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One of the heartwarming films I could watch during these dull, dreary days of the lockdown is called A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. If it is just fiction, I can’t obviously be writing about it here in this column that focuses on real people who can be held up as candles that light up our way.

This film is based on the life and contribution of a real life hero – Fred McFeely Rogers. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister, but Americans see him as the creator of a television series that helped generations of American pre-school children come to grips with things that adults would not easily talk to them about—like divorce or death. He was the creator and host of the highly popular TV series called Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran for—believe it or not!—thirty-three years, from 1968 to 2001!

M A Joe Antony SJ

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Extra-ordinary Times

We are living in extra-ordinary times, with high uncertainty about the future. Anxiety and fear are mounting by the day. There is an increasing sense of helplessness, without much sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. Most spheres of life have been disturbed and affected. All plans, calculations, dreams, have gone topsy-turvy. The ongoing lockdowns have resulted in reduced business, job loss, dwindling  pay checks, migration of labour, fear of hunger, fear of death, growing incidence of depression and suicides, … a worrisome situation. No one knows when this pandemic and its collateral effects will end.

Fr Trevor D’Souza OFM

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The Surprise of a Jubilee Year:

Pope Francis is a man of surprises. On his election as Pope in 2013, he took the name of “Francis,’ a saint whose conversion was associated with listening to the words of the Crucified Lord in a country chapel on the outskirts of Assisi: “Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into ruin.” In 2015, Pope Francis published the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ which significantly carried the subtitle, “On Care for Our Common Home.” On 24 May 2020, on the fifth anniversary of the encyclical, Pope Francis went on to announce a Special Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year. He invited “all persons of good will” to celebrate the Special Anniversary Year running from 24 May of this year to 24 May of next year and “take care of our common home and our more fragile brothers and sisters.”

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Fr Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam SDB

An enthusiastic young Sister from the North East gives her frank and evidently intelligent answers to the questions MAGNET sent her. We are impressed by your religious convictions and your mature way of thinking, Madonna. May you do much good, and be a happy, loving woman of God.–Editor

I am Sr Madonna Shadap MSMHC.  Our congregation, the “Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians,” founded by Venerable Stephen Ferrando SDB on 24^th October 1942, with direct evangelization as our main charism, is the first indigenous Congregation in North East India.

1. Why are you a religious?

As far as I can trace my memory, I wanted to be a religious since my early childhood. In those days I aimed to be a religious because I wanted to be holy (as I thought religious sisters were the holiest people) by wearing the white and spotlessly clean habit. I also liked the different works they do, like touring the villages, visiting families, conducting youth centres for children, etc.

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Sr Madonna Shadap MSMHC

In the past issues, I have attempted to bring home the essential provisions of the Consumer Protection Act – 2019 (CPA-2019). In this issue, I sum up all that has been discussed so far on consumer laws. CPA-2019 was enacted to protect the rights of consumers in the modern consumeristic-competitive-market. A speedy and simple redressal mechanism, in addition to a convenient and inexpensive procedure for the redressal of their grievances, is the main feature of CPA-2019. Competent authorities, namely, Commissions and Councils, have already been established for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ disputes providing effective safeguards to consumers against various types of exploitation and unfair trade practices. CPA-2019 recognizes certain basic rights of consumers and enumerates them in section 2(9).

Consumers’ Rights

1. A consumer has a Right to Safety from marketing of goods and services hazardous to life and property. Unsafe goods and services may cause death or serious injury to the user. Therefore, the manufacturers and traders must ensure that the goods and services are safe for the users.

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Fr Ravi Sagar SJ

What is a document?

According to DK Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, a document is a piece of written or printed matter that provides a record or evidence of events, an agreement, ownership, identification, etc.  It is a way of providing a proof or evidence. The word “document” comes from the Latin word, documentum, which means “proof.” In our present context, documents also include information stored on electro-magnetic devices, such as, hard disks,  floppy disks, pen drives, cloud,  and  other digital formats and include documents filed electronically using digital signatures.
Documentary means “consisting of documents” (e.g., documentary evidence), providing a factual record or report.
Documentation is the accumulation, classification and dissemination of information relating to a process or event.

