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I received a call from my godmother on 20 January 2022, my birthday. After greeting me, she narrated a pathetic life story of a twenty-two-year-old-lady who lost her husband during the pandemic. Sharon (name changed) hailing from Thoothukudi, Tamilnadu, lost her mother at a young age. They were three children at home. Her alcoholic father had given her in marriage at the age of sixteen. Sharon was blessed with three children. She had to borrow a big sum of money to treat her husband when he was ill. Her husband succumbed to the Corona virus after few days. Sharon was burdened with Rs 1.25 lakhs in debt when her husband died.

When Sharon was sitting and crying with a heavy heart in St Quiteria’s Church, my godmother noticed her. Going closer to her, she enquired about the reason for her tears. After listening to her, she called me and narrated Sharon’s life story. I received Sharon as my greatest birthday gift and sent a message to our prayer group, asking for help. A lady by name Laura from Mumbai, whom I had never met  or ever spoken to, messaged me saying she would like to help. I sent her Sharon’s account details and, to my surprise, Laura sent Rs 45,000/- to help Sharon. Many other friends too came forward and we cleared her debts in a week’s time. We bought a tailoring machine for her. Today, Sharon lives happily after having cleared her debts. There are so many Sharons who need to be reached and be helped. If such families are not helped, financial burdens make some of them to end their lives.

Sad Statistics

Around 1.89 billion people, or nearly 36% of the world’s population, live in extreme poverty. Nearly half the population in developing countries live on less than $1.25 (about Rs 100) a day. India is a developing nation. Although its economy is growing, poverty is still a major challenge. It has around 84 million people living in extreme poverty, which makes up six percent of its total population as of May 2021. COVID 19 pandemic has pushed millions of people into poverty. The poorest in the world are hungry, have much less access to education, have no light at night regularly, and suffer much from poor health.

Sr Lini Sheeja MSC

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I was twenty-twp, a final year MBA student, when I willingly attended a retreat for the first time. My two previous retreats were mandatory ones organized by the educational institutions I studied in. My rebellious streak ensured 100% resistance to whatever happened in those programmes!

This retreat, though—a neighbouring parish event preached by resources from the Divine Retreat Center—was different. I woke up the morning of the first day hearing a voice in my head, “go to the retreat!” This voice was persistent and sort of irresistible. I still remember a part of me thinking, “I’m going mad with hallucinations”, when I stepped into the church.

At that time, I was the first to ridicule spiritual folks—especially the charismatics. I took great pleasure in cracking jokes at their expense! I was never a serious Christian, and religion seemed like a futile exercise in ‘salvation by fear’ more than anything else, and I wanted no part in it.

And yet, something happened during this retreat. The voice in my head wouldn’t relent until I responded to the preaching and the worship. And, during the final adoration session, this voice kept challenging me to give up the many gods in my life—love of money, music, hatred of certain people, and so on. I ended up surrendering my life to Jesus and experiencing His presence. The encounter was tangible… almost physical… so real and unforgettable. It was like becoming a vessel, and God was pouring His presence into me, filling me with a crazy joy and awareness of Him.

Never the Same Again

I just knew I would never be the same again in those moments. God transformed me into what I had mocked the most till then—a charismatic Christian. God has a brilliant sense of humour, I guess!

Gangai Victor

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It must have been around the beginning of 2000, when this lady, whom I used to see every day at Mass in Saint Francis Church in downtown Bogotá, approached me. She asked me whether I was a seminarian and when I said that I was a religious brother, she just asked me point blank whether I would be interested to help her with giving catechism classes to a group of ladies who were involved in prostitution. At that time I was in charge of our postulants and I was looking for some apostolate outside formation to breathe some “different kind of air.” The lady who spoke to me, probably in her mid-forties, a bit on the heavy-side, with short hair and wearing a sweater and skirt, turned out to be a nun. Together with two other members of her community, they were running a centre for women who were trapped in prostitution.

My first contact with the world of prostitution goes back to 1988. At twenty-three, I was the president of the Third World Group and that year we had decided to try our luck with offering our voluntary services in an area of Malta where prostitution was rife. At that time, prostitution in Malta was a profession which ran in the family from mother to daughter. That also meant that while the “business” was run from the family home or in the nearby bars, children were around. One of the most prolific areas was a street in the capital city popularly known as Strada Stretta (Narrow Street). Almost one kilometre in length and between three to four metres in width, it was the narrowest street in Valletta. Bars and shabby dwellings ran along both sides of this street. Previously, my only exposure to this street was a furtive look here and there, when I had to cross the area for some office work.

Brother Carmel Duca MC

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Out of the blues came this invitation to share a bit of my journey along the path of Consecrated Chastity. Though this was not in my itinerary, while I am immersed in some other business, I take it as God’s challenge to look inward, and well … to give Him His due!

