United efforts

 During the National convention organised by FSMF on arriving at accountability standards for Civil Society Organisations in India, there was a reference made TWICE to an old advertisement that appeared both in print and in the television. It was the NECC ad titled, Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao ande!  

The context was the need to have a unified narrative that is strong and clear.  The NECC ad was about the egg, not about one poultry farm or a particular shop.  It was about eggs!! It was a lead up to the 1980s. It was a difficult time for Indian poultry farmers and Mr B.V. Rao of Venkateshwara Hatcheries decided to unite all poultry farmers into a cooperative model, similar to the one of Amul in Gujarat, spearheaded by Mr Kurien.  He, then along with his team, came up with the NECC and the subsequent ads.  

A similar ad was run about milk, the benefits of drinking milk.  

I guess there is always a great benefit in seeing the unity and collectively working towards something good than making individuated scattered attempts.  That said, there are invariably several issues that prevent this from happening. But if one is willing to see and grow out of these petty dividing issues, the benefits are large and extensive.   

In and for Christ

Last night I spent a couple of hours reading the discussion that took place in GC29 about the point of making Brothers superiors of the community. The exercise of collating the various reasons for and against, while jotting down my own personal reflection about the same was enriching. 

And naturally, when I woke up this morning and was in the Chapel for prayers, some of those points were still doing the rounds in my mind. But there was one particular point that I strongly felt last night and I jotted it down separately! And call it coincidence or serendipity, the Scripture reading of the morning prayers today (Wk 2; Friday) reinforced that very idea of mine when it says thus: 

For Christ himself has brought us peace, by making the Jews and Gentiles oen people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. He abolished the Jewish Law, with its commandments and rules, in order to create out of the two races one new people IN UNION WITH HIMSELF, in this way making peace… he united both races into one body and brought them BACK TO GOD. (Eph. 2: 13-16) 

While we can go on debating endlessly about Brothers and Priests, if we miss out the point that if we are not together IN and FOR Christ, then we’ve totally lost the plot!

Fidelity in a mosaic

One of the most appealing aspects of our Chapel is the mosaic of St Joseph, created by Mr Balan in 1995. Drawing inspiration from that I shared the following reflection with the Brothers this evening... 

Like each of the tiny tiles or pieces that make up the mosaic, we Salesians too are varied in practically every sense of the word. Yet when put together we are not always expected to be uniform or straight.  Like the tiles in the mosaic, each tile is a different colour, shape and size.  Nonetheless together the picture emerges.  

The artist chooses each tile carefully with the whole picture in mind!  He trusts that the tiles will not change their colour or texture or position.  Because if they do so, on their own, the overall picture will be totally different - if at all, we can still call that what subsequently emerges as a picture! 

So too with us Salesians. We have been called and placed in the communities, in the Province, in the congregation by God!  It is He who is the master designer.  He trusts each of us to be loyal to His plan, our being and doing so that through our collective lives and deeds, His picture emerges bright and clear. 

The ocean and a drop

Mother Teresa once compared her own charitable works to a drop in the ocean; nonetheless qualified it as important by concluding that if she were not to do that work, the ocean would be less by a drop! 

Lessons: 

1. We do not see drops of water in the ocean; we merely see the ocean. If each drop were to seek a distinct identity and not be seen as in union with the other, there would only be drops but no ocean. Unity in diversity is the key; not the latter alone! 
2. Only the ocean survives the summer heat, not individuated water drops or small water bodies. Our vision should outlast our life and work. 
3. Strive for quality; not rest on the laurels of some minor achievements. Aim small, achieve small. Aim big, achieve big!
   
   
   

Widening the divide with capitals!

A further reflection on the theme of intolerance and Christian unity, in the context of language - a topic that I'm brooding over! 

Disunity is brought about, in most cases, when an idea is held to be of greater importance than a human being. All cases of religious fundamentalism arise when the concept of religion takes precedence over humanity; when faith becomes greater than human life; when god - and I mean, the concept of God - needs to be protected, but not my neighbour. 

