A lamp, died out for want of oil!

Tomorrow, April 1. Besides the pranks of April fool there is something else that this particular day brings to the mind of every salesian.  April 1, 1934 the day when Don Bosco was proclaimed a saint of the Catholic Church.  Seventy seven years from his canonization, Don Bosco is one of the few most loved and known saints in the whole world, even to the extent of being quoted by the president of America. (“...Brasilia is a young city – it will turn 51 next month. But it began as a dream more than a century ago. In 1883, Dom Bosco, Brasilia’s patron saint, had a vision that one day, a capital city of a great nation would be built between the 15th and 20th parallels. It would be a model for the future and ensure that opportunity was the birthright of every Brazilian...". These were the words of Barak Obama in a discorse at Brasilia during his recent visit to the South American country. 

But what makes this saint so lovable and acceptable to everyone? What has this poor priest of Becchi done to merit so much of affection and appreciation from world over? I think a small text from the biographical memoirs sums up beautifully well the life of this great saint.

On 28 December 1887, in response to Mr. Saint-Genset’s question about Don Bosco’s health, Dr. Fissore who was attending on Don Bosco said: “Don Bosco is finished, gone, and we have no hope to save him.  He is suffering from a cardio-pulmonary ailment, he has lesions on the liver and complications of the spinal cord with consequent paralysis of the lower limbs.  He cannot talk.  His kidneys and lungs hardly work.”  When asked for the cause of Don Bosco’s sickness the doctor continued: “There is no single cause.  It is the result of general exhaustion, the result of a life worn away by unceasing work and continuous worries.  Don Bosco is simply worn out because of too much work.  He is not dying because of any particular disease, but he is like a lamp which is slowly dying for want of oil” (Biographical Memoirs, XVIII, p.424).

On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1934, Pope Pius XI declared Don Bosco a saint; the Pope styled him "a giant of sanctity."  On this day when we commemorate his canonization there is no better prayer to make other than asking God a small share of the spirit and zeal of this great champion of sanctity.  

The Transfiguration (Lexio Divina)

Tomorrow, the second Sunday of Lent, the gospel presents the scene of transfiguration. Jesus goes to the mount Tabor accompanied by his beloved disciples Peter, James and John to be transfigured. On last Sunday we heard the temptations of Jesus in the desert. The evangelists don’t speak of any disciples near Jesus at the time of his temptations. During the Passion Week we will hear again Jesus going to the mountain of Olives to pray before his agony and crucifixion. There too, there are his beloved disciples Peter, James and John, but they are fast asleep. Finally we encounter Jesus on another mountain, the mountain of Calvary abandoned by all his disciples.

In fact in the Lucan account of Transfiguration, the evangelist says: “Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory”. Naturally, the scene of transfiguration is too good to fall asleep. So even though they were tired and weary, they must have made it a point not to miss anything of the entire episode.

Often like the disciples we are happy to stay close to Jesus in moments of bliss and glory. But the true discipleship consists not only in sharing the moments of joy and happiness but also in sharing the moments of pain and agony which is a partaking of the Cross of Christ. Jesus was fully aware that his glory was not just on Tabor alone but there was a Calvary waiting for him. The call of Jesus is very clear “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. That is how the cross becomes for the follower of Christ not simply an object of Christian faith but the badge of his discipleship, the principle by which his life is to be regulated.

May be I can ask myself, how do I respond to my daily crosses? What is my attitude towards them?

ജീവന്‍

ഇന്ന് രാവിലെ പത്രത്തില്‍ കണ്ട ഒരു വാര്‍ത്തയാണ് ഈ കുറിപ്പിന് പിന്നില്‍. അസ്ട്രളിയയിലെ ഒരു ദാമ്പതിഗള്‍ക്ക് ജനിച്ച തലച്ചോറിനു കാര്യമായ അഭാഗത ഉള്ള ഒരു കുഞ്ഞിനെ മരിക്കാന്‍ അനുവദിച്ചു കൊണ്ടുള്ള കോടതി വിധിയെപ്പറ്റി പരാമര്‍ശിക്കുന്ന ഒരു വാര്‍ത്തയായിരുന്നു അത്. വൈകല്യമുള്ള തങ്ങളുടെ കുഞ്ഞിനെ മരിക്കാന്‍ അനുവധിക്കണമെന്നു അവസ്യപ്പെട്ടുകൊണ്ട് കോടതിയെ സമിപിച്ചതും ഈ മാതാപിതാക്കള്‍ തന്നെ ആയിരുന്നു.  

