God for Priesthood or vice-versa

Discussing in the Theodicy class this day about the goodness of God, I began clarifying the term 'good'. Using the definition given by Aristotle of good, as that which is desireable, I raised the objection: If God is not desired by anyone, will His goodness reduce? Explaining the arguments of Thomas Aquinas, I clarified the meaning of God being good and we being good, to arrive at God as the summum bonum, the best of the best! I concluded the class with this argument: Is God desired for Himself or as a means? Now this is possible only when God is seen as good. To the extent that we see God as good, to that extent we desire and crave for Him. If not He is one among the list of things we desire. My final question to the Brothers was maybe a bit too blunt but I made my point: Do you desire God as a means for Priesthood or Priesthood as a means for God?

Of factories and corporates!

Here's something that I began the day with... while correcting the class test papers:

Will and intellect are factories of the human person. (faculties)

Life from the spices!

Ever heard of life evolving from the spices... well I did while correcting the Anthropology class test today. Found the following statement in one of the papers answering a question related to the origin of life...

Life evolved from the spices... (species)

If I fall in love with a girl...

The following is the answer (verbatim) of one of my students - a Seminarian, studying in the second year of his course in Philosophy, unfortunately - to the question, "As a Seminarian, what would you do if you fall in love with a girl? Why?"

Suppose I have fallen love with girl as a seminarian, first and formost, I will enjoy with love. Then I will reflect and think, for valid reason. Is it good for me as a seminarian? What am I doing is correct? After reflecting if it is good to me, I will continue the love with that girl. If it is not good, I will give suggestion to her to choose one more and then I say that I am not correct suitable for you. Then, I say that we are not to be lovers, but as friends we continues. If she agrees I am so happy, if she does not, I will share with rector that depends up on the rector's decission.

The class I earlier took dealt with human sexuality and the need to have a balanced outlook to life and attitudes, especially as normal human beings who have made a choice for a particular way of life. If this were to be just one of its kind, I would not have really been perturbed but this is the general attitude among the students. They really do not see any discrepancy, whatsoever, in living on both the sides of the fence... comfortably! I'm sure it has much to do with the general trend in the Church today, where Priests (and even Bishops) are rightly accused of loose morality.

That every person however saintly he or she is, has issues to deal with is not surprising; but the inability to see what is evidently wrong and not recognise and acknowledge it in any way atleast as something odd, is alarming.

Inappropriate titles

Here are a couple of most inappropriate titles...

• Civil servants

It stands for a person in the public sector employed for a government department or agency (Wikipedia). He is supposed to be the facilitator between the government machinery and the common man. However experience mostly proves otherwise. Most often these people are neither civil nor servants!

• Spontaneous groups

Groups that emerge or are formed as per the requirements and mood of the present time. But here in the seminary, they are groups that have been from ... eternity!

Divine Providence

Being the administrator in times when the financial resources are bleak is quite a challenge. But I now see that it is also the time to tangibly feel the generous and perennial assistance of Divine Providence. Take for example, we exhausted our stock of rice and that too at a time when there is hardly enough to meet the regular expenses. Right in the midst of this comes the offer of a good quality rice for a much cheaper price. What we used to purchase for Rs 650/- per bag is now available (though not the same quality) for just Rs 450/-. Ordering for a 100 bags, I save (or gain) Rs 20,000/- ... that' s quite a 'profit margin', given the circumstances or even otherwise!

God, as one among other desires

In my Theodicy class the other day, we were discussing the attribute of 'goodness' in reference to God. Starting with the general understanding of the word 'good' we arrived at Aristotle's definition of 'good' as something desirable. The natural question then: If I do not 'desire' God, does He become less good? Just to provoke introspection and reflection I asked the Brothers if they all could truly and sincerely say that they 'desire' God and God alone or at least, desire God above all else. Most of them did not raise their hands. A few did and after a bit of prodding, they accepted that there were too many 'ifs and buts' to confirmedly state that they 'desired' God above all else. A few, however were adamant that other desires led them to God... and of course, their reasons were nothing short of a sunday sermon!

Being passionate for God and Him alone is quite a difficult task. It does not happen all of itself. For me, frankly speaking, God is one among the other things that I desire... certainly not the top priority, nor the only desire... unfortunate but true. This is possible only when I'm willing to enter into a personal relationship with God and subsequently have an experience of Him. Mere resolutions and pietistic feelings will not really help.

Something light

Here are some one liners in the past week that kept us amused for quite sometime...

At the end of the morning prayers, just before the intercessions:

"Please join for the second part of the introduction..." what he really meant was intercession.

During a play:

Till the end of my death, I'll be faithful to you!

During a talk by a Priest with a slight accent:

The trainer asked the woodcutter who complained to him that he was unable to cut trees like before, "Did you sharpen your arse?" (axe)

Give God to ...

The other day Fr KT's sermon was quite revealing... that is only to those who really understood or took pains to see the connection he was subtly making. His main point was that there is a grave danger in giving food to those who are not hungry. To the one who is hungry any food would do. The hungry man is not going to throw a tantrum about the variety of food or anything of that sort. His only and only need is to satisfy his hunger. (Of course, that does not mean you give him thrash.)

On the other hand, giving food to one who is not hungry will incur his wrath and ensure a string of complaints and grumblings. The need is not what you provide but something else. Therefore what you now provide will always have something or the other deficient.

The same applies to human quest for God... and for that matter anything in life. Only those who are tuned in to that direction will progress, others keep wandering and never reach anywhere. (Now that is not a real problem, wandering about, but when they start blaming everyone and everything around them for their present state or keep grumbling, then it surely is something that I personally do not approve of.)

At Santhapur

The adventure we had yesterday in Santhapur with our car stuck in the slush, was something wonderful. The anxiety of not making it in time for the airport so that Willy and family could take off to Mangalore added the extra flavour to the already tense moment. However here are few insights into the whole episode:

• Thanks to those who came forward to help... in spite of the slush and dirt and all that. They were generous with their time and energy. No counting the cost. Just genuine assistance knowing that we were in a hurry and total strangers with no clue as to how to get out of the mess.
• Thanks once again to their skill and expertise, especially their physical strength. I could not lift or push the car an inch. They did it all with ease!
• In the initial moments, suggestions, recommendations, opinions, blame-game, alternatives to what should have been done, 'I told you before itself', ruled the roost. Till someone drove some sense into us, that the need of the hour was to get out of the slush... not create another one!
• It gave me some precious moments to spend with Papa and Mummy later in the afternoon - even though it was outside the railway station.
• After all my sense of work and "expertise" at working with the mud, I found myself shy and hesitant to soil my hands and clothes, till I saw Willy digging out the slush with his full-sleeved shirt buttoned to the wrist!