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I am Sr. Santiago. In our communities, the superior and the treasurer (financial administrator) are the same person. This situation creates unrest and tensions in many communities. What does Canon Law say about this duplication of roles?

At the celebration of the International Symposium on the “Management of Ecclesiastical Goods of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life for the Service of Humanity and the Mission of the Church” (March 8, 2014), Pope Francis made an emphatic call to religious, reminding them that consecrated persons have always been “a prophetic voice and living witness to the newness which is Christ, and that they have to conform themselves to the One who made himself poor so that we might become rich by his poverty.” The Pope went on to say that “this loving poverty is solidarity, sharing and charity and is expressed in moderation, in the quest for justice and in contentment with a simple life.” These verses of Pope Francis draw before us the attitudes that must accompany religious while dealing with temporal goods (property & money) of the Institute.

The fourfold purpose of temporal goods is listed in canon 1254 §2 of CIC: for divine worship, for the support of clergy and other ministers, for the apostolate and for works of charity, especially toward the poor and needy. Canonical stewards are the administrators of temporal goods. The finance officer (treasurer) is called to share the responsibility as administrators of temporal goods together with the  Superiors. Their duties are outlined in canon 1284 of CIC, including protection in civil law. Other duties include: vigilance over ownership of ecclesiastical goods; observance of the prescripts of Canon and civil law; payment of debts and investment of money; and maintaining receipts and archival of documents.

Taking into consideration the responsibility of the finance officer (treasurer), canon 636 of CIC and canon 516 of CCEO describe the appointment and functions involved in this office as follows:

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Sr Navya Thattil OSF

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The newly-minted saint, St. Devasahayam, is the first layman from India to be canonized. He was married and his wife was the first one he successfully evangelized.

            This makes me think of another married man from Tamil Nadu—a Protestant pastor who has given a new life to thousands of prisoners in the four Southern States of India, as well as Maharashtra and Andamans. Reverend S.T. Noah was born in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. His pious mother wanted him to become a pastor, but he dreamed of becoming a police officer. He did his schooling and his U.G. and P.G. degrees in Tamil in his home town. He got a job as a lecturer at American College, Madurai, and completed his Ph.D. in Tamil in Madurai Kamaraj University.

Those days college professors did not have ‘job security.’ Their families were anxious if they would continue in the job next year. The uncertainty affected their teaching too. Therefore, in the year 1979, all the professors and lecturers who taught in the colleges in Madurai decided to undertake a protest-rally through the city and finally hold a meeting in front of the District Collector’s office. Their rally was stopped by the police, who ordered them to disperse. Hundreds of lecturers and professors, who had gathered to press their demand, were in no mood to relent. As they continued their rally, they were arrested and produced in the court that awarded them a 15-day jail sentence.

Mr. Noah, who was in the jail along with all his colleagues, saw for the first time in his life what prisoners actually go through. He saw that there were two categories among them. A few were hard core criminals who had no scruples, no remorse for the crimes they had committed. Those who belonged to the other category were men who had committed the crimes in a fit of anger and now sincerely regretted them and felt sorry for the families of their victims. Many were there for petty offences.

 Once he was shocked to see a ‘dada,’ who was in and out of jail regularly, address his fellow prisoners. He told them that once they come to the jail, they will always be branded as a criminal who was in jail. Therefore nobody would offer them a job. How then would they support themselves and their families? He advised them to boldly take to a life of crime.

A few days after Noah was jailed, his son came to hand over some clothes and a shaving razor. Seeing him and noticing his anguish, Noah burst into tears. He thought of the sufferings and feelings of the members of the prisoners’ families.

He was so deeply affected that, after his release, he started an NGO called Anaikkum Karangal (Hands that embrace) to serve prisoners and their families. He wrote a detailed letter to the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M.G. Ramachandran. Describing all that he observed inside the jail, he explained how the prison led them into a life of crime. Touched by his letter, the Chief Minister replied, asking what Mr. Noah would like to do for the prisoners. Mr. Noah said he and his fellow professors could take classes for them, so that they could finish their schooling or degrees that would help them find jobs after their release. In 1982, Mr. M.G.R. had a special G.O. passed, permitting him and his colleagues to visit prisons thrice a week to teach.

