Bro. E.C.Joseph

Brother Joseph Chowry RIP (10^th. July 2016)

Though the curtains are drawn on the life of Bro. Joe, a Salesian Coadjutor, his artistic talents and many technical skills still remain with us in the  furniture  products and metal works he has left behind to benefit several Salesian communities of Mumbai, Goa and Gujarat. They remind us of the original creativity and the edifying spirit of hard work of Bro. Joe. Though the machines he worked with were loud and noisy, Bro. Joe himself came across as an unassuming and quiet but professional trainer of technicians. He will be remembered with respect and gratitude by many of his past pupils  in Panjim and Sulcorna(Goa),  Borivili(Mumbai) and Chhotauddepur(Gujarat), who are earning their livelihood in the technical field. 

I will remember Bro. Joe, whom I knew at close quarters, as a very warm and sincere person. All through the years, as a Salesian,  Bro. Joe’s life style remained simple and his personal needs were very few. His workshop was his chapel and obviously, he regarded work as worship. He appreciated honest friends and kept his distance from those he considered “survivors” or “hypocrites”. Beneath his external reserved behaviour, was a heart that cared for the poor and showed concern for his confreres. I remember, with a touch of emotion, that it was Bro. Joe who gifted me the first safari suit for my travel to East Africa. In the latter part of his life, he began to take interest in the Sacred Scriptures and became an avid reader of Barclay’s commentaries. Infact, from then, Bro. Joe developed his own brand of spirituality expressed in enigmatic phrases which found their way to the community noticeboard. I will remember best and reflect often on his statement that Jesus wants us to be CHRISTians and not CROSStians. Quite a deep truth!

May Christ Jesus, in whom Bro. Joe believed and lived in a unique way, his Christian faith and Salesian commitment, embrace him with his merciful love and lead him to the joys of heaven.

-        Tony D’Souza sdb

Saint Mother Teresa

            " Saint Mother Teresa"

Whoever said: to live with the saints in heaven is all honour and glory, but to live with the saints on earth is quite a different story, must be talking of pseudo-saints. Mother Teresa who will be canonised by  the Holy Father in September, 2016, to me was certainly no such pseudo saint, as few biased critics make her out to be.

My first personal contact with this holy nun was in 1975, at the Mumbai airport. As I walked through security into the departure lounge, I saw quite a crowd of passengers standing in awe and gazing at a lady who was seated quietly all by herself. As I got closer to the scene, I recognised Mother Teresa in her blue bordered white sari and her simple wooden handle shopping bag.   Something within me pushed me to approach her and I did. With a slight smile and a welcome nod of her head, she seemed to welcome me to a seat by her side and this I did as I introduced myself, a priest belonging to the Salesians of Don Bosco Society. Already then, She came across to me as very motherly in our brief conversation. I told her I was looking after a group of seminarians in Pune and requested her for more than an "autograph, a message for my community of young seminarians. This is what she wrote: Teach your seminarians to find joy in sacrifice. I was reminded of mama Margaret's words to her newly ordained son, John Bosco:   "Remember, to be a priest is to begin to suffer" .
Over the years, I have experienced the wisdom of these messages and shared them with others.

Her precious time permitting, Mother Teresa attended the yearly CRI (Conference of India) meeting of Major Superiors. What impressed me was that though she sat in the assembly, mostly quiet and without pretensions, her humble presence and lively interactions with the members had a formative influence on us all.

But my best memory of Mother Teresa was a spiritual retreat ( 1990 i think) I was invited to animate for the Missionaries of Charity in Nairobi, Kenya.  The Retreatants were superiors/leaders of the many MC communities in East Africa and their Foundress was to attend as well. Mother Teresa arrived late night on the eve of the retreat. She was received warmly at the airport by a small group of sisters and treated respectfully by the immigration and customs officials. However, there was one problem. The young novice from Poland who accompanied Mother Teresa was held up at the immigration as at that time Poland, a Communist country, had no diplomatic relations with Kenya. The Chief Immigration Officer could not be immediately contacted for special clearance. The Officer on duty suggested that Mother Teresa could proceed to her convent. The Polish sister, they assured her, would be well cared for while she awaited clearance. Mother Teresa stayed with the sister saying: "You have held back my daughter and I must stay with her".  The Chief Immigration Officer was finally contacted by 2am and an entry permit granted to the young novice. What a motherly gesture.

The next morning, despite a sleepless night, Mother Teresa was punctually present at 7am in the chapel, for the first meditation talk of the retreat. Infact, she participated prayerfully in all the liturgical services and listened attentively to the meditation talks, seated devoutly in the last row. Overwhelmed by her humble presence, I concluded each talk by sitting at her side and inviting her to share her own reflections on the topic. And she did so, very modestly. While I preached from a pedestal of theory, She preached from the pews and her sermons were not just words but real acts of selfless motherly love for the poor, the sick and abandoned.

Preaching in the presence of a saintly Mother Teresa whom I always held in high esteem, was quite a privilege, but also a nervous experience. And when she approached me in childlike simplicity for spiritual guidance followed by confession, my nervousness reached its climax. I just could not remember the prayer of absolution. Instead, Mother Teresa was one penitent who converted me into a repentant confessor.

