True character

Most often the ones who get noticed and are in the limelight are the 'performers' not the real 'workers'.  Rarely do the ones who work silently and consistently get the recognition and appreciation they deserve.  Today was one such rare occasion. 

Someone who is not renown for his oratory skills or expertise in big matters, but someone who is concerned and caring.  He does not seek for any show or high praises.  He is rather shy and is often looked down by others for his sober character and personality.  But when someone really needs help and a concerned presence beside them, he is the one ready and willing. No one needs to ask him, he senses it and makes himself available - again, silently! 

Happy b'day dear confrere!

Peter and Paul

Peter and Paul, the two great stalwarts of the early Church were not the best of men around those times.  They certainly were not the most capable and celebrated individuals in Israel of those days.  Evaluating others among the apostles, there was John who was of an impeccable character.  Someone who was also loved greatly by the Lord himself.  Or there was Mathew or Luke the educated ones.  But it was Peter, the illiterate, the fisherman, the mild, who was appointed as head of the apostles and ultimately given the keys of the Kingdom. 

Paul was no saint. He was a scholar, yes, but if his history were to be examined, he would have been the last one to be approached for standing for Christ.  Yet, he is the one who goes out to the non-Jews.  Together with Peter, he plants the seed of Christian faith in the heart of Roman empire.

None of them were given the mission because of their worthiness or talents.   They were entrusted with the mission and grace followed.  A good reminder for each one of us that it is God who has blessed us with all our talents and gifts, we only exercise them to the best of our capabilities.  

Secondly, there was no single hero doing all the work.  Something we see in Bollywood movies - all down to one man to do all the good!  The Church was a living example of work-in-communion.  Everyone, including God, did one's bit. Nothing greater or better.  Just what one could with the given-grace.  

Joseph Cafasso, discernment and compassion

Some interesting facts learnt this morning... 

As we commemorate the feast of St Joseph Cafasso, a trusted confessor of Don Bosco during his early years of theological studies and priesthood, I learnt that 

• Fr Cafasso was merely four years older to Don Bosco
• That Fr Cafasso passed away in his late forties. 

I always thought of him as someone much older than Don Bosco.  Of course, Don Bosco himself was no teenager around his ordination, but still for someone that young to be able to guide Don Bosco in his early stages of vocation and apostolate, especially with such great influence and finesse, is truly remarkable.  

That grace of discernment, helping oneself and others discern one's life-choices is something that has always fascinated me.  I greatly admire those people who have a great sense of calmness about how they do it, the depths which they see and the paths they help others walk on.  

Fr Cafasso came from a rather poor family.  His delicate health did not make things any better for him.  However, he was able to convert that personal pain into compassion for others.  Those struggles and challenging experiences of his life, he was able to transform into meaningful lessons for himself and also for others too. That's something! That's truly some grace and effort.  

Wrapped in love

I received this photo from Mum today.  I thought it was the gifts that she received from those at home on the occasion of her b'day.  I recognized the drawing as a gift from my niece because I had deceived her into adding my name to her card.  What I did not expect was that she leaves out her own name from it!  But I'll have to speak to her to know what exactly she meant or had in mind when she put only my name on the card.   

However, looking at the bag in the photo I presumed it would have been a saree or a piece of clothing (as the bag was of a textile shop) gifted by Willy and Roshni.  But I was wrong!  Mum sent a voice message after the photo: "The drawing/card was handed to me in this bag.  The bag was the envelope!"

Theology of the Eucharist

Ethiopia suffered a terrible famine during the years 1984 to 1986.  Cardinal Hume of Westminister tells about an incident that happened when he visited Ethiopia in the middle of the famine.  One of the places he visited was a settlement up in the hills where the people were waiting for food which was unlikely to arrive.  He was taken there in a helicopter.  

As he got out of the helicopter a small boy, aged about ten, came up to him and took his hand.  He was wearing nothing but a loincloth round his waist.  The while time the cardinal was there the little child would not let go of his hand.  

