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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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In his book, Clowning in Rome, the famous priest-psychologist Henri Nouwen, author of about forty books on psycho-spiritual topics,  has this to say about the link between celibacy and poverty: “A rich celibate is like a fat sprinter—a contradiction in terms.”

Just as I cannot be fat and paunchy, and expect to be the fastest sprinter, I cannot be rich and claim to be celibate. I can be a rich bachelor or spinster—not a rich celibate. Why?

Jesus did not mention celibacy as a condition for discipleship. In fact, as we know, the one He chose to head his followers was a married man—Peter. Marriage was never mentioned in the New Testament as an obstacle for following Jesus. What was mentioned as the root of all evil—by Paul, in one of his letters to the early Christians—was love of money.

Jesus had said that we cannot serve God and mammon. We cannot be true followers of Jesus if love of money drives us.

The choice of a celibate way of life is not for teaching economics or mathematics, or for writing accounts for the provincial, or being principal or administrator. None of these jobs requires celibacy. If we are recruiting young people mostly or mainly to staff our institutions, and call it “vocation promotion,” it is a huge misnomer.

Joe Mannath SDB

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I had seen Ella a few times in the church on the back bench, but her disfigured face had made me to turn the other side and ignore her presence. This day our paths crossed each other and I was forced to get into a conversation. Ella said she had a desire to talk to a sister, yet her shame and fear kept her away. When I stopped to listen, she came out this most moving true story.

From Romance to Rejection

While she was still in high school, a young man belonging to another religion fell for her beauty, Her parents were against inter-religious marriage. Intoxicated with their youthful love, she left her home and settled in a distant land. After five years of life together, and with a little baby girl of four years, things started turning sour. One day, under suspicion that Ella flirts with other men, her husband pushed her on to the fire while she was cooking and left for better prospects with a woman he loved. A kind-hearted neighbour helped Ella to recover in the hospital. After a month, when she returned to her rented room, she had no idea of what had happened to her child. Her world had been shattered. Since she had cut off all her family ties, she could not think of returning to her native village with a disfigured face. So, to make ends meet, she took up washing dishes for families.

Sr Theresa Viegas PBVM

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Amendments regarding taxation of Charitable Trusts in Finance Bill 2022

Charitable Trusts enjoy exemption from income tax, since they play a vital role in enriching our cultural heritage and catering to the educational, medical, socio-economical and religious needs of the people. But, in the garb of charity, there have been instances where the Charitable Trusts have misused the tax benefits given to them.  Quite often it goes unnoticed too. To plug such loopholes, significant amendments were proposed in the previous budgets. The Finance Bill 2022 has made further proposals to rationalize the provisions related to the Charitable Trusts to bring uniformity, clarity on taxation in the specified circumstances and ensure their effective monitoring and implementation.

Presently, Charitable Trusts can claim exemption in respect of their income under two regimes:

1. a) Trusts registered under Section 10 (23C) (hereinafter referred to as the “first regime”); and
2. b) Trusts registered under Section 12AA/12AB (hereinafter referred to as the “second regime”).

Finance Bill 2022 proposes amendments under both regimes. Some amendments are made to bring constancy in the provisions of two regimes, while other amendments are made to clarify existing provisions. Such amendments are discussed in brief here below.

1. Bringing 10 (23C) on par with 12AB in terms of conditions

The Finance Bill 2022 has added various new conditions to organizations having approval under section 10(23C) (iv), (v), (vi) & (via) which effectively takes away all the advantages it had before. The new conditions applicable to section 10(23C) are:

Fr Alex G. SJ

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Speaking about what she likes best about the process of decision-making in her community, Sister Virginia said, “We place what is to be decided as an agenda for community meeting.  We give up our own ideas and accept what is good for the community.  Then we work towards the execution of the decision arrived at.”   Sr Lissy, belonging to another congregation, said, “What I like best is that we talk together on all topics related to our community living.  We generally decide everything together and people volunteer to do different things… Every Friday night we have adoration overnight when we each take an hour of prayer. I found it really helpful.  We also have weekly lectio divina.  We really try to care for one another. Being an international community, there’s much diversity in the way we do things, but everyone tries her best to learn to live well together.”

            Our communities are called to be synodal communities.  And an area that needs special attention for becoming a synodal community is to understand and take care of the way we arrive at decisions in a community.  Some superiors feel that, if they have to listen to everyone before making a decision, then their authority is weakened and their experience and expertise are not given due recognition.  Others feel that it requires too much time to listen to all, and so it is best to tell them what to do, rather than arrive at a decision together.   However, a synodal Church is a Church of participation and co-responsibility.  The Church requires that “Even if true and appropriate discernment is reserved to the most important decisions, the spirit of discernment ought to characterize every decision-making process that involves the community.”(CICLSAL, The Service of Authority and Obedience, 20e).