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Fr M A Joe Antony SJ

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Number of years of experience as a formator: 15 +

The group I mostly lived with and served: Pre-novices / Novices / Junior religious before final vows / Religious after final vows (eg, Theology students).

I had the opportunity to serve as a formator with all the above groups for certain number of years, but mostly with Pre-novices, Novices and Theology students from different congregations.

1. Most influential persons:

• My mother, who was deeply a prayerful, affectionate and compassionate towards all.
• My father, who was extremely gifted in his own terms, and silently and secretly admired me and expressed it to others many times.
• My Novice Master, Brother Jacob Ezhanikatt SG of revered memory, who adopted a policy of “look always for opportunities to appreciate” during the formation days.

2. Their secret:

The absolute trust in God at all times, the capacity to go beyond narrow man-made boundaries, the quality of going out of the way to help without counting the cost, the deep involvement and commitment to the cause and the way they nurtured humanity in others. All these qualities made a deep impression and influence on me. Each of them in their own unique way impressed me deeply. There are many more persons who influenced down the line.

3. Best lessons from my family:

• Unity and hard work take us forward and bear fruits.
• Compassion and respect towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor.

© Generating joy and positivity at most difficult moments and places.

4. Helps in religious life:

• Self-directed and self-driven growth will last longer.
• Learning to accept self and appreciate it in order to live in peace with others which is a foundation for personal and communal prayers.
• Self-discipline and hard work

5. Best help as a religious:

• Most helpful: The way formators related with me and dealt with me.
• Next most helpful: Community atmosphere and joyful living.
• Third most helpful: The sincere readiness of the formator to learn from the formees.

6. What I tried to give to formees:

As a formator my first and main goal was to create a happy and joyful community of freedom where the atmosphere is free and spontaneous. The second most thing I focused was on motivating them to equip themselves with skills and abilities that are useful for their future mission and for their life. The third goal was to build self-belief in them and enable them to develop their human, spiritual and intellectual qualities through a vibrant spirituality. I always believed that only in an atmosphere of freedom, real growth would take place. As a formator, I was firm and loving; I made the objectives of the congregation and my intentions clear to the formees. Today in priesthood and in consecrated life, due to many factors, economic included, right motivation is a big question mark. Secondly, in India joining priesthood or religious life is looked upon as upgrading one’s social prestige and social status. It is seen as an upward mobility and as a career. What today’s formees need is a genuine motivation to serve God, sincere desire to work hard and learn many things to excel in the future mission and a self-driven conviction to find meaning in life.

7. Religious less mature than lay persons? How to help them mature:

Yes, it is true that some studies show that the people of the same age group outside are more mature, knowledgeable and smarter than our own formees. The youth outside make quick and sensible decisions for their life and take charge of their life easily and responsibly than our candidates inside. The youth outside are more intelligent, mature and know how to deal with certain life issues. There could be many reasons for this. The primary reason I believe is that the worry and anxiety of tomorrow is not there at all for our formees. Everything is guaranteed and I need not work for it and I look for it. This sense of ‘freedom’ makes even the active ones lazy and totally eliminates the sense of dependency and providence. It dulls their brains and makes them immune to daily realities. This false security does not offer occasions to make real choices for enhancing life and to take decisions for life.

8. Other suggestions:

• Every formator needs to ask a question: What are you preparing your formees for? Is it to fill certain posts and to fill some vacancy or to become prophetic personalities?
• Cultural formation is the need of the hour. Enabling the young people of today to understand the dynamics of Indian culture and intelligently learn the intricacies of every culture in order to learn to appreciate the cultural diversity and cherish the richness of living in multicultural or inter-cultural settings.
• Formators to equip themselves and become liberated persons in order to promote humanity in the formees and to avoid producing ‘dry and lifeless celibates.”

9. Mistakes to avoid

• Favouritism is what most formees dislike among the formators. However neutral and impartial one tries to be, the formees are very sensitive to this factor. And it can dull the spontaneous growth of individuals and the group, and destroy the credibility of the formator.
• Jumping to conclusions and quick judgments about the motivation of a candidate and making a rash decision.
• Not to easily fall into the temptation of “praise or blame” game and get blinded by them and make decisions based on them. The formees know the vocabulary and jargon the formators are fond of!

