Prajwalana

PPPPPrajwalanarajwalanarajwalanarajwalanarajwalanaPage 3

Why do we call the Earth ‘Mother Earth’ andnot ‘Father Earth?’ It is probably because of itsquality of giving. The Earth, nature, gives us itsfruits, it sustains life and it teaches us. Mother isthe first teacher that a child encounters. Just like amother in a family, nature too is a great teacher. Itonly requires our readiness to listen to her quietlessons. Every creature on this earth has a lessonto teach and Neela Kurinji is one such creature thathas something to communicate to us.

Neela Kurinji (Strobilanthes Kunthianus) is ashrub predominantly found in the Shola forests ofthe Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills of South India.It belongs to a group of gregarious flowering plantswhich flower once in 12 years and die immediatelyafter producing seeds. Its flowering is influencedby the surroundings, temperature, time of exposureto sunlight, humidity and favorable circumstancesfor pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal.Under these favorable conditions, the receptorssuch as phytochromes present in the leaves willsend the signals to rush more nutrients,carbohydrates, sugars, water and florigens such asGibberllins (plant harmones) to the meristems toproduce floral buds. These floral buds bloom onreceiving more sugars and water. But this bloomingwill take place only when the inhibitorsconcentration falls below certain critical levels. InKurinji plants this happens regularly after a gap oftwelve years. During this gap of 12 years theseplants gather resources and prepare themselvesfor flowering. By this time the inhibitor levels inKurinji must have fallen below the critical levelsmaking it suitable for both flowering and seedformation. Hence mass pollination takes place andseed formation occurs. Once the seeds are shedthe plants will die.

What do we learn from this plant? Jesus livedfor 33 years but was actively involved in his ministry

Nature our Teacheronly for three years. Was Hethen inactive during the 30long years? Definitely not.Though we do not have anydetails of his early life we dohave one sentence that tells usall. “He increased in wisdomand in years, and in divine andhuman favour (Lk 2: 52). Jesuits are known for theirlong years of formation. One may look at it aspostponing the day of ordination. But the realpurpose is not to grow only in age but also inknowledge and wisdom. Formation is a time tobecome resourceful, to gather nutrients and to getour roots deeply embeded which will enable us toproduce abundant flowers and seeds. The strengthof the tree depends on the depth of its roots. Theword ‘depth’ is one of the favorite words of Fr.General Adolfo Nicolas, because he truly believesthat if we want to be fruitful in our ministry weneed to have depth; depth in our spiritual,academic, social and pastoral life. It is this depththat will make us effective. It is not the quantity ofwork that counts but the quality of work and thisquality can come from depth. We are called toacquire this depth during our formation. The resultof our formation should make us effective flower-bearers and bearers of fruit far and wide, fruit thatwill last.

Formation is a time to dream; dream forourselves, dream for the society and dream for theworld. Each one of us has a signature and thissignature is unique. Let this signature not be usedto sign an attendance register or to draw a salary.Let our dream be our signature. Let us be knownby our dream. This is possible only if we gatherenough resources and nutrients during our longyears of formation.

Sch Praveen Kumar SJ


The Responsibility of Human Beings With Respect To Nature and the Future Generations to Come

We, human beings, have used our intelligencein our relationship with the physical world with allour capabilities to arrive in history towards an eraof industrial and technological development andthus have been responsible for the ecologicalimbalance in nature. Today, we are walking at highspeed through a time of great danger wheretechnology and human irresponsibility towardsnature pose a great danger for the future ofhumanity and the planet. If we turn our attentionto the time and the generations to come, there isan immediate call to rebuild this planet throughsustainable action for the survival of human beingsand of nature.

Modern man has arrived at a stage in historywhere he feels he can control his genetic heritagethrough genetic manipulation. He also feelscapable of taking in his own hands his ownevolution as his project, though the risk involvedin it is enormous. But, can human beings justifythat they have the right to do so? It is in this contextthat we need to think about human responsibilitytowards not only nature but also the nature ofhuman being himself/herself. It is imperative tothink of a new ethic because the former isinadequate for today's problems and those of thefuture. An act of the reason that pushed us towards

destruction should lead us toact differently from before,with responsibility towardssustainable construction.Thus, we need to takeresponsibility for the danger ofecological destruction that themodern technology and theattitude of modern human being are posing to theplanet earth.

In this context the position of human beingstoday should be one of caretaker of nature, as wehave been created as its stewards. Thus, we needto safeguard nature, which implies that we cannot'dominate' over nature in its literal sense. The callto stewardship is a privilege given to humankindby God. Hence, it should be a responsiblestewardship. We need to keep in mind one of theimportant principles of 'eco-justice', viz. that thereis 'interconnectedness' between us and nature.When we keep in mind this principle and listen toGod's voice, a bridge of mutual love is formedbetween the creator and the creation. The creationthat God has entrusted to us has to be offered backto God in a good condition and for this we aresupposed to sustain it. It is through us humanbeings that God is shaping the future condition ofthe environment.

