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For every Consecrated religious person the month of February is special.  It is a reminder of one’s total commitment to God, to his people and to creation.  February 2^nd is the feast of the Presentation and the world day for Consecrated Life.  It is celebrated with abundant hope as a gift from God for our world and a radical way of filling the world with love, returning love for hate, indifference and rejection.

But February is also special for another reason – it is Healthy Relationships Month. In some countries, particularly in the US, it is celebrated as National Healthy Relationships Month. This month is dedicated to promoting healthy relationships and educating individuals on how to create and maintain them.

As Christians, we are called to love in a way that is both self-giving and unifying, which is known as Agapic love. This type of love is characterized by selflessness, generosity, and a willingness to put the needs of others before our own. It is a love that seeks the good of the other and is not motivated by personal gain or selfish desires. But love also has a creative aspect, known as Eros. Eros is the passion and desire that drives us to create and bring new life into the world. It is the aspect of love that inspires us to pursue our passions and dreams, to explore new possibilities and to seek out new experiences.

These two aspects of Christian love – Agape and Eros – are depicted in the articles of the February issue of our magazine, “Magnet”. Both the Agapic and Eros aspects of love call for a prophetic engagement in addressing the injustices and suffering of marginalized communities, such as those affected by issues like human trafficking, systemic violence and other forms of exploitation. There are articles that discuss the importance of communication, compliance and compassion in maintaining healthy relationships. The articles on Wholeness, Life as a Gift, and Defining Moments talk about the importance of spiritual care in relationships. They emphasize how taking care of our spiritual and psychological needs are essential for being able to give and receive love in a healthy way. They also stress that care is not just about physical well-being, but also about emotional and spiritual well-being.  They highlight how effective communication is the key to understanding and resolving conflicts, building trust and intimacy, and creating a sense of connection and belonging.  The articles also show that the Christian understanding of love is not just about the romantic and emotional aspects, but also about the practical and everyday aspects of relationships. As Christians and as Religious we are called to love in a way that is both self-giving and unifying, which is known as Agapic love, and also to love with compassion and warmth, which is known as Eros.

In addition, the cover stories of this issue provide an in-depth look at the topic of midlife through the personal experiences of rural men and women navigating the complexities of menopause, as well as the inspiring success story of a Catholic nun who joyfully shares her journey.  It provides guidance, inspiration and encouragement to embrace this stage of life with positivity and hope.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our readers for their continued support. We appreciate the feedback we have received from many of you through letters to the editor, commenting on the quality of our articles and the value they provide. Your comments and suggestions help us to continue to improve and provide relevant and engaging content for our readers. I would also like to thank our editorial team for their hard work and dedication in producing each issue of the magazine. Their commitment to providing our readers with valuable and insightful content is truly appreciated.

We encourage our readers to continue to write to the editorial team with your feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future articles. Your input is essential to the success of the magazine and helps us to ensure that we are meeting the needs and interests of our readers. Once again, thank you for your support, and we look forward to continue providing you with informative and engaging content in the coming months.

Wishing each of you a happy feast.

Pushpa Joseph
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Can Social Media transform? Does it need to be transformed? Can it be a site of Encounter? The cover story for our January issue tries to understand how social media can enhance our mission as a Church.

Let me start with the word encounter.  In the spiritual sense of the term, it simply means to run into; and running into God is the best thing that can happen to us!  To go deeper, God Encounter in the biblical understanding are encounters with the persons of the Holy Trinity – the Father, Son and Spirit.  It is not about a one-time dramatic experience but an ongoing leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Can social media take us to God? Let us look at the following example.

Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenage computer whiz has been touted as the patron saint of the internet.  What did he do to gain this accolade? He not only created a website cataloguing and promoting Eucharistic miracles but he also shared through the media site his encounter with the Trinity every day as he celebrated the Eucharist. For us, the Eucharist is the tangible presence of God, the Father, Son and Spirit, whose very nature is relational, with us.  For God, to be God, is to be connected.  This relationship is a living relationship, a feeling relationship and a pulsating life-giving relationship. It is not a limiting network, but an expanding one.  Jesus in becoming one among us made every relationship sacred, transforming all networks into His living body.   Media becomes social because humans invest in it. And wherever life is present God is there too.   That is why Carlo Acutis was able through social media to communicate the throbbing energy of this relationship between the Father, Son and the Spirit through the miracles that he encountered and witnessed.  And incredibly he himself became a miracle that healed Mattheus from Brazil who was born of a pancreatic defect.  During his beatification ceremony the Cardinal who delivered the homily said, “Carlo used the internet in service of the Gospel, to reach as many people as possible.”  This teenager saw the web as a place to use with responsibility without becoming enslaved and as a site that led to encounters of the Divine in all people, in all life.