10. Qualities of a good formator

• Integrity is what is most important
• Genuine spirituality that is reflected in real life situations
• Humanness that is transmitted to the individuals and group
• Competent and proper accompaniment

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Bro Paul Raj SG

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I feel so humbled to recall that I was involved in the area of formation for thirty-eight years. I have served as a resource person both in my province and at renewal centres.

1. Most influential persons:

a. My father and mother—for their relational style.

b. My novitiate companion and a second sister in my congregation.

c. The spiritual guide of my younger years of religious life.

d. The life-experience over the years and the learnings from it have been my greatest teacher.

2. Their secret:

 Their openness to accept me just as I am with no Judgment.

3. Best lessons from my family:

My father had a habit of getting the summary of our day as we sat around after evening prayer. The atmosphere was good…because we had great round of sing songs—both religious and movie songs. We would all be relaxed and my father got the most—both the good and the struggle  out of  us.

4. Helps in religious life:

a) I came with a desire to be a Little Missionary. The inspiration came from a priest missionary who addressed us seniors in the school. That goal I never gave up. Come what may, I was determined not to give up that desire. The secret was in the realistic conversation my father held with me a few nights by the moon light.

b) any difficulties that I had to encounter—types of food, kind of work, strange rituals and western mannerisms, penances, customs of old—I took them as part of the training and saw them as companions. Saw them all as l part of missionary formation. The Real thing   for me was I wanted to be a Little  Missionary for  Jesus.

c) Above all, I loved the Trinitarian Spirituality of our foundress and her gesture of placing all  her daughters under the  mantle of

      5. Best help as a religious:

The emphasis that was placed on the spirituality of our Charism. The title “Our Lady of the Missions” honours in a very special way the Divine Missions, with a balance contemplation in action, and in the relational values of EQUALITY, MUTUALITY & INCLUSIVITY.

Other aspects that helped me were:

• COMMUNITY LIFE.
• Spiritual Direction
• Ministry experience.
• Missionary vocation—in the sense that I could  be  SENT anywhere. Openness to this missionary call.

6. What I tried to give to formees:

My main focus in formation work was to consider the young woman as a          human person. I BELIEVE FORMATION MUST TEST Vocational motivation of the candidate, bearing in mind the circumstances from where they come, and the language and culture differences, and love them sincerely. Keep in mind the Mind of Jesus in forming his disciples.

• He accompanied them—e.g., on the way to Emmaus
• He challenged—If you to be perfect….
• He also tested them—Do you also want to go away???
• He ate with them–have you anything to eat? The simplicity……
• He taught—blessed are the poor in spirit….
• He taught them to pray: Pray like this …the whole sprit and essence of          the OUR FATHER—-
• He allowed them to be themselves…. Peter as Peter and John as John.

In summary: It was the process of accompaniment in strength and in weakness–BEING WITH, moving with—experience life and the learnings from it. IT IS PERSONAL ACCOMPANIMENT FOR EACH ONE …. Not group formation. YES, they were a group—but each feels I am unique as an individual. So the respect, love and compassion is each one’s right. But we have the permission to challenge to growth in maturity.

7. Religious less mature than lay persons? How to help them mature:

My answer to this question is: “Respect the adult-to-adult relationship.”

Bear in mind those living together, to own together, conscious

Awareness; that as adults some of the human developmental tasks are their right, e.g., career choice, internalized morality, managing one’s life, having a family, nurture intimate relationships, expanding caring relationships in the wider society and having a say in the decision-making process. One must take responsibility to grow in freedom with accountability.

8. Other suggestions:

a) Formative content of the individual congregation and its rightful place should be understood.

b) To lay a strong foundation in value-based living.

c) To create awareness in students about realizing self and the effect of right understanding.

d) To inculcate in students a sense of respect towards harnessing values of life and spirit of fulfilling social responsibilities

e) To enable students to lead a practical life adding value to human relations.

9. Mistakes to avoid

I firmly believe that a formator should avoid taking this delicate responsibility without sufficient updated training. Formators must assist in empowering formees to discover the sources of unhealthy meeting of unmet needs.

10. Qualities of a good formator

Be aware of dominant cultures controlling the life of the congregation. Believe that the charism is alive and has the capacity to incarnate in diverse forms in different  cultures.

