22 June 2017

Parents as educators of adolescent children

POPE FRANCIS GIVES 6 KEY TIPS:
1, Be Concrete
2. Be Connected not uprooted
3. Be Dynamic (updated)
4. Be Integrated & holistic
5. Be Supportive not Competitive
6. Be Austere to overcome consumerism

17 June 2017

Fragilty or Frailty

VOCATIONAL FRAGILITY OR FRAILTY.
Fragility and Frailty have two distinct meanings. While Fragility refers to strengths or weakness that are constitutive elements of an object, Frailty describes a strength or weakness that is not in the nature of the object. Thus a glass tumbler is fragile by nature. A tree  may be Frail for lack of proper fertiliser. Fragility is something permanent and linked to the nature of an object. Frailty is a temporary condition subject to change.
Is the talk about Vocation crisis today a problem of Fragility or Frailty?

9 June 2017

Rev. Fr. George Williams RIP at 101

At a ripe good age, 101, Fr. George Williams SDB returned to the Lord in early June, 2017. He will be remembered by many in India as our Regional Superior for the English speaking Salesian region, in the late seventies. I personally have several memories of pleasant and not so pleasant interactions with him when I was  Provincial in the period 1976 to 1982. The young Province of Mumbai, barely three years old, experienced quite a few problems that required some difficult decisions to be taken. Fr. Williams on an extraordinary visit to the Province had the task of setting things right and dealing with confreres. Though he may have hurt or upset some Salesians among the young and old, he showed great loyalty to Don Bosco and sincerity to the Salesians. In hindsight, I may observe that the province benefitted from his tough decisions.
May he rest in peace! 

8 June 2017

UNITY ----- DIVERSITY

Pope Francis invoked the Holy Spirit's guidance in making a clear choice of "both Unity and Diversity" over "either Unity or Diversity" in our Christian life.  Is it a call to realism or compromise?

4 June 2017

Dissent essential to Democracy

In a healthy Democracy, good governance implies an honest commitment to the wellbeing of all the citizens and an openness to dissent as its necessary component. India's Democracy today is very unhealthy and dangerously poised to deteriorate into fundamentalism and communal wars slyly instigated by a false patriotism called 'Hindutva'.

The BJP stood shrudely on the platform of  "Dissent", during the last National Elections by waging a relentless campaign of dissent in parliament and in the media against the alledged rampant corruption and scandalous scams for which it held th ruling party, the INC, mainly responsible. There was much more of a malignant 'Dissent' and very little of the "Developement' on the National agenda of both parties or more precisely, of all political parties. 
The dissent strategy obviously won the elections as the results emphatically showed.  While the INC was trapped in a struggled to clear its damaged reputation, the BJP  through dissent, mesmerised the citizens into believing that the demolition of the corrupt INC was the key to 'Development' of the Nation.

Three years into governance, and the voices of dissent are rising from the Opposition parties and inceasingly from the poor farmers, the Dalits and minority communities. Will the strategy of Dissent which is building up at different levels, political, social, economic topple the present government of the BJP?

Recently, I read a comment on the erosion of Democracy in India  with too many instances of intolerance towards the voices of the People that differ or criticize the ruling political party policies. What was trumpeted as a just strategy of Dissent by the BJP is today condemned as Anti-nationalism. From Dissent, BJP has perhaps unknowingly gravitated towards Dictatorship while mouthing toothless slogans of Development promises. How Deceitful!