April - June 2004

Contents In Search of Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence In the World and Not of it Re-structuring of Formation a Must Are You Searching for Self? Thirty Years Ago My Life in Sri Lanka Karunai Ilam News in Brief A Lighter Side Just a Thought Mount St Mary's Delhi's replica of the grotto which was once at Mt St Joseph's Tullow

During the few days I spent at Patrick Nilayam, Trichy, following the final profession of Bros. Johnson, Alfred, Arokiaraj and Jayaseelan, Bro. William, the director of candidates there, well aware of my love for reading, offered me several books on personality development including the seminar material on Spiritual Intelligence ( SQ ) which he attended a couple of weeks earlier.  He was full of praise for Fr. Wilson, a Capuchin friar, who conducted it. We sat discussing Spiritual Intelligence, and he told me how Wilson made the participants understand what he was talking about by citing the example of three well known people: Ms Jayalalithaa, the Chief minister of Tamilnadu, Mr. Vaiko, an ardent supporter of the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils, and A.P.J. Kalam, the President of India. Ms Jayalalithaa, he said, had a high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Mr. Vaiko, according to Wilson, had high IQ as well as EQ. To demonstrate Vaiko’s high EQ, he gave the example of his cool-headedness when he was thrown into prison by Ms Jayalalithaa for his alleged ‘sedition’ and his exemplary restraint in whipping up any violent demonstration against her or the Government on his release. President APJ Kalam, Wilson said, embodied in his personality all three   -   IQ, EQ and SQ   -   in a high degree. Though I cannot vouch for his assessment of  Ms Jayalalithaa and Vaiko with any certainty, there is absolutely no doubt about the great man of science and technology, now the President of India, as a highly spiritual person. President Kalam’s actions and words do speak highly of his intense love for God, for nature and for humanity.

  One question for which I have been seeking answer for some time is related to formation of religious, especially in the context of the formation of religious brothers. Formation for what? is a question that begs for an answer. A whole lot of theological, social, cultural, spiritual and psychological ‘therapies’ are prescribed for formation of religious and priests. Ms Jayalalitaa is a product of the well known Sacred Heart Matriculation school, Chennai, conducted by the famous Presentation Sisters of Church Park, and was the head girl of her school. Mr Vaiko, on the other hand, probably never had a ‘Convent education’. President Abdul Kalam studied in a village school and graduated from the Jesuit College at Trichy. He talks about his indebtedness to his village school master, a Hindu,  who influenced his early years and the Jesuit Fathers who moulded his character. Had Jayalalithaa become a nun, would that have brought any positive change in her life? Would Vaiko have developed a high SQ as well had he become a religious brother or a priest? Would Abdul Kalam, had he become a Christian monk, have still remained a highly spiritual person as he is now? These are questions for which we may not be able to find  adequate answers. However, one thing seems to be quite evident. Their childhood definitely has something to do with their present state of emotional and spiritual intelligences. Qualities such as  honesty, integrity, loyalty and love for God and humanity, cannot be taught but can only be caught from those who have them. All that the so called religious formation can do at best is to enhance the depth of these provided, of course, they already exist in one’s personality. 

  If President Abdul Kalam is held up as an example of mature human living and enlightened leadership qualities, then that is what religious formation should achieve. After all, religious training is aimed at bringing out the best in a Christian in terms of his/her love for God and love for God’s creation. The ability to love God with all one’s might, with all one’s strength and with all one’s heart, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself is the essence of perfect Christian living. And this is what is expected of a religious. And formation should be aimed at this end, nothing more, nothing less.

To the extent that one is in the inner world, to that extent one can do without the things of the outer world. The things  -  material and non-material  -  of the outer world clutter and disturb the inner world. “When someone asks for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him” (Mtt 5:42). “As for you, you have taken off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself” (Col3:9b_10). Ah! The growth into the perfect maturity of being, when there is no more desire for the things of the outer world, and even the end of the bodily existence is welcome, and not resisted or feared. “The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but he who does the will of God lives for ever” (1Jn2:17). 

 If the lord of the outer world is mammon, and of the inner world the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the heart of hearts, serving which lord do I believe will bring me fulfillment? It is not too difficult to know whom I really serve, or what I really want. “It is not those who say Lord, lord, who will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Father” (Mtt7:21).

 The Lord God created everything in the universe and found it very good. So, obviously, mammon is unreal or false god arising out of man’s impure consciousness. When consciousness is purified everything is seen as the manifestation of God, and then man loves all things as he loves his self, his self being his immediate neighbour. “Blessed are the pure of heart: they shall see God” (Mtt5:8). No action in itself can be labelled as the will of God or contrary to the will of God. Whatever is done in the purity of heart is the will of God. And ‘he who does the will of God lives for ever’. 

Clinging tenaciously to a thought or idea or belief is not consciousness. It is the fullness of heart out of which spontaneously arise thoughts, words and actions. “For whatsoever things I love, of the same I love to speak and hear and carry home with me the images of such” (Imitation of Christ Bk III ch 48 para 6).
 How does one enter the inner world, put on the new self, purify the heart? Here`s a bit of conversation between master and disciple: 

CHRIST

Son, you cannot possess perfect liberty unless you wholly deny yourself. All self-seekers and self-lovers are bound in chains; full of desires, full of cares, ever unsettled, and always seeking their own comfort, and not the things of Jesus Christ; but often times devising and framing that which shall not stand. For all that comes not from God, shall perish.
 Remember this short and perfect saying: ‘Forsake all and you shall find all, leave your desires and you shall find rest.’ Consider this well, and when you shall have put it into practice, you will understand all things.

DISCIPLE

Lord, this is not the work of one day, nor children’s sport; for in this short sentence is included all the perfection of a religious” (Imitation of Christ Bk III ch32 para 1&2).

  This is not the work of one day, nor children’s sport. But all we need do is to want to travel on the path of spiritual freedom, keeping in mind that God keeps his promise and will not tempt us beyond our strength (1cor 10:13). How far we travel on the path is God’s concern, not ours. Once we have decided to walk on that path we only need to pray, as did Cardinal Newman:

    Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
    Lead thou me on;
    The night is dark, and I am far from home.

Then and Now

Many of the younger generations of religious in  India may not be aware of the kind of vocations the Indian Church desired and promoted for religious life and to ordained ministry , say, before Vatican II. Every candidate was thoroughly examined as to his aptitude and mindset. He had to be fortunate to be born into a family of some means, his parents had to have a spotless reputation for honesty, high moral rectitude and piety.  No candidate from either a broken family or questionable background could ever think of joining a religious order or becoming a priest. If his father or brother was known to frequent the toddy shop, the aspirant had little chance of entering a religious order. The moral background of the family was so important that no one in the family was expected to be a stage performer or a cine artiste such as a dancer, singer or actor. At least in Kerala, the general rule was that recent converts were not to apply even if they were bubbling with enthusiasm to dedicate their lives in the service of God as priests or religious unless, of course, they belonged to the upper caste. In Tamilnadu, too, only Brahman converts could become priests or join a Congregation. Besides, young people had to go searching for a Congregation or diocese rather than any ‘recruiter’ coming around  ‘promoting vocations’ as done today.  All these rules were equally applicable to girls as well who desired to join  a convent. It  was known to be extremely difficult for youngsters from very poor families, even with good reputation, to join priesthood or religious life. This was what was happening in Kerala, Goa and Mangalore. Girls had to carry their dowry when joining a convent. Boys were expected to meet all their financial requirements from home till they were finally professed. Diocesan priests continued to live on the income from their family or inheritance and seldom depended on the income from the parish. 