വായിച്ചപ്പോള്‍ മനസ്സിലൂടെ ഒരു തിയാളി.  കാനഡയില്‍ ഒരു മരം മുരിക്കണമെങ്കില്‍ അനുവാദത്തിനായി കുറഞ്ഞത്‌ രണ്ടു മാസമെങ്കിലും കാത്തിരിക്കണം, എന്നാല്‍ ഒരു പെണ്‍കുട്ടിക്ക് തന്റെ വയറ്റില്‍ വളരുന്ന ഒരു കുഞ്ഞിനെ കൊല്ലണമെങ്കില്‍ ഇരുപതു മിനിട്ട് മതി.  ആരു ജനിക്കണം ആരു ജീവിക്കണം എന്നൊക്കെ തിരുമാനിക്കാന്‍ ആരാ നമ്മളെ ചുമതലപ്പെടുത്തിയത്? ഒരു അണ്ഡവും ബീജവും തമ്മിലുള്ള സംയോഗത്തില്‍നിന്നും  ഒരു ജീവന്‍ ഉണ്ടാകുന്നു എന്നൊക്കെ പറയാം എന്നല്ലാതെ എങ്ങനെ ഒരു മനുഷ്യകുഞ്ഞിനു, എന്തിന് ഏതാനും മണിക്കൂറുകള്‍ മാത്രം ആയുസ് ഉള്ള ഒരു ഇയാന്‍ പാറ്റക്ക് പോലും ജീവന്‍ കൊടുക്കാന്‍ പറ്റാത്ത പാവം മനുഷ്യരാണ് നമ്മള്‍.  എന്നിട്ടാണ് ഒരാളുടെ ജീവനെയും മരണത്തെയും പറ്റി വിധിതീര്‍പ്പുകള്‍ കല്‍പ്പിക്കുന്നത്. അങ്ങനെ ചിലരൊക്കെ വിധിതീര്‍പ്പുകളില്‍ എത്തിയതിന്റെ അനന്തര ഫലം നമ്മളൊക്കെ കണ്ടതാണ്. അതെ പറഞ്ഞു വരുന്നത് ആ നാസി നേതാവിനെപ്പറ്റി  തന്നെയാണ്.  ഏതാണ്ട് ആറു ലക്ഷത്തോളം യാഹൂധരെയാണ് ഒരൊറ്റ ചിന്താഗതിയുടെ പേരില്‍ കൊന്നൊടുക്കിയത്.  എന്തിന്റെയൊക്കെയോ അപായ സൂചനകള്‍ അല്ലെ ഇതെല്ലം? ഇനിയും ചരിത്രം നമ്മെ ഒന്നും പഠിപ്പിക്കുന്നില്ലേ? 

മേല്‍പ്പറഞ്ഞ പത്രക്കുറിപ്പ് വായിച്ചപ്പോള്‍ മനസ്സില്‍ തോന്നിയ ചിലത് ഒന്ന് കുറിച്ചെന്നു മാത്രം!! 

The temptations of Jesus (Lexio Divina)

Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Lent and the Gospel presents the temptations of Jesus.  Probably one of the few gospel scenes where no witnesses are present and therefore this episode with the Satan must have been narrated by Jesus himself to the disciples on a later occasion.  If so, there must a specific reason why Jesus did so.

What are temptations? Are they bad in themselves? I think temptations can be seen as a moment of crisis in the life of a person; in other terms, it is an invitation to something that goes contrary to one’s life choices.   But crisis is not something bad in itself. It depends very much on the way one prefers to treat the crisis.  If confronted well the VERY CRISIS CAN BECOME THE HOUR OF GOD.  So too the temptations!

