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Nowadays we find “Mission Statements” everywhere—on the walls of schools and universities, in hotel rooms, in hospital brochures.

The reason is rather simple: A group works with greater enthusiasm and unity if all are clear about, and committed to, a worthwhile mission.

What is your mission?

What is the mission of the group you are leading?

Are you helping the group to fulfil its mission?

Activities and Mission

If I am a Salesian, for instance, my mission is not running schools, or funding projects for street children or providing technical education to youth. These are activities, and can be expressions of a mission—of degraded to a business.

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

Fr Rappai invites us to move from just “reciting prayers” to a deeper link between work done with love and prayers coming from a grateful heart.

Besides the morning prayers and Eucharist, most Religious communities have a formal community prayer, normally towards the end of the day, expected to be joined by all. In male religious communities the practice is on the decline or abandoned. It may be worth reflecting why the community prayers in religious communities are declining.

Increasing workload, mobility, individual and institutional work schedules in communities with multi-apostolate responsibilities could explain why community prayers are half-hazardly attended. Another major cause could be the endless mass communication floating around us – printed, audio, audio-visual, social media etc…. that all of us (male religious more than female) use most of the day. Calamities, accidents, violence and negative news seem to be the staple of the print, electronic and social media. They linger in the mind, disturb our peace, sleep and tranquillity, for long. Reading, or listening attentively to lengthy prayers written by someone else, often routinized, becomes a drudgery.

Why Less Interest in Community Prayer

Is that the only, or even the main, reason?

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Fr Rappai Poothokaren SJ

What is our attitude towards the millions of children, women and men who have to flee their homeland because of violence, war and grinding poverty? Do we see them as our sisters and brothers, or as a threat or a burden—or do we simply ignore their desperate need?

On 7 January 2019, in his annual but defining address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Vatican, Pope Francis said, “Among the vulnerable of our time that the international community is called to defend are not only refugees but also migrants.  Once again, I appeal to governments to provide assistance to all those forced to emigrate on account of the scourge of poverty and various forms of violence and persecution, as well as natural catastrophes and climatic disturbances, and to facilitate measures aimed at permitting their social integration in the receiving countries.  Efforts also need to be made to prevent individuals from being constrained to abandon their families and countries, and to allow them to return safely and with full respect for their dignity and human rights.  All human beings long for a better and more prosperous life, and the challenge of migration cannot be met with a mindset of violence and indifference, nor by offering merely partial solutions.”

A day earlier, on 6 January, in a “heartfelt appeal” to European Leaders, Pope Francis in his Angelus message on the Feast of the Epiphany, urged them to show “concrete solidarity” and respond with compassion urgently to the plight of 49 migrants aboard two ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pope was speaking to over 60,000 people assembled in St Peter’s Square.

The Dutch-registered vessel ‘Sea-Watch 3,’ operated by a German humanitarian group, picked up thirty-two of the migrants off Libya on 22 December while ‘Sea-Eye’—a second ship run by a different German charity—rescued another seventeen people on 29 December. Most of them are literally stranded at sea for more than a fortnight.  Both Italy and Malta (countries with apparently Christian roots) have refused permission for the ships to land.

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The three most profitable “businesses” in the world are deeply damaging to human beings—sale of arms, sale of drugs and sale of human beings. From being the third most profitable, trafficking in humans has become the second most profitable industry, since (unlike drugs) a human being can be sold again and again. Think of girls promised jobs in our cities, then gang-raped and sold to brothels where they meet violence and degradation every day. Often they were led there by people they knew and trusted, including some family members.
A recent Vatican document addresses this issue.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), as we know, is an indirect tax levied both by the Central and State Governments. It is applicable for any activity of “sale” or “transfer” of a “taxable” supply of goods or services for a “consideration” in the course of “furthering one’s business.” It may sound that GST is applicable only to the business entities and not to the Charitable Trusts, but in reality it is not so. To understand this, we need to understand what each of the above terms means. By “sale” or “transfer” we mean not only the actual selling of any concrete object (goods) or service for a price (e.g., selling religious articles, books, milk from the farm, computer maintenance service, security service, etc.,) but also giving a building or ground or land or space on rent (e.g., giving a hall or playground or hoarding space on rent, giving a plot of land for lease rent, etc.).  By “taxable” we mean all those goods and services which are brought under the category of taxable items.

Note that there are quite many items that are not brought under GST.  They are tax-free.  At the same time, there are quite many items which are taxable under GST at the rate fixed by the Government as 6%, 12%, 18% or 28%.  By “consideration” we mean any benefit given against any payment (e.g., an advertised sponsorship for an event).  Here, the donor or sponsor gets the benefit of his name being advertised.