 While the unchristian exclusivist attitude and bearing such as not admitting new converts and Catholics from low caste, the premium placed on nobility of demeanour and character was highly valued and appreciated by one and all. As a result, there were far less problems relating to caste, language and culture in religious Congregations and dioceses as we find today. 

   However, things began changing by mid 50’s. Missionary Congregations of both men and women began ‘recruiting candidates’.  The Kerala-Goa-Mangalore model of strict screening under the above rules no longer was considered possible or necessary. But the emphasis on good family background and thorough mental disposition of the candidate continued for some more years. It was, however, in the 1970’s, with more and more foreign Congregations pouring into the country, that real cut-throat competition began in ‘vocation promotion’. With every Congregation vying with each other for candidates, quality began to be overlooked. This led dioceses in Kerala, Mangalore and Goa to lay down certain norms in the matter of vocation promotion. The freedom of religious Congregations to pick and choose as they wished was curtailed by certain restrictions imposed on them. The first pick was reserved for the dioceses. This trend continues even to this day but, fortunately, it is based more on the academic performance rather than on family background. This means a youngster from an emotionally unstable family also can become a diocesan priest provided he has scored ‘good marks’ at the public examinations. The Congregations of Brothers continue to have the last pick in Kerala though the situation is slightly different in other parts of the country. 

  In the wake of more and more new Congregations coming to India   -  every other day India sees the arrival of  a new  Congregation from Europe or America with exotic names like “Sons of the Immaculate Conception”, “Passionist Sisters of St. Paul of the Cross” and “Fervent Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Crucified”  -    there is absolutely no check on quality. Even unwilling youngsters are lured into religious life with the promise of studies and training abroad. The result is that, while in the old days parents prayed unceasingly without persuading or forcing any child, that they be blessed with a priest or a nun in the family, today parents try getting rid of the trouble maker or seemingly worthless son in the family by forcing him to join a religious Congregation preferably to be a priest and, if not, at least a Brother! The result? One need not guess. 

   The good news, however, is that by the 60’s many Congregations began slowly giving up their elitist and exclusivist composition and started inviting young Catholics from the newly converted Dalit and Adivasi communities apart from recruiting candidates from poor but good traditional Catholic families. With more and more vocations coming in from these one-time oppressed and suppressed classes in Indian society,  there is no dearth of academically brilliant youngsters joining religious life. Many of them are definitely imbued with the spirit of the Gospel. At the same time, they are also conscious of the upward mobility and social acceptance that religious life and ordained ministry offer. However, what should be of great concern is that, as their psyche is wounded and marred by centuries of oppression at the hands of the upper caste, they carry with them seeds of resentment, anger, frustration and a lack of identity they can be proud of. Similarly, those who join from emotionally unstable families carry with them their emotional scars which, if not healed through a sustained process of therapeutic exercises such as prayer, meditation, spiritual direction, counselling etc., can resurface in various forms of unhealthy and unacceptable behaviour patterns. In the case of the former, however, in addition to the spiritual remedies suggested above for the latter, there should be other suitable mechanisms in place to deal with wounds inflicted on the collective consciousness of people through centuries of social stigmatization and cultural prejudices. If not adequately dealt with, suppressed resentment, frustration and anger can play havoc with the communal harmony and spiritual identity of religious life. Tension created by culture, caste, language differences will be difficult to handle. The unfortunate outcome of this is reflected in what is happening in many religious Congregations in India today. It is from this angle we need to begin our search for  a new paradigm in vocation facilitation and formation for the religious of the future. We need to understand that the old wine-skins are no longer capable of holding new wines.  Society has changed much in  attitudes and beliefs in the last 30 years or so. What was perceived to be holy and sacred no more evokes such emotions as devotion, loyalty and a sense of the divine. However, most religious Congregations continue to follow the formation programme that was relevant at a time when the understanding of spirituality, prayer, Sacraments of the holy Eucharist and confession, and spiritual direction were taken for granted  as integral to religious life. Besides, in many ways, Congregations in India, including the indigenous ones,  still keep the Western model of formation which is hardly suited to the present day India and with the present type of vocations. Pope Leo XIII’s challenge to India “Oh, India, your salvation will come from your sons” and the often quoted words of the Lord “The harvest, indeed, is great but the labourers are few” used to be slogans that instantly caught the imagination of youngsters of the pre-vatican era. Today such slogans have become meaningless jargons for the modern youth.  For many, religious life is no more than just another way of life like bachelorhood or married life. 

  In the present scenario, is religious life of total surrender possible? Are we able to prepare religious men of the future for radical discipleship? Are we Patricians able to see our future Brothers as “pilgrims of faith and witnesses of hope” in a fragmented and divided world? My response to these questions is a resounding YES. The capacity of man to form and shape the human mind in any conceivable way is not only possible but it is happening all around us. Look at the way a particular ideology can be drilled into the human mind in such a way that the subject surrenders body and soul to it. The Punjab militants indoctrinated the young innocent Sikh youth to be fully convinced that for the survival of Sihkism, Punjab had to secede from the Indian Union. The Kashmiri militants, the LTTE, the Al Quaida and all such radical organizations survive and spread their “culture of death” with the help of youth who have been hardened by a system of sustained indoctrination.

What is the solution to the present situation?

  The question, then, before us is, if human mind can be trained to live “the culture of death”,   is it not possible to train the same mind to live “the culture of life”  -  of compassion, of peace? If people can be trained to hate, they can also be trained to love and cherish one another. The world is yearning for a new social order marked by love, peace, justice, harmony, fraternity,  and the joy of living a life of contentment. The call of the man of Nazareth 2000 years ago for the reign of God on this earth still echoes in the mind and heart of every human being of good will. It is here the Brothers of the future can become partners with Christ to build a world in which all humanity will experience our oneness in the  “One Fatherhood of God and the common brotherhood of man” and live in love, harmony and peace with one another.
  The divisive forces at work on the bases of language, culture, caste and demand for territorial rights in religious communities and in the church will have to be challenged both prophetically and charismatically. Brothers surely can play the lead role in this. For this we need Brothers who have learned to rise above these fissiparous tendencies of heart and mind. In today’s world religious training can be made effective and rewarding only through the use of the means that bring people closer. Understanding and sorting out differences will help forge better human relationships. It is ignorance which leads to division and disunity. “Dialogue” is a term used today as an effective instrument for creating better understanding and appreciation amongst peoples and nations and thereby celebrating one another’s differences.