As they went around he made two gestures: with one hand he pointed to his mouth, and with the other he took the cardinal's nand and rubbed it on his cheek.  

Later the cardinal said, "Here was an orphan boy who was lost and starving.  Yet by two simple gestures he indicated our two fundamental needs or hungers.  With one gesture he showed me his hunger for food, and with the other his hunger for love." 

"I have never forgotten that incident, and to this day I wonder whether that child is still alive. I remember that as I boarded the helicopter he stood and looked at me reproachfully."

[Source: Found as part of the 'homily' on a piece of photocopied paper! Not sure of the original source! Certainly not mine!]

Happy b'day Mummy

Today is Mummy's b'day.  And of course, I had to cleverly convince my niece to add my name to her b'day greeting card which she was preparing.  

Mummy tells me that she was strictly warned not to see the drawing till she is presented with it.  So much so, she was told not to enter the room where my nephew and niece were preparing the card.  And if she did have to enter, she'd have to knock, announce her entrance and only when permitted enter the room. And of all the rooms in the house, which room were they using?  Mummy's!!  So in preparation for her b'day, she was not to enter her own room - at least not without permission!  

No wonder, Mum calls her room, the general ward!

One loaf, one bread

The celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, is a good occasion to remind ourselves of our wholeness with God.  The Christian idea of faith and fellowship is never solitary.  It seeks and IS communion. 

The description of St Paul of the Eucharist more as a loaf than a single piece of bread is a beautiful analogy.  However, very much forgotten or left out in our exposition of the Eucharist.  The body of Christ is one loaf, one bread.  We are part of that body in as much as each slice of that loaf is still the bread.  But an individual slice is not considered the 'whole' bread.  Neither can we consume the whole loaf all at once.  So even though the bread is consumed or used one slice at a time, it has its relevance and place in the whole loaf.  Apart from the slices, there is no bread.

Sanctuary

As priests and religious our vision can sometimes be so narrow that we fail miserably in living a normal life - and rightly so!  In times when all around the world there are protests against racism and calls for greater equality in day-to-day life among all, especially giving those coloured due recognition, we religious are more concerned about opening and cleaning the Churches with the easing of the lockdown.  Protestors, in spite of the threat of the Corona virus, assemble to voice their demands for equality and humanity to be recognised.  Rather than join them, we are most concerned with how much hand sanitizer gel to procure and how to clean the church door handles!  

I do not agree with all the forms the protest under the slogan 'Black lives matter' takes on or all the consequences of them.  I do not even approve of that slogan itself - I believe it should rather be 'All lives matter!'  However, one thing I keep asking myself is, if the clergy are not keen and happy to go out to meet the people in their lives, in their homes, in their struggles, in their situations, how on earth can we expect them to come to Church?  Why should they?  We are actually expecting the laity to have a great amount of faith to be able to fight their day-to-day survival and humane battles ALONE and also have a deep faith - again, all by themselves.  How can we religious claim to be 'representatives' of God and not be with them in their everyday struggle?  And then have the audacity to question and reprimand the very same people for not coming to Church even on a Sunday?  

If the clergy cannot be 'outside' the church with the people, we do not have the right to expect the laity 'inside' the church! If the boundary for me as a religious, is the outer wall of the church which I do not (want to?) go beyond, then that very wall can be the boundary, the laity need not cross to get into the church!  The sanctuary in the church is not a sanctuary (refuge) for the religious! 

Listening and following

In the readings of the week we see Elijah beginning very solemnly and with great confidence.  Then he loses all of that confidence and trusts and takes flight.  He literally hides himself in a cave out of fear of being murdered!  And when God meets him in the gentle breeze, he tells him to go back to where he came from. To face his torturers rather than flee.  To walk right into the face of death, rather than in the opposite direction.  And Elijah does what he is told.  

