Ksj wf june 20151

JUNE 2015JUNE 2015 Writers’ ForumWriters’ ForumPg.02Pg.02

“You are a chosen generation

A royal priesthood, a holy nation

A dedicated people

That should show forth the praises of him

Who has called you out of darkness

Into his marvelous light” 1 Peter 2:9

Call to

C o n s e c r a t e d

life is a special

call. We are

s p e c i a l l y

c h o s e n o r

called from the

world for a

special cause.

This special

cause or call is

exercised in

administering

the sacraments

and other ministries that our charism demands.

As we look at our lives today as consecrated

people, we find we've failed to make our presence

felt in a world that is longing for peace and love and

is in need of a helping hand. We have forgotten our

responsibility to be the stewards of Christ's mission

in this world. Scandals of the religious and priests,

emerging day after day, pave the way for the faithful

to lose their trust in us. In our attempt to be modern

with the changing culture and fashion, we are losing

our identity as consecrated persons. Besides, our

number is decreasing and our youth show very little

interest in embracing the consecrated life.

In this scenario Pope Francis has given a

wake-up call to all of us. He urges us to wake-up to

the world. This reminds us of our vocation, to serve

with vigor and zeal. He exhorts us to respond

creatively to our call by reading the signs of the time.

He desires that the consecrated people be cheerful,

carrying the daily crosses with a smile.

T h i s

i s s u e

c a r r i e s

s o m e

articles on

consecrate

d l i fe. I

would like

to take this

opportunit

y to thank

a l l t h e

b u d d i n g

writers, poets, artists for their contribution. I also

thank the readers, and I eagerly look forward to your

feedback

EDITORIALEDITORIALVishwas MisquithSJVishwas MisquithSJ

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAY


IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAYDheeraj D'Souza SJ Dheeraj D'Souza SJ

Pg. 03Pg. 03

he fundamental nature of Consecrated life

is to lead a life of fidelity to the person and Tmission of Jesus Christ, by saying “yes” to

Him in every situation of life and making Him the

centre of one's being. Consecrated life has meaning

in God alone. So the purpose of the Consecrated life

lies in seeking God alone and helping others to seek

God in their daily life by being a model of a God-

seeker.

What does it mean to be a

Consecrated person?

To be in communion: The

meaning of Consecrated

life depends on how deeply

one is rooted in Christ. The

intimacy one experiences in

Christ, who is in union with

the Father and the Spirit,

should help a Consecrated

p e r s o n t o l i v e i n

communion with the whole

of creation, especially with

one's fellow humans, who

are created in the image and

likeness of God. Without

the aspect of communion there is no meaning in

Consecrated life.

To say “no” to worldly attachments and to say

“yes” to God in complete self-surrender: It is a

call to realize that nothing in this world belongs to

me, and all that I have is a gift from God to glorify

Him. It is a call to free oneself from the external

things that control and thus to allow Christ to take

hold of one's life, in full self-surrender.

Saying “Yes” to Consecrated life is to make Christ

the ultimate value of one's being, trusting in His

goodness and mercy, by making a conscious choice

to renounce everything that takes us away from

Him.

In today's context the greatest challenge for

consecrated persons is, being true to one's call.

Where media constantly tries to divert the minds of

people by projecting false identity as the true

identity; where consumerism

a n d m a t e r i a l i s m a r e

c o n t r o l l i n g o u r l i v e s ,

individualism is creeping in,

power and money have

b e c o m e t h e a b s o l u t e

requirements for recognition,

morality is declining, religion

b e c o m e s m e a n i n g l e s s ,

s c i e n c e a n d m o d e r n

t e c h n o l o g y p r o j e c t

themselves as having the

answer for everything, and

the list goes on. In this context

to swim against the current by

making Christ the centre of

one's being and to reflect him in one's daily life is the

greatest challenge for a consecrated person.

Another challenge could be to lead an

integrated life in the given context. The usual

tendency of people is to be one-sided, that is, either

to focus fully on religious practices, without being

rooted in one's context, or it could be the other way

about – being fully immersed in the world without

having enough spiritual depth. Both the extremes

have their own dangers.

JUNE 2015JUNE 2015 Writers’ ForumWriters’ Forum

Pg. 04 Pg. 04

As consecrated men and women we are

called to be prophets in our given situation. In the

Bible we have the examples of prophets Jeremiah

and Hananiah (Jer: 23; 26; 28). Prophet Hananiah

being focused on worldly things, was interested in

pleasing authorities and prophesied based on some

past prophecies, without reflecting on his present

context. His lack of openness to the fresh revelation

from God in the context made him outdated. On the

other hand prophet Jeremiah being deeply united

w i t h G o d a n d

rooted in the life

situation of the

people becomes

the spokesperson

of God in spite of

being aware of the

chal lenges and

threats he had to

face. He takes

courage to be the

true voice of God

(Jer 20:7-9). As

consecrated men

and women we are

called to be like

prophet Jeremiah

who was open to

the revelation from God in his given context,

through his integrated way of life. No doubt, it is a

great challenge for every religious to lead a life

worthy of his/her calling.

At the same time we know every challenge is

an opportunity to be a different person. One who is

convinced of one's call and who finds meaning of

life in Jesus and who wants to be a true witness to

and a reflection of Christ;

for such a person, our present reality could be

considered to be a golden opportunity to become

another Christ. Christ during his earthly ministry

went in search of people who were voiceless,

victimized, suffering, marginalized and those who

were considered to be the least and the lost. To be a

reflection of Christ is to make his options our own.