Walk in the path Jesus as the model and know that She/he is in FORMATION—a BECOMG PROCESS—all the time. It is ongoing.

Assume that many others share your dreams.

Talk to people of different ministerial experience.

Real listening with an open disposition brings about communion. I believe it brings people together. When people can experience that they are trusted for their human goodness…there is a mutual new beginning.

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Sr Bernardine Joseph RNDM

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Number of years of experience as a formator: 15

The group you mostly lived with and served: Aspirants, Novices, Juniors

1. Most influential persons:

• My mother
• My candidate director
• My parish priest

2. Their secret:

The challenging, loving, committed life my mother lived. The simple exemplary life of Sr. Olive, my candidate director, and deep spiritual life of the pastor in my village parish.

3. Best lessons from my family:

• Life of honesty at any cost.
• To be grateful for every little gift which comes from God.

© Hard work and divine grace lead to success and fulfillment in life.

4. Helps in religious life:

• Love God and utterly depend on God.
• Love your community members beginning with the difficult ones.
• Love people with special preference to the least.

5. Best help as a religious:

• Most helpful: My first-year canonical novitiate experience in our Ashram situated in a jungle amidst the poor people in the village.
• Next most helpful: times of quiet, prayer, community life-adjustment to different cultures, personal accompaniment, reading, exemplary life of my director, ministry experience, personal reflection and study, nature, challenging exposures.
• Third most helpful: Conferences, classes.

6. What I tried to give to formees:

When I was a formator, I aimed at three parameters: Inspiring the formees to grow to love God, love community members and love the poor. The rest is added on to these basics as they grow. Today’s formees  need to grow deeply in these three basics, too, along with learning to think critically on changing events at all levels, freedom with responsibility, commitment, challenging compassionate exposures, personal accompaniment, trusting and loving, allowing them to grow, making mistakes, groom them to be mature adults, sound knowledge of media and its impact, creativity in service, value of money, self-study, practical knowledge of a challenging life in the world, personal/communal reflection-action discernment, etc.

7. Religious less mature than lay persons? How to help them mature:

• Treat the formees as adults, trusting them with adequate freedom with responsibility, with accompaniment.
• Give them challenging exposures, with guidance.
• Avoid undue pampering and over protection.

8. Other suggestions:

• Be true to self, deeply rooted in God, charism and compassion for the poor.
• Be deeply human, aspiring to be divine.
• Walk the talk

9. Mistakes to avoid

• Formators are human and growing. We need to grow. Don’t deny our mistakes and imperfections.
• Partiality- treat each formee with equity, with special attention to the weak.

10. Qualities of a good formator

• Simple, honest life.
• Being human—a big heart to love unconditionally and to overlook differences.
• Lead to inspire.

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Sr Amelia Moras SCN

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1. Most influential persons:

• My mother (Mrs Santhosham)
• Thomas Amalraj SDB, my aspirantate Rector
• Salesian Aspirantate community

2. Their secret:

(a)  My mother faced the many struggles that the family underwent with courage, deep faith and strong will power.

(b)  Fr. Thomas Amalraj understood my family financial situation and supported me without making a show of it.

(c)  The Salesian Aspirantate community placed so much trust in me and entrusted me with responsibilities.

3. Best lessons from my family:

Accepting the challenges and difficulties of life as something normal and moving on. We were a family of eight children.  Financial and other problems were there. But they were accepted as something normal and put up with. This showed me the way to live!

Learning to accept everyone: Not all of us had the same temperament! We had our differences, but we learned to accept each other in our differences and we were all united!

Trust in God: That God is our Father, that He will not abandon us, that He will see us through our troubles. This is not the theoretical faith, but I am referring to the faith that we lived.

4. Helps in religious life:

• To treat everyone equally without partiality.
• To appreciate others, to value others.
• To critically evaluate things.

5. Best help as a religious:

• Most helpful: Atmosphere of the formation community (community life).
• Next most helpful: The person of the formator.
• Third most helpful: The formation programme as a whole.