I think all the temptations I face can be summarized in the three that Jesus confronted and overcame: to put my earthly needs before the spiritual needs; to misinterpret Scripture for personal purposes; and to compromise scriptural truth for an apparent gain. What fascinates me is the way that Jesus dealt with his temptations.  It is interesting to see that Jesus overcame his temptations always with the powerful tool of the Word of God. In all the three occasions he makes a reference to the Sacred Scriptures.  The author of the letter to the Hebrews reminds me: "The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the separation of soul and spirit, of both joint and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)  But I ask myself, “What has happened to my use of the Word of God?”  Often with my negligence and misuse and overuse, I have made of this Word of God which is as powerful as a two-edged sword, a blunt and pointless knife.  May be it is an invitation for me to take in hand my Bible and rediscover its enormous power in my daily struggle to win against the powers of evil.  

Il vero significato della verginità nella consacrazione religiosa

"Dio è bello e dolce è amarlo, e che votarsi a Lui in una vita di verginità, nella rinuncia faticosa all'amore pur desideratissimo d'una donna che sia totalmente tua per la vita, non solo è possibile, alla faccia della cultura della finta rivoluzione e liberazione sessuale, ma addirittura esaltante, perché ti moltiplica le energie, perché ti rende libero, perché ti dà la certezza d'essere amato e d'esser capace d'amare, perché impari a non metterti al centro delle relazioni, poiché il centro appartiene a Lui, la fonte dell'amore e d'ogni amore."

Ma, uno può domandare, "come tu puoi ridurre la vocazione del prete o religioso solamente alla scelta della verginità"?

"SI, sarebbe ingiusto a consistere tutto il senso della proposta vocazionale solo in questa opzione.  Ma, la verginità è davvero un simbolo che sintetizza il senso della donazione, come una sua cifra interpretativa o uno scrigno prezioso che la racchiude; ma non solo.  Ogni uomo e ogni donna, fidanzato, coniugato, padre, madre o figlio che sia, sono vergini o son chiamati a essere vergini.  Perché in ogni cuore umano vi sia uno spazio che può essere occupato solo da Dio, un'esigenza d'amore che solo l'Eterno può colmare, perché siamo creatura sua, veniamo da Lui e siamo destinati a tornare a Lui."

Cf. A. CENCINI, Qualcuno ti chiama, Lettera a chi non sa d'esser chiamato, Brescia, Queriniana, 1999, p.49.

"If the seed falls to the ground and dies ...."

Letter from Archbishop Maroun Lahham, Tunisia, published on 23 February, in memory of Fr Marek Rybinski, killed in Manouba, Friday 18 February.

Dear all,

We are still going through events here (I leave the word without an adjective). Now it is Fr. Marek, a 34 year-old Salesian, who was in Tunisia since 2007 and whose throat was cut in a store room at the Salesian school in Manouba.

The Interior Ministry has released a statement indicating that the killer was a carpenter at the school. The Salesian priests say that he had borrowed 2,000 dinars (from them) during the recent Eid three months ago,  to buy equipment for his work. It seems he spent the money on something else, the supplier refused to give him the items for which he had not paid, and Fr Marek had insisted that the money be repaid to the school. Panicking and afraid he would be found out, the statement from the Ministry of the  Interior says, "the killer took him by surprise and repeatedly clubbed him with a blunt instrument around the neck and throat, which caused his death. The killer then hid him for fear of being discovered".

Once the legal formalities have been completed, we will celebrate a Solemn Mass at the Cathedral before his body is to be returned to Poland. The day and time of the ceremony will also be published.

What can I say? Horror, sadness, anger, appalled, concerned, afraid, in doubt ... all mixed up together. Why was Fr Marek murdered? For two thousand dinars? We hardly think so. Certainly there are details that I would not know. By contrast, there are things I do know:

- I know that Fr Marek, two weeks before he was killed, had written of Tunisia and its people: "it is a young, intelligent nation, incapable of violence (sic); they are profoundly good people, not capable of hate".

