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A Different Logic

Father P. E. Abraham Panampara SDB (see photo) a Salesian whom many of us remember with the highest respect—for his simplicity of life, concern for the poor, dedication to the mission, and desire to work among the most underprivileged—was the principal of Sacred Heart College, Tiruppattur.   The college received more applications than the number of seats it had. It happened one year that he had to choose between a poor boy with low marks and a better-off boy with higher grades. The boy with the better marks was the son of the headmaster of one of the schools in the town

Fr Abraham gave the seat to the poorer boy, although his marks were lower. Then, the other boy’s father came to complain. He said, “Father, what you have done is unjust. My son had higher marks. You should have given the seat to him. But you gave admission to a boy with much lower marks.”

Father Abraham listened. He knew this headmaster. He told him, “Sir, I follow another type of justice.”

“What is that?”

“See, you are a headmaster, and you have connections. Even if your son does not get admission here, you will be able to get him a seat in some other college, even a more famous college in Chennai. But this boy’s parents are poor. They have neither money, nor influence. If I do not admit him, his studies will be over. That is why I gave that seat to him.”

“I respect your logic,” replied the headmaster. Though he was disappointed, he admired Fr Abraham’s values and the stand he took to admit the neediest students.

Is this how our schools and colleges operate?

Or, does money or pleasing “big shots” dictate our policies?

(By the way, when Fr Abraham died, his old students collected money to start scholarships for poor students.)

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Saturday’s morning sun shines forth for me to bask in its rays and in the freshness of its light and warmth.  Arms outstretched, I breathe in the fresh air and feel refreshed, relaxed and renewed.  Joy fills my heart and pen runs freely in praise of the Almighty God for His beauty, variety and creativity in nature.

Awe-filled, I sat and wondered at the variety of trees, plants, leaves, flowers and fruits.  I noticed a tree with lush green tender leaves with tiny flowers full of sweet and strong smell, glowing pure and shiny in the warmth of the sun. Opposite to it I could see a tree fully naked with dry branches, but no leaves or flowers.  Next I came across a tree filled with leaves yielding fruits once in a year and resting for the rest of the year.

I asked Father God; the garden, the soil, the gardener, water and sunlight are the same.  How is it, at the same time, one flowers, one withers, and one is short, another is tall.  One is filled with fragrance and another with no smell?  I heard Him whisper to me that each in due season will flower and bear fruit.  They follow the wise cycle of birth, growth, death and new life.  They are free from the compulsive behaviour of being always right and smart or being in the lime light forever or being efficient throughout.

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Sr Nambikkai Kitheri SAP

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Let’s call him Matthew (because it is a name I like). Matthew is a seven-year-old boy whom I had been seeing at Mass lately. He’s usually sitting in the first row in the semi-circular church of the University of Malta. While on holidays, a few friends and I would go for Saturday evening celebration there, and then go out for supper at a restaurant. So, for a few weeks, I used to notice Matthew. He would always come with his mother (for some reason I never saw a father), and, as soon as he would come in the church, he would be the centre of attraction.

Mathew, you see, is a cute little boy with Downs’ Syndrome. Most seven-year-old boys, as we know, are quite fidgety and cannot stay put, and most children with Downs’ Syndrome get our attention because they seem to have a knack for making friends and attach to people very easily. This is the case with Matthew. As soon as he comes in, he runs immediately to the sacristy to meet the priest, who seems to have known him for quite a long time. Now, imagine a young boy who has to stay quiet, and sit properly with a mask on (because of COVID protocol) for a Mass which is targeted for intellectual adults!

Last Saturday was no exception. Matthew’s mother had a hard time to try to make him sit properly and not in the lotus position on the chair. He wouldn’t. And as soon as his mother would quietly try put his legs down, they would immediately bounce up automatically. But again, there was no way to stop the activity, and I noticed that his mother did not want to make a fuss.

The time for Holy Communion arrived. Matthew did not stand up like the rest of us. He sat, but he put out his hands in the proper way for receiving communion. It was then that a most extraordinary thing happened. As soon as he put the consecrated host in his mouth, he put his hands between his legs, his shoulders raised, a big smile on his face and his whole body shivered with what looked like pure delight. It was as if something out of this world took hold of him, his eyes looked upwards and through them shone an immense joy, pure bliss. The whole experience was over in a few seconds. I could not believe my eyes. I looked at one of my friends sitting next to me and she nodded and smiled. She had seen the whole thing!

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Bro Carmel Duca MC

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Patrick, a twenty-two-year-old seminarian, writes me a mail asking me: “Father, I envy some of my companions who seem to make friends easily. They are popular. They are a hit wherever they go. I wish I too could mix like them, make friends, be popular. When I am in a new group, I don’t know what to say or do. I keep quiet. Later, I feel sorry I did not make some new friends. How can I learn to make friends?”

