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Special Days: June Editition

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1 June:
Global Day of Parents

This day is also International Children’s Day, and so it is a time of international concern for strengthening the family.

Since it was declared in 2012 by the UN, it is held annually to honour parents around the world. Having parents is something we take for granted, but being a parent is definitely not an easy task. It has its challenges long before the kids are even born. With many complications resulting from pregnancy, just having a healthy parent is something to be grateful for. And while many of us grumbled when told to clean our rooms, or do other jobs around the house, or study, or pray, we were lucky that our parents brought us up well. If we had never learned to handle any responsibilities, we would have had no hope of coping with the adult world.

So today, make it special:

  1. Let us thank our first teachers and nurturers. And if you happen to be a parent, give yourself a big pat on the back.
  2. Exchange your thoughts and experiences on parenting with others, even with your own grown and not so grown children. There will be stories to laugh and hug each other for.
  3. Watch a movie about parents and kids. It’s a family day and that means time for a family movie.

Global Day of Parents reminds us to respect others, our elders and also our children. We have so much to learn and appreciate from both. Regardless of age, it’s something that has to be earned. Our parents have supported us through our ups and downs, all while dealing with their own personal issues.

It encourages fathers to take a more active role in parenting. Children benefit from having fathers play an active role in their lives. There is always room for a smile and a game of ‘catch me.’

Parenting is really a team game. Both men and women play an equally important role.

17 June:
Desertification and Drought Day

Formerly called ‘World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought,’ it is observed by the UN every year to promote awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.

Desertification is an increasing ecological problem. Previously fertile land becomes desert through deforestation, drought or improper agriculture. A relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. This is caused by climate change and human activities. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts.

Techniques exist for mitigating or reversing the effects of desertification. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification, consisting of 197 countries, specifically covers the areas of the planet which are most at risk. It tries to restore and maintain soil fertility and mitigate the effects of drought. Local people are encouraged to participate in schemes like tree-planting. They are educated about effective methods to work the land without causing degradation.

Globally, 23 per cent of the land is no longer productive, and 75 per cent has been transformed from its natural state, mostly for agriculture. This transformation in land use is happening at a faster rate than at any other time in human history and has accelerated over the last fifty years.

The theme for 2020 focuses on the link between consumption and land.

The next few decades are the most critical. A decade of land degradation may create irreversible damage, but a decade of land restoration may bring multiple benefits.

The problem is human-made. If so, we need to be part of the solution as well. Together, we can restore the productivity of over two billion hectares of degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people around the world and mitigate the effects of drought.

Nearly 30% of India is affected by land degradation and desertification. In 2015, India joined the voluntary Bonn Challenge, pledging to restore thirteen million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020 and an additional eight million hectares by 2030.

No matter where we live, the consequences of desertification and drought affect us.


Sr Esme da Cunha FDCC

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Documents in Brief

Create in Me a Clean Heart

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How parents, priests, religious, educators and mental health professionals can tackle the plague of pornography, which has become widespread, and damaged many.

The document is a Pastoral Response to Pornography Use, developed by the committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in November, 2015.

The reason for this document is the urgency of the situation. Pornography seems to have its tentacles all over, and infected many minds and damaged many marriages. Even secular psychologists and counsellors are convinced of the serious and lasting damage it inflicts.

The document deals with these issues:

  • An overview of the Church’s teaching on sexuality, the human person, and chastity
  • An explanation of why pornography is sinful and harmful
  • A survey of the wide-reaching effects of pornography in our culture
  • A closer look at the effects of pornography on men, women, young people, and children
  • A word of hope and healing to those harmed by pornography
  • An appendix with a link to targeted resources for particular audiences.

 What is Chastity?

Chastity is “a virtue that allows us to do what is right, good, and truly loving in the areas of relationship and sexuality.” It integrates our internal desires for sexual pleasure into our overall pursuit of moral excellence and holiness. “All of us in life have gone through moments in which this virtue has been very difficult, but it is in fact the way of genuine love, of a love that is able to give life, which does not seek to use the other for one’s own pleasure.” Chastity affirms the whole person, body and soul, over and above his or her sexual qualities. It helps us to recognize the great goodness and profound meaning of human sexuality and authentic sexual desire as ordered to the love of man and woman in marriage.