Areas of concern in formation

    For religious in general and for Brothers in particular who symbolize world’s longing for a new social order in which justice and peace will prevail, “the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will rest with the kid, the calf and the lion cub will feed together” (Is.11:6), working to bring  people together will have to be the prime task. It is possible only for a well integrated personality with a spiritual world-vision. How to form such a personality should be the prime concern of formation in religious life. A dialogical approach seems to be better suited to the present times  in  building  relationships  and bringing people together to create a more humane world. Therefore, the areas that need to be emphasized in the formation of religious of the future may be expressed in terms of a five-fold dialogue: 1. Dialogue with self and God, 2. Dialogue with the poor and the marginalized, 3. Dialogue with cultures, 4. Dialogue with religions and 5. Dialogue with the church

1. Dialogue with God and Self

Love of God and love of neighbour go together. One cannot exist without the other. The greatest commandment, and the only one, in fact, is to “love God with all one’s heart, with all one’s mind and with all one’s might; and love one’s neighbour as oneself”. Love of God is the beginning of Wisdom and without Wisdom nothing can exist  -   not even a blade of grass, let alone the Universe itself.  Accepting God as the Father of us all and thereby accepting one another as brothers and sisters should result from this dialogue. The understanding that the self is the image of God should enable the Brother to see others too likewise. To build such an image for oneself, one needs to rid oneself of all negative forces that are at work in his personality. Meditation can be a powerful instrument in building self-esteem. This self-esteem is built on the basis that God, in his/her infinite love, has created me with many of his/her attributes. If I do not measure up to my expectations, it is only because of what I have turned myself into over the years. Instead of going with my negative and destructive emotions, I make genuine efforts at eradicating them from my personality and replacing them with emotions that take me closer not only to God and to my brothers and sisters but  to the entire creation as well. 

The role of the formator: For formation to enable the formee to dialogue with self and God, and thus experience God’s active presence in his life, the formator in the first place will have to be himself a man of conviction. It is his life more than what he teaches that is important in formation. His love for God will be evident in the way he deals with situations and people. Punitive measures to correct faults and shortcomings, however nobly conceived, will only result in negative feedback from the formees who are already young adults and not children any more. Treating them as children is the worst service one can do in formation. The resentment in being pushed around by the formator will only worsen as they grow older in religious life. Besides, if proper care is not taken to heal old wounds and scars, there  will be disastrous consequences later. 

Learn from the Hindu and Buddhist monastic traditions: The formation of Hindu and Buddhist monks who live in Communities, is aimed at  God experience. The training of their future monks is not aimed at producing personnel to run institutions or to be engaged in any particular mission. What they do later is expected to be the result of  their experience of God. For them God experience is not the same as religious experience. Real God experience, they believe, transcends all other experiences whether religious or spiritual. Real God experience is when you are fully convinced that you are God walking and talking in flesh. When you see your brothers and sisters in the world, you are convinced that God is walking and talking in flesh all around you. When you see all created things, seen and unseen, animate and inanimate, you are convinced that God is an integral part of them all. When you see the sun and moon, stars and planets, meteors and planetoids, you know that God is very much a part of the universe. You are 100% convinced that the entire cosmos is nothing without that great Being. It is this kind of God experience that enables a Brother to be like St. Francis of Assisi. It is this that makes him another Christ. The formator need not be a specialist in psychology or spirituality to help the formees to achieve this. In  Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions of monastic life, if a God/Nirvana/Mukti-seeker is found to be distracted or pursuing a wrong course, he is politely asked to leave. They know that keeping such a person for the sake of number is detrimental to the very purpose for which this form of life is lived. 

Training the mind using the latest techniques available to us must go with traditional but renewed and revitalized methods that are still known to be effective. The time-tested value of prayer, reflection, spiritual guidance, and spiritual reading must go hand in hand with meditation using the latest techniques with the help of a guide. There are several techniques which have the backing of the scientific community all over the world. Neuro-scientists today will swear by the Buddhist form of meditation which, they say, is capable of resetting the energy-patterns in the brain by activating the desired spot. Destructive emotions in humans can be erased forever and replaced by positive emotions through a sustained and committed regimen of meditation, they claim. If practiced daily for half an hour in the morning or in the evening, meditation is said to do a world of good for one’s spiritual and physical well-being. 

 Forgiveness and reconciliation is not just a theme for discussion or study or for prayer. It is to be lived every moment of one’s life. When hurt feelings occur which is so common wherever human beings interact, how to handle such feelings and how to respond to the one who has been the cause, in forgiveness and reconciliation, should be given serious consideration in formation. 

2. Dialogue with the Poor and the Marginalized

   No religious House in India has any resemblance to the poor man’s hut! Even most of the Novitiates are fit for the royalty. The meals the Novices eat will amaze a salaried family man who would probably wish that he were a religious!  Unlike the novices of 30 or 40 years ago, the modern novices seldom go without questioning why they were served beef instead of chicken. In a situation like this, how do you expect our future religious men and women to dialogue with the poor? Conducting surveys and analytical studies to learn about the condition of the poor is of little help going by the way religious behave even after experiencing the now mandatory “Exposure Programme” and “Village experience”. The fact that these studies have not helped them to internalize the condition of the poor so as to remind them constantly of their struggle for existence and motivate them to action, should  force the formator to look for a suitable alternative which will instill in the formees not only love for the poor but a constant desire to be at their service should a chance come in the way. The internalization of their condition also should enable a religious to simplify his own life-style with regards to the use of money, items of luxury and comfort, and other paraphernalia that project his image as a well-heeled man. 

What the formator can do: His own simplicity of life should be the guiding principle for the formees. Simply depriving them of the essentials of life in the name of mortification and penance while he himself does not seem to lack anything, is definitely counterproductive. Walking one’s talk is the first step to any kind of formation. The study of the social agenda of the church should be an integral part of the formation in this area of dialogue. Why the social teaching of the church should be insisted upon is because all through it is an appeal, repeated again and again, to those who have the wherewithal to share with those who haven’t, and to be just and fair towards employees and subordinates.   Again, meditation should be used to build compassion for all living beings, especially the weak, the deprived, the marginalized, the voiceless and the helpless. 

3. Dialogue with Cultures 

  This has become a non-negotiable in today’s formation of religious not only in India but in any part of the world. The world has shrunk so much that people of all cultures and nations interact with one another all over the world. However, inter-cultural relationships haven’t been smooth always.   It continues to remain a major problem in many parts of the world. The racial and cultural superiority  the West claimed till the close of the 19th century has become untenable in the modern world.  The world is moving fast towards a multicultural society in which differences need to be understood, esteemed and appreciated. The formation of religious of the future should pay the minutest attention to this area of dialogue. Monocultural pattern of formation has no place in the future. People are becoming more and more assertive about their own cultural identities. And religious are no exception. Take any religious House which has members from different cultural and language backgrounds. It is easy to identify them by their speech, by their manner of talking and their propensity to forming groups on the bases of their culture or the language they speak. There are Congregations where different language and culture groups have rebelled openly against the administration’s attempt to impose the use of a common language like English. 

The role of the formator in dialoguing with cultures: Culture is so intimate an aspect of human life that it embraces all facets of life including religion. Therefore, it is a vital area that no formator worth his name can afford to ignore. If he himself does not dialogue with other cultures, how on earth can he  inculcate in the formees understanding and love for all cultures and peoples! It is his sensitivity to other cultures which should make the formees understand the importance of dialoguing with cultures. A multi-cultural religious community becomes an asset when there is healthy and inspiring interactions amongst the members. In the context of India, for instance, the formator should have a very good knowledge of the various tribal, dalit and caste cultures. One member of the religious Community belonging to a particular caste within the larger dalit community he is coming from, may not get along with a fellow religious belonging to another caste even though he himself is a dalit like the former. The formator who may be from an upper caste or may be from a casteless society will find it confusing as to why, though both belong to the dalit community, cannot see eye to eye. Any insensitive remark or action on his part will be unworthy of his position as a formator.