Fr Jose Kuttianimattathil SDB

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Carlos Welch, one of the founders of the Christian Counselling Centre, Vellore, and a counsellor who helped many, used to tell us, “Everybody needs counselling.” He also said, “As adults, we should stand on our own feet.”

I once asked him, “How do you put these two statements together?” They seemed to contradict each other.

His reply was simple and wise, “To be mature means to realize when you need help and seek it. There are times when the best thing we can do is to go to someone trustworthy and say, ‘I need help.’”

That is right. We all need help. No one is always strong.

Three Concentric Circles

Years ago, I saw the levels of our personality represented in a drawing. It was of three concentric circles.

Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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Here are some shocking statistics:

• In India, 21 people commit suicide out of every 100,000 persons.
• Suicide is the second highest cause of death in the 18-29 age group.
• An average of 370 to 380 persons commit suicide every day in India.
• Compared to other countries, the number of Indians affected by depression is high.

Here some statistics on suicides that should make us think—and act. (I am taking the following facts and figures from The Indian Express.) A report published in the Express on October 29, 2021 had this glaring title: 24.6 per cent of total suicides in 2020 by daily wage workers, NCRB data shows.

This report, written by Harikishan Sharma, sasys that the percentage of suicides by daily wage earners has doubled in seven years between 2014-2020.

Further, it gives these shocking figures:

“Amid the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the number of suicides in the country increased by 10 per cent to 1.53 lakh in 2020 from 1.39 lakh a year ago… Suicides by students registered the highest increase of 21.20 per cent, followed by professional/salaried persons – 16.50 per cent and daily wage earners – 15.67 per cent.

The NCRB report ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2020’ stated that suicides by students increased from 10,335 in 2019 to 14,825 in 2020 and their share in total suicides also went up from 7.4 per cent to 8.2 per cent during this period.”

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Allow me to use two quotes from my book, A Radical Love. They are words I heard from two knowledgeable and sincere “outsiders.”

One of the senior-most doctors at CMC Hospital, Vellore: “We would like to learn from Catholic priests and religious your dedication.” This experienced medical professional had come across extremely dedicated Catholic priests and religious.

An educated and very friendly Hindu lady, talking to Catholic friends: “I have come to know a number of Catholic priests and sisters rather well. I am not impressed by most. Before being members of special groups, you are human beings, like the rest of us, with all our weaknesses. If you have found ways of overcoming the human weaknesses we all face—greed, jealousy, anger, egoism—then, you have something to teach us. Otherwise, why should anyone come to you to learn?”

Joining a special group—a religious order, or the IAS, or an elite unit in the army, or a gym—is for a simple reason: to do more competently and more professionally what everyone is called to.

Speaking as an “insider” to other insiders, we will know our strengths and weaknesses even more clearly. We will be familiar with the saints, heroes, mediocrities and unsavoury characters among us.

All professional groups have heroes, mediocrities and utterly disappointing members. All groups officially claiming higher motivation and commitment to service have done inspiring, relevant, courageous service—and also disappointed.

When we discuss urgent priorities—whether in a family or one religious house or a whole religious order—opinions differ. That is why we have house assemblies, provincial chapters, general chapters, etc.—to listen to one another and to those for whom we work, to pray and discern God’s plans, and to choose the best options, rather than go for what is merely easy or the whim of a few.

Having met many religious of all ages and positions, and after listening to a good number in the intimacy of spiritual direction (where people reveal their deepest experiences and most painful problems, which do not come out in community discussions and WhatsApp messages), I see the following as our topmost priorities. I do not claim that this is the best list possible. It is more than likely that equally well-informed and sincere religious may tick off priorities differently.

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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Around 2003 Johnnie Walker produced a short video to promote their whisky. It showed a school of fish moving in the same direction. The fish took a human form, and while swimming close to the surface, they started jumping out of the water. It was then that one of them, coming closer to shore, put his feet on the seabed, stood erect out of the sea and started walking. The caption of the video then read, “Take the first step. Keep walking.”

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

I had just inserted the key in the office door when I heard the phone ringing. It was 8.30 am. Since Monday was my day off, on Tuesdays I am usually welcomed with a lot of small papers pushed underneath the door by the inmates. I thought it was too early for the phone; so I did not answer it. While I was collecting all these bits of papers and skimming through the various requests, the phone rang again. This time I answered.

“Carmel, you’re the one that I want.” I recognized Deputy White’s voice. “Can you come to my booth as soon as possible, please?”

I left the papers on the desk, made sure that the door was locked behind me and walked down the hallway. That morning, Deputy White was working in the school dorm called “5550.” I knocked on the door and he buzzed me in the deputies’ booth—a small dark elevated room with a panel full of buttons which controlled everything which happened in the dormitory from opening and closing doors to putting on and off the lights. The whole room was surrounded by a thick dark glass window, thus, the deputies had a 270º view ranging from the open bathroom and showers, to the sleeping bunks and the recreation area where the TV was.  The deputies always kept the lights of their booth off so that the inmates could not see through the windows.

Bro Carmel Duca MC

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