A similar query came from Venita, an undergraduate college student. She, too, felt shy and reserved, but wanted to make friends and be a “popular girl.”

We all want friends, don’t we? We want to be liked. Sure, who doesn’t? We fantasize being popular, don’t we?

Some of us think: “If I were pretty, like Rita, I would be popular”: “If I could crack jokes and make people laugh, I would be a hit, like Jack”; “If I were smarter and a good public speaker, I would have got many friends and admirers.”

Much of the time, we look at others, and wish we were more like them.

Nothing wrong with that; we can all learn good things from others. But just imagining that, to make friends, we need the looks or humor or money or skills which some others seem to have—this will not help.

Ten Tips

What will help a young person to make friends?

Here are simple, practical tips, culled from experience. If you want to make true friends, and have people you can count on, do the following things:

1. Help: “You can count on Brian anytime you need help,” his friends say enthusiastically about this young man. What they say is true. It is enough Brian hears of someone’s need—with extra manual work, like shifting furniture, or taking someone to the hospital, or picking up someone at the railway station or airport, you can truly count on Brian. He does it cheerfully, without making a fuss. In fact, he looks happy to help. This was the case in his family and neighborhood when he was growing up. It continues in the religious communities where he has lived. Any need? Count on Brian! People are not looking for big talkers, but genuine helpers.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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If it didn’t really happen, it is difficult to believe that someone could actually live this way. Brother Shanthidas, whom all his friends called Shanthi, is buried in a village called Mylasandra on the outskirts of Bangalore. He died at the age of eighty-six, a little more than a year ago, on 22 July 2020, in Bangalore.

Bro Shantidas, however, was not born in India. He was born at Malmedy, Belgium, on 19 April 1934. His baptismal name was Charles Culot. At the age of sixteen, he expressed his desire to become a Dominican priest. But, since he was only sixteen, the Dominicans told him to wait for one more year. Without wasting that year, Charles studied Thomist philosophy at the University of Louvain, Belgium. One day he happened to listen to a talk given by Brother Dominic, a Little Brother of Jesus.

Have you heard of the Little Brothers of Jesus? They belong to one of the many congregations inspired by the spirituality of Charles de Foucauld. They live in small communities – which they call ‘fraternities’ – of two to four Brothers, sharing the life and struggles of ordinary people. That was how Jesus himself lived in Nazareth, they explain. They live a simple life in the midst of people, work for their livelihood, and witness to the love of Jesus.

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Fr M A Joe Antony SJ

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Here is a short introduction to the Synod starting on 17 October 2021. It is a more relevant and inclusive way of being Church—not a top-down institution cut off from the people, and giving orders, but in touch will all members, and listening to everyone.

Synods in the Church

Etymologically, “synod” is a combination of two Greek words that mean “walking together.”  Synods began after Second Vatican Council, a consultative body of the people of God to help Pope plan and propose on various topics and issues of the Church.

Basically, there are three major types of synods, namely, Ordinary Synods, Extraordinary Synods and Special Synods. The Ordinary Synods discuss on matters that need relevant guidelines for the Church. Extraordinary Synods discuss very serious issues or topics that require immediate attention. Special Synods treat of matters concerning Church in each region/continent. So far, there have been fifteen Ordinary Synods. The next ordinary synod is planned for October 2023. Synod is the topic of this Synod! Amused? The church is going to reflect together on walking together as a Church! That is called Synodality!

Process of a Synod

Each Synod focuses on a particular aspect of the life of the Church. For this, the Holy Father chooses a topic that needs urgent attention in the Church. He constitutes a core group of experts of with a secretariat at the Vatican. This secretariat begins to function at least a year or two before the synod date is announced.  They work together to bring out a preparatory document called Lineamenta (an outline on the topic of the Synod). This preparatory document will be sent to all the churches of all the rites, dioceses and major superiors of religious congregations for their feedback. The feedback will be collated by the secretariat to bring out a more focussed document called Working Document which will be used during the synod as Instrumentum Laboris. The Synod Fathers (a technical name to indicate all those who participate in the Synod, namely men and women) discuss on the Instrumentum Laboris and articulate proposals to the pope for further consideration. These proposals are not published and are not the final decision of the Church. However, the Synod Fathers publish a short statement at the synod to the entire Church called Message to the People of God. The Holy Father, after going through the proposals and the Message to the People of God, promulgates in his own time, the official post synodal Apostolic Exhortation. The Synod fathers do not author any document.