In the words of Pope Francis, it amounts to have 'the

smell of one's sheep'.

In today's context

nobody can deny that we

h a v e u m p t e e n

opportunities: as the gap

between the rich and the

poor is increasing due to

g l o b a l i z a t i o n ,

c o n s u m e r i s m h a s

overpowered the value of

human life, materialism is

making the life of the poor

harder, human beings are

objectified by today's

science and technology,

dignity of the person is

reduced to their mere

usefulness, mother earth

has turned out to be a

dumping place and a laboratory for experimenting

man's greed and so on. In this context it is an

opportunity for every Christian to make the options

of Christ his/her own. All the more so for religious,

who have consecrated themselves to Jesus by

making a choice to walk in the footprints of him who

emptied himself and became one with us, it is a great

opportunity to reflect the values and the message of

Christ through their life witness.




IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAY Dheeraj D'Souza SJ Dheeraj D'Souza SJ Contd. from pg. 03Contd. from pg. 03


Pg.05Pg.05

s the Church celebrates the Year of

Consecrated Life, the number of men and Awomen in religious orders in India has

experienced a steady decline from peak numbers in

the recent years. Many of the schools, hospitals, and

other ministries

s t a r t e d b y

religious orders

are today staffed

pr imari ly by

l a y m e n a n d

laywomen. But

religious life

today also provides a wide array of opportunities for

sisters, brothers, and priests to choose a unique path

by serving their orders in new and different ways.

Life of reflection and action

I think one of the challenges in religious life today is

to give enough space to that kind of pondering.

Today reflection has lost its meaning. How many of

us truly discern well before taking up any new

venture? We take things and people for granted. 'I

KNOW IT' rules us and we end up in a mess. Today

we need a contemplative attitude and not action

alone Sometimes we can get stuck in a rut. But we

need to see where the Spirit is inviting us..

Vatican II invites us to “carry forward the work of

Christ under the leadership of the befriending

Spirit.” Otherwise we become like mice running on

wheels, and that just does nothing but exhaust

people. For me, it's about real discerning that we are

called to now. When someone asks us on our

ministry what is

our response?

T o d a y w e

c a n n o t s a y,

'going on'. That

would be the

d e a t h o f

religious life. Let's move as the Spirit of the Lord

leads us. We need to have depth in our God-

experience and to transform that depth into our

mission.

During our formation we are taught to pray

and reflect. We need to reflect on the present

challenges of Christianity in India. Taking up any

prophetic task is another challenge we face today.

We tend to search for security in our community and

society. As religious leaders we must be ready to

respond wisely. The present government is offering

us ample opportunities to reflect and act. We need to

criticize positively such behavior and thus we must

enable, empower and energize the people.

Anush D'Cunha SJAnush D'Cunha SJ

Conclusion: An optimist can see a silver lining even

in the dark cloud. This silver lining becomes a ray of

hope for him/her. At the same time a pessimist can

restrict himself/herself to seeing the cloud and mourn

over his/ her helplessness. Today we as consecrated

men and women are called to see the silver lining in a

broken world and become a ray of hope for those who

have lost hope,








IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAYContd. from pg. 4Contd. from pg. 4 Dheeraj D'Souza SJ Dheeraj D'Souza SJ a light to those who are in darkness, a voice to those

who are voiceless. Opportunities to serve are

countless, but it is a challenge to use them in an

effective way as Christ did in his own historical

context. Today every consecrated person should ask

himself/ herself how he/she is becoming another

Christ in the given context.


Pg. 06Pg. 06

Disciple: after the Heart of Christ

Today it is a great challenge to be a radical disciple.

The words of Jesus to carry a few things with us are

far from our imagination. Undoubtedly we have

enough and more excuses for it. Leaving everything

behind and following the Lord is not a life of

isolation. The Consecrated life invites us to live a

life in communion with others and working

tirelessly to build communities of freedom,

fellowship and justice.

Community life

Community life as per the

Church is challenged as

outdated for several

reasons:

Firstly, we have now

discovered a new worth

of the individual as a person, which makes

communal living antiquated. Here is the problem of

our evangelical counsels.

Secondly, community life by people of the same sex

is said to be based on an archaic notion of what a

group is.

Thirdly, large communities or common houses are

intolerable. They are a relic of former days.

Finally, poverty and patience are canonized as

virtues.

Today's thinking pattern is on individual

liberty that is emphasized in the secular world. This

deeply affects the meaning of religious life in

community. Communities are for individuals as

means to serve the person in need; they are not

intrinsically worthwhile, to which the individual is

somehow subordinate.

If he or she finds that living with others helps

him/her as a person, toward personal fulfillment,

then he/she may join a group, but even then it should

be regularly a small group of like-minded peers. It

should not be a community in which, as we formerly

believed, a premium is placed on self-denial. In the

Society of Jesus we are given several chances for

self-expression. Therefore community life not a life

of self-denial, but of self-expression.