  A great number of vocations come from the tribal communities of India  -  the Santhals and Bhils of what is now Chattisgarh, the Munda, Oraon and Kharia of Chottanagapur, the Khasis, the Garos and the Nagas of North East. Though there are features common to all tribals, each tribe has its own distinguishing characteristics. One thing that is common to all is their understanding of family. For a Keralite, for instance, a family consists of father, mother and children. Even first cousins are not counted as immediate family members. On the other hand, tribals have a very wide understanding of the family. They have an inclusive family system which goes far beyond blood relations. For them the family extends first to their own clan, then to the tribe , and even to other tribes of the same village. This extended relationship can cause misunderstanding in religious Communities with people from other areas who may have little knowledge of tribal culture. Similarly, the understanding of a celibate life in religious life or ordained ministry will not be as clear to tribals as for the others. Married life and rearing a family is a sign of maturity amongst them. The hardships of living in inhospitable terrains and rearing a family demand tremendous amount of courage and sacrifice which is associated with maturity. Single life, therefore, is considered a sign of weakness or sickness. All the same, such a person is never ostracized or derided but is treated with understanding and compassion. With the advent of Christianity, however, the status and dignity accorded to an unmarried person who is totally dedicated to the service of the deity as a priest or religious is of a high order in these cultures since he/she is seen as one “with a wider responsibility, looking after the extended ‘World Family’, the Church”.

  The formator’s ignorance and insensitivity when dealing with issues associated with different cultural traits of the formees will have disastrous consequences at a later stage if not immediately. I remember as a young formator having to deal with a situation when a terribly agitated group of  candidates( all Keralites in those days) studying in St. Patrick’s, Adyar, came to tell me that one of their teachers, belonging obviously to another culture, keep addressing them as “Kanji” instead of by their names. Though I could guess that the teacher concerned did not really mean to hurt their feelings, I could not help feeling a bit hurt myself since I, too, belonged to the same culture. One cultural group taunting the other or passing insulting or derogatory remarks about other cultures cannot be taken as a joke. The formator should make every effort to create harmony and good will amongst different cultural groups. Creating a more intimate understanding and appreciation of  one another’s cultural traits will go a long way to facilitate greater integration and cohesion amongst the members. Group discussions, seminars, study circles on cultural differences and behaviour patterns should become part of the formation programme at every stage. 

   Another area for caution is the tendency of the dominant group imposing its culture on to the minority. It also can happen that the one-time dominant group, now reduced to minority, continuing using its old clout to impose its cultural traits on to the majority because this small group still holds the reins of power. The food habits of the dominant culture may inhibit others from trying out something of their own which is repugnant to the dominant group. It is here the formator should use his initiative to help each group to prepare something that they relish which all take care to join in to have a share. Let us say, a novice from the Khasi culture has a longing for some dog or snake meat. By becoming a religious, he has not given up his love for the flesh of dog and snake just as a Keralite never gives up his tapioca and the Tamil cannot do without sambar! It is for the formator to do something about it even though in his own culture dog and snake meats are repulsive and nauseating. (Well, even army personnel are expected to get accustomed to eating the flesh of these animals during their training.) 

 Festivals are another occasion to build cultural integration. Many of the tribal festivals are pregnant with spiritual meaning. The eco-spirituality that each festival signifies can be made suitable for community prayer and worship. Again it depends on the formator to use his initiative in promoting and celebrating cultural diversity. The eventual outcome of all this should be that our Brothers of the future should come out as men for all cultures and climes, capable of joining forces with like-minded people to create a better world for humanity.

4. Dialogue with Religions

In this day and age when so much tension is being created through fundamentalism and bigotry, no religious can afford to sit back and watch the mayhem and atrocities committed against people in different parts of the world in the name of religion. The idea that one particular religion is the only true religion in the world should be seen as one child telling the other that his mummy is the best in the whole world. Our Brothers of the future should be enabled to look upon all religions as God’s ways of entering into the lives of people of different cultures. Any religion is the theological expression of a particular culture in which it is born. So, to claim that one religion is superior to another is the same as the claim that one culture is superior to another. People with genuine God experience see this as no more than a children’s game of naming one’s toy better than the other and fighting over it. 

The formator’s role, therefore, is to give every opportunity to the formees according to their stage of formation, to have a deeper and deeper understanding of world religions. Appreciating another religion in no way is going to diminish one’s devotion and loyalty to one’s own religion. A Brother should be capable of transcending even religious tenets if they come in the way of his relationship with God and Creation. 

5. Dialogue with the Church

The religious formation of  both men and of women in this country  -  even in indigenous Congregations -   conforms strictly to the traditional theology and teaching of the Catholic church. Theologians who dare ask questions  are silenced  by debarring them from teaching in institutes of theology or in seminaries. Asian theologians are not bold enough to air their views publicly for fear of meeting with censure and disapproval from Rome. Post-Vatican documents such as Dominus Jeus  and Redemptionis Sacramentum   which came out recently are seen as attempts to take the church back to the structures and values of the pre-Vatican era of utter submission and blind faith. Any kind of reformist movement is frowned upon. Any pastoral experiment is immediately reported to the bishop by right-wing movements. Bishops are both judge and jury. Caste struggle, promoted and abetted by powerful people, including the clergy, with vested interest  are doing irreparable damage to the unity and integrity of the church. Rites struggle for supremacy is another ugly face of the Indian church. 

What can the Brothers do? 

 The Brothers of the future need to be trained as prophets of enlightenment and voice of unity in the church. Like Jesus who “came to fulfill and not destroy the law of Moses” by challenging those who interpreted the law of Moses to oppress the poor and the weak and promote their own agenda of lording over others, the Brothers of the future will have to be the voice of the voiceless in the church. Standing for those clergy and bishops who work for the well-being and unity of the church as true shepherds of their flock, Brothers should be competent enough to be critical of those who attempt to subvert the teachings of Jesus for their own unholy purposes. It is essential, therefore, for the Brothers of the future to do some re-learning of theology and spirituality. The emphasis on the life and teaching of Jesus should take precedence over any other teaching in the church. It is worth noting that the teaching of the Master as found in the four Gospels is different in certain essential features from what theological interpretation the church has been giving over the centuries. What we see in the Acts of the Apostles, for instance, is the beginning of an ecclesia with increasingly oppressive rules of conduct rather than a community of loving and forgiving people. Jesus’ teaching was an all inclusive one, whereas the Apostles and especially Paul made the Christian community  an exclusive one in more ways than one. Jesus visualized  a community in which sinners enjoyed God’s special favour. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son as well as his own example of dealing with publicans and sinners, amply demonstrate that the community Jesus had in mind and gave his life for was different from what emerged later. Take for instance the way sinners were treated even by Peter who had first hand experience of the forgiveness of Christ and was re-instated with full honour after denying the Master thrice. The fraud of Ananias and Sapphira consisted only in keeping back a portion of the money from the sale of their own piece of land. The Christ-like approach would have been to give a friendly rebuke with the consoling words “Go, my friends, and sin no more.”  The poor creatures had no time even to regret becoming Christians! In 1 Corinthians, Chapter 5, there is an unfortunate incident of a man marrying his step-mother for which the punishment meted out by Paul was too cruel to be recorded in any genuine Christian writings. The way Paul dealt with him was not Jesus’ way at all. So, we find that what emerges is not really the way of the Kingdom of God but an ecclesia of people with a common code of conduct violation of which meant provoking “God’s anger resulting in eternal shame and unquenchable fires of hell”. What went on over the centuries to “save souls from the fires of hell” is borne out by history.  It is for the Brothers of the future, like Jesus and later those who lived radically in imitation of him, to be true prophets of their time “to uproot and to plant, to pull down and to build” in their efforts to establish the true Kingdom as envisaged by Jesus.

