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On March 8^th we celebrate the International Women’s Day. I remember and admire two great women who influenced my life, they are my mother and sister, who tirelessly worked for the family and others. The way they utilize their potentials, balanced life style, generosity in sharing, love for the poor and needy etc. At times I question myself; as a religious, have I imbibed this goodness of my mother and sister in my life.

Celebrating women’s day is an opportunity for us to become aware of our worth as women. We, women are blessed with various gifts and talents, inner strength to face  challenges, emotional strength to cope with the worst situations at times. Having experienced this goodness in us, what makes us degrade ourselves in front of others?

In 1965, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Paul VI penned an address to women, summoning them to meet the challenges of the modern world: “The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of woman is being achieved in its fullness, the hour in which woman acquires in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved.” Yes, the hour has come indeed and the opportunities are knocking at our door, then why are we, women religious still in slumber? What is lacking in us? Why do we hesitate to stand on our own? I think we need to look back and examine our formation.

Sr Benny D’Cunha UFS

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“Women’s empowerment” has become a buzzword in social sciences. Empowerment means making someone  more capable of something. It means making a person capable socially, economically, intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, politically. It is the capacity building of  persons in the fields of science, arts, music, sports and games etc.

Women can truly experience empowerment when they have the liberty to communicate and convey their thoughts, ideas, and feelings freely. The most powerful decision-making authority lies with women when it comes to determining what is suitable or unsuitable for themselves. Women have suffered through the decades because they didn’t have any rights.  In earlier centuries, they were treated as almost non-existent. As times evolved, women started realizing their power. There on began the revolution for women empowerment.

Draupadi Murmu, the first Tribal female President of India,  First Citizen, a role model, is an empowered woman in India. We salute her  having achieved the highest honour of the most prestigious status in Indian political career from the most vulnerable section of  women in the Indian society. Republic Day Parade 2023  was unique in displaying the power of  women, “NAARI SHAKTI”   in the  fields of Indian Army, Navy, Defense and so on.

Fr Alexander Virsai Ekka SJ

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This Bill Poster on Menopause is an initiative taken by a young Catholic woman Dr Delony Manuvel to help millions of families journey through the phase of midlife and menopause with grace.  Midlife is a time to simplify your life and enjoy living. It is the time to let go off an over dominant ego and contemplate the deeper significance of human existence.

This issue of Magnet, in its cover story, creates a space for listening to men and women from three different spheres on their struggles and ways of coping with midlife challenges.  Cover Story 2 focuses on the beauty and agony of the midlife phase of Menopause that women wade through.  The struggles of the journey during this period increase as a result of various cultural and social perceptions that are not holistic and call for rethinking.

Cover Story 3 presents the challenges experienced by men from rural India which often leads to a crisis in their midlife. If not dealt with perceptively, these instances can lead to depression and identity crisis.

In Cover Story 4 Sr Elizabeth shares her story of having successfully lived through the struggles of midlife and is now journeying on with renewed courage and confidence. Through her sharing she intends to instill new hope in the lives of others.

Pushpa Joseph

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“For age is an opportunity no less

Than youth itself, though in another dress

And as the evening twilight fades away

The sky is filled with stars invisible by day.”

Through these lines Henry Wadsworth Longfellow conveys that ageing is inevitable and how preferable it is to cherish and take pride in the maturity that comes along with age. Aging is a natural and gradual process and yet the physical and mental deterioration associated with aging are dreaded and very few welcome this phase with grace. Ageism is a negative attitude that regards elderly individuals as non-contributing burdens on society.  Medical advancements and other healthcare improvements have escalated the human life expectancy in the last few decades. Increasing longevity is an achievement if and only “life” is added to these bonus years. Medical science being a male dominant profession for ages failed in understanding female biology. In a gradual and subtle manner, the earlier doctors, constructed certain myths that resonated with the existing idea of the inferiority of the female body and mind. The then socially rampant gender related partisanship reflected in the medical field as less referrals for further investigations in case of a woman patient. Even today very often a women’s illness is off handedly designated as psychologically or emotionally effectuated. Women’s pain and healthcare need an outsider’s authentication to be taken seriously.