Challenges of the reality

around

Religious men and women

of today are challenged by

the reality outside. Today the

world economy is led largely

by the so called powerful

people. A lot of wealth is

produced in the world today but it is unevenly

distributed. This has resulted in an unbridgeable gap

between the haves and the have-nots. The

globalization of market economy has given birth to

“new victims” like the new poor created by the

recent financial crisis, persons with AIDS/HIV,

child prostitutes, street children, child labourers,

undocumented migrants etc.

New forms of poverty will continue to be

created in the wake of increased globalization if the

present trends are to be believed. Poverty is always

dehumanizing. Hence, whatever its form, it will

always pose a challenge to the religious who are

committed to a “mission of promoting fullness of

life.” Therefore the challenge is to be other-

centered. Through our daily contacts with people we

can experience the reality around us. Here we have

an opportunity to reach out to the unreached and to

hear the unheard.




IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAYAnush D'Cunha SJAnush D'Cunha SJContd. from pg. 05Contd. from pg. 05


Pg. 07Pg. 07

Finally young boys and girls end up in drugs,

alcohol or violence. Today guiding and being with

the youth in our ministry is indispensable. We can

help them to seek God amidst all these.

Conclusion

It is Consecrated people who have to give the

leadership in the Kingdom of God. Though we feel

that religious life as it is lived today is in crisis, we

cannot doubt its relevance in the postmodern

world. It is the responsibility of each individual

consecrated person to make the needed shift in

her/his life in order to be an authentic follower of

Jesus in the 21st century. Our identity as followers of

Christ's mission must be recalled and recollected.

The world around us is fragmented in various ways

by ethnicity, race, caste, gender, culture, religion and

the like. Growing individualism is breaking up

communities including religious communities.

Families are becoming more and more

dysfunctional. Since persons are born in particular

historical situations which are often broken and

fragmented, they grow up with various

psychological burdens. Many are victimized due to

social evils such as child abuse, rape, prostitution,

domestic violence etc. There are many in today's

world who are lonely, and there's no one around

them to be with. As a result they lack self-respect and

self–acceptance. That has led to negative emotions

such as anger, jealousy and so on.

Offer me no flowers when I am dead,

I would fail to smell their

fragrance.

Sing no praises with thy loud

voices,

My deaf ears in coffin won't hear

them.

She’d not those precious tears,

They are worthy of a better person

than me.

Carry no memories of me in heart,

For all past of mine has dissolved

in soil.

My love for you was a feather on yoke;

Farthest oceans would know our

meet,

Tallest mountains would bow to

our kisses,

Winds being too jealous of our

relationship.

But, now the beginning has

become a dead end.

Our long road has ceased at an

early bend.

Strange is thy Love for me...Stranger is thy heart to me...

STRANGE IS THY LOVE...STRANGE IS THY LOVE...

Ashwil Lobo SJAshwil Lobo SJ

Anush D'Cunha SJAnush D'Cunha SJ

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAY


Contd. from pg. 6Contd. from pg. 6

POEMPOEM


reparing new members for religious life is 'a

craft, not a police operation'. We must Pinclude the formation of hearts. Otherwise,

we are creating little monsters. Then these little

monsters mold the people of God. This really gives

me goose bumps.”

- Pope Francis

To d a y

when we speak

a b o u t

c o n s e c r a t e d

l i f e , we do

speak about the

decrease in the

n u m b e r

embracing it;

this has been a

burning issue in

our day-to-day

conversation. Therefore, it is very important to take

off from here. There is indeed a crisis of vocations to

consecrated life in some important geographical

areas. The crisis is especially apparent in Western

Europe and North America, although it is also

imaginable that such a crisis eventually may creep

into other regions of the globe in the near future.

The most manifest sign of this crisis is the

unrestrained decrease in the number of religious

men and women on the one hand, and the sensing of

an increasing irrelevance of religious life on the

other. This crisis is being manifested not only in the

context of the Church which is becoming more and

more polycentric and global, but also in the process

of Westernization taking place inside the Church.

What makes people consider religious life

irrelevant? Who is responsible for this? Recently I

met a Jesuit who is a professor in Harvard

University, U.S.A. I asked him concerning

vocations to religious life in U.S.A. He said that now

the vocation to religious life is gradually increasing,

especially to the Society of Jesus, because of the

impact of Pope Francis

on the minds of people.

T h e r e f o r e , I

concluded that the

decrease in vocations

is because we as

consecrated persons

badly fail to inspire

others. People do not

see us as happy,

e n t h u s i a s t i c a n d

missionary religious.

Keeping this in mind,

they have developed such a mindset as to call us 'out

of mind' instead of knowing the deeper meaning

embedded in religious life. The problem lies on both

sides. The religious fail to inspire people, and in

return, we do not get committed people to work for

the Kingdom of God. We need persons like Pope

Francis today who has touched the hearts of many.

I think pointing out the opportunities and

challenges to consecrated life with respect to the

present world is shallow. Therefore, I would like to

share my experience in explaining the challenges

and opportunities in consecrated life today. A few

months ago, ISIS beheaded four children and

recently around twenty Iraqi Christians were

beheaded when they refused to convert to Islam.

Pg. 08Pg. 08

Joseph Jerald SJJoseph Jerald SJ






This disturbing incident raised in my mind

many fundamental philosophical questions; among

them one was this: if God knew that these kids

would be beheaded, why did God cause them to be

born? Do we as humans wish to put our dear ones in

the most difficult realities so that they may suffer

and die? I searched for an answer, asked many

people; none of them was able to give me a

satisfactorily convincing answer. The struggle went

on for days.