Pushpa Joseph

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Social Media is having a major influence on society in the 21st century‚ enabling people to engage with each other radically in new and different ways. Social media is a collective term for websites and applications that focus on communication, community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. People use social media to stay in touch and interact with friends, family and various communities. Businesses use social applications to market and promote their products and track customer concerns. People socialize and interact with others in their day-to-day life be it their family, friends, colleagues, or even strangers. The age of writing letters is gone. Social Media has become such an integral part of our lives that people actually cannot live without it. The Digital 2022 April Global Report found that there are 4.65 billion social media users on the planet. That’s 58.7% of the global population, many of whom are using social media as a primary source of information. The thing about social media that appeases the majority of the crowd is its user-friendly features. From advanced countries to under-developed countries, each country is using the force of social media to enhance life of the people.

K. John Don Bosco

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Introduction

In today’s technological world we are called to be limitless in our imagination.   Higher education offers an example.   Blending the best of face-to-face instruction with the flexibility of online and digital  learning have  enhanced the higher education experience for learners, and prepare them better for the world of work.

With the advancement of technology, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and  COVID 19, education is continually evolving and transforming itself.  These have impacted  education everywhere, leading to growing trends in how students  learn.  The pandemic forced educational institutions to think of online classes. Much before this, education was undergoing changes with the development of educational technology.  Many of the temporary changes that emerged during  the pandemic would be the future and how students would learn.   They look for knowledge of technology, skills training which would ensure a well-paying and rewarding career.  Institutions begin to  realise that experience-based learning is more suited for interaction between students and teachers.  Classroom material would be delivered online and technology oriented learning would be the future.

Fr V Joseph Xavier SJ

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What is Social Media?

Social Media is just a reflection of who we are. It is networking or connecting to people. It is a dialogue, not a monologue. It creates communities. It creates a comfortable and entertaining atmosphere, helping people improve their social skills, providing interesting information for users to learn and expand their knowledge, and most importantly, to establish new forms of interpersonal relationships. Social media has created radical changes in the life of individuals. The emergence of the internet as a network for communication has brought profound transformation in society. We are always updated on the latest happenings of the world through it and become more socially aware of the issues of the world.

Positive Impact on Religious Formation

In this digital world, social media is a necessity, not a luxury. It is said, “Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.” It gives birth to a new way of learning, thinking and establishing relationships. Yes, our formees are coming from the Z generation, marked by the internet. Generation Z dominates online searches for information on the post-millennial generation. According to a study, people belonging to the Z generation are more accepting and open minded, pragmatic and creative, progressive and idealistic.

Sr Benny D’ Cunha UFS

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As an educationalist, with interest in women’s development ranging from grassroots to higher education, I believe that the possibility of women using and creating social media spaces is a progressive notion and a way forward towards the goal of women empowerment. The internet has emerged as a critical tool in determining ones’ identity, social status, career success and to stay connected in a globalized world. In this digital age it is essential even for women to be internet savvy in order to survive.

Positive Change in the lives of women

Social networking sites have played a pivotal role in groups, communities and the society at large. These innovations have ignited social change and changed the lives of women.

1. A space for Self-expression

The results of the rampant spread of social media phenomenon also saw women who have had limited access to education, employability, barriers such as caste/class/gender, language and mobility, have access to social media. Encountering multiple forms of discrimination, it became an important space particularly for assertion of identities. It enabled women to express their ‘voice’ in more suitable, convenient, appropriate and in largely uncontested spaces.  Women like Meena Kandasamy, award-winning writer, Christina Dhanraj, co-founder of Dalit History Month project, Ginni Mahi, famous pop-singer, Meena Kotwal, award-winning independent journalist, Kiruba Munusamy and Disha Wadekar, human rights lawyers, amongst countless others use social media as a space for self-expression.

