enter the school premises safely.

Other inspiring scenes:

• Teenagers and children help the aged and the blind to get to the other side.
• A wayside mechanic assists to set right a breakdown vehicle for no fee at all.
• School kids hold banners to remind drivers of ‘silent zones.’
• Social and religious groups offer food and drink to stranded travellers.
• A blind boy plays a melodious tune on his flute to bring a smile on the face of the passers-by.
• Street plays enacted by college students on social themes entertain and educate.
• Young artists add colour and life to the drab walls that line our bridges.
• Street families with little or nothing radiate smiles and laughter.
• Little children gaze in wonder at the outside world decorated with neon lights and attractive billboards.
• An auto driver reaches out to assist a passenger or a taxi ferrying an injured one to a nearby hospital.
• An alert policeman takes the opportunity to allow the emergency services to have the right of way.

On the road, you will see people at their best and their worst—both deep humanity and utter callousness. You may have come across the following types of scenes, too:

• A driver—whose dashboard carries religious statues and prayer beads—yells abusively at a pedestrian or another driver.
• We see chauffeurs driving expensive cars chewing pan only to lower the window pane and splash red-stained sprays.
• A well-dressed man screams obscenities at a driver who is driving too fast.
• A family has just finished their packed lunch in the car, and now throws out the waste on to the road.
• A driver hoots away to glory, filling the air with loud and harmful noise.
• Normal courtesies of the road, found much more frequently in other countries, are often missing in India. Cutting the line, crossing the lane, and getting ahead seems to be the smart thing. Letting another car go ahead looks foolish, not kind.

As our traffic gets heavier, and vehicles increase by the thousands every day, we need to develop ways of being human on the road—lest travel bring out the worst in us. Here are seven Golden Rules for the Road:

1. Stop blaming: All are in a hurry, including you. We all cause the jam at the crossroads. Slow down. “Life is not a 100 meters dash, but a slow marathon,” Pope Francis reminds us. Respect the rules of the road. Life is too precious; your speed can kill. In general, blaming is a negative and useless way of handling life. Each of us who owns a private vehicle and uses it, is part of the traffic problem.
2. Be Pleasant: The young vendor, the active volunteer, and the tired traffic officer have all seen enough of sad faces through the day. You don’t have the right to add another. Let you face radiate joy, hope, compassion. Let your face shine on them. They will wait to see your face the next day. Happy faces are contagious, they make the world a happier place to live. Be a blessing to every passer-by. Smile at other travellers and drivers. Be pleasant.
3. Talk to your fellow passengers: Stay connected with those in the vehicle. Talk to the driver, he will have a lot of life’s lessons to empower you. Sing along with the kid; the nursery rhymes will make you younger again. Keep your mobile away. Technology and WhatsApp cannot replace our human need for personal connection and conversation with those we journey with. Make meaningful conversations. Travel is a great time for getting to know people and for making friends.
4. Take responsibility: The road is your property too. Engage the municipality to do their job. Lives are lost and vehicles are damaged because of our poor state of roads. Join the campaigns that call for safer roads and clearer environments. Upload photos of spots that need attention and repair. Your timely complain can save many lives. Be a responsible citizen. Hold those who hold public office accountable. If there is not active civil society, government authorities will neglect, damage and rob the public.
5. Be legal and polite: Keep the Respect Silence. ‘Horn OK, please’ is no more the slogan. Correct the offender politely; be it the rash driver or a horning vehicle. Keep the roads litter-free. Give way to the emergency services (such as, an ambulance); every second counts in saving a life. The ambulance could be carrying a friend or relative you know. Avoid the ‘bribe and drive’ epidemic.

Mabel, American lady married to an Indian, shared a difference she noticed between the two cultures. “Here in the US,” she said, “When there is a law, we keep it. If it is not practical or useful, we change it. The Indian mentality seems to be how to break the law and get away with it.” The Indians in the rooms agreed with her.

There is nothing clever or smart about doing illegal things. They just increase the corruption and inefficiency all around.