Conclusion

The five areas of dialogue which ensure not only one’s spiritual, emotional and  intellectual development but make them competent to deal with life situations including the mission that they intend to undertake as truly God experienced people, ought to become the focus of formation if religious life is to have any relevance in the future.
 

I have always been a very controversial spiritual teacher. Why? Because I tell people there is something to do. I have always told my audiences, seekers who have come to me to hear the good news about liberation here and now, that if they want to be free, then there are a lot to do. And in certain circles these days, any talk of dong is equivalent to blasphemy. Enlightenment is supposed to be about Being, not doing. Wake up, teachers of enlightenment proclaim. You are lost in the stream of time and becoming, convinced there is a self who is doing this and doing that. That is the very problem.

   But they are lost in the past the ancient past. Ever since the end of the tired old sixties, when hundreds of thousands of us found out about enlightenment, we've been hearing the same relentless refrain; be here now, just be. God is... don't you get it? Okay, so some of us did get it... and then what? Oh yeah, I remember just be. Okay... I am back. I am Being... all I have to do is stay here and rest and make sure I don't think too much or worry about the past or the future, and if I am lucky, well, maybe I could just be some more. But wait a minute! I have been doing this for years and years, and why is it that part of me is starting to feel suffocated by all this being, being, being? Oh yeah. It must be my ego rising up again, wanting to steal the show. Rest in being, rest in being, rest in being. But wait a minute, it is not just my ego, that nasty, narcissistic self ( small 's') absorbed bastard. There really does seem to be another part of me that is here in this world and that strives not only to Be (which we all already are anyway, right?

  First there was nothing (Being) then there was something (Becoming). Who and what we are is both of these things- Being and Becoming. Something and nothing, manifest and unmanifest, form and emptiness, human and God. Right? Isn't that the whole picture? I mean, without the manifest universe, of which this crazy world is a part, without any doing or becoming, just uninanifest Being would be pretty boring, wouldn't it? Not much action or life avound. Resting only in the unborn, in nirvana, it would be kind of quiet. May be too quiet, with nobody but our own self to talk to... about what? Well, nothing... happened to talk about. That's why we became, to enliven our own self That's why we got off our rear ends, so we could actively participate in our own becoming. Becoming what? Becoming the whole universe. But we forgot who we were, forgot our roots, so to speak.

  We got lost in becoming. We forgot that we were always already free, perfect, whole, and complete. We got lost in the show. And so then we began the search for our self. And then we found it. But then, in that finding, we also seemed to forget that we were never separate from the universe, from the stream of time, from Becoming, from the world. So what does enlightenment mean for today9 What is enlightenment for the twenty- first century? It is evolutionary enlightenment. Be here now? Of course, but also, Do here now. Realize your own inherently free unmanifest self as the ground of Being and, at the same time, recognize your own incarnation as the ceaselessly evolving body of the changing universe - a universe becoming ever more and more conscious of itself as a being and becoming.

(The following is the continuation of the article by the same title which appeared in the last issue of Patrika)

On reaching Tullow I had a shave and then Bro. Denis introduced me to the Community. The Brothers were watching TV.  Then I had the first meal in Ireland: cold meat, bread and butter and tea. Though I was offered a strong drink for some reason or other I did not take it. By this time it was around nine o’clock and yet the Irish twilight looked like the Indian evening. At ten the need for light was not there. So I closed the windows, pulled the curtains and went to bed. It was really cold for me but after about 30 minutes in bed I felt very comfortable and slept till next morning. At about 5 it was quite bright outside and I thought my watch was slow! The long summer evening and early mornings were really deceiving me. I managed to be just in time for Mass at around 7 a.m.

   After Mass I joined the Community for breakfast. Fruit, porridge, eggs, bread, butter and tea. Bro Denis was always careful and saw that I was served and looked after. Later I wrote some letters and had a look around the Mount St. Joseph’s House. I took some photos, talked with some junior boys, tried a few shots at tennis etc.

  In the afternoon Bro. Denis took me to the monastery (Day School) where I met Bro. Robert Ruane, the Irish Provincial. In the evening Bro. Denis and I went around the farm and half of the ‘aura’ road. In the next couple of days I met and exchanged news with more Brothers. On 29th I met Bro. Lasserian Byrne and Bro. Pius O’Leary. They took me out to the Wicklow area for a ‘spin’ and on the way I tasted the famous Irish drink ‘Guiness’. I was a bit reluctant to start but once I enjoyed the first pint I always looked forward to it whenever I could get it.

   On 30th May I talked with two groups of boys from the Day School at Tullow. They asked me a lot of questions about India and it seemed that their only source of information was the popular press and Television. At 3.00 p.m. Bro. Robert Ruane (Provincial) took me to Ballyfin College. There I met Bro. L.A. Devery and Bro. A.P. Dooley. Both of them had returned from India for good a year ago. The following day I walked around the estate and in the evening Bro. Andrew Breen took me out for a spin to the Cistercian Monastery. On the way back we drove up to the  mountain drive and tasted guiness. In the night we watched TV and the following morning I met Bro. Charles Barry from Papua New Guinea and Bro. Vianney Foyle from Australia. On 1st June I watched the College Junior Hurling final and gave out the medals. At night played indoor soccer for the staff team against the Boys.

   The Ballyfin mansion is a magnificent building and it is a tourist attraction. The lake and the extensive lands around it make the estate ideal for camping, fishing etc. The gymnasium is superb and well maintained. Bro. Egan and his devoted community and staff can be proud of the good discipline and excellent exam results.

  On 2nd June at 2.00 p.m. I started my journey towards Galway. Bro. Cahl Bulfin (Vocation Promoter) offered me a lift. It was really a thrilling journey as he is considered the fastest driver among the Brothers. I enjoyed the trip. I must give credit to his control of the vehicle. On the way we dropped the three juniors who had spent the week end at the Mount.

  We reached Nuns Island at about 6.00 p.m. The majority of the Community were out and all appeared around 9.30 p.m. Then I was officially welcomed with the usual ‘gaudiamus’. The next day I got up late and after breakfast at 9.00 a.m. I studied the building. At 11.00 a.m. the elderly Brother (Linus Walker) and I went to the Cathedral for Mass. After Mass he took me around the magnificent Cathedral built in stones of two colours. The edifice is the pride of Irish Catholics.  John F. Kennedy was supposed to have given a handsome donation for the same. His picture is on the wall.