Prof. Sandra Joseph

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The New Year is a time to make a fresh start. It is a time to renew our thoughts, minds and souls, because it is a reminder that though all things are transient, we can still reinforce the good of the past and plan as far as we can, for a better future.

The last year has been bleak. The looming threat and the continuing fear of the Corona virus and the outbreak of war in Ukraine, all things that we had not expected, dampened our spirits and morale. These events of the past year have resulted in great damage to economies, waning employment prospects, disrupting supply chains, rise in commodity prices and inflation. The poor and the children, many orphaned by COVID have been the worst hit by these developments. Children have had tremendous learning setbacks, by missing out on school.  The average household has had to cope with unbearable hardships leaving lasting pain. Not to speak of the social disorientation and problems created by the time spent in social isolation.

The start of the New Year does not seem promising either. Yet, we have to learn to adapt to changing circumstances and learn to cope with pain and hardship. The news today is all very negative. In the midst of all this, can we retain our sanity and somehow manage to cope, with stress, mental anguish and emotional imbalance, as we negotiate the new difficulties we will meet with in the New Year?

Janina Gomes

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Some years ago, a study done of over two thousand mid-level managers in the UK found out what they missed most. What they missed—and asked for—was not a higher salary or promotion. What they missed most was appreciation for what they were doing well.

It is not just managers and other employees in companies who miss appreciation. This is a common problem in most settings. People tend to notice and point out the flaws in others’ performance, but often fail to point out and appreciate their positive traits.

Manju, a young and loving wife who used to take delight in cooking tasty meals for her family, one day prepared a special dish. After the meal, she asked her husband, “How was that dish?” He was reading the newspaper, and did not even look up. She asked him again Then he grunted, “Hmm.” She told him, “I made a special dish today. I wanted to know how you liked it.” His irritated reply was this, “If there was something wrong, I would have told you, no?”

What a negative attitude to life!

To have the habit of keeping quiet when others do well, and to speak up when you don’t like something.

In accepting to do this column for MAGNET, I decided on “Becoming Human” as my feature, since there is abundant evidence that this is a weak area of religious and priestly formation, and it is life’s highest goal. I plan to cover aspects of being human in the alphabetical order, not in order of importance. Thus, my first article was on “advice-giving”—not a very useful way of helping people. People are looking for persons who listen and understand rather than those who rush to give advice.

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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The Government has made keeping of accounts mandatory for the registered charitable societies. Therefore, it becomes all the more important that we learn and understand accounting.

What is Accounting?

Accounting is the language of business. It measures business activities, processes data into reports and communicates results to decision makers. It is a process of identifying, recording, summarizing and reporting economic information to decision makers in the form of financial statements. It helps in decision making by showing where and how much money has been spent and the balance left, and how best to utilize it to achieve the goal of the business.

Basic Concept of Accounting:

Accounting follows the double entry system, i.e., for every debit there is a corresponding credit. Thus, debit and credit are the two aspects of every financial transaction. Every debit transaction must have a corresponding credit transaction and vice versa. A debit entry in an account represents a transfer of value to that account, and a credit entry represents a transfer from the account. A debit entry shows goods or value coming into the business and a corresponding credit entry shows goods or value going out of the business. If one item increases, the other item should decrease.  For example, a transaction involving the purchase of stationery will mean stationery coming into the business and cash going out of the business. Here, with the purchase of stationery, the stationery item increases and cash automatically decrease due to the payment made.

Fr Alex G SJ

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In preparation for this article, I asked some young religious: “Could you give me the names of some leaders?”  And they mentioned, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Narendra Modi, Pope Francis, Mother Teresa and some other great persons.  Nobody mentioned the names of their provincials or community superiors.  And yet every superior is supposed to be a leader.

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”

                                                                                 –Lao Tzu

            To the question of what leadership is there were many answers.  Common in most of the answers was the idea that leadership is the capacity of a person to direct people to do something.  While this is a common way of understanding leadership, it is a very simplistic description as it focuses only on one aspect (directing others) of leadership, which is a complex reality.  Further, it considers leadership as unidirectional, from the leader to the followers and fails to take into consideration the impact the followers may have on the leader.

Jose Kuttianimattathil, sdb

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