If the degradation of the environment has tostop and the sustainable development has to begin,then it should be a continual enhancement of lifefor the whole planetary community. Since Godcontinues his work in creation, He sustains creation.It is only by the grace of God that we have receivedit to be used responsibly and to be taken care of.Without nature with a good future, we cannot thinkof the existence of human beings as it is a sinequa non requirement for their survival. Hans Jonasin his work, "The Principle of Responsibility" saysthat the interest of the human being must coincide


with that of the rest of his earthly life that he/sheis part of. So, we have two obligations to fulfil withresponsibility: first, with respect to nature and thesecond, with respect to human beings themselves.When we come to realize the negative effects ofour actions towards nature, we discover thatthrough our utilitarian attitude we have violatedthe dignity of nature and that of other humanbeings, especially that of the poor and themarginalised.

Hence, we need to change our destructive wayof going about in nature, if we want that futuregenerations should live in agreeable conditionsprevailing in it. We need to act responsibly now, tomanage our future and also that of the generationsto come. We can save our resources, protect thenatural heritage entrusted to us, think of futuregenerations and denounce the selfishness of ourgeneration. As human beings, if we are to respectthe limits that are imposed on us by God and usein a responsible way the freedom given to us, weneed to tenderly handle this creation by cultivatingthe garden and filling the earth and taking care ofit with integrity.

However, we share this responsibility with allour contemporaries engaged in many areas suchas political authorities, industry, researchers andbiologists, farmers, large distributors andconsumers. Thus, the environmental problem is notjust local but global. The environment is not just ameans to serve human ends. As we read in theBible, "and God saw it was good" and in thecovenant with Noah God shows us that all thecreated beings were blessed. In God's eyes no lifeon earth is insignificant because there is a specialbond between God and the created things. Thus,as human beings we need to act responsibly as welive dependent on nature and other human beings.Therefore, we need a kind of new ethics whichwould cover those acts which have a badconsequence in the future to both the environmentand the human beings.

Sch Alwyn Ronald D'Souza SJ

Loud announcement heard all around,For a volunteer to enter the womb of terror.No sound was heard in the surround,For fear of radiation from the reactor. Should I be the one, an old man?To sacrifice my comfort for others!Should I do it for the love of all men?Or at least for my child and another’s! Here I write it for you, my child,To let you know that I have lived my days.And I lived them for you, my child.Now I am ready to die, that live you may. I know not what awaits me there!Yet, I go in to shut it down.To save all hearts from death’s terror,Which for long has held us down. Soldiers lay down their lives,For the country of theirs.Today, I do the same,For humanity of ours. Spend not your time, shedding tears,For you got it, with ransom of mine.Don’t waste it in useless fearsRather make it, the best gift of mine.

Sch Nithin Coelho SJ

Ransom of Mine

{This poem is an inspiration from the 2011 Fukushima accident}


Tears rolled down from my eyes on to mycheeks and down they fell on the Bible as I readthe Gospel passage from John. The 800 plus peoplein church waited for me to continue the passagebut my tongue failed again.... "The scribes andPharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, andmade her stand before all of them, they said toJesus, now the Law of Moses commands us tostone such a woman. What do you say?....." I couldnot just proceed with the passage. Along with mytongue, my mind had also failed to concentrate.Tongue in unwillingness froze and dried.

******My family was Hindu. I loved my mother very

much. I used to share all my school experienceswith her for she was my heart and soul. That day

at school I was in a great hurry. At 4:15 the schoolbell rang. All my class mates moved out of classwith great jealousy on me for I had won the speechcompetition. "Well done dear boy" patted my classteacher. I held the PARKER PEN, the prize, tight inmy hand and ran towards my home. I shouted fromthe house gate "Mummy I am back... A surprise foryou ..." I entered the house with a dance of joy. Buteverything looked different in the house. Mymummy was not there to welcome me with openarms as it usually used to be. All things were indisorder. Books were scattered on the ground andglass broken into pieces. Blood ran cold into my

God Chose Me to Serve Thembody. OH!! MY!!? There I sawmy mother fallen badly on thefloor, bleeding through hernose and mouth. She had astrong hit on her head and wasin low breath. I broke down intears, sobbed bitterly holdingmy mother's head on my lap.Holding her hand close to my heart I shouted"Mummy Mummy" She whispered in a low voice"My dear I must tell you something before I die."She said........ "I am a prostitute." Hearing this thewhole of my body was electrified at once. This bittertruth was more than unbelievable to me. In a brokenvoice she continued, "Not that I wanted it but yourfather forced me into it. He threatened to kill youand your younger sister if I disobeyed him. I did allthis for you and for your sister. Your father enjoyeddrinking from the money I earned. Today he wantedyour sister to go in my place. All this day his cruelhands had played violence on me, and this is theend dear...." In her last breath she said "Take careof your sister..."

Suddenly, Ramesh, my friend came running tome and said "Your father has fallen unconscious ina gutter near the school." My heart pumped harderas I ran to see him, but my dear cruel father wasalready dead with no clothes on his body.

Now I was left with only one choice i.e."Suicide." I took a knife as an end solution but thewords of my mother flashed in front of my eyes"Take care of your sister." I looked at my sister, hereyes was full of fear and helplessness.

