preview

The celebration of the feast of St Francis of Assisi on October 4th is relevant both to a person who likes to be deeply connected with the Divine and to a nation like India which claims to have a rich religious tradition. A life of simplicity, which emanated from embracing poverty, is one of the core teachings of St Francis. Since everyone needs to fall in love with the ‘poverty chosen’ (the poverty of spirit), and every religious community or nation needs to focus on the ‘poverty to be fought’ (unjust and imposed poverty), here we dwell on both these aspects. St Francis comments, “My dear and beloved Brother, the treasure of blessed poverty is so very precious and divine that we are not worthy to possess it in our vile bodies. For poverty is that heavenly virtue by which all earthly and transitory things are trodden under foot, and by which every obstacle is removed from the soul so that it may freely enter into union with the eternal Lord God.” In other words, God is in ‘online’ mode when our ‘inner system of being’ loves the ‘richness of the spirit of poverty’. Even though St Francis was born right into the lap of luxury, gradually he felt that there was something missing in his life. Therefore, slowly he moved away from the frivolity of mortal life and fun and joined the poor. History has witnessed a ‘spiritual revolution of detachment’ through the act of embracing poverty by St Francis. Embracing the spirit of poverty is the best way to be connected with the Divine and to initiate the steps to eradicate material poverty from the whole world, especially from our country.

Psychological Awakening

First and foremost, we are in need of a ‘psychological awakening’ to achieve the aforementioned two-fold goals – to embrace the spirit of poverty and to eradicate material poverty. Psychological awakening would mean to bring out and reframe some of our irrational beliefs in the unconscious mind regarding the phenomenon of poverty. Do we need to be ashamed of the poor people amidst us? Do we need to condemn material poverty? Unfortunately, the frames in our unconscious mind related to poverty are ugly! For a poor person, survival is a hard nut to crack. It is true that the poor people have scarcity of water to take daily bath, no nutritious food to look gorgeous, no chance to stay in a clean apartment with security measures, no money to buy suitable clothes according to the latest fashion trends or no money to splurge on shampoo, conditioners or skin creams. As a result, they can’t compete in looks with people who are well fed and well taken care of. Sometimes, even rich people hesitate to visit a slum, a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people, due to its pathetic conditions. Recently, a ‘covering up of the poor’ tendency is surging in our country, for, some feel that the looks or the smell of the poor is not up to the standards of the rich in the country. Vasant Vihar is a diplomatic and residential sub-division of the South West Delhi in National Capital Territory of Delhi. There is a slum in the heart of Vasanth Vihar, just a stone’s throw away from huge buildings. Recently, when Delhi hosted the G20 summit, the slum was covered with green netting on scaffolding. The Coolie Camp fell on the travel route of the G20 leaders. It is reported by many media personnel that those green curtains were part of the beautification project of the central government ahead of the G20 summit in September 2023. The poor or the poverty scene was covered with a green veil, upon which the posters of G20 and national leaders were hung. ‘Denial’ of the existence of the poor is a kind of defense mechanism. Something is true, yet the person continues to deny its existence or truth because it is too uncomfortable to face. ‘Denial strategy’ keeps us away from addressing a problem or making the needed change. To eradicate poverty, we need to ‘reframe the ugly frame of the poor in the unconscious’ into a ‘beautiful frame.’ Acceptance of a reality is the beginning of a positive change. Let us accept the ‘beautiful poverty’, which many ‘gurus’ accept voluntarily, with the conscious and unconscious mind.