Lust, instead, is an inordinate desire for sexual pleasure apart from the true meaning of sexuality and marital love. It uses another person as a means for sexual gratification.

Every one of us is a gift, with inviolable dignity – wonderfully made for a relationship of love with God and with others. Our bodies communicate the beautiful meaning and dignity of our very selves. Hence, our bodies should be treated with great respect and not meant to be used but loved.

What is Pornography?

Pornography, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world.”

Producing or using pornography is gravely wrong and a grave sin against human dignity. It is a mortal sin if committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent. Pornography consists in visual images (real or virtual and computer-generated); and in written or audio forms (erotic literature, phone conversations, online video chats, etc.). Pornography is neither an art nor is it to be represented as a harmless pastime (‘adult entertainment’ or ‘gentlemen’s club’). It dehumanises the persons depicted, making them into objects of use. Pornography hurts and brings feelings of shame upon the viewer and breaks down trust.

Pornography is a dark “sign” of the modern world. Today, online pornography is instantly accessible, seemingly anonymous, mostly free, and has the appearance of being endlessly novel – pornography is in the home, at work, and often literally at one’s fingertips with the prevalence of mobile devices. The Internet pornography is intoxicating and seducing viewers to keep clicking. Unlike a magazine, the internet has no final page.

The Harm Done

Pornography use hurts the user by potentially diminishing his or her capacity for healthy human intimacy and relationships. It presents a distorted view of human sexuality that is contrary to authentic love, and it harms a person’s sense of self-worth. Occasional use can turn into more frequent use that can then lead to an addiction to pornography, which is a growing problem. It can increase isolation between people because of the feelings of shame and self-reproach it generates. It breaks down trust between family members, and it damages the ability of parents and other adults to be virtuous role models for children.

There are many victims of pornography. Every person portrayed in it is beloved by God our Father and is someone’s daughter or son. Their dignity is abused as they are used for others’ pleasure and profit. Pornography has connections to sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation worldwide. Many sex trafficking victims (mostly women and girls) are forced into prostitution, which may include pornography as “training” or as their “product.” All child pornography is automatically trafficking and a crime, because it involves the sexual exploitation of a minor for commercial gain and it is against the child’s will due to the inability to give consent. The actors in pornographic films also face serious risks, such as contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and high rates of drug and alcohol abuse.

Pornography is a big business. Estimates of revenue stretch easily into the billions of dollars every year. The pornography industry is aggressive, savvy.

Both science and personal testimonies confirm that many people who start by occasionally viewing pornography later become compulsive viewers who feel trapped in a cycle of fantasy, ritual, acting out, and despair. Viewing pornography has a similar effect on the brain as cocaine does on a person with a drug addiction or as alcohol on a person with an alcohol addiction. … Addictions are very hard to overcome, and help is needed to regain one’s freedom. We invite the many men and women who suffer from addiction to pornography to trust in the Lord’s mercy and seek appropriate help, support, and resources.

Data indicates that children repeatedly exposed to pornography are more likely to sexually harass or molest other children, imitating the behaviour they have seen.

 Tragically, children and youth are also victimized by being forced or coerced into participating in the production of child pornography. Child pornography is illegal, abusive, and a form of human trafficking because of a child’s inability to consent. There are many reasons why a child might become a victim of child pornography, including extreme poverty, deplorable neglect by his or her parents or guardians, or manipulation by child pornographers.

 Children  and youth exploited in this way face serious side effects and need plentiful resources for emotional, psychological, and physical healing. Most of all, they need to know that the abuse was not their fault or choice, no matter how their abusers deceived them.

If your pornography use has become an addiction, it is even more crucial that you have accountability and the support of professionals who can assist in identifying and healing any emotional wounds that may lie at the root of pornography use.

Tips for Different Groups

To those exploited by the pornography industry: You are loved and cherished by God! The Church reaches out to you. No matter what you have experienced in your past, you are worthy of forgiveness, respect and love. Know that there are support groups and resources available to help you.

To those guilty of exploiting others through the production of pornography: The Lord, in his great mercy, is calling you to turn away from your sins and follow him. No sin is too great to forgive! Repent, convert and put an end to your involvement in spreading the destructiveness of pornography. God can use your previous mistakes to help others.