I held her hand tightly and started walking, notknowing the future. All our relatives closed theirdoors to us as if we were aliens to them. We walkedwithout knowing our destiny. On our way we metan old man. He looked very old and was a Christian.Hearing our life's tragedy he felt pity for us andpromised to look after us. He took us to his houseand cared for us with great love and affection.Gradually he became our father and mother. We

Prize Winning Entry


became more interested in his Christian living anddeveloped a taste for Christianity. I was so muchtaken up by Christ's values that one day I confessedto him that I wanted to become a priest. Hence Ijoined the Jesuit order and completed my training.On my ordination day I received a surprising letterfrom my Father, the same old man. It read "I havechosen you to bring freedom to Prostitutes and abetter meaning to drunkards' lives." And belowthere was a signature "!!CHRIST!!" I was shocked,at once I ran to His house but I did not find Himanywhere in the house. I even asked theneighbours, but none of them knew where he went.

******

LIMPID: Transparent, Open for corrections, knowshis strengths and weaknesses, listens to other’sopinions.

ENTHUSIASTIC: Spirit never dies, keeps the groupalive. Mediocrity is not a part of him. Hard workand success are his only aims.

AMBITIOUS: Focussed, No distractions come hisway, Optimistic , Never underestimates others.

DETERMINED: Desires to do better, Creative,Resolved to succeed, Never gives up.

ENCOURAGING: Open to other ’s opinions,Respects others, Confronts if needed, Acceptspeople as they are.

Six Assets of a True Leader

After seeing all the violence,wars, sins, rapes andmurders in the world,God decides to create anotherworld. He creates a new worldas he did in Genesis. Finally hecreates a man and from him awoman, and tells them abouttheir grandparents’ sin. Hestrictly orders them not to eat the fruit from theforbidden tree. One day the man stands before thetree and begins to admire the beauty of the treeand of the fruit; then he expresses to his wife hisdesire to eat the fruit. She thinks for a while andtells him,” Don’t worry, honey,” and she shows hima juice–making machine.

By Sch Prajwal Vincent SJ

Joke

I somehow continued the Gospel with tears inmy eyes "Let anyone among you who is withoutsin be the first to throw a stone at her." My homilywas based on the theme "God loves every one ofus including drunkards and Prostitutes." After themass I went to the "Prostitute care and Liberationcentre." My younger sister Priya was examining theteenage girls who had become victims ofprostitution. Every face there reminded me of twosentences "Take care of your sister" and "I havechosen you to bring freedom to Prostitutes and abetter meaning to drunkards' lives." I went nearmy sister and said, "God has rightly chosen us toserve these prostitutes and drug addicts."

Sch Ashwil Lobo SJ

READY: Always with one footraised, Born to take initiatives,Able to take risks andchallenges. Growth-orientedperson.

By Sch Noel Dias SJ


Our beloved Pope Francis, whose pontificatehas been marked by a number of surprises fromday one of his papacy, surprised the world onceagain on October 27, 2014 during his address tothe Pontifical Academy of Sciences. His statementthat “God is not a magician with a magic wand”spurred up a big debate across the world. Even theIndian news channels, for whom the Church issuesare not a matter of sensation, took up this issuefor a high level debate. It is a known fact that theCatholic Church has long had a reputation for beinganti-science from the earlier times - most famouslywhen Galileo faced the inquisition and was forcedto retract his “heretic” theory thatthe earth revolved round the Sun.Hence, the Pope’s acceptance ofevolution and big bang theory cameas a big surprise to the world.

Since the publication of CharlesDarwin’s Theory of Evolution in1859, the Church’s attitudetowards this theory has been slowlyevolving, in other words, it is gettingrefined. Initially the theory wascriticized and objected to by the Church due to herconservative stand in her beliefs and doctrine, butno papacy offered an authoritative pronouncementon this theory. It was only in 1950s after almost 90years, that Pope Pius XII in his encyclical, HumaniGeneris took a neutral stand on the theory andconfirmed that there was no conflict between theChurch and the Theory of Evolution. From then onhis successors have reaffirmed this and built onthe foundation laid by him. Now the present Popehas publicly accepted these theories; hence, he hascontributed his part in re- building the long brokenbridge between faith and science.

Evolution is all around us. It has become partand parcel of our lives. There is a huge differencebetween the humans now and humans 500 yearsago. Although physically we may look almost similar

God, Not a Magicianwe have huge differences inour way of thinking, acting anddoing things. Our horizon ofexploration has expandedbeyond our reach; we can nowtravel to the moon and theother planets –something thatwas a mere dream a centuryago; the diseases which used to be fatal then arecured with a pill today, the corn we eat today isdifferent from the corn that raised by our ancestorsthen. These are a few signs of evolution which tellus that the universe is never the same and that it

is evolving with time.

Every religion from its veryinception is constantly evolvingwith the passing of time -sometimes forward , sometimesbackward. When a religion turns itsback on reality, it slips down thepath of destruction. Late CardinalCarlo Maria Martini seems to havesaid that “the Church is 200 yearsbehind in her thinking.” This

statement is very true and this is why the Churchcame in conflict with the secular world during thetime of enlightenment. Until the recent times theChurch has failed on her part to be in touch withthe real world. This could be one reason why it islosing its relevance among its educated faithfularound the world, especially in the West in recentyears. However, now with the arrival of Pope Francisthere is a new tide of reform in the Church. He, byhis unique way of approach is trying to make ourChurch a relevant one. If his initiative has to becontinued, it needs our support. We can first beginby making our formation and apostolates relevantto the present time. Come, let us join hands withhim in making our Church a relevant and acceptableone.