W e

a s R o m a n

Catholics do

not believe in

predestinatio

n. Did God

n o t k n o w

what would

happen to

t h o s e

c h i l d r e n ?

Does God

not know the

mind of a

terrorist? How is that God who knows everything

can make such a mistake? I reflected deeply on this. I

did not find an answer. We do speak of freedom that

God has given to us in the book of Genesis. Where is

freedom here? I am free but not those who are in

such difficult situations.

Enlightenment dawned on me after a few

months when I was reading 'An Idealist View of

Life' by Radhakrishnan.

In the seventh chapter, the author speaks of 'the self

and the environment'. Here he speaks that man is a

flame of unrest full of uncertain seeking and

disorder... knowledge, art, morality and religion are

the devices employed by man to realize his destiny

as a member of a spiritual fellowship, a kingdom in

which each is in the whole and the whole is in some

measure in each. I understood from this that there is

a certain kind of interconnectedness between the

environment and

me.

Therefore, I

can say, 'I am

what I am and my

environment (the

whole universe)'.

In short, I share

my 'self' with

everything. There

i s c e r t a i n

interconnectedne

s s b e t w e e n

environment and

me, especially

human beings without which I cannot exist and my

'self' will not be justified completely. If something

bad happens to any part of the environment, there

will be an imbalance and the 'Self' deteriorates.

This in turn called me to respond to the situation; I

realized that the suffering of the people is my

suffering. I realized that in fact there is a tremendous

freedom given to me to change the situation. Here

God need not intervene because I owe responsibility

for everything happening around me.




IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAYJoseph Jerald SJJoseph Jerald SJ

Pg. 09Pg. 09



This in turn called me to respond to the

situation; I realized that the suffering of the people is

my suffering. I realized that in fact there is a

t r e m e n d o u s

freedom given to

me to change the

situation. Here

G o d n e e d n o t

intervene because I

owe responsibility

for every th ing

happening around

me.

This is a

g r e a t e s t

opportunity for a

c o n s e c r a t e d

person to feel with the entire humanity, the

suffering, nature and the entire universe. Religious

formation is the formation of the heart, which calls

for the realization of the interconnectedness with

everything around.

The challenge is that we are not ready to let

go our individuality. We do not want to be parts in

the Whole (God). We are scared to let go our 'I' in the

Whole. We want to consider ourselves as Whole

(God). Such people will be indifferent to realities

(not empathetic).

The vows we have pronounced call us to exercise

freedom from all our inordinate attachments to take

u p t h i s

n o b l e

responsibil

i t y o f

taking care

o f

everything

. Are we

ready? If

t h i s i s

r e a l i z e d

we will be

able to do God's work in any given situation, be it in

the globalized world or in the world to come.

Pope Francis is a model for us to realize our

responsibility to our neighbors. There is a

tremendous responsibility on us to take care of our

brothers and sisters. We will discover the deeper

meaning in religious life only if we realize this.

Joseph Jerald SJJoseph Jerald SJ





Pg.10Pg.10



Joseph Martin SJJoseph Martin SJ

hallenges of religious life. What the fun!CShe wakes up every morning at 4:30, thanks God for

the day and begins to do her daily chores: preparing

breakfast for her kids and getting ready their lunch

as well. Keeps her

husband's paper work

on the table, because he

often forgets to take it.

Waves him good-bye.

Takes her notes and test

papers that she has not

fully corrected, drops

her kids in school and

rushes to college. As she

rips her way to college –

a roadblock.

Sister wakes up at 5:00 in the morning, says her

community prayer and attends mass. After

breakfast, she begins to read her newspaper in the

reading room. From the residence, it is only five-

minute walk to the college but she leaves half an

hour early, `cause punctuality is a virtue that cannot

be compromised.

She managed to find an alternate road and reached

college office dead in time, punched her attendance.

'You're late,' said a pompous stern voice.

She looked back to see: it was her principal –Sister.

She apologized without giving reasons.

'Carry on,' said Sister

As she hurried, she dropped her books down, but

immediately picked them up and hurried to class.

Sister sighed and nodded as if she had to decide

something.

Wondering what are the challenges of religious

today!

Understanding.

After Angelus sister started her lunch. Taking her

daily medication and her regular nap, which was in

between a power nap and a good sleep. She began to

walk back towards

college half an hour

early. As she reached her

office she noticed one of

t h e s t u d e n t s w a s

standing near the office;

as she got closer she

recognized the student.

That student did not

attend a class test due to

migraine. Sister pranced

into her office and called

him in.

'I don't think migraine can be a reason to skip class

test. You should take care of your health during such

situations'.

He didn't know what to say. He just mumbled

something, not knowing what to say or how to

explain it to her.

'Please pay the fine and only after that, you'll be

given permission to attend classes'.

However, he stood hesitant.

Sister, losing her temper, began to yell: 'Don't you

understand English, boy? Why are you still

standing? What did you expect - that I'd forgive you

and allow you go on like this? Now get out'.

After the student left, Sister gulped two more pills.


today!

CHALLENGES OF RELIGIOUS LIFECHALLENGES OF RELIGIOUS LIFE

Pg. 11Pg. 11JUNE 2015JUNE 2015 Writers’ ForumWriters’ Forum

Hypocrisy

The meeting began at 3:15 in the afternoon and as

always sister was chairing the session. She too was

present. The following week was graduation day for

the final year students.