To men and women who use pornography: You are beloved children of the Father. Do not let the obstacles of denial, shame, fear, despair, or pride keep you from relying on the Lord’s mercy. Make a daily choice to free yourselves from pornography. Ongoing support such as counselling, spiritual direction, coaching, accountability groups, couple to couple groups, conferences and retreats for men and women are of great help as you seek freedom.

To those who have been hurt by their spouse’s pornography use: You are greatly loved by God our Father! You are not alone! The Church wants to help and encourage you and asks those brave enough to acknowledge their own experience with this issue to help other hurting spouses in the community.

To all parents: It is your great responsibility to teach your children the true meaning of human sexuality, enabling them to see its beauty as an expression of total love. Be vigilant about the technology you allow into your home and the prevalence of sexual content. Educate yourselves about filtering software that can assist in protecting your home. Foster openness and trust and be the first models of mercy and forgiveness when dealing with a child who has seen or uses pornography.

To all who work with children and youth: Children are vulnerable to all influences, good or bad. Teach them the meaning of chastity by modelling. Teach young people that certain types of websites or programs are inappropriate and sinful.

To young people: Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and you were made for greatness. If you have already engaged in pornography use, choose now to turn away from it. Ask for help or guidance from your parents or from a trusted adult, family member or pastoral minister.

To pastors and clergy: Do not be afraid to acknowledge this and to seek help immediately if any of you is struggling with pornography. Provide help and healing to men and women who are victims of pornography through the Sacraments and trustworthy counsellors and support groups in the local areas. Above all, let us live in our own lives the witness of a joyful and pure heart.

To all people of good will: May we work together to remove pornography from its prominent and privileged place. Let us counter its numerous injustices and build a culture that honours the true dignity and meaning of human sexuality.

God’s grace and concrete help are always available. Healing is always possible.

Helpful Pamphlets

The US Bishops also recommend five pamphlet-length resources related to the main statement, in both English and Spanish. The English pamphlets can be purchased from the USCCB Store. [USCCB = United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]. Each pamphlet’s full text is available online:

  • “Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Pastoral Response to Pornography – Abridged Version”
  • “Pornography’s Effects on Marriage and Hope for Married Couples” by Sam and Beth Meier
  • “Raising Chaste Children in a Pornographic World” by Ryan Foley
  • “The Role of Priests in Ministry to Those who Struggle with Pornography” by Fr. David Songy
  • “‘Wash Me Thoroughly’: Healing from Pornography Use and Addiction” by Daniel Spadaro

Summary by Sr Theresa Phawa FMA

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Book Review

Movie Reviews

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The Current
Director: Nikita Zubarev. Cast: B Bradenton Harper, Blade Yocum, Dariush Moslemi, David Harper, Jana Lensing (2014. 85 minutes)

This is a story of growing up through pain and loss and coming to understand the meaning of faith. Teenager Jake’s parents want to protect the boy from exposure to city violence and delinquency in Chicago. The rebellious Jake openly opposes his parents’ attempts to relocate to rural life. He hates to lose his friends and also his favorite baseball events. The family moves to the banks of Providence River in rural Minnesota. Jake chafes at the work he is assigned, but does it all the same. His meeting with the neighbour Peter Owens brightens up his dreary life. Peter had lost his mother two years back and lived with his father, Brian, in a Christian community. Peter’s positive influence on the mischievous Jake draws him closer to Christian faith. Enjoying many boyish adventures together in the forest, life turns upside down when Peter is drowned in the river while swimming and Jake fails to save him. This changes his life forever. Brian, deeply wounded in spirit by the loss of his whole family, rejects God and shuts himself off from the church. Jake hasn’t forgotten the lessons in faith learned from Peter. From the local pastor he is inspired by the story of Horatio Spafford, who lost his fortune and his children but found God’s will and wrote the famous hymn “It’s Well with My Soul.” Jake wins back the hurt Brian during the visit to his friend’s grave on Peter’s birthday. Afterwards, Brian asks bitterly: How can a God that claims to be a loving father do this to him, taking his wife and son away? Jake tells the grieved father: “God… reveals to us one day at a time.” With his newfound faith, Jake tells Brian to trust God and live like the river, ‘to “go with the flow” of God’s plan. They both will see Peter again if they trust God’s will. Brian returns to life. Jake later becomes a pastor. He realizes that, though he could not save Peter from his death, Peter did save him.