Sch Roydon Misquith SJ


Over the last fourhundred years or sothere has beentremendous growthin science. It hasfocused onobjectivity ratherthan subjectivity ofanything as long as itis observable. It hasconfirmed validtheories and rejectedfalse theories

irrespective of who proved it. That is why we seescientific progress in the world today.

Religion is based on belief system. It speaksabout the things that cannot be seen, touched,smelled and heard at the level of human thinking.It can be done so only at a spiritual level. That iswhy science and religion do not look alike from anyangle. But we need a change today. Our attitudeof pushing science and religion against each othermust change. We need to learn to inter relate bothscience and religion. Only then our journey towardsreligio- scientific world can begin.

In the world where people dominate throughscientific discoveries, religion makes sure that wehumans are not bosses in the world but there issomeone who is above us. When science gives newdiscoveries and makes the life of the people anewer one, religion can save the world fromconflicting and complicated situations.

When we consider ourselves great by ourscientific discoveries, religion makes us realize thatwe are still tiny beings in a large universe. Thusboth religion and science balance our life and makeus contribute to the world within our own capacitywhich is a tiny thing in the large universe.

Albert Einstein said, “Science without religionis lame; religion without science is blind.” Scienceand religion are two sides of the same coin Both

Towards a Religio-Scientific Worldneed each other to make ahuman being focused andsecure in life.

Isaac Newton says,“Gravity explains the motion ofthe planets but it cannotexplain who sets the planetsin motion.” Science plays itsrole at a certain level. It cannot explain the ultimatecause by which all things came into being. Thusreligion has to play its role here. According toreligion, there is an all powerful Being by whicheverything proceeds. Thus both science and religionwork hand in hand in explaining the ultimate truthof reality.

There are certain elements that are commonin a religio-scientific world. Faith is the basis forboth science and religion. “Sun rises in the east”is the discovery of Science. But how are we surethat sun is going to rise in the east tomorrow? SinceI have faith in science, I agree with what it saysabout the future in the natural world. Similarlyreligion also speaks about the future. It givesknowledge about the supernatural world. It isbecause of our faith, we believe it.

Secondly, Truth is the ultimate aim of bothScience and religion. Science is open for the newtheories as long as it can disprove the older onesor contribute to the world something new and thustry to give the truth of reality to people. Religionalso on the other hand, seeks the ultimate truthfrom which everything evolves. It is the truth thatkeeps people energetic, enthused and happy in life.

In this way both science and religion make thisworld a happy place where everyone is satisfiedabout both the natural and the supernatural aspectsof life. It is possible to accept both science andreligion only when a person is walking towards areligio-scientific world where religion and sciencehave one goal and one mission.

Sch Merwyn Fernandes SJ


I was reflecting during a recollection about myleadership qualities. I was evaluating my role asthe leader of the community and I was trying toformulate the personality of an ideal leader. Manybeautiful thoughts were coming to my mind. I wasall on a sudden touched by the idea of the Lord ofLords, Jesus Christ, the perfect leader. But I waswondering how I could imitate my master andbecome relevant to my situation with all myshortcomings. I also remembered the manycharacteristics of a good leader, given by our sociusin the novitiate during the course on leadership.Even the life example and teachings of manyinspiring persons motivated me to imitate them.Though I was facinated, the question was howcould I articulate these aspects together. If Iresolved to practise many of these, I knew it washard to follow and they would be easily forgotten.But just as I was thinking deeply, a beautiful ideaflashed through my mind.

‘I can draw inspiration and thus inspire others.’I felt by following this simple thing we can becomegood leaders. First of all, we need to drawinspiration from Jesus. He is the truth, the way andthe life and a charismatic leader. He taught hisfollowers, reached out to them, nourished themspiritually and physically, understood them and hewas even ready to wash their feet. There are manyother holy men and women worthy to be emulated.The world has really witnessed capable, committedand competent leaders like Gandhi, Abraham

A Leader: One Inspired, Inspiring OthersLincoln, Nelson Mandela,Mother Teresa, Pope Francisand the list goes on. Why onlylook at great people? Thesimple people in the ministryplaces, lovely children,committed staff in ourinstitutions and evenstrangers we come across, have so much to teachus. In order to become effective and efficientChristian leaders we should be inspired by theirlife, words and deeds.

Once we are inspired we need to inspire others.The group looks up to the leader and that personneeds to be model to others. Only preaching is notsufficient. We must be the first one to practice it.Our character, generosity, spirituality andavailability should motivate others. The way we goabout should leave a mark on others.

At the end of my reflection I felt, I got a greattreasure in the form of a good idea – A Leader:One Inspired, Inspiring Others. It is reallychallenging to be such a person in my life, I hopethat I will slowly grow in inspiring others.

Sch Ovin Rodrigues SJ

A group of religious and laitycame together for dinner.

There were only a few watermelon pieces kept on thedining table. They werecertainly big in size.

One sister (nun) took one bigpiece and ate it all alone.

A lay person sitting beside her shared it with herfriends.

An old sister who was watching this commented...Challenges and Opportunities in consecrated life!