6. What I tried to give to formees:

As formators, our primary concern has been to provide the right ambient/atmosphere for the formees to grow, because formation just happens (values are convincing and are taken in) when there is a good atmosphere of freedom, family spirit and cheerfulness. So we have tried to organize the community on Salesian values: family spirit, treating people with respect without partiality, a balance in everything,  prayer, care for the poor, cheerfulness, …

It was my hope and prayer that we, formators, be truly worthy of imitation. So, I desired that the formees saw in me a happy Salesian with no regrets or ambitions and that they saw that it was worthwhile to live such a life.

Formees are looking for (/need) credible examples of what we preach to them in our very lives! They need witnesses of a happy contented religious life.

7. Religious less mature than lay persons? How to help them mature:

I beg to differ on this point. Those with whom I have been associated in the formation have demonstrated maturity commensurate to their age, especially when it comes to making an informed decision.

The best way to help them mature is to treat them as mature persons.

8. Other suggestions:

• Our personal life (the way we live our vocation: that we are convinced of what we tell them!) matters much more than anything else.
• Treat people with respect: The way we relate with them / the way we respect them is the real formation.
• Be human: The formators should not expect the formees to be perfectly formed already as postulants or novices! Allow them to grow!

9. Mistakes to avoid

• Expecting the formees to be perfect already in the initial stages!
• Seeing the formees as competitors!
• Inflicting ‘over strict’ formation that they themselves have been subjected to!

10. Qualities of a good formator

• A willingness and happiness to do that ministry
• Live as a good and happy religious
• To be true to oneself/ to work on oneself.
• Should have enjoyed his own formation!.

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Fr Pathiaraj Rayappa SDB

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1. Most influential persons:

• My Dad Antony Vazhapilly
• Fr Albert Yelds MSC
• Sr Gùter MSC

2. Their secret:

A person of deep spiritual credibility,  lived rather than preaching. Empathetic and compassionate person,  caring, prayerful, honest, and forgiving.

3. Best lessons from my family:

• To be empathetic and Prayerful
• At the service of the poor and needy.
• Straightforward and to be honest.

4. Helps in religious life:

• Person of prayer and contemplation.
• Keep up the time-table
• To be courteous and generous.

5. Best help as a religious:

• Most helpful: Ministry and service.
• Next most helpful: Personal prayer and Meditation.
• Third most helpful: Reading and Studies.

6. What I tried to give to formees:

• As a formator, the main aim and objective was to help a formee to understand and accept oneself, talents, able-to appreciate oneself and the other.
• Awareness of God’s unconditional love for the formee.
• Discerning one’s own vocation and learning to be content.

7. Religious less mature than lay persons? How to help them mature:

Some formees need help because of the nuclear families often don’t have time because both parents are working. Due to this, they often take refuge in gadgets and gradually get addicted to them, busy with phony character, seeking attention, too much time with social networking, pornography addiction, gaming addiction, etc.

I wouldn’t say they’re not fully mature, and not God centered. If there are, this could be due to lack of Intra-personal Introspective abilities.  Lack of self-discipline and irregularities in sleep due to too much use of gadgets. Naturally the whole emotional quotient deteriorates.

Often found them very resistive to correction, woth emotional outbursts and tantrums.

To help our young formees, we need to be sensitive to their unique needs. Appreciate them when appropriate with proper a response.

A formator need to be a living witness rather than expecting much from the formees.

Treat all the formees equally, without any favoritism based on caste or language or whatever, and accepting their cultural differences.

Truly today’s young people are very observant, but due to the watching videos in gadgets, their ability to help others doesn’t happen quickly. So, it’s important for formators to mirror the examples, where they can pick it up. If we ourselves struggle in these areas, how can we form the younger ones? Therefore we need to be beacons of light for the young ones.

8. Other suggestions:

• A religious formator needs to be spiritually Integrated, in order to live easily their calling. Work and contemplative prayer should be the hallmark of good religious.
• Formator needs to have self-reflective abilities.
• Should be empathetic, impartial, honest and forgiving.

9. Mistakes to avoid

• Avoid self- praise and boasting.
• Avoid rigorous and repetitive corrections.
• Don’t speak ill pf other members of the community.
• Avoid hasty decisions, judgmental attitudes and criticizing.

10. Qualities of a good formator

• A mature, humane and humble person.
• A person with deep spiritual caliber, treating everyone equally.
• Able to discern and help the formees in discernment.