Fr Dr Binny Mary Das

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

The National CRI team visited Manipur from August 22 to 28, 2023.
The Team members: Sr. Elsa Muttathu PBVM, (National Secretary); Sr. Mary Scaria SCJM, Sr. Subeshna SJC, Br. Sunil Britto CFC. The Archdiocese of Imphal facilitated the visit.
The purpose of the visit was to show support and solidarity to those affected by violence, understand their needs, and meet with members of religious communities who have endured pain and hardship and still continue to serve the affected people in the region. The National CRI team dedicated time to listen to their stories and share in their emotional pain. They visited some affected districts, parishes that were destroyed, various Kuki camps, two Meitei camps, and religious communities. They had the opportunity to witness the dire situation firsthand as they toured approximately nine different camps. What they found was a reality that is both heart-wrenching and alarming.
The Camps
The conditions in the Kuki camps for displaced individuals are deeply concerning, with over 200 people crammed into limited spaces and minimal privacy. The severe shortage of basic amenities like toilets is causing sanitation and dignity issues, leaving emotional scars on the inhabitants. Children are growing up in these harsh and uncertain conditions. Women have endured miscarriages because they had to walk and run long distances through the forest to reach safety.

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

Did you read about the historic event that took place in a village called Markowa in Poland on 10 September 2023? For the first time in the history of the Catholic Church an entire family of nine was beatified on that day – the husband, the wife and their seven children. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, presided over the beatification Mass.

Józef Ulma, the head of the family, was born in 1900 in Markowa. As a teenager, he was active in the Catholic Youth Association. In 1935 Józef married Wiktoria Niemczak who was also from Markowa. She was a talented amateur actress.  During their nine years of marriage, the couple had six children. Józef loved to take pictures of his wife and children and the photographs show the deep emotional bonds among the members of the family.

The Ulmas were deeply religious and were active members of their parish. Their family Bible had two verses underlined. The first one was “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” (Matthew 6:32). Then you see the title of chapter 10 of the Gospel of Luke underlined in red:“The Good Samaritan.” And next to it is a note with a single word: “Yes.”

M.A. Joe Antony, SJ

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

As I have moved well into my sunset years, there are not many people left, great leaders who I still admire. But my long lasting admiration of Mahatma Gandhi made me, the other day, once again access the internet and search for little vignettes and incidents from his life, which make him seem not only a great leader who led the country into freedom but also one who was simple to the core, truthful to the end, a great agent of reconciliation, but also a fighter against injustice, who lived and worked in solidarity with common people and had a puckish sense of humour.

It is these few incidents in his life that I want to share in this article selected from the book: “Everyone’s Gandhi.”

All For A Stone

Many people know that instead of soap, Gandhiji used a stone to scrub himself. Very few people, however, know how precious this stone, given by Miraben, was to Gandhiji.
This happened during the Noakhali march, when Gandhiji and others halted at a village called Narayanpur. During the march, the responsibility of looking after this particular stone, along with other things, lay with Manuben. Unfortunately, though, she forgot the stone at the last halting place.
“I want you to go back and look for the stone,” said Bapu. “Only then will you not forget it the next time.” “May I take a volunteer with me?” she hesitantly asked.  “Why” he asked.”
Poor Manu did not have the courage to say that the way back lay through forests of coconut and supari, (betel nut) so dense that a stranger might easily lose his way. Moreover, it was the time of riots. How could she go back alone?

Janina Gomes

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

5th September is Teachers’ Day in India. All of us joyfully and gratefully remember our own teachers and other teachers all over our country. From an early age, we are drawn to or influenced by various teachers at home or at school. There are many kinds of teachers – some are truly dedicated to their students, while others just wait for the salary, some for the tuition at home, and others for the students in and outside the campus. Amid these differences, there are teachers who inspire us to discover our true selves. This day transforms into more than just Teachers’ Day; it becomes a Teach Us Day, reminding us of those who guide us towards self-discovery.

Learning is crucial for intelligence and intellect to flourish. It is a symbiotic process – one entity learns while another imparts knowledge. Our entire upbringing is based on the mutual relationship between learning and teaching, a fundamental part of our daily lives.  In Sanskrit, the term for teacher is guru, where “gu” signifies “one who dispels” and “ru” means darkness. A teacher, therefore, guides us out of ignorance into light. To evolve beyond our inherent limitations, a teacher is essential. As September arrives, students gear up to honor and express gratitude to their teachers, marking the cherished occasion of Teachers’ Day.