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Fr Alex Gnanapragasam SJ

CRYSTAL
Ever since I was a young girl, I have enjoyed reading stories about the saints. Each saint has such a unique story to tell of how their lives were shaped by their love for Christ. Recently, I read a biography of St. Catherine of Siena, and was captivated by the struggles she faced in being faithful to the Church amidst the wars, plagues and schisms which threatened the people of her land. It occurred to me that, although she lived more than six hundred years earlier, many of the difficulties she faced are just as prevalent today. I experienced a great desire to learn more about her life, so that I could benefit from her experiences. It has been recorded that St. Catherine received supernatural assistance in her spiritual life, and was even given the gift of hearing the voice of Jesus speaking to her of His immense love for all of His creatures and of His desire for her to act lovingly on His behalf.
One story struck me in particular. It occurred at a time relatively early in her life, yet Catherine had already had a number of experiences of ecstasy and therefore had a deep understanding of Jesus’ love for all persons. By this time, she was already well known for her generosity in giving the best of her family’s food and clothing to the poor, often needing to smuggle it away because of the resistance she received. One cold winter’s day, she was praying in church when she was approached by a scantily clothed man, who asked her for relief from the cold. Not wanting to force him to come home with her, she took off some of the clothes she was wearing and gave them to him. But they were not enough to keep him warm, so he followed her home where she was able to find a few more items for his comfort. Finally the man realized that she had nothing left to give and he thanked her for her charity.

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Crystal and Kevin Sullivan

We start a new column by Sister Marie Gabrielle Riopel, Canadian by birth, who has made India her home. What is the WWW? Not “World Wide Web,” but “We Women Will.” This column will highlight the difference that women make to their own lives and thereby teach all of us the art of living.  The first heroine of her column is a swimming instructor who became her friend.

I first met Suzanne in 1985. She was a Lifeguard and Red Cross swimming instructor.

I had always loved swimming, but knew the training required by Red Cross and the Federation for National Lifeguards was strenuous. I had also heard unpleasant stories from sisters who had done it before. But then, they had not been trained by Suzanne!

As soon as she set foot in our school, Suzanne became a hit! Her bubbly-bossy though respectful manners made us look forward to her classes, however hard or demanding they were! (Ever tried raising your hands holding bricks while being in deep water?)

In spite of Suzanne’s enthusiasm, after attending her classes for three years, we became a bit used to her ways. Gradually, our participation grew lukewarm. It was nothing dramatic, but Suzanne might have noticed it. She, however, never said a word about it.

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Sr Marie Gabrielle Riopel SCSM

Among the twenty-five seminars offered by National CRI between Jan 2018 and March 2019 are five one-week Seminars with the title, “Being a Superior Today: The Essentials.” We bring in competent resource persons, and look at the essential aspects of animation and administration which a religious superior should know. The anonymous written feedback after every seminar has been overwhelmingly positive.
One of the sessions I take in these seminars is “Tips for Superiors”—a sort of bird’s-eye-view of all that a superior needs to keep in mind today.
It may be useful—for present and future superiors, as well as others in leadership roles—to have a more detailed look at these tips. Let me start with the most basic—a clear vision.

Cases
Years ago, when a Salesian province in India published the ranks won by our pupils in every school, as well as the percentage of passes—showing a distinguished academic performance, one of our major superiors from Rome raised the question, “Is this your idea of a good Salesian school?” A very good question! If a school is concerned mostly about academic performance, it will be tempted to recruit cleverer students from better-off or well-educated families, rather than open its doors to the poor and to children of illiterate parents.
Whether a Catholic school or hospital caters more to the poor or to the rich, depends mostly on the vision of the founder and of the present superiors. The leaders need to be clear about this: What is the ideal institution we want to run?
The right vision is the issue here: What is a good Salesian school? The same goes for any Catholic school or any other work run by a religious order or diocese.
Right vision for an institution is like the roots for a tree. Roots are unseen, but they are more important than what is seen.

Another example:

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

“The internet is down! And I can’t update my Instagram account!!!” exclaims Sonia, exasperated with the lack of internet connectivity. Like Sonia, many youngsters and some adults consider social media apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, SnapChat or Hike to be an essential dimension of their lives.  Social Media has become a part of our world and is here to stay.

Rapid progress in communication technology in recent decades has enabled people to connect with many persons, cutting across geographical boundaries. It has helped businesses, services and institutions to expand their reach beyond local neighbourhoods and acquire a global clientele. Academicians and researchers are delighted with the extent of information available in a few keystrokes, while parents are content knowing that their children are just a mobile call or message away.