Sister noticed that she was in charge of stage events.

Sister with

c a r e f u l

discernment

a n d

d e d u c t i o n

a b o u t t h e

m o r n i n g

i n c i d e n t ,

a p p o i n t e d

another staff

member to

ass i s t he r

( s h e ) i n

m a n a g i n g

stage events.

W i t h t h e

hymn spirit be our spirit they concluded the

meeting.


today!

Trust.

Challenge of a religious person is not only in

keeping the three vows, but also in breaking oneself. thIf poverty is a challenge, India ranks 65 in global

hunger index (2012).

49,000 slums in urban India alone. Which means

more than half of 121 billion people are poor. I do

not think any religious house is even close to it, may

be miles away.

India's military strength - the total population

1,236,344,630. Any sign of disobedience results in

dismissal.

W h e n

compared

to that, I

guess at

leas t in

religious

o r d e r s

they give

r e a s o n s

f o r

dismissal.

Let us not

w o r r y

about the

authenticity of the decision maker.

Chastity! Lord Krishna holds the rein of the seven

horses.

As the academic year is ending sister would see

another batch of students graduate. One generation

every year.

Opportunities of religious life! What the fun.

CHALLENGES OF RELIGIOUS LIFECHALLENGES OF RELIGIOUS LIFEJoseph Martin SJJoseph Martin SJContd. from pg. 11Contd. from pg. 11



The opening of the Church's windows by the Second

Vatican Council has brought a fresh air of

understanding with regard to the Church, hierarchy,

laity, consecrated life, sacraments, and other

religions. But at the same time, together with secular

society, the Church is confronted with many

challenges, like new trends in marriage, an increased

rate of divorce, child abuse,

sexual scandals, fall in the

number of vocat ions to

religious life, many priests and

religious leaving priesthood or

religious life, etc. Hence today stin the 21 century, we need to

revisit and remodel our

consecrated life according to

the signs of the times, keeping

in mind our founder's spirit.

Some of the Challenges and

Opportunities of Consecrated stLife in the 21 Century

1. T e m p t a t i o n o f

Relevance

One of the first temptations

J e s u s f a c e d i n t h e

w i l d e r n e s s w a s t h e

temptation of relevance. “If

you are the Son of God

command this stone to become a loaf of bread”

(Lk4:3). Today if you want to be somebody in

the world, you have to be “Doing” many things;

otherwise you are nobody. In a climate of

secularization, consecrated persons feel less and

less relevant and more and more marginal,

because their counterparts are far more qualified

than they are in almost every field.

The question of relevance comes mainly because

consecrated life is held in esteem for its “Doing”

rather than its “Being”. Indeed its values lie more in

“being” from God and for God, than in “doing” its

mission. However there should not be a dichotomy

between being and doing. Our Pope Emeritus,

Benedict XVI, in his address to priests in Warsaw

invited us all to focus on

being rather than on

doing,

“In the face of the

t e m p t a t i o n s o f

re l a t i v i s m o r t h e

permissive society there

is absolutely no need for

the priest (and the

religious) to know all

the latest changing

currents of thought:

what the faithful expect

from him/her is to be a

witness to eternal

wisdom contained in the

revealed Word”.

1. Culture of

Temporary

A n o t h e r v e r y

serious challenge to

religious life, is what Pope Francis would call the

culture of temporary. We are living in the age of

instants, from instant coffee to instant food; we

want everything in a short span of time. In this

context it has been difficult for many people to

make fundamental and lasting commitments. Thus

there is a drop in the vocations to religious and

priestly life.




IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAYPratap Chandru Pratap Chandru

Pratap Chandru Pratap Chandru





IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAYContd. from pg. 13Contd. from pg. 13

3. Fall in Love

Today many religious have become practical

atheists, because our lives are centered on an

idea or ideology, not on Jesus Christ. Basically

our religious life is not a matter of membership

in a society but an expression of commitment to

Jesus. A former Superior General of the Society

of Jesus, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, has beautifully

e x p r e s s e d t h e

impor tance of

falling in love

w i t h G o d . “

Nothing is more

pract ical than

finding God, than

falling in love in a

quite absolute

final way, what

you are in love

with, what seizes

your imagination,

that will affect

everything...fall in

love, stay in love

and it will decide everything”.

4. Collective Witness

Today many religious congregations are worried

about having fewer vocations or no vocations at

all. In the first place, why do we need vocations?

Is it to run our schools, hospitals, social work

centers? We need to realize that the main

contribution we religious can bring to the world

is not the work we do, but the quality of our

relationships. What we proclaim and what we do

is authenticated through our collective witness.

Our community is not just for mission, it is itself

mission (GC 35, D3, 41).

3. 70+20+10 Formula of Formation

Fr Joe Mannath gives us a 70+20+10 formula for

formation, that is, 70 percent of formation depends

on the candidate, 20 percent on the formators and 10

percent on the programme. Therefore the major

chunk of formation is self-formation. Pastores

Dabo Vobis too clearly states, “All formation….is

ultimately a self-formation.