Elijah in more than one sense is a very failed prophet.  A very flippety-floppety prophet.  Someone just like us.  Like me.  Courageous and daring at one moment.  Timid and anxious the next.  Emboldened and  very outgoing on one day.  The very next day wake up confused and tired!  But in this very unsteady life pattern, there is one thing Elijah teaches us - me - very clearly:  listening to God!  He is gifted with the grace of discernment and when he hears God speak, he follows!  No more crippling fear. No withholding doubts. No petty vision of mere survival. 

Everyday faith

Today's first reading is nothing short of a marvel comic hero episode.  Elijah foretells of rain and when King Ahab has taken off on his chariot, he tucks in his robe and out runs him!  That's some super hero stuff!  

And tomorrow's reading is quite contrary to this super hero thing.  We see God revealing himself in a gentle breeze, rather than a torrent or fire or an earthquake.  Nothing dramatic or solemn.  Just plain and simple.  Everydayness!  

Our faith is more akin to the latter day experience rather than the former.  Although we tend to look for and wish it were more dramatic and action-filled than mundane and routine!  But what is mundane and routine is what builds up character in the long run, not the sporadic and tempestuous. 

Choosing the better

In the first reading of the day we read how Elijah has to ask God to rain down fire on the holocaust in order to prove himself as the God of Israel.  What is interesting to note is the attitude of the people.  They are literally like total babies unable to decide for themselves whether they are on Yahweh's side or wish to believe and follow Baal (other gods).  

This indecisiveness is an easy and safe option.  With no commitments to any side, one is free to pick and choose whatever one wants as per one's convenience.  It is what most of us would naturally do.  But the Lord asks of us a total commitment. Unfortunately it is understood as a 'one or the other' option.  Choosing the Lord does not mean giving up the world.  It means continued living in the world with a different perspective.  Radicality is not in exclusivity but in striking a healthy balance with the focus clearly on God, and the other, prior to oneself.  The Lord never asks us to give up something good, unless it is for the better!  

The generous widow

Elijah is told to meet the widow in Zarephath and he goes.  He finds the widow picking twigs to prepare the last morsel of food she has for her son and herself.  And Elijah tells her to first prepare something for him.  Sincerely doubt if it was Elijah's own desire for food to ask of her bread, that too from someone who is so poor!  

No sensible woman in the right state of mind would do that: offer the last morsel of food that she is left with for her child and herself to a total stranger.  Yet she does this.  She shares the last morsel of food with this complete stranger merely because he asks her.  

The story can be about Elijah who moves to that place merely on the Lord's command.  At the same time it is very much of that widow who is generous enough to share the least she has with someone in need.  There are so many such men and women who selflessly share their gifts, resources and even their own lives for the sake of others... hope the Lord never empties their bowl and jug too!  

Istvan Sandor

In the Salesian family we remember today the courage and the great apostolic zeal of Bl. Stephen Sandor, known more locally in Hungary as Istvan. 

Living and working during the communist regime has never been an easy task for religious.  What catches my attention of Istvan is his zeal for working as per his Salesian charism even in those dangerous circumstances.  With all the liberty and time at hand, I find it difficult to know and decide what to do.  But here is a young man, filled with the spirit of Don Bosco who finds and embarks on youth work, knowing well that he is risking his life in this endeavour.  That kind sensibility to notice the need and respond with all one's resources, even to the extent of risking one's own life, is something I can hardly even dream of!  

I mostly pray for that grace to be able to notice the need of young people and respond appropriately.  If Istvan could do so much in such restricted times and circumstances, the possibilities I have are numerous.  I only need to see and get going!

Medieval weddings

Only yesterday did I learn that in medieval times the weddings were conducted not inside the church but at the Church doorstep!  Among the other reasons I'm yet to discover, the main reason I'm told that this was the case was because marriage in those times was still a social contract.  The notion of it being a sacrament was not yet formulated or thought about. (Only baptism and holy Eucharist were considered as sacraments).  So it was basically the couple making the vow to one another, in public, with the priest merely as a witness.  