Dr Delony Manuvel Ph.D.

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In contemporary rural India, men are faced with the following challenges in their midlife.

1. Generally some men are disturbed or embarrassed when a child or an adult calls them “uncle” and when children call them “Thatha” in regional languages (grandfather), especially when young girls call them “uncle”. In this sort of situation, men become conscious to present themselves young in their public appearance. Their physical image in public domain becomes a priority. At times they struggle to keep up their image. They begin to plunge into crisis at their middle age.
2. A man who once felt was independent, now may feel dependent on his children or who was more freely deciding for his children and his own life, now will have to consider his children before any decision is taken. He begins to feel that his freedom is shrinking.
3. In rural Indian context, many in their middle age get their children married and in some occasions the middle aged couples face the wrath of their son and daughter in-law, contrary to their expectations. Prevailing social stigma would not allow them to share with others about this ill treatment meted out to them, since it would bring down the reputation of the family.  Not knowing what to do, they inevitably face a crisis.
4. Bringing up children in the Indian context, with values that the parents adhere to, is a challenge, as children these days are drawn to a variety of habits which are contrary to the values of the parents.

John Don Bosco

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When I entered my forties, I encountered many pleasant and unpleasant experiences, painful and distressing, due to the loss of my beloved parents and very close relatives to physical illnesses. At the same time, there were new opportunities like being sent on a Mission overseas, chances for higher studies (Licentiate) in a foreign land, and so on that brought a new outlook and new awakening in my life. However, amidst my own distressing moments, I had to face many challenges in the ‘New Mission’; like learning a new (Spanish) language and adjusting to a lot of things, adapting a new culture, and facing different challenges in my Mission, along with additional uncertainties and anxieties that entered during the crisis and turmoil at the time—Pandemic that hit the world. Taking care of terminally ill patients caused in me the fear of death and the very thought of death made me fear even more. Even in my dreams this fear kept manifesting.

Despite having journeyed with such pleasant and unpleasant experiences in my life, I can confidently say that the past eight years are the best years in my life, where productivity and creativity have blossomed. Somewhere deep down, I felt the presence of the ‘divine energy’ calling me to rise above all these fears especially the fear of death and the pain of losing my parents, meaninglessness and the emptiness that I had faced within me. There came an awareness that ‘I am who I am’ and encountered God who resides in me. And I realize that I am more than my name, fame, beauty, status, role and so on. And there was a realization of the ‘True Self’ emerging in me. That was the time I began giving workshops for students, teachers and parents, and sessions for junior sisters, formators classes, and retreats for novices. This brought me a sense of inner joy, happiness and fulfillment which none can take away from me.

Sr Elizabeth Rani OP

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Pope Benedict’s demise marks a significant turn in the global history of the Catholic Church.   Some referred to the death as concluding an interesting era in the modern Church where two popes, vastly different, coexisted—one resigned and the other in power, one conservative and the other liberal—in the tiny confines of the Vatican.  The historical significance of this period is best portrayed through the film The Two Popes, a 2019 biographical drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles.  The film stars Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, respectively, and depicts the relationship between the two men as Benedict prepares to step down as Pope and the events leading up to the 2013 papal conclave, at which Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope.  The Two Popes isn’t just a history lesson about the power of diplomacy within a church; it is a thought-provoking display of mercy, acceptance, and friendship. Its deliberate portrayal of two men who couldn’t be more different, yet found a middle ground to help move the Church forward, is fascinating and heartfelt.  Throughout the film, they engage in private conversations in which they discuss their differing views on the Church and its future, but ultimately come to an understanding and a mutual respect for one another’s perspectives. The film emphasizes the importance of dialogue and understanding in resolving differences and finding common ground.  In real life too it was moving to see how Pope Francis showed respect and affection for his predecessor and how Pope Benedict gracefully inhabited the role of ‘emeritus.’

Pushpa Joseph

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

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

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

Pushpa Joseph

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

K. John Don Bosco

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Introduction

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

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

Fr V Joseph Xavier SJ

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