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Sr Agnes MSC

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God Calling

Director: Bodunrin Sasore * Cast: Zainab Balogun, Karibi Fubara, Richard Mofe, Nkem Nwabuoku Owoh, Diana Egwuatu -, Onyeka Onwenu, Tina Mba, Eku Edewor (2018, 120 minutes)

A powerful Nigerian drama of faith, suffering and family life, the movie turns around Sade, an upper class woman, tracing her progress from skepticism through pain and suffering to affirmation and proclamation of faith. Sade lives in Lagos close to her parents, with her husband Francis and little daughter Lola. Her wealthy retired father had lost his leg fighting in the Civil war. Sade is highly critical of religion and Francis more or less indifferent, pursuing his career. Sade’s drug addiction prevents her from having another child. One Sunday attend church at the insistence of Lola, and listen to homily dwelling on the idea of God’s call to everyone. At one point, the pastor points at Sade, saying: “Madam, God is calling you!” Sade couldn’t care the less.  Her world collapses when little Lola dies in a tragic domestic accident. Francis insinuates that it is Sade’s negligence that caused the tragedy.  One night in a drunken state he even suggests divorce. Sade gets mysterious phone calls from “God” on occasions, the first time during the daughter’s funeral. In utter despair, she contemplates suicide on a bridge, challenging God to save her if he is there. She jumps in, but a strange white-robed youth in a small boat mysteriously rescues her and disappears. He reappears at certain other moments in the story. Sade gets God’s phone call again and begins her journey back to faith with a mission to evangelize others. She has a hard time convincing anyone, especially her husband, who rails at God and challenges her to ask God to bring back his lost child if he is to believe. Sade, who had earlier advised her friend to divorce her womanizer husband, gets ridiculed when she advises forgiveness and reconciliation. Sade visits the man and in the face of mockery, gives him a sign from God making him repent and reconcile with his wife. Francis is brought to God when they are told that Sade is pregnant.  She is able to convince Francis that God has called them to do mission work in the East. Despite family opposition, she persists in this. More miracles follow, leading to a happy ending.

Harriet

Director. Kasi Lemmons * Cast: Cynthia Erivo ,Leslie Odom Jr, Joe Alwyn, Clarke Peters, Vanessa Bell, Calloway, Omar J. Dorsey, Henry Hunter Hall (2019, 125 minutes)

This is the gripping true story of the dauntless Harriet Tubman, who defied the southern slave holders to liberate hundreds of fellow humans. She would choose death over slavery.  Araminta Ross (Minty) growing up in the slave state Maryland had suffered a head injury in childhood from a slaveholder after which she claimed to have occasional divine revelations. Minty is the wife of the freed slave John Tubman, but herself, her mother and sister enslaved in the Brodess estate in 1849.  Minty’s father (a former slave) slave requests the release of his family according to a document written by the former master. Old Brodess promptly refuses. Minty desperately prays for old man’s death. Old Brodess’ unexpected death leaves his wife and the dissolute Gideon to succeed to a failing plantation. Minty runs away, leaving her family behind. Brodess and his slave hunters intercept her on a bridge. Minty ignores his coaxing and declaring to choose death over slavery, jumps into the river and is presumed drowned. She survives. Thomas Garrett, an abolitionist, helps her enter Pennsylvania. She walks 25 miles to Philadelphia. She is given refuge by the Anti-Slavery Society. She takes the name of  Harriet Tubman in honour of her mother and her husband. She returns home secretly, but finds that her husband, believing she was dead, has remarried. Though heartbroken Harriet survives the tragedy and has more visions enjoining her to liberate other slaves. At great risk Harriet leads nine slaves to freedom. Learning of the escaped slaves, the enraged Gideon attempts to intimidate Harriet’s family. He is ignorant of Minty’s survival and of her incognito as the mysterious ‘Moses’ the slave stealer. Harriet continues to free more slaves at great risks. Learning of the real identity of Moses Gideon chases her to Philadelphia with the slave hunter Bigger Long. Harriet escapes to Canada. In the climactic scene she returns and traps Gideon at gunpoint. She prophesies that he would die fighting for the lost cause of slavery. Tubman later fought in the Civil War (1861-65) liberating hundreds of slaves. She died at 91.