Recalling his own mandate, the prophet Jeremiah exclaimed: “The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’” (Jeremiah.1:5)

I see this call, not as a deliberate choice that came from me one fine day, when I had to decide how I would like to spend the rest of my life. Looking back, it seems something that flowed naturally into what I seemed made and moulded for, a kind of predefined path that unfolds before you as you walk along. Seemingly so natural, and yet?  Later I wondered how the others around me, my friends and siblings, did not seem to choose it as their way of life.

I am happy to share just a little bit of my story. At the age of sixteen, my SSC examinations just over, I somehow felt I had to move on – whatever that meant. My dad, a teacher, had his ambitions for me, and he took it for granted that the next logical step was to enter a college.

What next?

Though I did very well and had a passion for study, it did not seem to me then that this was the time for it. I did not give it even a first thought, let alone a second thought! Yet, I had not articulated with certainty what that next step would be. There followed three days of reflective silence at home. My mother thought I was unwell. But in those three days I had gone to see a priest of our parish who knew me well. I blurted out: “So, what do I do next?” He was surprised, for he too thought it natural for me to go in for higher studies. I told him clearly and with no reservations that I intended to enter a convent. He was a young priest. He asked me to consult our former parish priest, who knew my family well. In the meantime, he told me there were different congregations, engaged in different apostolates – no one spoke of ‘charisms’ then. It was before Vatican II.

The call within me was so strong; which congregation I would join seemed immaterial to me. When I said that I loved teaching, he pointed to some of the congregations I knew – including the Canossians with whom I did my schooling. I had no special attraction for them – but I saw it as a possible way of living what I felt within.

The next hurdle was: Why so soon? You could wait for two or three years and finish your college by then. Again, I felt the tug that it had to be NOW. I went to see that senior priest. After hearing me out, he agreed that if I felt so strongly that it had to be ‘now’ – then go, now.

Back to the young priest. He told me I should be telling my parents about all this. I must have been really dumb, or obsessed or possessed – for I had not even thought of this. After all, it is my life!  Coming back to my mother, I told her that I was okay; but yes! I want to join the Convent!  A bombshell! She told my father about it. Even today I marvel at their faith and belief in me. Neither of them questioned my decision; nor did they come in the way or try to dissuade me. Then I was told I should approach the Superior with my request. All these steps seemed mere formalities for me – if God calls me, who is to oppose me? The innocence and freshness of a sixteen-year-old!

Anyway, in three months’ time I was already a postulant.

Sr Esme da Cunha FDCC

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Christ’s celibacy found expression in His consecration to universal love, which was His response to His Father’s love.  Jesus experienced this love as extending to Him personally and to all His brothers and sisters.  He realized that in Him,  God was making an absolute gift of love to  the entire humanity.   The response of Jesus to the Father’s love for Him was His celibacy, by which He gave Himself completely to His Father and to His fraternity—the whole human race. “Into Your hands I commend my Spirit.”

         The Father’s love creates, integrates, unites, heals, forgives, reconciles unto fulness and for eternity. Jesus completes this in His life and returns to the Father. The resultant emanating Holy Spirit continues the integrating love of the Father in the disciples. Each of us is called to be a vehicle of that love.

          Two Models

Becoming aware of the loving presence of this Father God in the most suffering and needy humanity, Mother Teresa and Brother Andrew (co-founder of the MC Brothers) embarked on the adventure of initiating these religious orders (Missionaries of Charity).

Mother Teresa was exemplary in living the Corporal Works of Mercy: (1) Feed the hungry; (2) Give drink to the thirsty; (2) Clothe the naked; (4) Shelter the homeless; (5) Comfort the imprisoned; (6) Visit the sick; (7) Bury the dead.  All the time she became more aware she was doing it to Jesus Himself.

Brother Andrew lived the Spiritual Works of Mercy: (1) Admonish sinners; (2) Instruct the uninformed; (3) Counsel the doubtful; (4) Comfort the sorrowful; (5) Be patient with those in error; (6) Forgive offenses; (7) Pray for the living and the dead.

          Every genuine human love entails eros and agape.  In marriage, there is the mutual dependence of partners.  In agape, instead, there is a freeing dynamics.

Volumes can be written on discovering the mystery of Infinity in each suffering person, and in being a caring, sharing presence—a healing, forgiving, integrating presence—to each of them.

           Enlightenment is not only asceticism or detachment from worldliness and self-centred ambition. It is also about being a caring sharing total presence to the needy ones—to bring the other to fullness of life and to have that as a source of joy and completion. This is the purpose of life—just as God the Father loved Jesus and humanity.