Parents and educators appreciate the benefits of the Internet, but they are alarmed at the flip side of social media…  cyber-bullying, hacking, porn or online challenges like the Blue Whale game. Modern communication technology is a double-edged sword, and we need to be informed about its impact on the different dimensions of our lives, and how to judiciously handle it.

Personal life:   Like a puppet on a string…

Today, many youngsters enjoy connecting with their peers and other persons through social media. They like the quasi-anonymous social interaction that it provides, and they feel it’s good for building up their confidence and self-esteem. Some of them, however, go to the extent where their moods and feelings depend on the likes, comments or reactions they receive. Instead of enjoying their unique daily experiences, they compulsively take photos and videos of mundane activities and post them for public consumption. Such over-dependence on social media can even cause personality and brain disorders (like self-centredness, narcissism, anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc.).

 Personal Data: Look at me!

Some people love to flaunt their status, their friendships, their achievements and their latest gadgets… together with their full name, address and contact numbers. They forget that they can fall prey to identity theft, misappropriation of personal data, access to their private images / videos and subsequent blackmail.  Besides, many popular apps keep track of personal information and store details of individuals without the user’s realising it. There is also no sure way of verifying if an attractive friendship request comes from a real person or a scammer operating a fake identity.

 Use of Time: Social media doesn’t obey the clock…

People like the fact that the Internet and social media help them communicate rapidly and get jobs done efficiently. Students justify prolonged use of social media saying it helps them in their studies (by facilitating group discussion/work, sharing resources). While it’s true that the Internet helps people save time and effort, it could also become a distraction, leading to decreased performance in school or at work. You say you’ll check your messages for just five minutes, but then you get carried away for 15, 30 or 50 minutes… and before you know it, you’ve lost time meant for study, work or an assignment. Tragic accidents have also happened because a person was busy on his mobile while walking on the street or crossing the road.

 Access to knowledge:  You get what you look for…

The Internet and social apps have facilitated access to knowledge and information. You don’t need to go to a library or borrow an encyclopaedia when you can find what you wish through an online search. Youngsters love media sharing apps through which they exchange videos, music and other content. But getting information so easily can have a detrimental effect on learning, thinking critically and creative expression. At the same time, if you aren’t careful, the ‘knowledge’ you acquire online may well be misleading, tendentious or fake altogether. People often furiously forward social media messages without verifying them, thus leading to the proliferation of fake news, rumours or vicious propaganda.

 Ethics: Living life my way…

Interaction with peer or support groups can often have a strong influence on the attitudes and behavioural choices of persons, for better or for worse. The Internet and social apps also facilitate easy and unbounded access to morally questionable content (violence, porn, depraved ideologies) and practices (sharing pirated software/media, revenge posts, sexting). For many youngsters, social media offers a place where they have no boundaries, and where they can ‘do things their way.’  This behaviour is ethically and practically harmful, because institutions and employers increasingly conduct social media profile checks on potential students and employees.

 Professional and Personal Relationships:  Friends galore, risks too…

Social apps can help people connect with others having similar interests, as well as join professional networks and find better jobs. At the same time, unbounded use of social media can become a distraction from work, or lead to breach of confidentiality and professional boundaries. Undiscriminating social media users can be at risk of getting involved with persons having ulterior motives, who use fake identities to engage in emotional manipulation, cyber bullying (online abuse, harassment, blackmail) or setting up a violent/exploitative physical encounter.

 Parent-Child relationships:  Near and yet so far…

Today many parents give their children mobiles and smartphones so that they can easily contact them or keep tabs on them. VoIP calling apps (Skype, WhatsApp, Hike) have become extremely popular with families whose members live far away for reasons of study or work.  However, the same devices which keep family members in touch with one another, can also be the cause of straining of relationships. It isn’t uncommon for family members to be together at home, with each person busy on his/her electronic device to the detriment of family bonding.

 Commerce: Making it work for you…

The Internet has facilitated low-cost communication and speedy financial transactions, which are a boon for business. Free and open-source software (like Android, Mozilla, Open Office, Google) bring the power of computing and the internet to the masses. Many start-ups and established enterprises use social media interactions, feedback and ratings to garner funds and boost their sales. However tech-savvy criminals can also use technology to hack into computers, steal bank card details or siphon business data. Unscrupulous persons and businesses use pirated software in a bid to cut costs, but ultimately end up being victims of malware, viruses and trojans.