No one can replace us in the

responsible freedom that we

have as individual persons”

(69). Sociologist, Fr Paul

Parathazham in his study on

vocations and formation of

priests and religious in India

shows that a good number of

seminarians and young

religious show signs of

g r e a t e r i m m a t u r i t y

compared to those of their

age group outside. This data

shows that the formees are

over-protected and not very

much in contact with outside realities. Our

formation houses are not like laboratories, where

formators conduct experiments on formees. As St.

Francis de Sales says, “Religious congregations are

not formed for the purpose of gathering perfect

persons but those who have the courage to strive

towards perfection. It is a school where one comes

to learn about the means to acquire perfection”.

Hence the role of formators is like that of a guru:

encouraging, correcting, challenging, providing

opportunities, accompanying and above all, as Pope

Francis says, setting an example of consistency to

the youngsters.

But in this consumerist and individualistic age there

is a threat to our community life, where human

warmth and personal relations have been replaced

by computers and cell-phones. This automatically

gives room for gossip, jealousy, power craziness and

ambition.

3. To be Religious is to be Inter-religious

In a multi-religious context like ours, inter-religious

formation is not just geared to peace and harmony.

But when there is a blend of prophetic and mystical

aspects from different religious,

we can have a holistic spirituality. This indeed

enhances our idea of God and of our mission.

Therefore inter-religious formation is not merely

helpful but is an obligation.

ConclusionstIn the 21 century our religious life is confronted

with many challenges. In the face of these

challenges religious life seems irrelevant in the eyes

of the world. But it has also very many opportunities

to be a radiant sign of the Kingdom of Heaven for the

Church and for the world.

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vÀ®èt vÀ®ètGeorge Pinto SJGeorge Pinto SJ

Pratap Chandru Pratap Chandru



Pg. 15Pg. 15


POEMPOEM


A Challenge and an Opportunity

Diversity and differences make life a

celebration. Diversity can be seen almost

everywhere in the

visible reality – among

people, in nature and in

the entire changing

universe. Diversity

among people is a gift in

the sense that it fosters

d i f f e r e n c e s i n

viewpoints, cultural

beauty, creativity and

many other constructive

effects. An orchestra, for

example, sounds rich

and full as it involves

d i ffe ren t k inds o f

musical instruments

g i v i n g o u t m a n y

different sounds in

harmony.

In the consecrated life, diversity is

created when people from different parts of the

world and having different attitudes and

personalities respond to the same call of Jesus and

come to live together as a family. Although in the

external life stress is laid on order and uniformity,

basically all are different. In religious life, working

in a team becomes crucial. Teamwork comes with

training and an appropriate attitude towards oneself

and others. Not many like to live with diversity and

adopt an attitude of universal acceptance. Therefore

diversity among people, which is the basic

characteristic of religious groups, becomes a

challenge.

Diversity elicits two kinds of response: One

is an attitude of tolerance and acceptance and the

other is of intolerance and exclusivist thinking.

Arnold Joseph Toynbee (1889 – 1975), a British

h i s t o r i a n a n d

phi losopher of

history, who has

s t u d i e d 2 6

c i v i l i z a t i o n s

observes that a

c iv i l i za t ion in

d e c l i n e i s

characterized by

uniformity. He

s t a t e s ,

“ C i v i l i z a t i o n s

dec l ined when

t h e i r l e a d e r s

s t o p p e d

r e s p o n d i n g

creatively, and the

civilizations then

sank owing to nationalism, militarism and the

tyranny of a despotic minority.” Toynbee also shows

that societies always die of suicide rather than by

murder. Toynbee's insights are a damning

indictment on the activities of the Hindu

fundamentalists in India who seem to have taken up

the task of systematically persecuting minorities in

order to build a uniform Hindu rashtra.

India is an interesting amalgam of diverse

cultures, languages and religious practices. Shashi

Tharoor, a well known Indian politician and writer,

presents the analogy of Indian Thali which consists

of a variety of dishes to represent the different

cultures of India.

Praveen Martis SJPraveen Martis SJ

LIVING WITH DIVERSITY LIVING WITH DIVERSITY

Pg. 16Pg. 16 Writers’ ForumWriters’ ForumJUNE 2015JUNE 2015

Ramin Jahanbegloo, an Iranian political

philosopher, observes in his book The Spirit of India

that peaceful diversity has always been an essential

characteristic of India. This has made the Indian

society very vibrant. According to him, “…the logic

of extremism cannot hold ground very long in a

cultural unit (of India) where the rhetoric of peaceful

d i v e r s i t y

poses a new

f o r m o f

togetherness

. ” T h e

importance

g i v e n t o

diversity in

India can be

gauged with

the help of

this ancient

Rig Vedic

p r a y e r

which says,

“ M a y t h e

noble winds from all over the world blow into my

house.”

St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the

Society of Jesus, was adept at winning friends. The

first companions who formed the first body of the

universal Society of Jesus were never a uniform

group. St Ignatius and St Francis Xavier themselves

belonged to two different families in Spain that were

at war with each other. Yet they learnt to work

together. Had the first companions kept their

differences ahead of everything else, surely, there

wouldn't have been a Society of Jesus. The same

lessons apply to the present.

In the present context, given that we have the

task of living together as consecrated people, can we

also learn to accept one another as they are? The

people who willingly accept change and change

with the times are happier. Pope Francis in Evangelii

Gaudium speaks of the need to change with the

t i m e s

and calls

u p o n

e v e r y

consecra

t e d

person to

look out

fo r the

signs of

t h e

t i m e s .

