Parents' Day

We have with us in the community for the next two days, the parents of most of the final year students. The annual Parents' day got postponed to coincide with our community Christmas celebrations, on the eve of our departure for Christmas holidays.  As in the past two years, it is a real pleasure to have the parents, to spend time chatting with them and getting to know them in their grounded reality.

This year round, I slightly changed to mode of this gathering, in order to help us achieve, what I considered the primary motive of this unique celebration: Involve the parents in the formative process.  So I replaced the usual conference 'to' the parents with an interactive session 'with' the parents.  I know not how it will turn out tomorrow but nothing like trying.

I have several reasons for trying out this change:

• There is so much we need to learn from our own parents, before we start searching for the same in books and other resources.  Therefore instead of lecturing them, why not learn from them, sitting with them! 
• In families, the vocation strategy is not discussed, leave alone considered worth a thought... for 'it' is considered the duty of the formation staff. 
• Parents sometimes have a very weird motive of encouraging their wards to continue their consecrated life. 
• For some parents, all that they want is a "Priest" - the son, our beloved seminarian, unconsciously imbibes this and is so convinced that he wants to be one at any costs!  

Let me see how the resource person handles this session tomorrow. If it does not work out to my satisfaction, I would gladly take it upon myself, the next time.