Another reason was that there be not any malpractice.  So the weddings were held in broad daylight, out in the open.  Even later when weddings were conducted inside the Church, they were meant to be done with doors open.  Not behind closed doors!  Even today, here in England, weddings are not conducted at night!!  Just so that there is no 'substitute' bride or bridegroom!  

Though the wordings, rituals and the position of the bride and groom (according to the altar) remain the same from the medieval times, the deeper sacramental theology of it has developed much.  Also interesting to know that then - as in some parts of the world, even today - marriage was basically a formal consent.  What mattered most and important was that the couple live a married life - even if without the formal rite!  Am told that for long in Scotland, if a couple lived a good married life, they were as good as married, even if they did not have a formal ceremony or public rite.  The fact that they were living together as good people was sufficient for them to claim any benefits of a married couple (for example succession or name rights for children, widows...).  It was only when the European Union asked for its formal wording in the constitution or public policy did people realise that there wasn't any!  It was by common consent practiced and never formally written!  

Grafting the gospel

One gets to hear and read of the phrase 'planting the Gospel' sometimes in Christian literature or discussions.  This phrase refers to the process of evangelisation/mission, especially among those who have not heard of Jesus or the Gospels before.  But according to me a better and more apt phrase would be 'grafting the Gospel'.  

Though the idea is the same, there are subtle differences in how one perceives the Gospel and how one sees it 'taking root'.  No culture ever absorbs the Gospel in its entirity at the first instance.  No matter how great an opportunity they get to witness the Christian example, a culture always absorbs a 'new' input only in layers and over a period of time.  Therefore to expect the first 'wave' of those who come in contact with the Gospel to become 'Christian' would be to see them as totally uprooting themselves from who and what they were before - culturally speaking.  It is only after a certain period of time - and ages - that we arrive at a balance of making the most of the Gospel and the culture we call our own.  Exactly as an agriculturalist would view a grafted plant as not a perfect product, but a merger of two different plants; however, the fruit of that grafted plant will eventually have a better inherent structure of both - no more as two different plants, but as one plant.  

To expect the Gospel to replace absolutely and permanently one's culture is unchristian.  

Religious poverty

The notion of living and working for the poor, as a religious who takes the vow of poverty, is always a very conveniently moulded construct.  We interpret poverty to mean detachment.  And then possess everything that a middle-class family or even the rich have!  

I still vividly remember having this discussion with Benji during my novitiate asking him what right or privilege do I have to stay in this newly built novitiate while the ones who built it are still living in huts, right in front of the house.  He then told me, "To work you need strength and energy.  That's why you have food that will nourish you and a bed that lets you have sufficient rest." I wasn't really convinced then, neither am I still!  

To work with and for the poor, one really has to be poor.  The concept that in order to help someone rise out of poverty we have to be above poverty ourselves, stems from a misplaced concept of helping those poor to get into the middle class and above.  Our primary job is not to help the poor transition to the upper levels of economic status.  Our job is to show and be God's love for them!  To show by word and deed that God loves, that he loves especially the poor.  This means to stand by them.  With them!  Not above or apart from them.  

Jesus was Italian!

A couple whom the parish priest had never seen in Church before, approached him asking him to baptise their child.  The Parish priest in all politeness asked which Church do they normally go to.  When told that they've never been to Church, he asked them for the reason they wish to baptise their child.  They explained, "We're Italians and we have a strong Christian tradition.  We want our child too to grow up in that tradition.  Moreover Jesus also was Italian!" 

Well, logically speaking Israel was under Roman authority then and so it could be said that Jesus was Italian... But not sure if the Parish priest was convinced of the reason for the child to be baptised! 

New wine in old skins

While having our special barbeque yesterday afternoon to celebrate the perpetual profession of Br Peter Gbertyo, we were pulling the leg of Fr Sean who is 87.  And somehow the topic came to his love for wine and it all narrowed down to 'new wine in old skin'!  For once the Biblical proverb was proved wrong... there certainly is no wine spilling out of this old skin!