With the most noisy...

Here's a photo I got clicked with the last group of the youngsters who left the Seminary this evening. Incidentaly this also the first group that woke up this morning ... at 2.30 am!! We ran into each other a couple of times during the day and they became very friendly by the end of the day.
They had several questions to ask, about Priesthood, formation, Bishopric, education, my vocation and I'm also glad that they spoke highly of several of their Parish Priests. What struck me most of these youngsters was that though they appeared crude and uncouth, they were very smart and sharp in observing things around. The observations they made about a couple of things in the seminary and the Church at large made me realise how sharp their minds were. The best was the speed and accuracy with which they caught my subtle hints about community life and my vocation.

One shot devotion

Many who come to such pilgrimage centres as Kondadaba, often doing lot of sacrifices or undergoing lots of inconveniences do so for a particular reason. Some walk to the Shrine, a distance of about 35 to 70 kms. Others make their way up the hill on their knees (even one of our Brothers did it last night - had I know it I'd have made him do it again!). Some travel long distances and endure the extreme cold that we're having these days. Their faith that Mother Mary does much for and on their behalf is really unshakeable.

However, for most of these simple believers this once a year 'sacrifice' or 'trip' to the Shrine, so to say, scrubs clean all their sins and mistakes. The rest of the year they are free to live any way contrary to this singular act of 'devotion' and 'repentance'.

Of course, it all boils down to simple, daily faith (bit-by-bit belief) vs a sustained integrity (communion of life/living and spirituality).

Mass and rice

Towards the end of the day I happened to interact with almost a dozen youngsters individually on various topics. Some of these youngsters were new found 'friends' of last night, while others were some encounters old. Of the latter, a Catholic young man, strongly under the influence of Protestantism, had several things to clarify, especially with regard to the devotion to Our Lady and the use/veneration of statues in our rites and rituals. I would say, I surprised myself the way I responded to his sincere queries for clarification with strong analogies. While replying to his point that there are too many Marian prayers in contrast to very little of direct address to God and Jesus, I explained the centrality of the Holy Mass with an analogy: Of all the prayers the Holy Mass is the best... just like the food that we eat. There may be five varieties of pickle, 2 varieties of curry, 4 varieties of the same vegetable, yet there is only one type of rice. Now no one (at least in Andhra) eats all the above without rice. The rice forms the main part of the meal. The rest only adds to that. It is rice that makes the other food articles relevant and meaningful. Bereft of rice, no one eats the other items alone; it is not called a meal at all!

Selimary?

One of the many things that we, at the Seminary and around in Kondadaba do during the Feast of the Parish is to explain to people who have absolutely no idea about religious life and community life, the whole concept of Priesthood and Priestly formation. So you are bombarded with questions like, 'How many years to you study?' 'What do you study?', 'Oh! you do not get married?', 'What is your source of income?', 'How can you live like this?'...

Yesterday evening to lady constables who were on their beat in the Seminary happened to meet our cooks and were 'interrogating' them. One of their questions was, "What is the meaning of Selimary?" A couple of Brothers too were around at this time and were unable to get the word of which they were asking the meaning. They asked them to repeat the question and it again ended with 'Selimary'. However, our illiterate cooks got them right in the first instance itself. They meant 'Seminary'.

Midnight Youth Ministry

The past two days have been so to say, swift and hectic, as if they were just one day. It was the solemn Parish Feast (dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows). The Brothers were all assigned to different responsibilities and duties chiefly to assist the Parish Priest and the Parish Council members in the organisation of the feast. So far so good, but the number of pilgrims that descend on this sleepy village for the feast makes all the difference. The total crosses 2 to 3 lakhs of people. It is a sea of people, everywhere.

Having assigned and instructed the Brothers of their responsibility I was closely and personally following up the Seminary security. Given the fact that three-fourths of those who visit the Shrine also make a trip of the Seminary and the accommodation that we provide for as many as possible for the night, I wanted to oversee it myself. Most of the pilgrims walk about 35 - 70 kms to reach the Shrine. So naturally when they reach the Seminary for the night, they are hardly able to take the last few steps that will see them flat in the hall (for the ladies) and the verandahs (for the gents). What makes this feast a real adventure (and a pain too) is the presence of unruly youngsters and hooligans inside the campus for the night. Last night was no exception to this adventure night.