NOTE FROM GIGY:

Pls note: Since there are two other movies with the same name, care may be taken to see that the right poster for this one is identified. Note the director when browsing!

Molokai: The Story of Father Damien
Director: Paul Cox. Cast: David Wenham, Peter O’Toole, Sam Neill, Derek Jacobi, Kris Kristofferson (1999. 109 minutes)

 A faithful depiction of the story of “the martyr of charity” canonized in 2009.  Fr Damien, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, was working in Honolulu when he heard of the need for a priest to serve the needs of the lepers deported to Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. People dreaded going there, since it was a quarantine settlement where lepers were cast away for life. The authorities treated them like animals. On his arrival there in 1872, a scenario of utter human misery – humans of all ages physically, spiritually and morally ravaged by leprosy, destitution and death—greeted Damien. He would rebuild the abandoned church all alone. Then he planted trees with the help of the lepers to buffer the strong ocean winds, and tried to care for their spiritual and physical needs as best he could.

Initially Damien has to face resistance from his beneficiaries too. He strikes up a friendship with a dying English man, once a health official, now cast away because of leprosy. Damien is his comfort in his dying moments. Failing to find someone to go to Molokai, his sympathetic bishop personally visits Damien to hear his confession. However, because of the fear of infection, the captain of the ship would not allow the Bishop to land on the island or allow Damien to board the ship. So, Damien has to shout his confession to the bishop on board the ship from a boat. Damien’s attempts to get medicine and basic comforts are ignored by authorities. He gets world attention through the press when the sympathetic Princess of Hawaii visits the village. But it only infuriates the Hawaiian administration that thinks of shutting the place. Damien has a long struggle ahead to get nuns to come there to nurse the sick. When he gets leprosy, he identifies himself with the sufferings of the crucified Christ, and does not bother to seek any comfort other than what his people get. Once he is forced into a humiliating physical examination by a doctor in front of an official on grounds of a false theory that this disease is the result of sexual misconduct. On his deathbed his wish is granted, when two nuns—Mother Marianne Cope and Sister Leopoldina Burns—arrive to continue Damien’s work.


Prof Gigy Joseph

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Book Review

Book Reviews

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God’s Implanted DNA: A Journey to Deep Happiness and Health
By Don Johnson (Trafford Publishing, 2012)

Don Johnson’s book centers on the argument that God has implanted in every one of us a deep-seated urge to happiness that can be realized only through serving others. He calls it “God’s implanted DNA.” Life’s fullness can be enjoyed only in relatedness at different levels—the interpersonal, familial, social, and, finally, to the larger universe. Despite our weaknesses and failures, we still can realize this urge.  He demonstrates this from his personal experience as well as those of famous people who have found out the divine DNA in them by offering themselves in the service of others. “Real deep happiness is grounded in serving others with all our energy.” His own choice to become a religious minister was the result of a search for purpose in life.  As a pastor in his first parish, he overcame his initial disappointment with parishioners’ indifference, when he understood that his attitude was the problem. When he began to connect personally with the people, things changed and he began to enjoy his work. During our early life we depend on others around us, usually the immediate family. In adulthood, relationships should spread outward in order to make life truly meaningful. Many people, like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Schweitzer, Dag Hammarskjold, and others discovered their divine DNA through conscious choice to serve others. Constant attention to our inner life helps us understand why we are created; it is to serve others. This offer changes the giver more than the receiver. Seventy-year-old Kay Oursler’s example is inspiring. Kay suffered depression when her husband of forty years divorced her. To the amazement of others, she overcame her sense of worthlessness by enrolling in the Peace Corps and volunteering in Africa. Jacqueline Novograntz, an American business woman, ended up working on non-profit organizations for the poor in South Asia. The late Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy, the founder of Aravind Eye Hospital, is yet another shining example. In an interview, he reflected: “for me God exists in that place where all living things are interconnected and we know it when we feel divine.” He felt that “tough determination and our sense of interconnectedness is the way to heal our world.” The practical way of discovering our implanted DNA is to take the model of Christ, who prayed; “not my will, but your will be done.”   In contemplative life, whether we read the Bible or a newspaper report, we can ask: “What is God saying to me through this?” Caring for others is not different from caring for oneself; on the contrary it is an intensification of self-care. In the public domain (corporate life or banking), instead of asking, “What I can get out of it?” we should ask what we can give.