Socio-Political issues:  Building or breaking society…

Social media has the power to reach out to the masses, to dispel prejudices, educate people about social issues, demand transparency and efficiency in governance, and influence important state decisions. Unfortunately, it is also being used to spread prejudice, hatred, discrimination and violence against particular individuals and groups. Social apps are employed to promote worthy causes, but can also be misused to gather support for anti-social, communal or extremist agenda.

Social Media popularity is not a passing fad; it is part of the new normal in our world. As such, instead of ignoring, vilifying or rejecting it, parents and young adults would do well to grow in awareness about its modalities, its benefits and undesirable consequences. Parents and educators also have the responsibility to educate the younger generation to the balanced use of social media, as well as verifying and monitoring its actual use by children. We need to learn to harness its capabilities to establish meaningful relationships, instil knowledge with values, encourage ethical business sense, and promote harmony in society.

Cleo Braganza is a Salesian priest engaged in parish ministry in Mumbai. He likes using modern technology for pastoral work.

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Fr Cleophas Braganza SDB

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If you just read a few paragraphs of the ‘Conclusions’ in  a particular report, you’ll readily agree with what the Guardian said in an editorial. It said what the report revealed was “the stuff of nightmares.” I am talking of the official report submitted in 2009 by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, appointed by the Irish government. The report, relying on the testimony of nearly 2,000 men and women who attended more than 200 Catholic schools in Ireland from the 1930s until the 1990s, established that thousands of children were subjected to severe physical, emotional and sexual abuse and deliberate neglect.

As a result, the Catholic Church in Ireland has lost thousands of members, and the respect and moral authority it once enjoyed.

This is why you are struck by the fact that there was a priest who discovered years ago that such abuse existed in Irish Catholic institutions and had the courage to publicly condemn it. He called these institutions a “national disgrace.” He blasted Ireland’s ‘reform schools’ as “a scandal, un-Christlike, and wrong.” If only the Church authorities had listened to this prophet, repented and acted to stop the abuse, how many innocent children could have been saved!

Today this prophet is a ‘Servant of God’ who is well on his way to being declared a saint by the Catholic Church. Fr Edward Joseph Flanagan was born in 1886 in Ireland in a hard-working farm family that was deeply religious. At the age of eighteen he emigrated to the U.S., along with his sister. He stayed with his mother’s relatives and studied at Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and then joined the seminary for the Archdiocese of New York. Unable to recover fully from pneumonia, he had to leave the seminary. He stayed with his brother, Patrick, who was a priest in Omaha, Nebraska, and his sister nursed him back to health.

When he recovered, he left for Rome and studied at the Gregorian University. But the Roman winter made him sick again and he had to return to Omaha to rest. When he regained his health he went to Innsbruck, Austria, to complete his seminary studies and was ordained a priest there in 1912.  When he returned, he was made an assistant pastor in Omaha and he worked in a few parishes. Struck by the sufferings of various vulnerable groups, he assisted the elderly and homeless orphans and found them places to stay. The plight of homeless, delinquent boys distressed him and in 1917 Flanagan established a home for them near Omaha. He called it the Boys Town.

What attracted the nation’s and soon the world’s attention was the approach Flanagan introduced in dealing with the boys. He realized that almost all of them came from poor, broken families where they suffered abuse or neglect at that tender, critical age. He said, “There’s no such thing as a bad boy.” Realizing the irreparable harm done to boys by the severe punishment and abuse of the reform school model, he insisted on giving the boys care, concern and help and a good education. Soon the Boys Town had its own schools, post office, gymnasium and cottages and chapel. It had no fences to stop the boys from leaving. When asked why, he said, “I am not building a prison. This is a home. You do not wall in members of your own family.”

He prayed the Rosary every day and was the first to go the chapel every morning. Encouraging his wards to pray, he said, “Every boy should pray; how he prays is up to him.”

A film called Boys Town, based on the life of Fr Flanagan, starring Spencer Tracy, released in 1938, made Flanagan and his unique achievement known throughout the world and brought him many awards.  Invited to assess policies and programmes for children, he travelled to several countries, including Ireland.  Stung by his forthright and courageous criticism of what went on in Ireland’s reform schools, government authorities and religious leaders ostracized him and indirectly forced him to leave. But programmes and centres for children, based on his convictions, came up throughout the world.
In May 1948, while he was on a visit to Germany, Flanagan died of a heart attack. His body was brought to the U.S. and buried in Boys Town, Nebraska.  Today, Boys Town provides direct and indirect care to 1.4 million youth and families every year.

Fr. M A Joe Antony SJ, former editor of the New Leader and Jivan, is now a writer and retreat guide. He stays at St Joseph’s College, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, and can be contacted at majoeantony@gmail.com

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M A Joe Antony SJ

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