Sch Joseph Jerald, SJ

Humour


It was still dark. An old man was groaning withterrible pain. His leg had been crushed like grainsof wheat and blood was flowing like water. Withexcruciating pain the old man dragged his legs andcrawled to the nearby road. No human being wasmoving on the road at that time. The night wascalm again, as the old man fell unconscious. Hehad lost most of his blood because of the severeinjury. It was horrible to see him lying unconsciousby the road. Early morning, one of the neighbours,who knew him, admitted to the nearest hospital.

The sun appeared with his charming smile, therays peeped through the trees, the mist anointedthe earth, and waters glistered with joy, birdsmoved out to seek their daily bread. People weresurprised to see the police van, moving around thevillage with its siren on. Within no time a youngman aged 30, was arrested. As the investigationbegan, “I am Ronald,” he said, “The man who isinjured is my father, George.” The police inspectorwas curious to know what had happened; so heasked him, “Why did you commit such a cruel act?”As Ronald looked up, the police inspector noticedsome kind of fear in his eyes.

He said, “sir our family was a loving family. Ihave an elder brother named Joseph and my

Love Can Make It...parents. My parents are kind-hearted and are everything tome. My brother Joseph is verygood and hardworking. Weenjoyed our childhoodbecause our parents loved andsupported us in everythingthat we did. Now Joseph hassettled abroad.” As he was recapitulating oldmemories, tears rolled down from his eyes. He wasstammering. The inspector signalled to a constable,“Ramesh to get some water.” Ronald was offereda glass of water.

A few minutes later he continued, “When I wasin the 10th standard I had liked a girl namedBhavya. She was very beautiful and from a middleclass Hindu family. She was very close to me. Sheknew my love for her. One fine day, I proposed toher and she willingly accepted my proposal. I wasin the air, at least five feet above the ground. I couldnot do my studies well. I could not live without hereither. Later I decided to marry her. When I toldthis to my father he refused, saying, “Forget her, itis not the age for you to take your own decisions. Itis a question of your life. Mind you, she is not ofour caste. Listen to me and study well, if you wantto live peacefully.” At this all my dreams wereshattered. She looked helpless. Already I hadnurtured sufficient negative images about myfather. It grew worse, when he scolded Bhavya andthe members of her family. With all this her fatherdecided to leave the village. It was a big blow forme. It tore my heart into pieces.

All these things made a negative impact onme. From then onwards I was very rude to my father.With this intention I could do nothing. I had no oneto share my inner struggles with. Gradually I wasaddicted to alcohol. It gave me some relief andpleasure. I have no other bad habits except drinking.As the years passed, grudge towards my fatherincreased.

Prize Winning Entry


Yesterday, it was a pleasant day. After my work,I went to the bar and drank to the dregs. I cameback home staggering. My father started scoldingme. My blood was boiling, when he raked up theashes, especially about Bhavya. The anger I had,burst out like a bomb. Since I was not in my sensesI hit my father and locked my mother in a room. Idid not pay any attention to her cry. I noticed aniron piece lying in the corner. I used all my strengthalong with hatred and hit him four times on hisknees. He screamed loudly several times. Since itwas night, the cry was heard still louder. It took notmore than a minute for me to understand thesituation. I was back to my senses, as the bloodflushed to my face. As soon as I saw the pool ofblood, I fled from the scene.” The police inspectorgot up wiping his tears. The cruel deed of this manon that poor old man had brought tears in his eyestoo.

Ronald was taken to the hospital, where hisfather was admitted. As soon as the mother sawher son coming along with the police, she rantowards him and touched him gently. He could findno anger, no grudge on her face. Only one thing hecould find was love coupled with total acceptance.

She told him, “Son, your father is in need of blood.There is no stock of blood in this hospital. Will youplease do something for him?” Since Ronald hadthe same blood group, he accepted the request ofhis mother, unwillingly. He donated his blood. Everydrop of blood was pricking his conscience. Now,still George was unconscious. His leg was operatedon. Slowly, the loving face of Ronald’s mother andthe welcoming face of his father began to disturbhim, all the more.

A few hours after the operation, Georgeopened his eyes with great difficulty. His first wordswere very inspiring. He said, “I love you Ronald,my son, come to me.” immediately, the policeinspector came forward to ask for a testimony, butGeorge told him,” I have nothing against my son. Ilove him. I want his well being and not destruction.I love him and forgive him, Sir.” As soon as Ronaldheard this, he fell on his knees and begged pardon.Before he could open his mouth, he was locked uptightly in the loving hands of his father. They werewarm enough to embrace him. The hatred of Ronaldmelted like snow, as the flames of the love of hisfather, reached the depths of his heart.

Sch Nishanth Noronha SJ

“Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also,one of romance and passion.”

- Stephen Hawking

“A good leader takes a little more than his shareof the blame, a little less than his share of thecredit.”’

- Arnold H. Glasow

“I cannot comprehend fundamentalism. It’sfundamentally wrong.”

- John Lydon

“The tension between the essence of spiritualteachings and harmful fundamentalism that oftenarises in the name of religion is an issue that hasengaged my mind practically as far back as I canremember.”

- Radhanath Swami

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision intoreality.”

- Warren Bennis

“The science of today is the technology oftomorrow.”

- Edward Teller

QUOTABLE QUOTESQUOTABLE QUOTESQUOTABLE QUOTESQUOTABLE QUOTESQUOTABLE QUOTES


Introduction:The term “Consecrated life” brings a mood of

sacrifice in my mind. It’s a sacrifice out of joy andnot out of compulsion. The mere acceptance ofvows does not fulfil the totality of its depth. A lifebecomes a true consecrated life when these vows,the nails of Christ, are lived fully from THE heart.