Bro Peter Swaminathan MC

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Till I understood celibacy along with the other evangelical life principles of obedience and poverty, I had to struggle to find true joy. Till I understood these as pillars of my spiritual life, I had to grapple with personal relationships with God and people, personal possessions and personal plans. Till I realized the truth of scriptural anthropology, I had confused concepts about celibacy, obedience and poverty. Now really these life principles have become a source of joy in my life. I would like to share my realizations regarding celibacy in my life.

At my diaconate and priesthood ordination, I vowed celibacy. Since I had the understanding that it is connected with the physical instinct of sexuality, I suppressed my feelings and was affected psychologically, trying to sublimate these emotions.

When I was consciously making the anointing of the Holy Spirit received in Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders into real inner experiences, then I realized deeply that celibacy and chastity are sourced from the spirit within. As mentioned by Paul (1 Thessalonians 5: 23), my body, soul and spirit together must be kept blameless. When I live chastity in my spirit in communion with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:13), celibate life has become a joyful one. Obedience of my will has become a possibility and poverty in my needs has become a reality. While I realized that these three life principles are for every human being, even the married ones when they fulfill their duties towards their partners, celibacy is for me a great opportunity to live a chaste life with an in-depth spirituality.

When my lifestyle is based on minimum needs for a healthy life, poverty becomes easier and happier. When I come to realize that God’s plans for me are far higher than my own, I can surrender my plans to God in total obedience. When I enter into the spirituality of conscience, I begin to live conscientiously, respecting my own body, respecting others and their bodies.  This helps me to be free from self-abuse and any form of sexual abuse.

Fr Panneer Selvam, Diocesan Priest

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Sometimes even a thousand waves hitting the shore continuously one after other also cannot erase the few footprints on the seashore …A Legacy Left Behind

“In order to follow Jesus Christ, and as an expression of the total gift of their life to God, the Brothers commit themselves by vow to live a chaste celibate life in community. Consecrated chastity, a gift of the Holy Spirit and a mystery of death and resurrection, sacrifice and fruitfulness, bears witness before the world to the value of a life in which love is put at the service of all. It also manifests the hope of a promise, based on Jesus Christ’s resurrection, that this love has an eternal value. The vow of chastity makes the Brothers totally available to meet the requirements of their vow of association for the service of the mission.”  (Mt. 19 – 11-12, PC 12, Can. 599, Med. 201: 3) THE RULE of THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, Article 36.

Why live celibately? Efforts to answer this question are rarely satisfactory. After they are over, I rarely feel any more certain about the value of celibacy for myself or others. The question deserves an answer. It challenges young people contemplating religious life. The question haunts some celibates most of their lives. They are not half-hearted in their religious dedication or unsure of their vocation. They simply wonder occasionally why they have chosen and continue to choose a style of life which foregoes experiences which most men and women consider hard but attractive. The question poignantly presents itself to celibates from time to time when they meet married people who appear to have combined the appealing human fulfillment of marriage with zeal and service for God’s Kingdom—the very zeal and service for which the celibates renounced the attractions and satisfactions of marriage. Celibacy for the sake of Kingdom of God does not mean that celibacy must necessarily be a disagreeable way of living and its choice always painful violence against oneself. It means that celibacy, weather assumed easily or with a struggle, is directed to the Kingdom of God.

A Gift More than a Choice

For me, celibacy is a gift before it is a choice or commitment. It is first a gift because it issues from personal history, which is not entirely of my own making. No one selects one’s basic temperament or the fundamental orientation of one’s personality by parents. Many other influences of life are not chosen, but simply given. Some influences are chosen, of course, and the impact of others freely accepted, but most of these choices are at least partially contributed by unwilled or and even unknown factors. In any case, the freely chosen influences constitute only some of the factors which now prompt me to adopt or continue in celibate life. The initial or continuing choice of celibacy is the acceptance of a gift—my ‘self’ as the culmination of my personal history unfolded under God’s choice. Because the vocation to celibacy is as complex as a person’s whole life, the choice of celibacy is never fully explainable, even by the celibate making the choice. Celibacy is ultimately a personal mystery which is scarcely touched by abstract propositions and never explained by arguments. More satisfying than discussions of celibacy are testimonies of personal celibate experience. These testimonies portray in concrete form the value of celibacy, thus providing for the appearance of the good and so giving others the opportunity to discern if they are, or are not, comfortable with that good.

Brother T. Amalan FSC

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Here are questions people inside and outside the Church ask about celibacy today.

1. What are the essential elements of a celibate life?

Three, basically: (1) A focus on the life and teachings of Jesus, with a sincere interest to live as He taught, and hence a genuine cultivation of one’s inner life;  (2) Simplicity of life, by which one is more interested in service and sharing one’s life than in going after comforts, power and money; (3) a free and joyful decision not to marry and not to have sexual partners.