As I was coming back I met ex-brother Boniface Kennedy (who worked in India) and we went to see the University and the rowing competition. It was a worthwhile trip. Part of the University buildings is on the lands previously owned by the Brothers.  The rowing competition created an ecumenical feeling. When we returned at 1.00 p.m. the Community arranged for a trip to Connemara. Bros. David, Kennedy, Mark and I traveled along the coasts towards west and saw a good bit of Connemara stones. It was during this trip that I first saw turf being cut by farmers as well as by machine. Two farmers were good enough to pose with me for a photograph. On the way back we had supper at  Oughterand and at 8.00 p.m. visited the Study House. I was treated very well with the usual things.

   On 4th June (Thursday) a proposed Sligo trip did not materialize. So in the evening Bro. Valerian Wheelan took me out on a spin around Salt Hill. I visited Fr. Griffin Memorial, the Docks, Industrial Estate etc. At 8.00 p.m. Kennedy took me  for a film “Jesus Christ Super Star”. On return we went to the nearby pub and it was raining and cold.

  5th June was a quiet day; I played snooker after lunch, had a bath at 2.00 p.m., watched TV in the evening.

  6th June: played golf in the evening. On 7th visited Connemara again; this time with Charles Barry and Vianney Foyle. Good trip, returned at 5.00 p.m. (Had a chance to drive for some time) In the evening visited a pub with Mark and later on visited a family ? O’Briens.

 On 8th Saturday I visited the Galway Primary School. Bro. David took me around and showed me all the facilities. Then we went up to the roof from where I enjoyed the beautiful view of the Cathedral and the city below. It was interesting to watch the farmers selling vegetables. The driver of a truck  stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road and held up the traffic while he bought bunches of lettuce and other greens. There was no hooting! Then I visited the nearby Protestant Church. In the evening Bro. David drove me to Carrickmacross.

 The drive from Galway to Carrickmacross was very pleasant. There was intermittent drizzle and patches of sunshine. The green fields on both sides of the road were very soothing to the eyes. The monotony of green fields was broken by towns on the way. We traveled at good speed. At Mullingar we rested, had a drink and supper.

At Carrickmacross we were warmly welcomed by my friend Pat Joe (Bro. Phelan) and the rest of the Community. I was glad to meet Bros. Paul Duffy. Virgilius, Gregory Fox (whose sister was Presentation Provincial in India) and John Gallahar. After a long gaudiamus I went to bed at 1.00 a.m.

  On 9th June (Sunday) Mass in the parish at 9.30 a.m. and Brothers themselves prepared breakfast. At lunch we (Bro. Phelan and I ) had a meal outside at 90 new pence each. [House keeper works only 5 days a week] Spent the rest of the Sunday watching TV. On 10th also TV was my main occupation.

  On 11th Bro. Phelan took me in the community car to see the ‘Jumping well’ The tradition is that the well changed its original position to exclude an excommunicated personality. On the return journey we called at a famous castle now turned into a hotel.

 On 12th I visited the two schools. Bro. John Gallaghar took me around and we even paid a visit to the local pub.

13th to 15th TV. The special interest was the World Cup soccer. The colour transmission of the games was of excellent quality.

  On 17th I left Carrick by car for Dublin. Bro. Phelan was my escort. During the two days in Finglas I had long chats with Bro. X who was studying theology at Mater Dei Institute. I visited the botanical gardens. Another memorable event was to see the film “Exorcist”. On 19th the Superior Bro. McCormac took me to Tullow where I met Bro. O’Brien and the Australian delegates at 5.45 p.m.

  On 20th: visited the Tullow post office and the Park. Read the Australian report on the revision of Constitutions. On 21,22,23 met more Brothers and delegates.

  June 24th 1974: After dinner (Supper 6.00 pm)  Bro. Denis outlined the programme for retreat; emphasized the importance of silence, example, proper recitation of office etc. At 9.00 pm the retreat preacher gave the introductory talk. It was something like an advice from an elderly sister to retreat preacher. The topics that should be included were meaning of religious vocation as a life-time commitment, prayer life, apostolate, Faith, silence etc.
Retreat Programme everyday was from 8.30 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. including Morning Prayer, Breakfast, Lauds, First Lecture instead of reading, Tea, Mass, Lunch, Rosary, Tea, Vespers and Lecture, Supper, Recreation, Exposition, Compline and Chapter preliminary meetings. The retreat ended on Sunday at 6.00 p.m.

  1-7-1974: After Mass and breakfast we assembled and opened the Chapter officially according to the Constitutions. After electing Secretary Bro. Hilary Deering and Tellers Bros O’Brien and Dominic Coates other details and procedures were discussed.

  Bro. Robert Ruane, Irish Provincial read his report. It was followed by Bro. Denis with his report on the Irish Province. Then we discussed the report in turn and it was unanimously passed.
  Bro. O’Brien read the Indian report and the above procedure was followed. All commended the Indianisation and the rapid progress. The optimistic note was clear in every paper; we had tea break at 11.00 a.m. After the interval we dealt with the Australian report. Bro. Patrick was applauded for the great success in every way. All admired the thoroughness and the prayer campaign for vocations. We had lunch at 1.00 p.m. and reassembled session at 2.00 p.m. The American report was dealt with and all expressed their sympathy and admiration for the courageous Brothers who still hold the fort. All the reports showed the necessity of spiritual life and personal prayer.
  Vespers at 5.50 p.m., Supper at 6.00 p.m., Compline at 6.30 p.m. Session at 7.00 p.m. We closed at 9.00 p.m. Formation Committee of which I was a member met from 9.30 to 10.30 p.m.)

2-7-1074 The Kenya Regional Report was read by Bro. Marcellus Rodrigues. He also added a lot of information after the paper. This was followed by a comprehensive report of the Lahore Community by Bro. C.M. Kealy. Its history for the last nine years, financial difficulties, discipline, personnel, government policy etc. He asked for more volunteers especially Bro. A.J. Fitzpatrick. Discussion followed. All commended the missionary effort and dedication of the Brothers in Kenya. Indigenous vocation was to be taken up seriously. All praised Bro. Kealy for the wonderful work he is doing in spite of his bad health and old age.

In the afternoon Bro. Denis read his report on the Congregation.  He stressed the need for prayer and especially personal prayer. In spite of the 45 defections there was a note of optimism.

   During the discussion that followed all admired the spiritual aspect and quality of the report and congratulated the Superior General on the wonderful term of office and the excellent report. Teaching of religion was discussed at length. The question of election of Provincial Superior was defeated; appointment is necessary to safeguard extreme cases of dismissal etc.; the democratic aspect is fulfilled by the recommendations.

  In the evening session discussions were held to clarify the duties of S.G., Assistants, mode of election etc. At 9.30 p.m. had a sing-song organized by Bro. Robert Ruane (Irish Province).