From Written to Electronic Documents

According to Indian Evidence Act 1872, a fact (word or action) must be authenticated by verifiable proof and evidence, preferably in written form.  With fast-moving times, the Information Technology Act 2000 brought sweeping changes to the understanding of the word “document” and the way business can be conducted.  ITA 2000 provides legal recognition to transactions carried out by means of electronic data interchange and promotes e-commerce, eliminating to a great extent the paper method of communication and storage of information. With this legal recognition was also granted to e-filing of documents, electronic form of book-keeping, transactions done in electronic mode, and digital signatures for accepting agreements and documents. However, some transactions must be done physically only, for example, attestation for giving power of attorney of property, contract of sale of immovable property, for making a will,  and for creating a trust.

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Fr Trevor D’Souza OFM

CRYSTAL

As a child growing up in the United States, my first understanding of the notion that we are personally and collectively responsible for the care of creation came when I was about six years old. At the time, it was not atypical to witness passengers in other cars throw out their trash as they drove along the highway. At the time, my understanding of “right from wrong” came from what I was taught by my parents. Shortly thereafter I started hearing them talk about the need to be respectful of our environment. What I later learned was that a campaign called “Keep America Beautiful” was founded in December 1953 by a group of nonprofit organizations, government agencies and concerned individuals in reaction to the growing problem of litter that followed the construction of the Interstate Highway System and an increasingly mobile and convenience-oriented American consumer. The original goal of the organization was to reduce litter through public education. In 1961, the idea that every individual must help protect against the effects litter has on the environment came up with the slogan “Every litter bit hurts.”  The effectiveness of the campaign can be seen today throughout the American landscape as miles and miles of roads are cleared of litter by volunteer groups who “adopt’ segments of the highway. Eventually, public education has changed this common practice of littering to something that is now socially unacceptable behavior. For me this highlights how effective it can be to tackle a widespread problem by calling on individuals to do their part to effect social change.

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Crystal and Kevin Sullivan

Bright and Dark Sides

Have you heard of Pappan Singh?

He is a mushroom farmer in Delhi’s Tigipur village. When the lockdown started, he did not send away his workers. He provided them food and accommodation.

He spent Rs 68,000 to buy air tickets to Patna for them, and gave each of them an additional Rs 3000. He completed all their medical formalities and drove them to the airport in his own car.

There is still humanity left—at least in some of us. Or, may be, in most of us, and it can be rekindled and fanned into a flame.

Someone else travelling to Bihar was not quite so lucky.

At Muzaffarpur station, a little child was trying to wake up his mother, who seemed to be fast asleep on the railway platform. The truth is: She was dead.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

Ashok and Reeta were facing a desperate situation. Their debts had mounted, and they did not see any way to repay them.  Anxiety was written on their faces. They had no savings, and now were faced with having no means to pay their debts.

“There are times,” Ashok told me, “When I have thought of suicide. But then, how could my wife and children face life?” And he burst into tears.

“May be God is sending us this trial to bring us closer to Him,” Reeta said. “He has more power than our problems. May be, we need to pray more, and get more strength from Him.”

They were in the habit of getting up at 4.30 to pray. Now they decided to get up at 3.30 and pray for an hour—to experience God’s protection and to find a solution to their problems.

Facing Desperation

Have you ever faced desperation—really frightening situations in which you felt powerless and no solutions came to your mind?

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Quaerens

Sr Alma, whose rich and varied experience includes  being a member of the general council of her international order, and being a much-esteemed spiritual director to a number of religious and priests, shares her frank and practical views on leading a happy life.–Editor

Sister Alma, you come across as a joyful, contented and positive woman. What is the secret of your joyful spirit?

Well, Father Joe, no big secret at all. It is a simple matter. Faith in God, relationship with him, prayer, personal spirituality, etc., have been priorities of my life. As a religious, my life’s focus is on the person of Jesus, his teachings, his way of life and mission. This relationship with Jesus and commitment to his cause are central in my life, giving it full meaning and deep satisfaction. This makes me happy, contented, and grateful to God and people.

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Sr Alma HCM