Richard Mascarenhas SJ

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

“This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.” These divine words resonate with the purpose of revealing the significance of Jesus in our lives. They embody encouragement, acceptance, and the path to personal growth, making a difference in our world.  Listening plays an important role in learning and it is one of the skills in counselling.  I remember my professor saying, ‘Be attentive in my class.  If you listen well, you need not strain much’. Indeed, active listening is the ability to receive, interpret and integrate messages in our day-to-day living.

However, the art of listening demands deliberate effort, time, energy, and patience. It is a conscious act that I’ve personally harnessed to foster self-awareness. As a formator, listening attentively to the challenges and struggles of my charges, I’ve discovered that when parallels exist between their experiences and mine, a process of purification unfolds, guiding me toward improved self management. Hence, through effective listening to others we learn to balance ourselves.

St. James, in his epistle, implores us to ‘be quick to listen,’ urging us to employ our senses in understanding our surroundings. He adds ‘be slow to speak,’ highlighting the value of interpreting what we’ve absorbed. This art of effective listening is also essential for developing relationships serving as a catalyst for problem resolution.  In essence, the heavenly injunction to listen to the Son, combined with the virtues of active listening, encapsulates the profound connection between understanding, personal growth, and harmonious interactions.

Reflecting upon this theme, I sense the necessity for three distinct modes of listening to infuse purpose into my existence.

Sr Benny D’Cunha UFS

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

On 9^th August (2023) night, a class 12 Schedule Caste student Chinnadurai, and his 13-year-old sister Chandraselvi were attacked with sickles inside their home at Nanguneri, Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district by three of Chhinnadurai’s schoolmates, hours after complaining to the headmaster against them. The victims are students of a government-aided school in Valliyoor. Chinnadurai was subjected to casteist harassment at school by the other students of class 11 and 12. He was asked to buy cigarettes and snacks by them and was also regularly bullied. Chinnadurai complained of harassment to his parents and had refused to attend school for a week before he was attacked. His mother Ambikapathi took him to school and informed his teacher about what had happened.

The teacher then called the harassers and warned them saying that action would be taken against them if they continued this behaviour. After the class hours on 9^th August, the angered harassers confronted Chinnadurai on his way back home and warned him of dire consequences for complaining to the headmaster. Around 10.30 pm on the same day, the three dominant caste students barged into the victim’s home and started attacking him with sickles. Hearing the mayhem, Chandraselvi who went to protect her brother, too, was hacked by them. When some neighbours rushed to their house on hearing their cry for help, the attackers fled the spot. The siblings were rushed to the Nanguneri government hospital with bleeding injuries and later to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.

Not an isolated event. Incidents such as this not only make us raise our eyebrows but it also spurs us to question our education system. In the first page of every Tamil Nadu school text book, the following dictum is printed: “Untouchability is a Sin; Untouchability is a Crime; Untouchability is Inhuman.” Although we learned this maxim by heart over the years, we have failed to understand the meaning of it let alone practising it. Since we have got used to this axiom for several years, it has become a cliché – a part of our mind yet failed to touch our hearts. The Nanguneri issue is one tangible sign – albeit not an isolated one – of our failure to imbibe this great truth.

Fr Arnald Mahesh SDB

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

The art of listening and learning makes a great teacher. However, all types of listening and learning may not make the best teacher. A genuine teacher chooses the content of listening and learning that holds on to universal moral principles. If not, a ‘fake teacher’ with unauthentic values may be created. In other words, all cannot become teachers, since teaching is the sacred responsibility of handing over the insights of sacred listening and learning. Then, the question arises, ‘can a person who wants to highlight his or her own selfish and relative ideologies (like a corrupt politician or a religious fundamentalist) become a teacher’? No. Even though many claim to teach or instruct others, all are not teachers since they may not desire the common good of the society based on the values of humanity.