Consecrated life above all is a proclamationof the “Joy of the Gospel.” It is a call to wear God’ssmile and radiate God’s Joy — “whereverconsecrated people are, there is always Joy. It isthe Joy of freshness, the Joy of fallowing Jesus;true Joy is contagious, it impels one forward”- PopeFrancis – This true joy stimulates one to be poor,obedient and have an undivided heart like Jesus.Thus to be a religious is to have a heart full of Joyand Love. Outsourcing of this Joy and Love withfellow beings, indicates a life of Spirit in Christ.

Consecrated life is a life-long response to aninvitation from God, to collaborate with God inrealizing God’s plan for humanity. But this invitationis not for a cosy life but for a mission, to save allsouls, to bring the lost sheep to the fold. Thismission is filled with challenges and opportunities.

Challenges:1. To Love the unlovedJesus often preferred to dine with tax collectors

and sinners. He loved lepers and prostitutesunconditionally, who were outcastes to Jewishpeople then. The divine love was expressed throughhuman flesh in Christ Jesus. This love did not seizeon the Cross but gave a beginning to love the

Challenges and Opportunities in Consecrated Lifeunloved. Consecrated lifedemands more of this Love.

Religious people haveoften fallen into temptation ingiving rooms for the rich andthe well to do than the poor.The unloved have always beencornered in the world. Wealong with our churches and institutions have failedChrist, by closing our eyes to the unloved. Jesus’saying “I have come to call sinners and not therighteous” has been made a superficial statementby many religious today.

2. Living the VowsVows are to be lived and not just pronounced.

They become more meaningful when expressedthrough acts of love and forgiveness. Consecratedlife is a call to Love tenderly (chastity), act justly(poverty) and walk humbly with God (obedience).In case of chastity one chooses to become a eunuchfor the kingdom of the Lord, sacrificing the desires

of flesh, for a greater responsibility and cause, inbringing Christ’s loving heart closer to humanity.Genuine poverty makes one indifferent to worldlythings, to uphold the values of Christ of simplicityand generosity. Obedience being very significantand favourite of Jesuits, leads one even to theextent of third degree of humility, where onereadies himself to be a fool for Christ, to followHim closely and to love Him ardently.

Prize Winning Entry


The present consumerist world has made theVows more challenging. Status of life is moreequated with possession and richness than realvalues. Thus to bear prophetic witness throughVows demands self sacrifice and total dedication.

3. Depth spiritualityThe term spirituality has often been sidelined

and made more superficial today. The real taste ofprayer is compromised by mere thinking or studyof prayer. Prayer has become too hard for many todigest.

Religious people are not merely social workers.Service is not just the main objective of Consecratedlife. Our service to people should flow from theexperience of prayer, where we draw inspirationfrom our Lord Jesus. Christ invites for a service ofLove, to give without counting the cost and expectnothing in return.

The moving world is so busy and distractedthat it always piles up works for man and keepshim always on the move. At the end we feel thatwe are only doing and not finding any meaning inthis our doing.

The Opportunities that await us...

1. Being instruments in God’s hand “I havecalled you by name, you are mine” [Is 43:1]

Consecrated life is an opportunity to be specialinstruments in the hands of the Lord. It’s anopportunity to live as his disciples, and partake inhis meal of Love and experience his forgiving loveunconditionally.

Moreover it’s a great joy to live and proclaimChrist to the poor and the unloved. Sharing ofChrist’s joy not only brings joy to oneself but toothers too. Being instruments in the Lord’s handsis an experience of greatness in humility. It’s anopportunity to become a worthy soldier of Christ,in unworthiness of oneself.

2. A family beyond family“Everyone who has left houses or brothers or

sisters or father or mother or children or fields, formy names sake, will receive a hundredfold, and willinherit eternal life.” [Matt 19:29]

Consecrated life broadens onesunderstanding of family. It gives an opportunity tolove and care many people, people beyond family,friends and relatives. Pope Francis is the bestexample for us; he goes about embracing andkissing people without any caste or creed barrier.The world is his family, where he finds Christ ineach and every member. This inclusiveunderstanding makes one at home with the worldwhere one finds Christ’s presence everywhere,Christ labouring to take the humanity back to God,the creator of all things.

Conclusion:Consecrated life is a life of Joy; joy of serving

the needy and joy of witnessing Christ. Mereacceptance of religious life makes no difference,the difference takes place when the vows are fullylived in Christ.

As religious we need to become the salt of theearth and light in darkness, bringing justice andfaith to our human family, the family larger thanan ordinary family. Amidst all the challenges thatawait us we need to be a ray of hope to people, ahope that brings life, life in abundance.

Sch Ashwil Lobo SJ


It was a sunny day. I loved to ride my bikethrough the market. But somehow that day was notmine. The Police caught me without a helmet.

‘Sir, why do you catch only me and not theothers who also are disobeying the law?’ I tried toreason with him...

‘Have you gone for fishing any time?’ He askedme with the same note.

‘Yes, I have,’ I said, rather irritated at hisirrelevant question.

‘How many fish have you caught at a time?’ heasked.