T h e

s p i r i t

w h i c h

k e e p s

m o v i n g

us from within is a spirit of unity and acceptance.

It is natural to have differences. Take any

group photo, for example, and you will find people

standing in different poses, each reflecting their

different personalities. Diversity needs to be

cherished. At the same time living with diversity

requires training and also the cultivation of an

attitude of sensitivity towards the other. In religious

life, genuine mutual love and acceptance

encourages diversity. This love can promote true

vibrancy in community life and in mission.

LIVING WITH DIVERSITY LIVING WITH DIVERSITY Praveen Martis SJPraveen Martis SJ

Pg. 17Pg. 17 Writers’ ForumWriters’ Forum


JUNE 2015JUNE 2015

onsecrated life is an opportunity to

celebrate life in all its fullness. It is a call to Cspread the joy of the Gospel. Celebration

of life is done in community even if it is a

' C o m m u n i t a s a d

Dispersionem' for us

Jesuits in particular. To

spread the joy of the

Gospel, the words of Nadal

may be fruitfully recalled,

the world is our Home. It is

an invitation to each one of

us, to be happy and to make

others happy. For us

Christians as Consecrated

persons, it is an occasion to

deepen our relationship and

to discover to perfection the

person of Christ who is both

mediator and the fullness of

all Revelation of God. Thus

prompted by the Spirit

Consecrated Life is one of

the ways in which we can

reach out to the world that awaits us.

We trace back the origins of Consecrated

Life in the church to the time of Emperor

Constantine. There were at first the Hermits, then

the Monks followed by the Mendicants and then

came the Contemplatives, the Apostolic orders

followed by Religious Congregations. All these men

and women desired to offer their lives to God with

the intention of doing sincere service to humanity.

Just on a lighter note: now even the Holy Spirit does

not know how many Religious Congregations there

are! The challenge that the congregations face today

is to be true to their Charism.

The context of India is multi-religious. What

is our stand on consecrated persons in various

religious traditions, including our own? How do we

look at self-proclaimed God men and women of our

times in our own country? What about the Exorcists

and Charismatics in the

Church itself? How to

distinguish the true ones

from the false? If you've

watched the movie PK,

there is an interesting

insight there!!! Does the

person give yesterday's

solutions to today's

problems? Rather than

leading us to accept

reality and to serve

others to become better

human beings and in

this way to help us give

glory to God, do the

consecrated persons we

encounter lack this

focus? Then they are the

wrong ones! “Yeah

Wrong Number Hai!” This is a beckoning challenge

today, namely, a challenge to respond to the signs of

the times!

Consecrated Life is not devoid of meaning

nor is it irrelevant, as we see that the number of

vocations is on the rise way away from Europe and

America and right here in Asia and Africa. Another

question can, however, be asked about the quality of

these vocations. No one joins with a pure

motivation, but can it be purified at the earlier stages

of Formation? This is another challenge.

Ryan Rodrigues Ryan Rodrigues





Pg.18Pg.18 Writers’ ForumWriters’ ForumJUNE 2015JUNE 2015

Formation itself posits another challenge! Are we

forming men and women to be bearers of Christ in

this postmodern, sensational and consumerist world

of today? Does it prepare individuals to face realities

that are awaiting us? Are we outdated? Can our

formators be more risk takers, give more freedom

and demand accountability, fostering an atmosphere

of transparency and

o p e n n e s s i n

community? How

do we, on the one

hand, stick on to the

f u n d a m e n t a l s

while, on the other,

prepare persons to

answer the world's

needs?

T o l i v e

authent ic l ives ,

b e i n g t r u e t o

ourselves and to

God, is another

challenge today.

Wi t h t h i s f a s t

moving world we

are in danger of

g e t t i n g c a r r i e d

away; besides, we need to often withdraw from all

the noise around into silence and reflection. That

will bring depth. This too is a great challenge.

I would like to shift my focus now to the

opportunities that surround us!

The greatest opportunity consecrated

persons have is to be experts in communion with the

Lord and his people and to ask ourselves from time

to time what is God and what are the people asking

of us today!

We have time-tables, order and discipline in

our religious congregations and houses. to adhere to

it and to be open to express our struggles through

proper channels of dialogue is another opportunity

that awaits us. This will form us to be relevant and to

be ready for the future. It will train us to accept and

form ourselves in the here and now.

We are in a

postmodern and

fast moving world

where gadgets and

c o n s u m e r i s m

dominate. We are

helpless at times

and succumb to

these trends. We

even justify them as

o u r n e e d s f o r

miss ion . Be ing

t echno log ica l ly

advanced is the

need of the hour. To

make use of the

internet and all that

is at lightning speed

w i t h s p e c i f i c

r e f e r e n c e t o

technology which our fore fathers did not even

dream of, for the sake of the Mission is a great

opportunity that awaits us.

With media and communication soaring

high we have ample opportunities to express

ourselves. We can no longer remain silent. Why

don't we make use of such platforms to express

ourselves in various ways through writing, art,

poetry, video animations and the like?




IN CONSECRATED LIFE TODAYRyan Rodrigues Ryan Rodrigues



JUNE 2015JUNE 2015

With rising fundamentalism world over, we

have greater responsibilities to educate our students

in our institutions. We have greater opportunities to

engage in inter religious harmony through dialogue

which essentially involves a give and take

relationship rather than to hold on to our opinions

and ideologies. It certainly calls for a firm

rootedness in ones tradition but at the same time we

need to ask a question as to how far can we extend

ourselves?