One easy way we fall into this trap of elevating a concept to a status higher than a living being, reducing the latter to such a minimal value so as to count for nothing, is when we capitalise a word!  When faith becomes Faith.  When god becomes God.  When church becomes Church.  These are tell-tale signs of where and what we feel are un-negotiable aspects of our living, at the altar of which everything else (not belonging to me), especially others, can be sacrificed.  Furthermore, with words like 'infidel', 'atheist', 'unbeliever', 'pro-abortionist', 'LGBTQ+', ... we can easily reduce persons, living beings with flesh and blood, families and feelings into despicable things that in their entirety ought to be made to disappear! 

That reminds me of a very stinging remark one of my former Rector's made on a report I put together after my supervision of a batch of third year students involved in the 'Immersion programme'.  Back then it struck me, as 'what's the big deal?' Why make a hue and cry about a regular use?  The phrase I used in the report was a description of a place: '...a place infested with naxalites...'  And the Rector had circled this phrase and written on the margins, "Even naxalites are people, not insects!" Looking back I clearly see.  I did not mind using the word 'infested' in the context of the naxalites, but I would never have used it in the context of seminarians or even a packed railway station!  My prejudices were laid bare.  

Christian unity and intolerance

One of the biggest scandal the Church offers to the world is that of the divisions within.  For a body which has unity as one of its primary tenets, to be so splintered, the value of witness is certainly diminished.  Add to that, the fact that some of these splinter groups are archenemies of one another.  And still we claim to be Christians! 

The saint we commemorate today, St Josaphat was martyred not by anti-Christians, but 'faithful' followers of Christ!  It is indeed a strange paradox we comfortably live with: boldly preach in Christ's name and at the same time have no hesitation in killing someone - all in His name.  If only we take a moment to think, leave alone pray, we should be able to see our own religious idiosyncrasies.  But I guess, the very faith we profess often blinds us to see anything beyond that what we hold most precious. 

So good to ask myself, what is it that I hold in such high esteem that I would not sacrifice it for anything else?  And as a Christian, I ask myself: Is it my love for Christ or love for Christ? 

Extending the boundary

When I was small and along with friends about to play a cricket match, one of the first things we collectively would decide is the boundary line.  If the place was limited or inaccessible, then certain spots would be declared 2-runs by default.

We grown ups do the same with our relationships too.  There are people and I mean certain groups as a whole, certain sections of humanity as such which are either within or without the boundary.  I distinctly remember one of the first conversations I had with someone in Kondadaba when I reached the place for my first year of practical training, way back in 2000.  It was the one who regularly supplied the seminary with the chicken.  Since the Brothers had not yet arrived, I went to shop (as directed by the cooks) and introduced myself.  Since my name wasn't revealing any "affiliation" they gently stated that very many of the Brothers in the seminary were "their" people.  I had no clue of what he was talking! After repeated and creative attempts and only when he realised that I wasn't getting what he wanted to know did he bluntly ask me, "What's your caste?"

The further the boundary we set by which we consciously or unconsciously exclude people is the better human beings we will be.  Some set nationality, colour of the skin, or religion as the boundary.  Greater are the souls who have extended the boundary beyond human beings to include animals (if not all, at least most) within one's relationship circle.  I'm not talking of those who love animals more than human beings, but of those who love animals as much as all human beings!  The greatest see no boundary at all.

We celebrate today the feast of St Francis of Assissi, one of the rare gems of humanity who saw no boundaries at all in relating to the world.

On size and Unity

Two lovely thoughts (African proverbs), sent across by a good friend...

Family...

This SAFC there was a repeated request for prayer for Fr Tom Uzhannalil, the priest abducted by the ISIS and whose whereabouts are still unknown.  While everyone still felt this as something close to our hearts - him being a Salesian - I was feeling odd.  Why only Fr Tom?? There are thousands of innocent people afflicted by the ongoing disturbances around the world, especially in the middle-east.  Women and children are the worst affected.  Viewing the disturbing images and reading the news reports (from secular media outlets) that come out of the region, leave alone the human rights and other NGOs reports, one cannot but be moved.