  3-7-1974:  Assembled at 9.30 a.m. and discussed the motion on ‘duties of Assistants General’. The Chapter decided to provide the Superior General and his Assistants with a separate residence. At 11.30 a.m. we reassembled for the election of Superior General. After prayers we elected BRO. ROBERT RUANE, the Irish Provincial as the new General. Only one balloting and he received the required number of votes out of 20. After acknowledging him we went to chapel and sang Te Deum. 

 At 2.00 p.m. the election of the Assistants took place. Almost every election had 4 balloting and resulted as follows:

1.  Bro. Daniel Egan  2.  Bro. Valerian Whelan   3.  Bro. Francis Redmond   4.  Bro. Lasserian Byrne.
Bro. Daniel Egan (Principal of Ballyfin College) was not a member of the Chapter; Bro. Valerian Whelan was Principal of Sec. School Galway; the other two were on the previous Regime. The session was adjourned till 4th ? Thursday- to enable Bro. Daniel to join.

 On 4th July we assembled under the new Chairman Bro. Robert. (The elections were held under the supervision of Bro. Vincent McCarthy, First Assistant to Bro. Denis). Bro. Daniel Egan, new first Assistant was officially received by the Chapter members. The Secretary read the long report of the previous day and gave a very detailed account of the elections.

 We dealt with Chapter I and II of the Constitutions. The Committee’s report was discussed and further instructions given. In the afternoon the Committee on Formation presented its report. It was discussed and sent for redrafting and a member of the General Council was also assigned.  In the evening there were committee meetings. I worked on the Formation Committee.

 5-7-1974:  Formation Committee report was read by Bro.Dominic Coates and it was followed by a lively discussion. Then we had the report on community life. In the afternoon the question of official habit was discussed. Soutane and green sash will remain but S.G. has authority to modify.

  6-7-1974: At 9.30 a.m. Draft Constitutions Chapter I & II were discussed. Submission on Chapters 7 & 8 were considered. The discussion continued into the afternoon session and then at 2.45 we had committee meetings.
  Week-End Interval from Saturday 4.00 p.m. to Monday night. I watched Wimbleton Finals on TV. On Sunday I relaxed and then in the evening World Cup Final TV. On Monday Bros O’Brien, Duffy and Adrian (Provincial in India in the 1930’s) were taken by Bro. Kealy to his brother’s house at Kilquiggin. We enjoyed the evening. He took us to the Wicklow Hills and a country pub.

  9-7-1974: Session began at 9.30 a.m. Second draft on Formation was taken up. At 2.00 p.m. more submissions were considered and we went into committee meetings for the rest of the day. At night Bros. Hilary and Livinus gave a party for their birthday. There were two American priests visiting the Community.
  On 10th, 11th and 12th review of Constitutions continued. ‘Gold’ (second draft) papers were studied and given for final drafts.

  13-7-1974: Committee meetings from 9.30 a.m. to 11 p.m. General meeting at 2.00 p.m. All the members went to Balan - Novitiate - for 1st Profession ceremonies at 5.00 p.m. About 80 people were there for supper.
 Sunday and Mondays were holidays. Bros. O’Brien, Foley, Fitzpatrick and I went to Mallow by car. We had Mass on the way. At Michelstown we had lunch. Also visited the Creamery. At Mallow I visited the two schools and heard stories about late Bro. Henderson.

  15-7-1974: We left Mallow at 8.00 a.m. towards Kilarney. We encountered bad weather at Kerry. The country side was really beautiful in the morning. At Kilarney we went up to the Ladies View. On the way back we came through New Castle West, Kilmallock and Tipperary. At Cashel we had lunch. Then at Johnstown we stopped for a ‘pint’ and Bro. Fitzpatrick left us a few minutes later on the way. I drove back to Culhill through Durrow, Abbeyleix, Carlow to Tullow. We returned to the Mount at 8.00 p.m. After supper we retired to our rooms for a good rest.

  16-7-1874:  Meeting began at 9.30. Besides the ‘gold papers’ the agenda was discussed. After tea at 3.30 I went with Bro. Duffy for a haircut. On the way back we met Bro. Pius O’Leary and he took us into a pub for a “pint or two”. Returned to the Mount in time for supper at 6.00 p.m.;  committee meeting at 7.00 p.m. on Continuing Formation.

 20-7-1974:  Final voting on Chapters from one to twenty and Statutes. Bro. Benedict’s letter was read out at the Chapter. In the evening there was a meeting of Provincials called by S.G.

  21-7-1974: The Secretary read the report at 9.30 a.m. S.G. thanked all and apologized for any inconvenience caused. The Chapter was officially closed.

  On 21st evening Bro. Denis took Bro. Kealy, Bro. Foley and me to Mount Leinster. It was a beautiful evening and the scenery was enchanting. At 8.00 p.m. we stood at “NINE STONES” and looked down on the valley below. The air was clean and bright and it was something like looking down from Mussoorie to Dehra Dun just after the monsoon rains.
 

I am writing this for those of my Brothers who do not know what I am doing here in Sri Lanka. Actually, when I landed in Sri Lanka I fist made a trip to my home land, Jaffna. It was nearly a gap of 17 years that I made  my visit. Most of the people of the town  had migrated abroad, and today only the poor and the old are left behind. But when you meet the people they have many stories to narrate. Still many cannot forget the atrocities done by the Sri Lankan army. There are more than 10,000 on the missing list, for many youth were arrested but never returned. But there are still some parents who say their sons would come back one day. There are also a lot of handicapped people who lost their limbs caught in the land mines. De-mining is going on and according to the experts it would take another 15 ? 20 years to clear it fully. There is at least one martyr from every home. You know that this war was similar to the one fought in Vietnam. Though a small country, one would be surprised to find two time zones here. In the good old days, they followed the IST(Indian Standard Time). But today, rebel held area is 30 minutes ahead of IST. Rebel held area boasts of different things. Women, for instance, have more freedom. And the area is said to be the least corrupt.  During the war days most of the schools in the North and the East were closed and this had caused nearly 150,000 children to drop out of school.  There are still today 25,000 widows and some of them with two or three children. I really wonder how they face their daily lives. It is very hard to find young men in the busy places in the North. The story is endless.

   Right now I am with the Marist Brothers and teaching in a diocesan school. The Principal is a layman. It is a small school and is only 9 years old.  In the beginning when I went around looking for some suitable place for us to start a foundation here, I had the idea of Brothers coming here. But seeing the present political situation here, I have given it up. This has made me a bit nervous about my own future. I have made it clear to Bro. Berchmans that I wish to remain a Patrician Brother, and if that is not possible, I may think of joining another Congregation. He told me not to give up hope and assured me that he would write to the Regional Superior, Kenya and the Australian Provincial. He advised me to write to them as well. That is how things are at the moment.

Karunai Illam, Coonoor is a concrete expression of our option for the poor, the recurring theme of our General and Provincial Chapters. 

Brothers Francis and Palatty officially open the new extension	Bishop Anandarayar and others who attended the opening

On 21 March 2004, the extension of Karunai Illam was blessed by Rt. Rev. Dr. Antony Anandarayar, the bishop of Ootacamund in the presence of  Frs. A. Anthonyswamy, procurator of the diocese, Ravi Lawrence, the parish priest, the Brothers of the community, a good number of students from the school, a sizeable number of parishioners from the Sacred Heart church, the inmates of Karunai Illam, friends and well wishers of the Brothers. Bro. M.K. Francis, superior of St. Joseph’s inaugurated the extension-wing meant to cater exclusively for women.

