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1. Church, for me, is…

a bunch of people in a circle and a priest officiating the Mass with the active participation of the members. This is my experience of having liturgy celebrations in the Medical Mission Sisters’ chapel in Fox Chase, Philadelphia. I came to know that most of the outsiders who joined the Sisters and Associates were Catholics who dropped out of their parishes. One couple told me it is the fifth church they visited and the only life-giving place they found! So, the idea of a church is not big buildings or a hierarchy who dominate a passive audience. People want participation, meaningful celebration and life-giving liturgies. We also conduct para- liturgies there when priests are not available and this proved to be equally meaningful to the participants.

Sr Celine Paramundayil MMS

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1. My Image of the Church:

The Church comes across as an institution whose hierarchy has been used to wielding power, and who now finds itself in disarray because its teachings and ‘way of being’ are predominantly being seen as antediluvian. The emerging understanding of its teachings and a new ‘way of being’ which is being encouraged by Pope Francis is being stymied, resulting in factionalism.  The laity stand on the sidelines, watching this imbroglio. This is hardly the Church of Christ.

There is another image of the anawim, which comes to mind. This is especially seen in the Church operating especially in the missions among the poor, the marginalised and the rejected. It is here that we get a glimpse of what the Church needs to be and what we in the city are being challenged to be like. We have seen some exemplary examples of witnessing during the pandemic, both in the city and the missions.

2. I see the church as…

• a worldly organization in which the quest for power and money dominates; an impractical and somewhat irrelevant organization from which people do not expect much; one of the several organizations conducting some religious functions and doing some social service; and also as an organization keen on promoting holiness (Christ-like life), with living examples of holiness among its members.

Conrad Saldanha

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Paul Albera was a vivacious boy in Don Bosco’s oratory (youth centre) in Turin, Italy. This is how, decades later, he would describe his time with Don Bosco: “We were caught up in a current of love. We felt loved as we had never been loved before.”

He went on to become a Salesian priest, and was the second successor of Don Bosco as the head of the Salesian order.

How did a man who had so many responsibilities and so much work, including providing for hundreds of boys, dealing church authorities and an anti-clerical government and other duties, communicate such strong love to so many under his care? How did Don Bosco manage this miracle?

He not only did this himself. He would insist that every Salesian institution should be a home, where the young and those who care for them felt at home. He wanted his institutions to be marked by the warmth of love, not by the coldness of rules.

Don Bosco built churches, schools and residences for boys. But what he built above all was a network of relationships marked by love. He was convinced of an idea that was ridiculed and rejected at the time—that the young would respond better to love than to punishments. Experience—as well as the joyful testimony of thousands of youngsters—proved him right.

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

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One day, on arriving at the main gate of Bellavista—one of the biggest and most dangerous prisons in Colombia—I was not allowed to go in and visit.  Nothing new. Sometimes it happened that there was a lockdown so that the authorities could perform a thorough search of the inmates’ cells. And so, that day, I ended up sharing a coffee at a roadside stall close to prison, with Carlos Arturo—another volunteer who used to give guitar lessons to the prisoners.

It was the first time Carlos Arturo and I spoke to each other. As soon as I opened my mouth (even though I speak perfect Spanish, my accent betrays me), he was curious to know where I came from and what I was doing in Bellavista. I used to get those questions quite often; so, I already had my answers prepared: “I come from Malta and I have no idea what I am doing in prison.”

He was the first person to understand me. He suggested I should read the play Los Arboles Mueren de Pie (Trees Die Standing Up) by Alejandro Casona.[1] He said that I will surely understand what I was doing in prison. After this short meeting, Carlos Arturo and I never crossed paths again. But, he left me the memory of a book that helped me discover why and what I did in prison—and subsequently in my daily contact with “the poor.”

[1] Casona was a very prolific Spanish poet and playwright (1903–1965) who left Spain after Franco’s rise to power and settled in Buenos Aires where he became an acclaimed writer and critic.

Bro Carmel Duca MC

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Storms in life are sure to come.  Tossed by the storms of life, when the heart longed for calm and a sure guide, I cried aloud to God. He answered me, saying, “I am with you always.” But how can I feel for sure His presence and friendship?

Years rolled by in anxiety and fear, but with constant prayer and search.  Slowly the grace of God enlightened me to know the secret of life in the words of Prophet Isaiah (30: 15), “In silence and in confidence shall be your strength.” I remember a beautiful quote from a book, Silence as Yoga by Swami Paramananda, in which it is said, “How sweet is the sound of silence! How tender is its touch! How fragrant is its breathing! How lovely is its form!”  But how am I to quieten my anxious mind to feel this silence?

Breath and God’s Presence

I have heard and read the benefits of breathing exercise to silence the restless mind. Here I remember a famous quote by Eckhart Tolle, “Being aware of your breath forces you into the present moment–the key to all inner transformation.  Whenever you are conscious of your breath, you are absolutely present. Conscious breathing stops your mind.” Yes, twenty-one years ago, I remember very vividly, while waiting in a hall for an annual day celebration to start, there was some time in which I became aware of my breathing and began to feel God’s very presence within me. The verse from the book of Job (33: 4) says, “The very breath of God is in you.” This strengthened my faith in God and His presence within me.