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Prof Gigy Joseph

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1. Tell us something about yourself.

I am sixty-eight years young. I was born and educated in Mumbai, but for most of the last forty-seven years I have lived and worked in Goa. I studied at St Mary’s High School (ISC), Mazagaon, and after my B.Com became a professional Cost and Management Accountant. I have worked in both public and private companies in managerial positions in the Finance Departments and in the Information Technology Departments.

I have also worked full-time as Project Coordinator for an NGO dealing with HIV affected persons and with an NGO dealing with school dropouts. I have had the opportunity to work in an orphanage and visiting a jail on a regular basis. I am presently working for CCR TV.

2. Tell us about your Catholic TV channel, CCRTV—the inspiration behind it, the challenges faced, the good achieved.

After one of my ‘many’’ retirements, I spearheaded the setting up of CCR TV. I am the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of this channel. It s run entirely by lay persons, and the programmes we telecast reflect this.  The channel has catholic content. Anything that is wholesome has a place on our channel.

CCR TV is a cable Channel but we have a strong presence on Youtube, where we have over 15 million views and 65000 subscribers. We have religious programmes, like the Daily Mass, Rosary, spiritual talks… and programmes on politics, football, learning Konkani, music, concerts, environment, legal issues, career guidance, interviews of writers in Konkani and English, etc.  The channel runs primarily on donations. We will be celebrating our fifth anniversary at the end of 2022.

We are not a diocesan body, but, as lay people committed to the Church, we support the activities of the diocese. The Archbishop of Goa has consistently appreciated the channel and the work that we do.

3. You belong to a secular institute. What made you opt for a secular institute rather than become a priest or religious?

Yes, I belong to Christ the King Secular Institute—a dedicated organization for men. I felt the call to be a layman and a call to consecrate my life to God. I am probably the first man in India to belong to a secular Institute, and hence I took a fairly long time to commit myself to this way of life.  My brother is a priest, but I have not felt the call to be one.  I am not an official representative of the Church and I value the flexibility that this vocation affords me.

We do not have any common work or even a common life. Each person follows their own profession. This is what I find challenging—to live an authentic Christian life in the midst of the world, without the support of institutions. We do not get any special recognition. People we work with are often not aware of our consecration. We do not have any special dress or title.  We seek to be like—present and giving taste, but not seen.

I live alone in my apartment in Goa.  Members of the Secular Institute engage in any work which they are competent. We do not specifically seek to work in church institutions. We do not have our own schools or hospitals. We do not have a common activity. In India we have a doctor, a school teacher, accountants, clerks, a political activist, etc. I cherish my management skills as a gift from God and have enjoyed using them to make the world a better place to live in and to promote the kingdom of God.

4. What work do the members of the secular institute do, particularly in Africa, with which you are familiar?

I have visited Africa and other continents a number of times, only to help in the formation of local aspirants.  Each person follows his own profession. We are not there to do charity work or social service.

5. You must have been exposed to many people of all faiths. Did your faith enable you to witness to people from all walks of life?

Yes, we work alongside people of different faiths, as well as no faith. We encounter people at our place of stay, in our offices, in society. We ‘witness’ to our faith every moment of the day in environments that can be quite hostile to our value system.  The manner of life we live is our main way of witnessing. Of course, we use opportunities that come our way to directly share our relationship with Jesus.

6. You are involved in the Charismatic Renewal, and helping with the magazine, Charisindia. How has this deepened your faith and helped you to reach out to others?

I came in touch with the Charismatic Renewal when I was twenty-three years old and have been a part of the movement ever since. Belonging to a prayer group has been very helpful to me. The Baptism in the Spirit, which Pope Francis actively promotes, is something that was life-changing. For me, the Charismatic Renewal is about having a personal relationship with God. Once this is in place, everything else follows. We now have a focus on how we are called to build God’s Kingdom in the world and how we work to build a Christian community. I used to be actively involved in the promotion of Charisindia. At present I am a member of the National Service of Communion.

7. How do you see your role as a layman in the current situation in India?

I use the opportunities that I have in heading a media channel to promote Catholic values, Christian social teaching, wholesome entertainment, as well as educating people about democratic and secular (inclusive) values. We have programmes on the Constitution, religious programmes, etc.

