Very many times we think and act as if we are defending and protecting God. We act under the impression that God needs to be defended. This is done in all innocence and goodness. No malice or sense of pride. Pure good will.
And it is exactly in some such contexts, God jolts us from our thoughts: "Get behind me Satan!"
What we fail to DISCERN is that, it is not God who needs salvation; but I!
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| Temptation of Christ (Ilya Repin) |
I've been a fan of Linux OS since 2009. My personal laptop has had Linux since the time I left the Provincial Secretary's office in 2010. And I've never regretted or needed to rethink switching back to Windows, ever since. Even in 2021 when I bought my present Dell laptop, the first thing I did was erase Windows and install Linux.
So, every time I see Linux roasting Windows, I can't resist!
A recent headline that caught my attention...
Felt truly good reading the content of this article. After long, came across the following words, phrases and their interlinkages: curiosity, conservation, nature interpretation, 'the river we see, but don't understand', context-specific content, engagement vs information sharing, informed and engaged public, measuring success beyond buildings, creating connections, the greatest achievement is still not the number of people who walk through their doors, but the transformation that takes place after the visit, informed advocates rather than mere spectators, lasting impact depends on something less visible, but equally important (understanding)...
In the last council I had to AGAIN speak strongly about rethinking our investment and the priorities of our mission.
Most of our financial reserves and earnings are being funneled into buildings and renovations! Truly a black hole! I firmly believe that we should shift the emphasis on building people, rather than buildings!
Investments on infrastructure are a trap. The attention they need and the constant care that eats ones time, resources and energy is huge. That's one of the biggest drawbacks of institutionalisation. We never have 'enough' of buildings and institutions! We first invest in construction, then in maintenance, then in renovation and constantly seek beautification! Not even half of that is invested in, what I feel is the most essential: people! Skills, training, education, creativity, thinking... these need and demand attention. That should be what we Salesians should be pouring ourselves (and our resources) into. And for most of these, infrastructure is not the most essential; even if it is, very minimal of it would do.
I am convinced that if I truly offer QUALITY training or education, no matter how poor or little infrastructure I have, young people will soon realise the CONTENT and be the most direct beneficiaries.
A couple of weeks ago Ravi and I travelled by cab to take delivery of a new Renault Duster for vocation promotion at their showroom in Kukatpally. During the drive, Ravi out of respect for me, sat with the driver and let me sit alone at the back!! I took the opportunity, as I always do when I do not have the steering wheel in my hand, to catch a wink.
Nonetheless, I could catch bits and pieces of conversation Ravi was having with the driver, a muslim guy. The driver was quite refined and polite and knowledgeable as well. At one point, I could hear Ravi confirming with great conviction what the driver was expressing. The driver was sharing about his woes of running a taxi in the Uber-Rapido era!
When the competition increases, the prices naturally dip. In the price war between service providers, the customer is the beneficiary. With taxi operating giants like Uber, Rapido and Ola each claiming a share of the travellers, the price war is inevitable. The taxi driver was most unhappy about the Rapido bike taxi. The introduction of the bike taxi, that too permitting private individuals to use their personal bikes, has been a big blow to the taxis. The taxi has to pay a higher road tax, insurance and annual payments, while the private individual pays lessor, yet gains a higher margin when it comes to earnings. This, he felt, is not fair.
Ravi, on the other hand, ended the ride, feeling consoled that he isn't in the taxi business, like a couple of his friends, who ditched their salary-based 9-to-5 job!
For our spiritual reading we have been using the book by Gianni Asti, Don Bosco and Vocational Accompaniment (translated by Ian Doulton). It is a well-written book.
Reading and listening from it, I wondered, especially after the episode of Rinaldi and Cagliero. Don Bosco doggedly pursued Rinaldi. Not just for days but years. I could be wrong but Don Bosco did not pursue anyone so persistently as he did with Rinaldi. Why?
To add to the mystery, Don Bosco knew (either by insight or divine illumination) that Rinaldi would one day succeed him. If Don Bosco knew that so convincingly, why did he have to run after Rinaldi for so long, that too so painstakingly? If God had shown Don Bosco that he would be a Salesian and that too with a prominent role to play, why slog so badly? Don Bosco could have easily taken care of things God hadn't been clear about. He could have chased after other vocations or matters that God did not give him a clarity about. If God had so decided that Rinaldi would be a Salesian, why not trust God and let him weave His magic.
But I think Don Bosco knew all too well, that even though God had his plans and people, Don Bosco had to do his best. Don Bosco was not a man who would have leaned back on his easy chair and swung his legs on the table, relaxing away in his office. He was Don Bosco! He had to do his work.
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| Don Rua and Don Rinaldi |
Two aspects I've grown and learnt over the last couple of years in this office as the Economer:
Mood and mode of challenging: Challenging, confronting and pulling up people for various reasons is something I was used to. In fact, everyone considered me a task-master. That hasn't changed much. But what has evolved is the ability to pause before jumping to action, and the self-reflection to ensure that I'm doing the confrontation for the right reasons and the good of all concerned. The pause gives me time and space to calm myself and evaluate my reasons (not justify them). The self-reflection has taught me to do the confrontation keeping in mind the larger picture and the greater good, rather than for the sake of 'teaching him a lesson'. Not confronting at all has not been an option for me. But whenver I've done the confrontation right, for the right reasons, I've not had any guilt or regret. If at all there was regret, it was mostly because I did not do the confrontation right or for the higher good; but not for the point which needed to be challenged.
Picking my battles: Not all fights are worth the effort and energy. If there is something that I see as the greater challenge and I can prevent that into turning out to be a major issue later, I'd prefer to use the 'word in the ear' technique rather than go out guns blazing about a smaller issue right now. Not that the small issue at hand is right or that I do not condemn it, but if the larger good can be achieved then this small issue will automatically be taken care of or even overlooked, if the greater good is achieved. This has helped me conserve my energy for some productive works rather than dissipate it in mere fire-fighting.
This morning addressing the young Salesians, especially those involved in youth apostolate, I began citing two of the major headlines in the recent days: Gen Z protests, across the county and the FCRA amendment opposition.
Both remained parallel protests, with no ecclesial figures getting involved in the Gen Z protests and no young people opposing the FCRA amendment. The ecclesial group is very much involved in education and the Gen Z protest was purely about the corruption set in the education system of the country. Yet, the former did not feel the importance of getting involved. For the FCRA opposition, the Church was at the forefront.
My whole point was to recommend the Salesians to move away from restricting youth ministry to events and functions. The attempt should be to facilitate a youth movement or process; that too based on a cause or a need. Rather than invest great amount of time, energy, resources and personnel on standalone events, wherein there is neither preparation on the part of the youth as a line-up for the event, nor a follow-up from our side post the event, I exhorted that we should be catalysts for a youth movement, a process.
Secondly, that movement or process is need-based or revolving around a cause!
Thirdly, that this need or cause should be that of the young people themselves. Not our motives or reasons! A youth group without a purpose, a cause or a need that propels it, is a club of party-goers. And young people should not be insulted by engaging them in mere decorative purposes as arranging chairs, or performing a dance in a celebration or as choir members in the Church. The youth are a dynamite and we shouldn't be lighting a cigarette with it.
Lastly, in order to facilitate this whole process and purpose, we shouldn't be taking centre stage or shifting the focus on ourselves as guides! Moreover, we should not hesitate or feel ashamed to network or join hands with anyone who is of the same mind; be that with other members of our community, other departments of our institution or Province, or even non-Salesian and non-Catholic individuals or organisations. The cause and purpose should take precedence over the names and groups!