Francis’ New Formula for Synod 2023

Earlier decision of the Synod in October 2022 was reprocessed by Pope Francis for the first time in the history of Synods. It runs from October 2021 to October 2023. The work will start from the faithful in the families, communities and parishes. Then it moves to dioceses, episcopal conferences, Continental Conferences and, finally, the Synod. The topic of the Synod, For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission calls for structural and procedural changes in the synod and eventually in the Church. It is a new way being the Church—the synodal way!

This Synod comprises of three phases, between October 2021 and October 2023—a diocesan phase, a continental phase that will give life to two different Instrumentum Laboris, and finally a conclusive phase at the level of the Universal Church.

The diocesan phase, which begins on 17 October 2021, includes a Pre-Synod that is participated by all the people of God within the diocese. This is where the Church at ground zero functions! To help the pre-synod at the diocesan level, the Lineamenta and the Vademecum (handbook of resources and guidelines) will help the diocese to play an active role in the process towards the Synodality!

The Logo

The logo of the Synod, designed by Isabelle, a French artist, depicts a huge tree in the form of hands, cross and Holy Spirit, with the Holy Eucharist that shines like the Sun. It is from this Tree of Life, the Church represented by fifteen Silhouettes that indicate the entire humanity walking together (Synodal Church). Notice the bishop and the nun are not in front of the faithful, but among them!

Fr. Gilbert Choondal SDB is the editor of Catechetics India, Secretary of Indian Catechetical Association, Coordinator of Education to Faith at Salesian Provincial Conference of South Asia and the catechetical director of Nitika Don Bosco, Kolkata.

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Fr Gilbert Choondal SDB

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Twenty-five-year old Ashley is a nurse in Holy Family Hospital, Okhla, New Delhi. She has been a nurse for three and a half years.

Here are Ashley’s answers to our questions.

1. Why I chose this profession:

Nursing is a profession that provides wide opportunities to serve the needy people who lack even basic knowledge about health and sickness.  I want to serve the people through proper knowledge and skills. So, I chose this profession.

2. The person who inspired me:

My sister is a nurse; she inspired me a lot. She is humble and empathetic to the patients.

3. Moments of satisfaction:

The patients’ smiling faces and their satisfied responses make me happy. One of my patients told me, “Sister, when you give me medicine, my pain will subside fast.” Many times, I got blessings from my patients.

4. Difficult moments:

During Covid time we had lots of patients. I am part of the ICU staff. We had four patients on ventilators. We struggled to satisfy the needs of these patients.

5. Moments of fear:

When patients died.

6. Tough part of this job:

Some patients and relatives consider staff nurses as their servants.

7. Things I do when patients suffer:

Assess the need of the patient, provide management according to their need.

8. Situations hard to bear:

Some younger patients (between 20 and 40 years) die, this is hard to bear.

9. Beautiful moments:

I believe that the patient’s satisfaction is the most powerful incentive to improve the quality of our care.

10. What our society needs to understand better:

Some people believe that a nurse has just to give medicines, as if that is our only job. Most of the time we are struggling a lot.

11. Reasons why Indian nurses prefer to work abroad:

To study nursing we need lots of money. So, we look for jobs with a good salary to solve our financial problems.

12. Beautiful things patients and their families say about nurses:

One patient whom I attended said to us, “Really we are thankful to you, because wearing this PPE you are doing a great job.”

13. Many nurses pray for their patients. The difference this makes:

A woman had two miscarriages, and was pregnant again for the third time.  This was a high risk case; so the doctor advised bed rest till the delivery, but she got better within two days, and the doctor changed his opinion.

14. Anything else to add?

The prayerful touch of a nurse makes a big difference in the patient’s condition.

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Ashley Mathew

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Director: Nathaniel Nose *Cast: Carl Weyant, Josh Perry, DJ Perry, Rance Howard, Taymour Ghazi. 2019. 115 minutes.

The movie takes its inspiration from the legend of Longinus, a blind Roman soldier who is believed to have been miraculously cured of blindness when he thrust the lance into the heart of Christ at the climax of the Crucifixion. The blind Longinus is retained in the Roman legion on account of his father’s influence. He is stricken with guilt and is almost suicidal after he is publicly named as ‘Christ slayer’ by his colleagues. He is confused about the event and its significance as he was actually bullied into thrusting the lance into Jesus’ side and then both taunted and revered for it. A deep moral and spiritual crisis engulfs the man.  Unable to take it any longer, Longinus leaves Jerusalem for his home village, accompanied by his loyal servant Albus, in search of peace of mind. He leaves his job, his father and his sweetheart behind. The journey is haunted by his increasing awareness of the divinity of Christ who many acknowledge as having risen from death, but the authorities wish to suppress the truth. The two travelers are joined by a Stranger who is a consoling presence all along. The Stranger acts as a protector and spiritual guide to the two and when they reach the village, Longinus is received by his mother and other relatives. The climax of the story is when the Stranger takes Longinus into the river where he baptizes him and he miraculously regains his eye sight as he emerges from the water. But the Stranger is gone. Longinus now realizes that the stranger was indeed the Jesus whom he had slain and who is now risen. Longinus later joins the apostles and proclaims the Gospel in the Roman Empire, to be martyred and beatified by the church.