   The foundation of the project was laid in 1998 and blessed on 21 March, 1999. Initially Karunai Illam was designed to cater to twenty homeless and abandoned men and women housed in a single building. The inmates rejected from their homes were reduced to the state of beggars and exposed to the inclement weather conditions of the Nilgiris. As more people sought admission to Karunai Illam it was decided to extend the facilities, particularly a separate wing for the women. The present extension can accommodate twenty persons and thus 40 persons can now be sheltered in the Illam.

  Since its inception, to date more than 50 persons have availed the facilities of Karunai Illam. During the course of these four years, five of the inmates have reached their eternal home. 

  Sheer Coincidence: One pleasant surprise related to the inauguration date, namely, the blessing of the first foundation took place on 21 March 1999 and the inauguration of the new extension was to take place on 17 March, our Patron St. Patrick’s Feast Day. But due to reasons beyond control the inauguration had to be postponed, and by sheer coincidence the blessing and inauguration took place on 21 March    -    coinciding with the 4th anniversary of the existence of Karunai Illam. The Lord’s ways are different from our ways.

   On a more personal note, we are very grateful to Bro. Berchmans, our Provincial and his Council for granting the necessary permission and finance to complete the extension of Karunai Illam. We also take this opportunity to thank Bro. Francis and the members of the community for their kind co-operation. A heartfelt thanks to Almighty God for all the blessing showered on this endeavour from the very foundation to the present moment and seeking the constant and choicest blessings on Karunai Illam and its inmates.

---

Four of our young Brothers, Johnson, Alfred, Arokiaraj and Jayaseelan, on completion of more than six years as temporary professed, made their final commitment on Friday, 16 April at a solemn ceremony held at Patrick Nilayam, Trichy. The chief celebrant was Rt. Rev. Anthony Devota, the bishop of Trichy. In his homily in English and Tamil, he paid high tributes to the Patrician Brothers for their commitment to education. He said he was very happy to have the Patricians in his diocese.

L-R: Final profession Mass with Bishop Devota - Alred, Johnson, Arokiaraj, and Jayaseelan - Arokiaraj receives Celtic Cross from Br Berchmans (Provincial)

On 1 May, the Province was specially blessed with the symbolic number of  12 first professions. This is the second time in the history of the Province we are having such a big number coming out of the Novitiate, the first being way back in 1982 when Bros. Prakash and Paschal’s batch also had twelve. Congratulations to Sylvanus, Thomas, Manoj, Gijo, Binay, Rajesh, Kipson, Suresh, Anup. Bineesh, Ronish and Rayappa on successfully completing the Novitiate and joining the Patrician Family as professed members.

Preparations for attending the General Chapter in Kamagut, Kenya, are underway with capitulants busy with ticketing, visas and vaccinations. They are scheduled to leave for Nairobi on 22 July from Mumbai. 

Though transfers should have come into effect from 20 May, because of examinations, holiday, retreat etc., the old order took a longer time to change! Some even wondered if they could stay put till the next transfer! (Photo: Br Paschal being carried to the jeep to take him to the train to take him to Dehrdun.)

*************

Grief and dismay struck Patrick Nilayam, Trichy, when Sebastian, their trusted driver and handyman was found dead in the morning of 16 May. He died during sleep of a heat attack. May his soul rest in peace.

For the 8th consecutive year, St. Patrick’s school, Alundur, Trichy, had 100% success at the Board Examination. All the 53 who appeared came out with first classes and distinctions. Congratulations to Bro. Paschal, the Headmaster, and his dedicated staff.
 
 

Bro. Francis’ task of controlling admissions to the new school in Dindigul ( St. Patrick’s Academy) is reported to be increasingly difficult. What was begun last year with just 41 kids in the Brothers’ residence has grown to be 350 this year with Francis struggling to say ‘No’ to the many parents who are still flocking to the school. The children are now housed in the completed portion of the new building.
 

In front of the Brothers' monastery at Dindigul. And how St Patrick's will eventually appear.

Information has just trickled in that Bro. Patrick Palatty is admitted in the hospital at Coimbatore after Sahayamada hospital, Coonoor,  could not diagnose the exact nature and seriousness of his illness. He is reported to have developed fluids in the lungs. Patrick is a diabetic and was on a strict dietary regimen including long daily walks. By the time this issue of Patrika is out, it is hoped that Patrick will be up and about. Patrika wishes him a speedy recovery.

The Pune school, Mount St. Patrick Academy, will start functioning from this academic year commencing on 6 July. The contractor has made ready four classrooms for it. The Brothers’ residence is also in progress as the construction work of the  school  continues simultaneously.

Annual retreat for the Brothers in the north was held at St. George’s College, Mussoorie, from June 6 - 11. The preacher was Fr. Joe Lawrence, an ex-Dominican now with the diocese of Delhi. The Capuchin monastery was made available for accommodation by Fr. Hugh.

A one-week programme on life-skills for the staff of our schools is scheduled from Monday 21 June at St. George’s College, Mussoorie. Bro. Dominic Jacob, the Province Coordinator for education, is the organizer of this programme.
 

An elderly man lay moaning in his bed in dying agony; he suddenly smelt the aroma of his favourite chocolate cookie, coming from the kitchen. He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and even with greater effort forced himself down the stairs  gripping the railings with both hands. With laboured breath, he leaned against the doorframe, gazing into the kitchen. Wre it not for his dying agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven. There, spread out upon newspapers on the kitchen table, were literally hundreds of his favourite chocolate cookies! 

 Was it heaven? Or was this a final act of heroic love from his devoted wife for ensuring that he left this world a happy man?  Mustering a great final effort, he threw himself towards the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture. The aged and  withered hand shakingly made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table when it was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.

“Stay out of those,” she said. “They’re for the funeral!”

A patient was lying nervously on the operating table waiting for the surgeon to arrive. When he came, the patient blurted out: “Doctor, I am very, very nervous.”
“Don’t be,” smiled the doctor.
“No doctor, I am very frightened, this is my first major operation,” the patient confessed.
“Mine too,” said the doctor.

A young couple was strolling hand in hand when they came upon a graveyard. They decided to walk through it, and noticed that a woman was sitting beside a new grave and fanning it.

Said the husband to his wife: “See, this is real love and devotion. Though her husband has died and gone, this woman is sitting by his grave and fanning him as though he were still alive.”

“Don’t be too sure,” replied the wife. “Let’s go and ask her why she is doing it.”

So the couple walked up to the woman and said, “Excuse us, no offence meant, but why are you doing this?”
The widow answered with moist eyes, “My late husband was a very noble man. Before he died, he told me that I could go ahead and marry another man; but I should at least wait for the cement to dry on his grave. So I am sitting here and drying it.”

Without yielding to the restless desire for change, without being at the mercy of emotional ups and downs, let us do the work assigned to us in the situation in which we are placed. When we acquire faith in the Eternal and experience Its reality, the sorrows of the world do not disturb us. He who discovers his true end of life and yields to it utterly is great of soul.