8. How do you combine and balance your professional life and your being the member of a secular institute? What role do you see for secular institutes today?

My professional life and my life as a member of a secular Institute are just two aspects of a single life. A secular Institute helps me to safeguard the gift of consecration and work for the coming of God’s kingdom, using the gifts and talents that God has given me.

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ROBIN D’SOUZA

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India has about 130,610 religious—not counting members of secular institutes—and the world’s largest number of seminarians and young religious in formation.

In the so-called “First World,” young religious are scarce. The average age of Sisters tends to be 74 or so. In India, instead, the average age is much, much lower—47.7 years. Our problem is not lack of candidates. Our challenges lie elsewhere—right selection of candidates, adequate formation and a shortage of well-trained formators.

I also hold the view that much of what goes under the name of “vocation promotion” is actually a search for “hands for work.” Religious own and run institutions, and are generally unwilling to entrust key posts—especially leadership roles and financial decisions—to lay persons. Hence, there is the pressure somehow to get candidates to do the work. If staffing our institutions becomes our core concern, then, integral formation is bound to take a back seat. That is, we may want physics teachers, principals, accountants, nurses, administrators and other unpaid workers, but we may or may not be keen on helping a young man or woman to discern what God seems to want him or her to be or to do. We may be keener on getting them qualified for jobs, rather than help them to become inspiring, Christlike, service-minded disciples.

In the so-called formation houses, a staff member may simply be a professor (as can and does happen in seminaries), with no training or little interest in formation work. Among non-clerical religious orders, a smarter Sister or Brother may be sent to get qualified to be principal, while a less gifted one may be assigned to formation work.

Why do we recruit? If it is to get some work done, none of the jobs we do requires celibacy or daily prayer, or retreats, or spiritual direction or even faith in Jesus. Anyone with even average education and common sense can do most of what we do.

If, instead, we mean what we publicly profess and advertise, and truly want to help young people to get closer to God, live the Gospel, take Jesus’ example and teachings to heart, and build a world of truth and love, we need more than buildings, titles, timetables and text-books. We need inspiring people whose lives show younger people what it means to take Jesus seriously and whose evident concern is service of the least rather than a concealed or open lust for power and money. Living with, and guided by, such persons, a young man or woman can discover the best in oneself, pick up a taste for simplicity, genuineness and compassion. They will long to do hidden work among the poor rather than sit in posh chairs and air-conditioned offices seeking favours from the powerful.

Such transformation in interacting with adults who are religious not just by title, but by conviction and character does happen—though on a much smaller scale than what is needed and what our brochures and celebrations claim.

If you have been blessed to live with people whose transparent goodness and passion for serving are contagious, you will know what religious formation is. It often begins in the family, in which sincere, self-sacrificing, faith-filled parents give children a taste for what matters before God.

May what we refer to as formation help young men and women become the best they can be. May none of them feel that they became worse after joining. (Such cases, sadly, do exist!).

This issue of Magnet has a close look at what formation is, who are responsible for it, how to go about it, and what kind of a person would make a good formator.

It carries interviews with five experienced formators, who enrich us with their wisdom and suggestions. The psychology column is on the emotion health of formees.

The other features are as relevant and heart-warming as ever—managing finances in a true spirit of religious poverty; a visionary pastor who brings hope to prisoners; modern martyrs killed for no crime of theirs; how superiors can and should play win-win games; a young sister’s vocation story; a young woman’s journey from pain and shame to joyful fidelity; the heroism of a man who spent thirty-seven years in jail for  a crime he did not commit; gripping movies about courageous women; a layman doing marvelous media ministry; a canonical clarification on roles; church documents on formation.

Tell us what you think. Feel free to agree or disagree, of course!

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July 1^st is Doctors’ Day. We wish all doctors the very best in their life and service. The Indian church has over one thousand Sister Doctors. We know that many of them are doing fabulous service, especially in the remote and forgotten parts of our country, where the money-minded will not go. Many other medical professionals too do admirable service in various parts of the country—and, of course, around the world.

May MAGNET help our thousands of readers in India and overseas to see essentials more clearly, live our commitment more joyfully, and reach out to those near and far more effectively.

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Joe Mannath SDB

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