The Plague
By Albert Camus (1947)

Considered one of the greatest European novels of the last century; The Plague has recently been talked about. It presents a social upheaval and implications during an epidemic. It raises questions of God and nature, unmerited human suffering, separation and death. In the laid back town of Oran, Algeria, life is thrown out of gear when plague strikes—out of nowhere. It rages for a year. The first sign of plague outbreak is noticed by Dr Rieux, who finds it difficult to convince the authorities, who are slow to respond. Initially there is indifference and complacency; then incredulity and finally panic, as the epidemic rages.  When quarantine is declared, the town becomes a virtual prison. The plague symbolizes human suffering, an irrational evil force that kills indiscriminately. In the midst of the cataclysm there are people like Dr Rieux, Paneloux, a Jesuit theologian and Jean Tarrou, a journalist and novelist, who teamed up against the plague. The interactions of these three highlight the key ideas.  Contrasting philosophical responses to the experience are expressed. The agnostic Dr Rieux does not think of himself as a hero or a saint, but is committed to saving life. Fr Paneloux organizes a prayer week, and speaks of the calamity as a deserved punishment for the sinful city, a scourge to humble the proud, though the long-suffering compassionate God did not will it. The plague happens because God’s light is withdrawn. But God’s compassion brings forth good from evil. Dr Rieux disagrees with such an abstract approach and questions the irrationality of the universe.  He thinks that if he believed in an all-powerful God, he would cease curing the sick and leave that to Him. Not denying God’s existence, he is troubled by His “silence” and “absence.” Jean Tarrou, instead, believes in humanity but not in a merciful God, and wonders if it is possible to be a saint without God. A change occurs when they witness the agonizing death of a child.  Paneloux’s faith is troubled when his prayer fails. All he can say is that “perhaps we should love what we cannot understand.” Dr Rieux tells him that he can never love a scheme of things that allows innocents suffering. It is revolting.  However, the two realize that they are united in the cause of saving lives “beyond blasphemy and prayers…the only thing that matters.”  Paneloux understands that suffering cannot be interpreted except in the sense that it is of absolute good and part of God’s will. There is no middle path between belief and unbelief. In his second sermon Paneloux does not speak of punishment but about loving acceptance of suffering which is beyond rational explanation. He completely identifies with the victims in suffering and dies of mysterious causes. Though the plague disappears after a year, it is possible that it may appear again somewhere. The Plague demonstrates that, despite contradictory beliefs, the believer and the unbeliever are united in the same cause –the assertion of human dignity, freedom and responsibility.


Prof Gigy Joseph

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Letters

Letters

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Contents Really Valuable
Thank you for MAGNET. I look forward to receiving it and find the contents really valuable. Have particularly been enjoying the articles by Brother Carmel. The first article of his that caught my attention was when he shared about the ‘boys’—the mentally challenged men he was taking care of in Peru.  Written with respect, humour and love, it really helps us see the inmates as individuals with their own needs, feelings and thoughts. The latest article too ‘Going Down from Jerusalem to Jericho’ gives a different insight into the Good Samaritan story and helps ponder on the story more deeply.
I also want to make mention of the Fun and More section, refreshing, enjoyable and light—just what one needs when one is taking a break. Particularly enjoy the ‘hidden words’ in pictures and the spot the differences; always brings a smile to my face!
Especially during these difficult times, we need sources of nourishment and care that MAGNET provides. Thank you!!
Pearl D’Souz
Mumbai, Maharashtra

Passing It On
Thank you for the very well done May 2020 Issue of MAGNET. The presentation is attractive, with lots of valuable materials. I love the “Heroic Sisters of 1918” HEROIC SISTERS OF 1918 (Spanish Flu).
I shall pass on the materials to all our Jesuit companions for their reading pleasure.
Fr Richard Jarain SJ
Kohima, Nagaland

Amazing
It’s such an amazing magazine and it keeps inspiring millions in India and around the globe, especially during this trying times of Cosmic Covid Crisis!
All the best to you and your efficient Team!
Fr Michael Augustine SCJ
Eluru, Andhra Pradesh

Will read every page
Greetings. Thanks for sending me MAGNET, which I will read through page by page till I reach the end… Yours is a MAGNET that attracts! Yes, as much as you enjoy doing the work, I enjoy reading it and appreciate your labour of love. CONGRATULATIONS to the new Editorial Board.
Most Rev Lumen Monteiro CSC
Bishop of Agartala, Tripura