‘Only one,’ I answered, with greater irritation.‘So have I. I have caught only you, now you pay

the fine.’I lost my temper and there was a verbal tug of

war between us and it became an entertainmentfor the people around.

Finally, out of respect for his office and owningup my mistake I gave him a 500 rupee note andsped away from the place.

As irony would have it I was on my way to thefish market to buy fish for the community. I boughtfish as I had planned. When everything was packedand I wanted to pay I found my pocket empty. Iusually keep the money in my front pocket. Then Iremembered that by mistake I had given a 1000rupee note to the policeman and I had not receivedthe change!

I was so disappointed that I could not but sharethe same disappointment with the fish seller byreturning all the fish that was packed.

I returned home for lunch within no time. I hadthe pleasure of having fish on my plate, mangopickle at the corner and buttermilk on the table,and above all a heavy tension in my mind. Sweatwas drifting down from my face and I took out mykerchief and began to wipe it.

As I replaced my kerchief in my pocketsomething struck me. To my astonishment I found2000 rupees on the ground where I was sitting. Then

Fishing…I came to my senses andrealized that when I had paidthe fine I had given only 500rupees to the policeman but hehad returned 1000 rupees bymistake and without knowingit I had kept in my back pocketalong with the rest of themoney.

I looked at the fish in my plate and I felt that Ihad caught the right fish on the right day.

Sch Joswin Pereira SJ

LEADERSHIP It is something that gives us an opportunity, To Love and to be Loved To Encourage and to be Enthusiastic To Aspire and to be Available To Discern and to be Disciplined To Excel and to be Extraordinary To Respect and to be Responsible To Serve and to be Selfless To Harken and to be Humble To Instruct and to be Innovative To Preach and to Practice as our LORD JESUS did.

Sch Nishanth Noronha SJ

Prize Winning Entry


Consecrated life is a vocation to labor withJesus to build his kingdom. As I understand, it is away of life, where one is totally dedicated to Godand to his people by surrendering oneself throughthe vows of poverty, chastity and obedience topreach the Gospel, build the church and to servethe people of God. Indeed consecrated life is anopportunity to be ar a reflection of Christ. As it is aspecial call, it is also a challenge to remain faithfultill the end. “If any want to become my followers,let them deny themselves and take up their crossand follow me.”(Mt16:24) This very verse from thegospel inspires me a lot. It speaks about theopportunity of becoming a disciple of Jesus andchallenges one to take up one’s cross.

Consecrated life calls us to translate theGospel into a particular way of life, to read the signsof times with the eyes of faith and to respondcreatively to the needs of the church and the world.

The opportunities in consecrated life: Being a religious I would say that the call to

consecrated life itself is a beautiful opportunity tofollow Jesus in a prophetic manner. We not onlybecome Christ’s signs but also become hisinstruments to build his kingdom of love and peace.Indeed we learn to embrace a lifestyle thatwitnesses to our people regardless of their culturaland faith traditions. We are there to meet theworld‘s true needs, genuine hopes andexpectations. In this consumerist and globalizedworld, where one half of the people enjoy the bestof its comforts, the other half is just neglected andthe gap between rich and the poor is growing wider.So it’s an opportunity to accompany people whoare suffering and burdened and struggle for dignityand justice, with the compassionate heart of God.

Consecrated life derives its strength from theEucharistic Lord, in this way we are called to feedthe hungry, cloth the naked and to shelter thehomeless either spiritually or materially. Thereforeit is an opportunity for us to be living the Eucharistby offering ourselves to this wounded world. It’s amission for us to be the bearers of faith, hope and

Challenges and Opportunities in Consecrated Life Todaylove. Pope Francis says “wherethere are religious there is joy!It’s the joy of freshness; the joyof following Jesus.” So we arecalled to live joyfully and sharethat joy with all we encounter.

Consecrated life allows usto work with others who arealso seeking God and seeking to participate intransformation. It is a real way of engagingourselves in the world constructively. This life helpsus to live the present with passion because we arecalled to be joyful witnesses of the Lord. It’s ameans for us to experience true happiness, truelove and true selflessness.

We are consecrated not only to Christ but alsoto the world and thus called to be path makers ofpeace, justice and love.

Challenges of consecrated life:Witnessing Christ is a key to our being

religious. Hence it is a great challenge to show awitness value to the wounded world by followingour vows faithfully. We can’t say that we are poorand yet not experience any of the privations of thepoor. We leave our people untouched by our securehigh middle class life style and skin deepspirituality, as they do not see in us crediblewitnesses of Jesus. Hence one of the challengesin consecrated life today is, to be simple, free ofinordinate attachments and to have deep personalexperience of Jesus.

Another challenge is to be a living Gospel.According to Pope Francis Gospel should become“manual” to our daily living and to the decisionswe are called to make. The gospel demands to belived radically and sincerely. Pope Francis says “weall have our own troubles, our dark nights of thesoul, our disappointments and infirmities, ourexperience of slowing down as we grow older. Butin all these things we should be able to discoverperfect joy.” This is how we become one with thecrucified Lord, a challenge to die to ourselves inorder to give life to others.