6. Say “Thank you!”: Never leave without saying a word of appreciation to the driver. Remember, you only paid for the fuel and kilometres travelled, not for the driver’s skill, patience and courtesy. Safety cannot be bought! You reached your destination safely only because you were precious to the driver, at times at the risk of his own life. Think about it. Don’t crib to give a tip; he deserves much more.

In India, we tend to take the services of people for granted, and think we need not thank people, especially those we see as “below us.”

We can learn from the following episode.

A lift attendant in a high rise apartment building in Mumbai sees a man running to catch the lift. The people already in the lift show impatience and irritation. Seeing this, the attendant tells them, “I am ready to wait for that gentleman any day. All of you take this lift every day. He is the only one who tells me, ‘Thank you!’”

The world will be a nicer place if we all complained less and thanked more. Would you agree?

Do you thank your driver?

Go with God:  We never journey alone. God is with us on the journey of life. Start your journey with a prayer and end it on the same. The word for “Bye-bye” in several languages, such as French or Spanish—Adieu, Adios—means “Go with God.” God journeys with us. He is ever present in our life, wherever we go.

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The term “apostle” refers to “someone who has been sent” as a messenger.  Although employed also to refer to messengers in the secular sense and messengers sent by God, an apostle in the New Testament (NT) is mostly a delegate or an envoy of Jesus sent to proclaim the message of the gospel.  In the restricted sense, apostles refer to the Twelve disciples and to Saint Paul whose apostolic or ecclesiastical office was passed on to their successors: the Pope, the Bishops and priests, but, in its biblical sense, it was applied to any messenger of Jesus Christ.

The earliest use of the term in the NT is found in the Pauline writings.  Paul’s notion of an apostle is similar to that of the Old Testament (OT) prophets. He was convinced, like the prophet Jeremiah, that God had set him apart before he was born (Gal 1:15).  When Paul employs the title apostle to introduce himself in the opening lines of his letters, he defines his identity and defends his claim to be authorized by the risen Lord as God’s messenger to proclaim the gospel to the nations (1 Cor 9:1; 15:6-8). Paul also talks about “envoys/apostles of the Church”; here the apostles are those commissioned by the early Christian communities as their representatives (2 Cor 8:23).  An apostle for Paul is thus someone who proclaims the Gospel and administers Christian communities. Note that Paul explicitly includes a woman named Junia among the apostles (Rom 16:7).  He transcends the boundaries of the Twelve and the disciples whom Jesus chose during his public ministry.

The Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – focused on the use of the term apostles for the Twelve or the disciples who accompanied Jesus during his earthly ministry and witnessed the resurrection.  Luke, who employed the term more frequently than the other evangelists, also used the term apostle to denote someone fully authorized to represent the person on whose behalf the envoy comes or to be a witness to the claim of the one who sends.  The same meaning is implied in the sending of the disciples by Jesus and the delegation of Barnabas and Paul by the Church of Antioch.

Although the designation apostle is given only once to Jesus in the entire NT (Heb 3:1), Jesus very often, especially in John’ Gospel, presents himself as the one sent by God to reveal God’s glory and to give life to believers.  The Gospel of John does not use the noun apostle (except once in the secular sense [13:16]) but employs the verb “to send,” emphasizing the intimate relationship between the messenger and the sender, and highlighting the responsibility and mission of the one sent in relation to the sender. The Johannine Jesus sends the disciples as he was sent by his Father: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (20:21) to continue his mission, to reveal God’s love and creative presence in the world.

As bearers of the gospel message, all Christians are called to be apostles of Jesus Christ. They are called to be God’s messengers to the world. Being an apostle implies a deeper experience of God and demands a commitment worthy of being sent by God to continue God’s creative work in contemporary society.  Apostles are called to be God’s agents to make the ongoing revelation of God’s interventions visible in human history and to collaborate with God’s life-giving actions in the world. May we be credible witnesses, with a deeply cultivated experience of God, keen on bringing God’s compassionate love to people.

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