Detailed Feedback
You have kept up the quality, content, clarity, relevance, and got excellent writers on most relevant topics. “New Tax Laws” by Fr Trevor D’Souza is significant, useful and practical. Looking forward to reading more of his articles. “Water, The Source of Life!” by Sr Theresa Phawa: Excellent article with practical suggestions. “In these Dark, Dreary Days” by Fr M A Joe Antony SJ: In few words he has given the readers much to think about. The article is thought-provoking, moving, informative and challenging. “From Religious Brother to Husband and Father” by Louis Lopez: Every way of life has its own beauty and challenges. No one can have everything. One has to sacrifice the personal freedom and space in married life in order to gain something else. In religious life one has to sacrifice the companionship, intimacy, family….  to be totally free for serving the humanity. “A Tribute to Mothers” is another touching article about an extraordinary woman, though Bro Carmel has referred to her as an ordinary woman. I am inspired by what the writer has mentioned at the end: “At this point you might have learnt………about your mother? “Service Before Self”: After reading this, I am more convinced of one thing: My life is worthwhile if it is lived for others.
I see some of our young sisters who are ever ready to get the provision from the shops, pack it and keep it ready. When the officials or the police call and say that there are some needy people waiting for food, within no time they reach it there, though there are more than fifty cases of infection just in our neighbourhood. No complaints, no grumbling, no second thought……only compassion. In this crisis situation, then best of ourselves should be gifted to the suffering humanity.
You have done the wonderful work of encouraging the religious to reach out to the needy, motivating them, appreciating them and acknowledging their service and contribution  …. Thanks for being the link between all the people of good will, moving all of us to do even more. May we all consider ourselves generous only when we can say, “Less is left for us” and not in terms of how much we have given. We feel the unity, strength and family spirit among the religious as well as others.
“Commissions at different levels” also is a relevant and useful article. “Devotion to Mary”; I enjoyed reading this article. It gives much clarity about the way we honour Mary.  “Aging gracefully” is another good article. I find “Dualism’s influence on Spirituality” a bit heavy. I enjoy reading Fr Jose Parappully’s writings, but I found this one too theoretical. It may be my difficulty. Hopefully the next one will have more examples and practical suggestions. The topic is interesting, so I will read it again.“Missing the Sacraments and finding new ways”: An eye-opener for those who fulfil the ‘obligation’ by attending the daily mass. We are challenged to find the God within during these lock down days. “Heroic sisters of 1918” and “Covid-9: A Realistic Look” are the other inspiring articles. They are very informative and also stir our conscience, inspire us to go out of ourselves to reach out to the needy.
Overall, it is a fantastic work. I remember the fruit salad you promised when you started MAGNET and it is really nourishing the readers. Hearty Congratulations!
Sr Marina SU
Rathnagiri, Maharashtra


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Editorial

NO GOING BACK TO “BUSINESS AS USUAL”

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Are you waiting to get back to your “normal” life?

Was it a good life to get back to?

Will the world be a good place for most people if it were to go back to how it was a few months ago?

Mayors of forty major cities of the world discussed this. They said we should not go back to “business as usual.” Why? See our Cover story.

Many things need to change.

It is not enough we and those dear to us do not die of COVID-19.

If all we do is to survive this pandemic, is that a great achievement?

Not only forty mayors.

Economists are asking what we really need to think about. They are asking themselves questions beyond economics.

Writing in The HIndu (May 6, 2020), Arun Maira, Former Member, Planning Commission, has this to say:

“Innovations are required at many levels to create a more resilient and just world…Changes will also be necessary in our life patterns, our work and consumption habits, and in our personal priorities.”

An unusual concept he mentions is “de-growth.” “A five-point ‘de-growth’ manifesto by 170 Dutch academics has gone viral … Goals for human progress must be reset. What should we aspire for? And how will we measure if we are getting there?”

“The redesign of economies, of businesses, and our lives, must begin with questions about purpose. What is the purpose of economic growth? What is the purpose of businesses and other institutions? What is the purpose of our lives? What needs, and whose needs, do institutions, and each of us, fulfil by our existence?”

Did you expect such questions from an economist?

The pandemic is making experts question their certainties.

