Yesterday we had our monthly recollection and the preacher, Fr S. Prathap from Vizianagaram, spoke about the crazy shepherd from the Gospel (within the Gospel) of Luke who abandons the 99 in search of the one lost and gone astray. Naturally the question, what about the 99 who are left behind to fend for themselves? What if they get lost, by the time the shepherd finds the one lost and returns to the spot?
However, I had something else ringing in my mind. What if the 99 - that may sound too much, but, what if most - had got lost; not just one, but many? How on earth would the shepherd go after them? Which direction would he first decide to go in?
Perhaps the theme of the parable is something else altogether. It may mean that it is to be read from God's perspective and not from the sheep's... may be! Perhaps God means to say that no is written off.
It is said that people who care, do not write off others, rather they focus greater on them. Now in a formation setting like ours, we claim that we are a family. Then why is it that we sometimes write off some Brothers? From the other perspective, perhaps not all are called to be Brothers at all! May be that they are not meant to be leaders or pastors, may be anything else but leaders!
So then the question, how to help such youngsters, who find themselves or pitch their tent in the Seminary, realize that they are out of place, without breaking them? How to break his bubble of illusion or fantasy of Priesthood and Leadership, and not his whole life?
That's the challenge of being a formator!
However, I had something else ringing in my mind. What if the 99 - that may sound too much, but, what if most - had got lost; not just one, but many? How on earth would the shepherd go after them? Which direction would he first decide to go in?
Perhaps the theme of the parable is something else altogether. It may mean that it is to be read from God's perspective and not from the sheep's... may be! Perhaps God means to say that no is written off.
It is said that people who care, do not write off others, rather they focus greater on them. Now in a formation setting like ours, we claim that we are a family. Then why is it that we sometimes write off some Brothers? From the other perspective, perhaps not all are called to be Brothers at all! May be that they are not meant to be leaders or pastors, may be anything else but leaders!
So then the question, how to help such youngsters, who find themselves or pitch their tent in the Seminary, realize that they are out of place, without breaking them? How to break his bubble of illusion or fantasy of Priesthood and Leadership, and not his whole life?
That's the challenge of being a formator!
Happened to connect to this post from somewhere else in the blog. And I remembered the explanation of this parable from the book, The Kingdom within: ..
ReplyDeleteIt is a very interesting and meaningful explanation. For oneself and for a meaningful approach to formation.