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My good friend Kevin Sullivan—who, with his wonderful wife Crystal contribute our Couplespeak column every month—worked at a legal firm. He retired early to do full time ministry, together with Crystal. They have helped so many people, especially young couples. They also do retreats for prisoners and others.

Kevin is disturbed and shocked at the damage pornography is doing—to couples, to youngsters, to families, to the future of men and women, to the church. He sent me an article about this problem, with shocking statistics.

That is how this issue was born. I had another topic in mind for this issue. But Kevin’s wisdom and passion for helping people prevailed.

Then I found that this is not simply an American or Western problem. I didn’t know India is a huge consumer of porn. In fact, two of our well-known secular magazines (Outlook and The Week) devoted recent cover issues to this topic. Did you know that during the 2020 lockdown porn consumption in India almost doubled?

The problem is serous and widespread. People of all ages and backgrounds seem to be drawn to it. The majority of addicts are young, since they are more at home with computers and smart phones. Gender-wise, the division among addicts seems to be 70% men and 30% women.

I am grateful to some genuine friends who helped me put together this special issue—Kevin himself, who got the ball rolling; Fr Aneesh Chacko SDB, who wrote an unusually clear and helpful article on this addiction, and also listed and reviewed uptodate books on this addiction; Fr Jose Parappully SDB, who wrote about its impact and remedies, and a very honest woman religious who volunteered to write about how she got trapped in it, leading to severe depression and thoughts of suicide, and what helped her to become free. I added a small piece on the Indian situation and Indian laws about pornography.

Further, for those who like to watch helpful videos on the topic, here are two I would recommend. They are both found on YouTube. Put the title given here in YouTube and click:

“The Horrifying Truth about the Porn Industry” by Father Daniel P Horan OFM (837,726 views,

30 May 2020); “For Any Woman Struggling with Pornography and Masturbation” by  Mari Pablo (14,700 views, 8 Sept 2021). Both are engaging speakers.

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 The problem is huge—and largely hidden. Many more people are addicted than we may think. They need help—before they destroy themselves or their marriages and families.

Read. Learn more.

If you are addicted, get help before it is too late.

If you are a spouse, parent, teacher, formator, superior, know it affects many in your care—including children.

You are incredibly blessed if you have loving relationships—family, friends, religious community, colleagues—people you care about and whose love you are sure of. There is nothing to match genuine love and goodness. Love and meaningful work protect us from many addictions—including porn.

Those who are not so blessed, are in greater danger—of this and other addictions. No wonder people who are isolated or lonely or emotionally stressed, with no one to confide in, become addicted more easily. This can happen among youngsters, or in marriages, families, religious communities or single life in general.

Be more aware. Learn and teach to use social media for doing good. Know that probably more people within your own circle (family, friends, religious community or ….) are addicted and need help, but they may be afraid or hesitant to seek the help they need.

Read the articles and see. For more information, thirteen books dealing with this issue are presented, too.

May you be free of addictions. May you be a loving liberated person who will help to set many others free.

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This is a double issue, but without extra pages. The Post Office did not allow us to add pages, or to post an extra issue in the middle of the month, as we had planned to do.

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Like many others, I too want to read more books. I thought about how this wish could be fulfilled without having money to procure the books I want to read.. A mere desire to read is not enough. Most people are uncertain about what to read and do not know how to follow up their particular interests. A good start is necessary.  I used to read books, but not many. I used to follow the free resources (videos, articles, book recommendations) posted on wordonfire.org, a catholic website founded by Bishop Robert Barron, the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles. It is through this website I virtually met Brandon Vogt, the content director of Wordonfire Catholic Ministries.

HITTING A JACKPOT

I researched a bit to know more about the person of Brandon Vogt. I was amazed at the findings. I wondered how a busy man like Brandon could put his hands on many things – reading, authoring books, writing blogs, parenting, managing multiple websites and podcasts. If you want something to be done, ask a busy man. If you wish to be inspired, seek wisdom from those who inspire.

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Fr Aneesh Chacko SDB

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