2. What are the signs of a heathy celibate life?

Fr Peter Brocardo SDB, a highly respected formator of international students in Rome, told us the difference between the vows of poverty and celibacy. Poverty, he told us, can be seen directly: People can see how I dress and travel, what I eat, what I have in my room, and how I spend money. Celibacy, instead, is seen indirectly, he told us. It is seen in a life of love and joy. That is, just as a good marriage is seen in a happy and loving family, celibacy is palpable if we life joyful lives of love. If a community is not happy and loving, it is simply a group of spinsters or bachelors living under the same roof. It is not celibacy. Why waste one’s life on that?

3. Is celibacy higher and better than married life?

There are no higher or lower calls in the church. In fact, the Synod we are preparing for insists that the highest dignity is that given by Baptism. Becoming a celibate religious or priest does not make a person higher or closer to God.

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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The writer member of a secular institute, a medical doctor with specialization in neurology.

I belong to a Salesian secular consecrated order, the Volunteers of Don Bosco (VDB). From early childhood, I felt attracted to the idea of belonging to God alone, to Him who loves us best. This pull and desire was so intense that no human love, however great, could come close. This was despite being born in a very loving family and being blessed with some close and wonderful friends. As a child, I remember seeing the profession and ordination of many religious and being told about the vows that they were making. But to my mind, as I grew older, I preferred the term “evangelical counsels” better, as advised by Jesus in Matthew and St Paul in 1 Corinthians. This is a very special desire and a grace that God gives to those whom He has chosen, to be able to love chastely and with an undivided heart.

I like to picture it as having our human hands, metaphorically speaking, hands that are limited and hence can only hold so much, being so full of gifts that one could not hold more items. So, I would liken celibacy to putting down the items in our hands, in order to hold something bigger, brighter and immensely more precious, in response to a call from the Lord. This means seeing and having God as the first and only choice and never as a compromise or as a second choice.

The Joy of Being in Love!

What a joy it is to be in love with God! This treasure within that seems so unbearably precious that it makes one feel like shouting it out from the roof tops, is what I have experienced from early on. When I was little, I didn’t know how to articulate my thoughts, and I just felt so specially loved by God. I always felt that He had chosen me for Himself, despite me being a stubborn, self-willed child who was very far from anything angelic.

Mine is a late vocation, entering my congregation at thirty-four years and making my perpetual profession just last year, ten years down the line. My profession for me was a deeply moving experience. I will always be grateful to God for this gift of vocation and for choosing me. I grew up in a family where we were always taught, quite early on, about healthy sexuality. I had a very supportive and open relationship with my father, who was trained in psychology. I remember him anticipating my growth, both physical as well as mental, and telling me that it was natural as a teenager to feel attracted towards boys. I also remember growing up amidst many of my classmates at the time (as I studied in a big metropolitan city) who had boyfriends, feeling a dissonance that nothing and nobody compared to having Jesus for my best friend and partner. I felt this way from very early on. It was difficult for me to explain to my friends or peers how deeply I felt this, all while enjoying the usual fun things that teenagers did. Being from a strong Catholic family, I followed all that the church prescribed, but I wasn’t particularly religious. I just often felt very deeply moved by readings from certain saints, who spoke about the love and heart of Jesus, such as St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and St. Faustina, and had the constant prayer, “Jesus, make my heart burn more and more in love for You.”

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As I write this, Easter is just a week away. During the Easter Vigil you’ll see the Easter candle standing tall and majestic near the altar. But in the church you’ll see – if you care to see them – hundreds of little candles in the hands of men, women and children. They are small and so they are not seen as much as the Easter candle. But they, too, in their own little way, drive the darkness away and spread their light.

Most often, we keep looking at people who are famous, who have won awards and recognitions. But there are thousands of ‘little’ people – quietly illuminating their own little area, wherever they may live.

I think of a Little Brother of Jesus, called Marc, whose sharing I read in their newsletter three years ago. Using only their first names and hiding their second names, I guess, is their way to remain hidden – as Jesus of Nazareth did as long as he was in Nazareth.

Marc lives with another Brother, Regis, in Lille-Sud, in Northern France.  He talks of the ways in which he tries to bring God’s love to people. First, he helps them fill in their administrative papers, as it requires a computer and they don’t have one. He understands that more than this service they need attention and friendship, as we humans need someone to listen to us, someone who would see us without judging us, someone who would love and respect us unconditionally. He tries, therefore, to bond with people and build trust, so that they feel free to share their struggles, their stories. He sees his efforts are fruitful, when a young man who recently went into rehab for alcoholism, trusts him enough to say he has started drinking again.

Fr M A Joe Antony SJ

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