I guess the pain is felt only when it touches the 'family'. So I ask myself how and why does our formation limit our 'family'?  Granted that embracing the whole of humanity is not possible or practical, but when such grave atrocities are meted out to vulnerable and innocent people, how can one remain unmoved?

Insights from the Parable of the Vine

This morning we had a reflection and sharing on the parable of the vine from the gospel of John.

In the whole episode, something which is evident is that all along the vine is in touch with the garden and the gardener. Whether the branch is yielding or not; whether dead (burnt in the garden) or alive (with the vine). The gardener is also in touch with the vine... pruning, cutting, watering, manuring. Good lesson for all: Everyone is good and in the care of the Father... depending on our response to the care of the Father, is the treatment of the Son (pruning, cutting, harvesting...)

Abide in me... 
It is a natural human temptation – and an increasingly growing tendency among religious – to 'launch out', jump to action, engage oneself in activities. Because these are visible and tangible. These bring glory and name, among people and in the society. However the invitation is to 'abide in me'. Now that's difficult and a very risky affair. Risky because it involves a gruelling transformation. No escape. No dodging. No shortcuts. It turns you inside out and not at all comforting! Human as we are, we easily give in to the temptation rather than strive for transformation.

(In the light of the Chapter, a small distraction: We have ample opportunities to make this inner shift and we do go through them all – in fact, insist on fulfilling them all at the individual level, community level, province level. However without the real will)

Those branches which yield he prunes with care 
It is the tree which bears fruits that gets stoned. A sign of suffering and difficulty is that one is doing something worthwhile and different. If one were not to do anything, nothing is going to happen.

He cuts those branches which do not yield...
It is not enough just to be with Him but one needs to be productive too. Productivity is not necessarily an automatic outcome of being with the vine.

Thank God, we're different

Listening to different confreres about their experiences with other confreres in their respective communities and other interactions in the Province at different levels and for different reasons, it is clear that not all of us are the same. Each of us thinks differently, perceives differently and certainly behaves differently. That does not necessarily make us better or worse than the others.  However it does show that though we are Salesians, trained almost in the same charism and for the same mission, yet differences remain.  That's a rather good thing. Imagine if all were to think and be the same!!

One confrere in his excited mood while sharing of his experiences in the Province shared this:

Instincts are magnificent as a driving force, but dangerous as guide. 

Symphony

The feast day of all the saints can very well be celebrated as a day of Symphony.  True to the characteristics of an orchestra playing a symphony, all the saints put together offer a very rich mosaic of what God is capable of doing in and through the lives of people who are open to His directives.  Different musical instruments play different notes at varied intervals, which individually may or may not stand out, but when played in unison, produce a beautiful symphony.  So too all the - canonised and non-canonised - Saints, together in their own way produce a beautiful symphony of love, service and commitment to God and His people. 

Social responsibility is individual...

Here's a lovely social awareness ad by the Times group...

Remembering the Titans

Last night I made it a point to watch Remember the Titans. The film is based on true events and takes place in 1971, and is directed by Boaz Yakin. It stars Denzel Washington and Will Patton. I remember seeing bits and pieces of this movie earlier. Yesterday when I saw an ad about it on TV, I not only watched it but also recorded it. The movie is great inspiration on triumph of human spirit rising above all discriminations and man-made hurdles. The black and white members of the football team clash in racially-motivated conflicts at every moment. Denzel as the coach manages to achieve some unity when he takes the team out for a camp - pushing them to the limits. What is most remarkable is how the team - now united irrespective of their colour- stands up to the challenge of the college campus, the society at large. According to me that is the litmus test of the 'conversion', the decision to stand tall and true. The whole story about them defeating the other reputed teams, though joyful, does not dampen the feeling of goodness created when people with differences - all man-made - decide to be united and stand for each other.