At the end of the retreat Mother Teresa thanked me profusely and thoughtfully gifted me a rosary for my own Mummy. She even accepted my request to visit Don Bosco Boys Town in Nairobi the following day. Unfortunately, she fell sick with cold and fever. Nevertheless, motherly as ever, to assuage our disappointment, she sent me an apologetic regret note and a bus load of her sisters to spend some time with our poor youth.

In a world terrorised by destructive forces and hate crimes especially against women, let us resolve that the canonization of Mother Teresa will not only place her among the saints in heaven, robed in honour and glory, but inspire us all to recognise and respect God's "motherly" image in every woman who walks on our streets and lives in our homes.

May God's Word: Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers/sisters, you do unto me, ring not only in our ears but find expression in our lives as it did in the motherly life of the great 'Missionary of Charity', the Motherly Saint Teresa.

Globalization of Indifference

It has been said that the opposite of Love is not Hatred but Indifference. Very true indeed! 
Infact, in the book of Revelations God has this message for the church community in Laodicea: Because you are neither hot nor cold , I will vomit you out.
Pope Francis remarks that the increasing violence in our society today has its roots in what he terms, 'the globalization of Indifference' shown by good people. Perhaps, there are more good people in our society who prefer to be indifferent rather than committed to the demands of love. Such good people are only 'good for nothing' . 

Arise! Stand on your feet.

Addressing the youth during the special Jubilee Mass on 24th April, 2016, Pope Francis exhorted them, saying: Stand on your feet. God created us to stand on our feet. He reminded the youngsters of the words of Jesus; Arise (stand up) and Walk.

True to this statement, confirmed by his own spontaneous gestures, Pope Francis is infact, 'a pastor on his feet', physically and spiritually. His  indefatigable zeal and zest is stirring the lives of all people, to stand up, to 'rise and walk'. Despite his age and limp leg, Pope Francis gives no thought to his own comfort. Observe him during the liturgical celebrations and at the general or private audiences, following the rituals of ceremony or courtesy, be it walking, climbing steps or riding in the popemobile. He is indeed, physically on his feet, alert and attentive and betrays no signs of fatigue. Strengthened by the Spirit!

More significantly, Pope Francis is 'a pastor on his feet', with no questionable leanings, but one who stands firmly on Gospel convictions, faithfully proclaiming God's mercy and walking in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd, among the marginalised immigrants and refugees. Strengthened by the Spirit!

SORROWFUL MYSTERIES

The five Sorrowful mysteries of the holy Rosary highlight the various types of human sorrow that Jesus endured not only from Getsemany to Golgotha but all through his earthly life, from the Crib to the Cross:
* It was a mental torture that anticipated the reality and sweated blood; 
* It was a physical pain inflicted by the scourgings, the nailing to the cross; 
* It was a deep pain of humiliation; it was a moral pain  of shame and humiliation, condemned as a criminal and mockingly crowned with thorns as king of the jews; 
* It was a painful journey trudging to calvary and stumbling under the weight of a heavy cross; and finally, 
* It was the pain of death, a sting of a final defeat upto the last breath.

The sorrow and pain Jesus experienced was not merely an exhibition of endurance but a practical lesson for his disciples to follow Him, carrying their own crosses/sorrows. Rather than dabble with questions like why pain and sorrow, Jesus provides a challenging example to imitate, reminding us that the "disciple is not greater that the Master".

Broad-minded & Big-hearted

At Divyadaan Institute of Philosophy, in March 2016, six students of the MPh concluded their studies and may be considred as Philosophy graduates. But now, what! What I mean to ask is, if all the painstaking five-year efforts to delve into the lofty thoughts of acclaimed and not so acclaimed Philosophers resulted in a certificate of qualifiication as a teacher of Philosophy? I believe that Philosophy is not just an academic subject of intellectual content or a mere history of philosophers and their ideas. While it is all this, Philosophy is not a terminus ad quem achievement, but rather, a transforming process  that makes a person broadminded and bighearted - developing a mind that expands to accommodate and dialogue with the ideas of others; a heartwarming process that enlarges and embraces a wider circle of people. 
A philosophical mindset that is stubbornly imprisoned within one's own thoughts and ideas fails to enrich the personality, leading to an intellectual paralysis. Worse still, a philosophical mindset that generates mostly self-centered emotions of love and concern leads to, pardon the expression, a constipation of the mind and heart which develops into a spiritual constipation which which refuses to let go of erroneous concepts and experiences in order to give space to the God of Revelation. 
Hence to what purpose, if the discipline of Philosophy fails to develop a personality thats may be defined as "Broadminded and Bighearted. 

Mercy and Pardon.

Is there a distinct difference between Mercy and Pardon or are the two interchangeable and mean the same? 

Mercy, I understand is a freely bestowed grace which has its source in the overwhelming and spontaneous Love of God for his people. Pardon or Forgiveness instead, though still a grace, is a response  to man's appeal and flows from God's Justice. 
While Mercy defines the very identity of the I AM, as essentially a magnanimous, all-embracing Love, 
Pardon or Forgiveness is linked to Divine Justice and may include reconciliation through some sanctions or penance.