Prize Winning Entry


Once I had gone for the Sunday ministry. It wasthe Lenten season and the parish priest had toundertake fasting on Sundays as an additionalpenance because the cook was having a holidayon Sundays. I did not like the bread and jam of mycommunity and thus every Sunday I was takingbreakfast at the parish priest’s house. But this timebecause of the fasting of the parish priest, I didnot have anything to eat and I was very hungry. Soafter the first mass I saw the altar servers bringingthe offertory fruits like apple, orange etc, to thedining room. Once they went back, the parish priestgave me some writing work and went for a meeting.Since I was hungry, my two black and white eyeswere tempting me like the serpent in the book ofGenesis to eat the red coloured apple. As I wasalmost swallowing an apple, there appeared analtar boy like God the Father. I knew that the boywas the son of a news reporter. So I gave him anapple and told him not to make this matter asbreaking news. The boy agreed and took the apple.After some time when I went for the altar serversmeeting, another boy told me whispering in my earsthat brother had stolen an apple and he had askednot to reveal to anyone. I understood that the news

Sunday Ministrywas already in the air. I alsothanked God because manyservers thought that it wasanother brother.

After the meeting I wentto the sacristy and two altarservers were fighting to swingthe thurible at the Easter vigilmass. I felt very happy by seeing their love andzeal like that of St. John Berchmans to serve mass.But then this happiness did not last long. One ofthe altar servers told me that on Easter vigil thehomily is quite long and that one who holds thethurible could sleep in the sacristy during thehomily. The same evening I went to meet one ofthe altar servers’ family. The father was givingtuition to ten children. As soon as I got a cup of teaI appreciated that man for giving free tuition to somany children. Then that man got up and came nearto me and said, “Brother, these are not theneighbouring children; these are my own kids. So Ithought that there would not be any scarcity innumber of altar servers for some more years.

Sch Preethesh Misquith SJ

We may be secure but we cannot be indifferentto the world’s needs, anxieties and sufferingsbecause we are consecrated to the world. We haveto be living symbols of God’s love and mercy andpromoters of justice, freedom and love. We arecalled to love and not to judge anyone. It’s animportant task today to be creative in respondingto the needs of the world. Our mission should notfocus on money making but should be a witness todedication and commitment. St. Francis Assisi says“preach the gospel by your daily life. If there is anyneed use some words.” This will be a greatchallenge and a struggle, to preach to people byour very life style.

Consecrated life calls us to empty ourselvesin the service of God’s people. “To love is to give,

to give until there is nothing else to give and thegiver gives himself because it is love that rules hislife.” Our vows are not to be understood asdeprivation of something but they are symbols ofour concrete expression of love for God and hispeople. Consecrated life is an opportunity tocomfort the wounded heart of humanity. We needto build bridges of love and friendship by destroyingwalls of hatred. We need to renew our commitmentover and over again so that we can spread thefreshness and generosity of our “yes” moreeffectively. Being consecrated we are called to lookat the world with the eyes of Jesus, to feel with theworld with the heart of Jesus and work for the worldby being the reflections of Jesus.

Sch Ashwin Cordeiro SJ

Prize Winning Entry


Today religious fundamentalism is becominga callous disregard for the feelings of others. Everyreligion is good and wonderful. But a religiondegenerates when it tries to showcase itself asgreater than others. Today, especially in India, atrue understanding of religion at a deeper level islacking in many. As a result violence, fights, war,ill-treatment in the name of religion are increasingeveryday

Fundamentalism means a rigid understandingand a strict practice of the basic rules and teachingsof any religion, In a way, fundamentalism seems agreat threat to human life.

The rise of fundamentalism is due to theincrease of conversions. For example, Christiansthink that their religion is the greatest and startbaptising people to Christianity. Then the otherreligions, to safeguard their religion, become morefundamentalist.

Today attacks on churches, or temples are onthe increase, because people are filled with thesefundamentalist ideas. They become very narrowminded, unable to be open to know about others’religions.

All religions spread the same message, but tosafeguard the message, sometimes they chooseto take up violent ways which, in a way, make themdeviate from the core idea of their own religions.

Religion is good, as it aspires to help peopleto live in the right way; it offers rules and rituals tofacilitate its practice. But fundamentalism is not

Law and Humangood, because of its rigidity ofinterpretation and hostileattitude towards people ofother faiths

Every one of us is calledto inspire others. Inspiringdoesn’t mean that we forceothers to follow our way;rather our way of life should motivate others tofollow us. People must see in us a change inbehaviour and in the way of living. That will leadus also to be more humane.

Many a problem today is the outcome ofconflicts among religions. ISIS is one of the majorMuslim fundamentalist groups, that indulges inkilling many people in the name of God.

People need to be more love-oriented ratherthan law-oriented. Laws are for man and man isnot for the laws.

Sch. George C V SJ

Once three JesuitScholastics where discussingabout their future in the Societyof Jesus.

First Scholastic said, “Mygrandfather was a soldier. Ithink, I am trained to be aNovice master.”

Second Scholastic said, “My great grandfatherwas a court singer at the Akbar’s court. May bethis talent is handed down to me. So, I can be aJesuit singer.”

Third Scholastic said, “My great grandfatherwas an ex-Jesuit. It ’s in my blood to be arevolutionary. No doubt I will be the future JesuitPope.”

Sch Nithin Coelho SJ

Jesuit Scholastic!!!???Prize Winning Entry

Education

Prajwalana