We evicted nearly two dozen youngsters from the campus who were fully drunk and had no clue as to what they were saying or doing. That kept them (and us, with them) awake the whole night. But that's not what I wish to dwell here. The best part is that these very unruly, uncouth and foul-mouthed youngsters turn into meek lambs and innocent 'boys' in the morning. As one of the most notorious one put it this morning: "The puli (Telugu word for tiger) within spoke and did all that Brother... we're sorry!" I purposely made it a point to meet all these youngsters, know their names and have a word with them in the morning. And not one of them (nearly two dozen of them), was the same as last night. They were entirely, totally and spectacularly different. And the most interesting fact, they left the campus today happy to have made friends with 'Brothers'! (More on this wonderful experience in the coming posts)

Knowledge and Intention

During the Epistemology class, while speaking about the characteristics of knowledge/knowing, I was elaborating the point of how knowledge is intentional. Having explained it to the best of my ability, I then tried to explain the aspect of subject-object movement. That in the process of knowing (cognition) the subject moves towards the object. The reverse hardly happens. Having proved my point, I enquired if the object could move towards the subject and would knowledge then be possible? To this one of the first year students added: could the object to subject movement mean revelation? I was really surprised at this intervention. And I did acknowledge that it could be very well called revelation!

However in the course of the discussion, we arrived at the conclusion that even if it is a divine revelation, knowledge of it is possible only when the subject is open or receptive (speaking philosophically, moving towards the object). I concluded with this statement: God reveals Himself to us all round the clock, in every place. Yet it is we who fail to 'see' Him. So for knowledge to be a reality, the subject has to be open and willing. If this requirement is not met, any amount of every other ingredient will amount to nothing.

Humility of Mother Mary

During the homily this morning (with the Presentation of the Lord, as the Gospel theme), one aspect that caught my attention was the point about the humility of Mother Mary. She, along with Joseph, and the new born child Jesus goes to the temple to make the customary offering. She could have very well have stayed put in her home claiming that the Mother of God need not run to the synagogue anymore. Even if she did go, she could have demanded special treatment... all the more since Simeon and Anna did recognise and acknowledge the child to be the Messiah. Yet, we read of no such demands or airs thrown up by Mother Mary. All that is found is that 'she treasured it all in her heart'.

Epistemological revelations

I sat for correction of the Metaphysics, Epistemology and Modern Western Philosophy class test papers today and as usual there were the 'amusers'. However, this time round there were less in number. The best of them all was the following from the Epistemology paper concerning knowing:

Hypothalamus is a part of a right-angled triangle.

A couple of others who had no clue as to what that word was wrote, what I last took in class:

Hypothalamus is a part of hermeneutics.

The real Don Bosco

For the feast of Don Bosco, Fr K.T. got a life-size photo of Don Bosco printed and framed. It was placed strategically opposite the main entrance of the Church. It was the famous, all time used photo Don Bosco.
However, at table we were discussing how his photo has been altered to create a sort of personality figure out of him. I added that this 'cosmetic changes' made on his original photo seem a bit unnecessary. My logical and rationale has always been this: for a person surrounded by boys all round the clock, and that too most of them noisy, unruly and with everyone one of them vying with one another to get close to Don Bosco and be with him, I can hardly imagine how on earth would Don Bosco be so 'plaster faced'!
I'm glad the original photos of him clearly show him as with curly hair, rather uncombed and best of all with a rugged face. Not that angelic, fair, and sweet figure. I know that like everyone else, we'd like to put the 'best face up' but it is good also to be aware that what is best is what is inside!

Don Bosco and his trust

On the 31st of January, the feast day of Don Bosco, I took up the animation of the morning prayers for the community. It was one way of calming my guilty conscience that I'd done practically nothing special for Don Bosco this month. I chose to dwell on the theme of trust of Don Bosco. He basically trusted that God was on his side and that He'd see him through in any and every sort of difficulty. He took up initiatives which were humanly speaking absolutely insane. Yet he boldly ventured when he knew that it would do much good and that it was in the name of God.

Secondly this trust in God made him generous. He was generous because God was generous with him. Finally that this trust led him to be serene and joyful. There would have been a ton of problems and worries, but they did not deter or weigh him down.