A genuine teacher not only does ‘verbal teaching’ but also ‘lives out one’s teaching’. We are familiar with the dictum, “an ounce of practice is worth more than tonnes of preaching.” One of the best examples of those who practiced their teaching is Jesus Himself. He ‘listened and learned’ from the Father and demonstrated his ‘love teaching’ on the cross, giving his own life. Therefore, the art of listening and learning from the ‘Teacher LOVE’ is essential to become a genuine teacher in the present times. One of the narratives in the New Testament that highlights the importance of ‘listening and learning’ is the passage about ‘Bethany School’ (cf. Luke 10:38-42), a School that was not affected by the ‘virus of fake propaganda’. What do we mean by ‘Bethany School’ here? Bethany is recorded in the New Testament as a small village in Judaea. It is in Bethany that the house of the siblings Mary, Martha and Lazarus was situated. Symbolically, if we consider the house of Bethany as a School – Jesus as teacher, Mary and Martha as students – what are the insights we get? Since everyone, in one way or the other, teaches the other, the insights from the ‘Bethany School’ would give birth in us a genuine teacher. The lessons we learn are clearer from the expansion of the seven alphabets of the name ‘BETHANY’.

Fr Dr Binny Marydas

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।

गुरुः साक्षात् परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नमः ॥

(Gururbrahmā gururviṣṇuḥ gururdevo maheśvaraḥ

Guruḥ sākṣāt paraṃ-brahma tasmai śrī guruve namaḥ)

Indian philosophy teaches us that a teacher is in the place of God. This shloka from the Skanda Purana can be translated as follows: “The teacher is God; the teacher is self-revealing ever-consciousness. May that teacher be praised!” Our Lord Jesus was called ‘teacher’. His teachings weren’t mere facts and logic, but faith and liberation. But as He described, “A prophet is not without respect except in his own hometown and among his own people” (Mk 6:4), he was crucified. The teacher is that new-age prophet who enlightens minds so that they shine in the world and dispel the darkness around; the darkness of ignorance and malice. Many prophetic men and women are subject to criticism and others to persecution and condemnation.

There are plenty of images that we have heard about teachers: a fire that kindles other fires, a candle that consumes itself in order to dispel darkness, etc. However, what is the use if all this is just ‘thinking’ and not ‘acting? If there is a dichotomy in our words and deeds, then we are nothing but a noisy gong. We need to ponder whether we require teachers like Dronacharya of the Mahabharata, who refused Ekalavya as a student only because of his caste, or teachers like Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha who went against the stereotypical thinking existing in their respective times in order to cleanse society of evil.

Sch. Denver A. Pushpam, SJ

To read the entire article, click Subscribe

Around 32 years ago, I had a memorable encounter outside my village office cum residence. A local street cleaner, slightly drunk, posed a thought-provoking question: “Is a 5-paise pottu (forehead sticker) more valuable or a 50 rupee chappal (footwear)?” Intrigued, I admitted my ignorance. He shared his perspective, playfully teasing me for while inferring that I might be educated, but he, a drunkard, had the answer. “Though the pottu costs just 5 paise, we place it on our foreheads. On the other hand, even though the chappal costs 50 rupees, we wear it beneath our feet.”  This incident deeply impacted me, unveiling a deeper understanding of our cultural values. As a social worker in villages, I initially thought that I had much to teach. However, I learned countless human values by listening to and acknowledging the wisdom of ordinary people. One close friend, who never attended school, left me with a valuable lesson. During one of our exchanges in Tamil, he said, Maathi yosi (think differently) urging me to break free from conventional methods and biased mental frameworks for seeking solutions. This insight, stemming from an unassuming individual, has become a wellspring of wisdom. Our mutual learning continues, as he values my teachings while I find his perspective on intricate issues remarkably astute.

Learning – a mutual process

In rural areas, various individuals, from social workers and educators to religious figures and community leaders, are often seen as teachers. On the other hand, ordinary people like farmers, laborers, children, and youth are typically cast as learners. However, assuming exclusive teaching rights and expecting unquestioning agreement can lead to conflicts and strained relationships. While those striving for rural development have valuable qualities and resources, the people they aim to assist also possess intentions, insights, and resources of their own. For effective and comprehensive rural development, it is crucial to establish a harmonious synergy between these two groups. This involves recognizing the dual roles of both teacher and student, embracing a continuous process of mutual learning and growth. Successful outcomes in our development mission stem from respecting the contributions and capabilities of all stakeholders involved.

To read the entire article, click Subscribe