We ought to remember religion is the fabric that

binds society together and if it is in crisis the entire

humanity is at stake.

In conclusion I would like to borrow the

words of Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter to all

Consecrated people on the occasion of the Year of

Consecrated Life. Can we, this year and in those to

come be persons of gratitude who can live in the

present with passion and embrace the future with

hope? This is a challenge and an opportunity that stconfronts us as Consecrated persons of the 21

century.

O world, wake up! Wake up to heal with zeal

From the clutches of man's own created hell

Come and join the

march with Christ our

Lord

To be a witness of his

love to brighten the

world

Let us join hands in

building our people

To save and lift our

world from the tricks of

evil

Let's not wait for others, for I can be the first

To make this world a better place to live in

It's not too late my Child; not too late

Act now, Act generously before seeing a fate!

In a bruised world, broken and torn

Persons and things are used and abused

Rich are always rich, the poor remain the

same

Oh..! tell me why this endless boundary?

For one's happiness, thousands toil and

moil

Have we ever thought of their life full of

moan?

For your smile their life is completely

worn

Oh..it's your greed has made them feel all

alone

Should we not wake up from our sluggish

slumber?

Yes! We need to. It's now your chosen number

Think of those who have slogged for your welfare

Can we not with compassion render them our

care?

Oh! Wake up Nation……Oh! Wake up Nation……Joyson Sujay Vas SJJoyson Sujay Vas SJ



Ryan Rodrigues Ryan Rodrigues



POEMPOEM

JUNE 2015JUNE 2015

am a school teacher at St. Joseph's school, in

Mysore, with twenty years of service. I enjoy Iteaching. I like my students. They also have

similar affection towards me. There is a good

rapport between parents and me. The School

management appreciates me for the

extra service that I render to the

school. Our school is doing extremely

well. It is known for its excellence.

The formation of the students is the

prime concern of the school. Most of

the parents in the town want to send

their children to our school. Many are

deprived of this opportunity, because

of the limited seats available. Schools

in our vicinity envy us, mainly

because of the kind of students we get

and the name the school has made in

the whole State. There is no second

word about the commitment of the

staff. They are ready to give their life. There is

focused work and true formation of the students.

Our students feel our school is a home away from

home for them. In the school there are a number of

associations. All of them conduct a number of

activities. The children are encouraged to participate

and build up confidence.

One among them is social concern

association. It gets the maximum number of

students. Usually children give the first preference

to this association, may be because of the number of

creative activities and the outreach programs it

conducts. We have a special system in the school:

students can elect a teacher as the president for the

association, by voting at the beginning of the

academic year.

This year I was elected by the students as the

president. I took up the work with great enthusiasm.

We had a number of activities in the school, among

them intra-school and inter-school competitions.

With the intention of giving village exposure to our

s t u d e n t s , w e

o r g a n i z e d a

work camp in a

remote village,

since most of the

students were

from the city.

Initially my idea

was to take only

10-15 students. I

a s k e d f o r

volunteers. To

m y s u r p r i s e

t h e r e w e r e

around ninety

students. I was helpless. With the approval of the

parents, finally we selected sixty students. I worked

out all the details. Everything was set. When the real

day came, there was a lot of excitement among the

students. I too got up early, went for Mass, and

especially prayed for the success of the camp.

The first day everything was good, very

smooth. We had to make a lot of adjustments. We did

not even get a proper place for cooking. But that was

part of the package of village experience. The camp

was very good; three days went very smoothly. On

the fourth day all of us got up with a lot of eagerness.

The day was as usual. But something strange

happened while preparing the food. There was

adulteration of the food.

Dheeraj D'Souza SJDheeraj D'Souza SJ

FATE THAT WOULD HAVE

CHANGED MY LIFE

FATE THAT WOULD HAVE

CHANGED MY LIFE


SHORT STORYSHORT STORY

JUNE 2015JUNE 2015

Children were hungry, after the hard work in the

garden. They enjoyed the food. After an hour all

those who ate the food started vomiting blood; one

by one fell unconscious. I was helpless. There was

no proper transportation facility in the village. I

managed to send nearly thirty of them to the

hospital. Ten were delayed, they were grasping for

breath. Five of them breathed their last on the way. I

did not know how to react to the situation. I was all

the more frightened; words were not flowing from

my mouth. Police came for enquiry.

I was surrounded by media persons. I did not know

what to do. How to inform the parents? I was

sweating profusely. I even cursed God for being so

unkind to me. As I was in that helpless situation I

heard the bell. I thought it was the parish funeral

bell, since many of the students were Catholics. I

grieved all the more.

At that time I heard a voice from the camp

coordinator. How long do you sleep? It's time to get

up. I saw him waking up the other children.

When I opened my eyes I realized that I was still on

bed. It was just a dream. Thank God, it was only a

dream!

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FATE THAT WOULD HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE

FATE THAT WOULD HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE

Dheeraj D'Souza SJDheeraj D'Souza SJ


POEMPOEM


JUNE 2015JUNE 2015

SAHODAYA 2015, MANVISAHODAYA 2015, MANVI

Ksj wf june 20151

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