Sr Nambikai Kithari SAP

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Here is a Catholic doctor who has served the sick during three epidemics. He is not only a doctor, but also an ordained deacon serving the diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.

Dr Timothy P. Flanigan MD received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York and completed his residency and fellowship training in infectious diseases at University Hospital of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. He is now a member of the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals and Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is a fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America.

Remember reading about the deadly Ebola virus, believed to live in bats and wild animals? It was discovered way back in 1976. Since that time, the majority of cases and outbreaks of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have occurred in Africa. The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa began in a village in southeastern Guinea, spread to urban areas and across borders within weeks, and became a global epidemic within months.

Fr M A Joe Antony SJ

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The audit would have been just over and some of the Treasurers may be settling down in their normal work and some others may be trying to grapple with the unpleasant outcome and demands of the audit.  Perhaps the latter ones, especially those who are new to the field, may be at a loss too. Here are some guidelines for those in need.

1. Legal Compliances

In view of the statutory requirements of the Income Tax provisions, it is important that we pay attention to the following:

• For any donation to other trusts, ensure that the objects of both trusts match and that both are registered under 12AB.
• Ensure that there is no mutual donation between the two trusts.
• All donation receipts are to be accompanied with a letter of donation, and in case of corpus donation, with the explicit mention of the same.
• Avoid cash transactions as much as possible.
• Ensure that there is no cash donation receipt or payment beyond Rs 9,000.
• No cash donation of more than Rs 2,000 for 80G benefit.
• No cash expenditure of more than Rs 2,000 from FC funds.
• No FC funds to be transferred to anyone. Maintain the FC funds & FC accounts separately.
• Follow the TDS norms of deducting the required 1% or 2% (if a contractor’s single bill is of Rs 30,000 or more and multiple bills aggregating to Rs 1 lakhs) or 10% (to a professional’s bill(s) amounts to Rs 30,000 or more) as the case may be and depositing the same in the Government account before the 7^th of the following month.

Fr Alex G SJ

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I am Sr Hanna, the Major Superior of a congregation. Our Constitution (typicon) very clearly prescribes a dress code for our members. However, Sr Sapphira, one of our members, is going around without following the given dress code. Even after repeated admonitions, she continues to do the same. How should I proceed further canonically in this situation?

The life consecrated to God through profession of the evangelical counsels is indeed a particular way of life. By the very fact of their consecration, they embrace a life-style which involves observance of certain constitutive elements of this way of life. It would imply that they should embrace obligations which are directly and indirectly connected to religious vows which they make through public profession. It includes a wide variety of obligations referenced in the teachings of the Church, Codes of canon law and in the Constitutions (typicon) of the particular Institute.

Canon 669 of CIC and Canon 540 of CCEO enumerate the obligation of the dress code for a Religious. Both these canons emphasize that as a sign of consecration and as witness to poverty.  Those who are consecrated to God through religious profession must wear the dress which their religious institute (constitution) prescribes for them.

Sr Navya Thattil OSF

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Shared stories are beacons of hope. The shared stories of people who struggled to get out of porn to grow towards purity help those who find themselves in the same struggle.

A few years back I read the book titled, Delivered: True Stories of Men and Women Who Turned from Porn to Purity. It was authored by Matt Fradd, a married man who struggled with pornography and masturbation. The book tells the stories of men and women who victoriously came out of their addiction to porn or masturbation. If you ever felt that you wavered between loving the prison of lust and longing to be freed from it, then know that you are not alone. All wear battle scars and some of us will admit that we have a long way to go.

The book begins with a metaphoric hint taken from the movie 127 hours, wherein Mr. Aron Ralston, a mountain climber on his hiking adventure gets his hand trapped on a boulder. He takes desperate measures to survive the situation and struggles for 127 hours before he is rescued. Thinking of his wife Jessica and the desire to live, he decides to amputate his arm with a dull pocketknife. Matt Fradd explains two reasons why he began the book with the story of Ralston. First, when it comes to the topic of pornography, countless vocations hang in a balance. Potential marriages have been lost and many lose sight of their religious calling because of the spiritual blindness brought on by pornography. Second, many people feel crushed under the weight of their addiction. Many have tried countless methods to free themselves all alone, only to find that their efforts are never enough.

Fr Aneesh Chacko SDB

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Well! Here we find ourselves a year and one half into the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.  We have been praying along with all in India and throughout Asia as the infections soared and then started coming back down. We are hopeful that this pandemic, which is reported to have infected over 200 million people worldwide and has resulted in four million deaths, will be brought under control.

As alarming and tragic as this pandemic has been, it actually pales in comparison to another epidemic that has raged unchecked in the world for decades and poses perhaps a greater threat to the future of our world over the long haul than COVID does.  The epidemic and threat that I refer to is that of pornography.

I have been extremely hesitant to raise such a topic in a publication whose primary audience is priests and religious. However, over the last couple of years I have been doing a lot of reading on the health of our Church.   We are currently witnessing continued erosion in family formation, with young people choosing to put off marriage and expressing reluctance to have children.  This is a foreboding prospect for the future of the Church.

It is incumbent upon us to recognize that one of the greatest and still growing threats to the family and family formation is pornography, which continues to fuel moral decline in our world.  We need to learn how to talk about it!  The future of our families depends on it!

KEVIN SULLIVAN

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