What is progress? What is growth? Which countries are more “advanced”?

Coming to our work and mission, is a Catholic school a good school if its alumni are well-placed and earn well?

When things “go smoothly,” and today is very much like yesterday, and a set routine takes over, we seldom reflect deeply. We do not need strong inner resources or effective support systems to carry us through. Routine and common sense will do.

When emergencies or tragedies hit us, we are shaken. To survive and thrive, we need inner balance, a clearer vision, and genuine support systems. Or else, we will simply repeat platitudes—or blindly forward WhatsApp messages! –or drown.

No, this is an emergency. We need visionaries to see and lead. We need to get beyond pious platitudes. We need to think more clearly and more creatively. Love more deeply. Share more generously. Listen to the silent voices. Learn from the best among us.

See if this issue helps you with this.

And enrich us with your own ideas, too.


Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Cover Story

Heroic Sisters of 1918

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The New York Times celebrates the extraordinary service of Catholic Sisters during the terrible “Spanish Flu” of 1918.

On March 20, 2020, The New York Times published an article with this title: “We Should All Be More Like the Nuns of 1918.” The caption reads: “The sisters of Philadelphia were lifesavers during the Spanish flu epidemic. They are an inspiration today.”

What did Catholic nuns do in 1918 that inspires people even today?

The author, a writer and journalist called Kiley Bense, was researching her grandmother’s childhood in Philadelphia. Her grandmother, born in 1917, survived the “Spanish Flu,” the terrible pandemic which hit many countries between 1918 and 1920. It was far more devastating than the current COVID-19. It came towards the end of World War I, multiplying the suffering of people who had already suffered and lost much during the War. The number of victims was incredibly high: About fifty million deaths worldwide! To give you an idea of what that number means, it was thirty-four million more than those killed in World War I.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Cover Story

SERVICE BEFORE SELF, COMPASSION BEFORE COMFORT

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Inspiring Outreach during COVID-19 and the Lockdown

This is something human beings know almost instinctively: Hardships sort out the wheat from the chaff. When the going is easy, we will have many so-called “friends.” When the going is tough—poverty, illness, court cases, false accusations—we realize who really cares and stands by us.

I wrote to the Major Superiors of Religious of India to send us a short report on what their provinces or houses were doing for those affected by the present emergency. We received 713 reports in reply. I passed the summary on to Caritas, the funding arm of the CBCI, which was asked by the Prime Minister’s office what the Catholic church was doing.

I am more than edified by the reports.

Then I found that religious in India are doing more, far more, than what the short reports said.

That’s the way, Sisters, Brothers, Fathers! We, religious—and the Church in general—are at our best when the challenges are toughest and others dare not step in. The heroic nuns of Philadelphia (See Cover Story 3) are just one example of this.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Cover Story

COVID-19: A REALISTIC LOOK

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The numbers change every day. For every city, every state, every country, for the world. With the current levels of instant information—and some misinformation—any of us can access the latest figures, and do it any time of the day or night.

The medical facts are pretty well known. A virus, not bacterial. Hence, antibiotics will not work. No known vaccine or medicine as of today. The only way to be safe is prevention.

Hence the strict lockdown, the social distancing, the frequent hand-washing, the use of masks and gloves, and separate seating, plates and utensils even within religious communities. Hence the acceptance of isolating those with fever, cold and cough, and quarantine for those coming from elsewhere.

Some have said this is the worst pandemic in human history. It is not. Nor is the number of deaths from COVID-19 (hyphenated word) comparable to some of the far worse tragedies humanity has faced.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Moving to the margins

MARIA – A Tribute to Mothers

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She was seven years old when World War II was at its height. Her country was heavily bombarded because it was a British colony. Her town was in ruins. For that reason, she had very little schooling—at least she learnt how to read and write. She still remembers those days when the sirens used to announce the coming of an air raid, they would run down to a communal underground shelter. Some rich people had personal shelters dug underneath their houses. Maria’s family was poor. They couldn’t afford such luxury, so they had to contend with seeking refuge with hundreds of other people in a tunnel. Even though Maria still remembers the day of her First Holy Communion vividly, she cannot prove that she actually partook of that Sacrament because, that same day, one of her schoolmates-bullies “jokingly” took her Holy Communion certificate and threw it in a well. She was heartbroken!

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Brother Carmel Duca MC

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