- I know he had just written his first book on Tunisia where he says among other things: "During my time in Tunisia, my attitude towards my Muslim brothers has changed dramatically. The fear of terrorism and extremism has completely disappeared. Tunisians are so welcoming, friendly and warm. It is they who have taught me this attitude".

- I know he offered to volunteer for Tunisia four years ago, when he was just ordained.

- I know he had sought money from everywhere to build new premises for the school he loved and of which he was the economer (bursar).

I imagine myself faced with his killer, wanting to ask him some questions: Why did you really kill Fr Marek? And why in this barbaric way? Did not his youth and innocence inspire no sense of pity in you? Nor his physical frailty? You knocked him out with a hammer, wasn`t that enough? Did you need to cut his throat and let him swim in his own blood? How could you sleep after that? What stuff are you really made of? What religion do you profess? Are you among those who believe in God the Compassionate, the Merciful (Al Rahman Al Rahim)? How can you reconcile this crime with your faith?

Answer these questions, reassure us, reassure our paternal and fraternal hearts ... Afterwards, I promise you forgiveness. First you will have to ask forgiveness from God, then from the Catholic Church in Tunisia.

"If the seed falls to the ground and dies .... "... He fell, he died, and the example of Christ, which Fr Marek had consecrated himself to, has borne fruit. All the messages of solidarity, all the scenes of sympathy, flowers laid at the door of the Cathedral, Tunisian men and women who demonstrated outside the Cathedral chanting: "Marek, we are sorry!" Young Tunisians came to the Cathedral on Sunday 20th with flowers, tears in their eyes ... "We did not kill him", they said, "it is not Tunisia that did it ... Forgive us!" and they embraced the Sisters as they left.

Official reactions have been similar; the Prime Minister, the Ministry of the  Interior, Foreign Affairs, Labor, Education, Religious Affairs, Tourism, Arab and Foreign Ambassadors, even the Al Nahda Islamic party  .... Did it take the murder of a priest to bring about all this sympathy and affection for us? The price is very high. We greatly appreciate all these gestures of friendship, but they are not worth one drop of blood of our Marek.

And now? Well, we`re moving on. This is no time to panic, it is a time for faith, patience, precaution. Leave? No question, that difficult times are not times to run away from. I say in my own name first, and I believe I can speak on behalf of everyone from the Church in Tunisia and on behalf of all Christians in the country and I also say it to our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters: we will remain in this country which has accepted us, which loves us and which we in turn love. We will also remain here with you because we want to be enriched by you and by what makes you different, and we also want to offer you the values we believe in and that we try to live out, despite our weakness; values that can bring you an increase of faith and hope and confidence.

Life is stronger than death, and so is love.

+ Maroun Lahham 

Archbishop

Translation by the Editorial group (original in French)

I really wish that these words which express so beautifully well the sentiments of the people of Tunisia really bring about the conversion of the man behind this brutal killing. 

Walking the second mile,,,

In the Gospel of this Sunday Jesus invites his followers to have a second mile in life. What does this second mile mean? Jesus tells us that it is not enough to do just the bear minimum and be happy about it. But as Christians and as Religious what we are called to do is to go a mile still further.  Very often we content ourselves doing the first mile and at times we are even proud about our first miles. If we go back in our memories we can easily catch ourselves saying, “I have done very well what was asked of me”, “I have done extremely well my assignment and in fact I’ve finished even before time… etc”.  But all that is only our first miles; what each one is normally called to accomplish, and what everyone does.  But I think what will give quality to our lives as Christians and all the more as religious is this second mile in life. 

I thank Fr. Bobby who gave me a beautiful insight into this second mile in life through the touching story of Krishnan, a highly paid IT sector employ in the high-tech city of Bangalore.  For the past 6 years this man has been maintaining his monthly expense to just 1000 rupees. His normal daily food consisted of just a plate of rice and Dhal and on feast days added also a banana.  But why did he do that? With his monthly savings he has been educating more than 8 students for medicine.  Krishnan is not a religious not even a Christian. But I think he has understood very well what Jesus meant by a second mile and that is what adds quality and beauty to his life. 

So, the second mile is an attitude that one adopts in life. It is the readiness to take responsibility for something for which you are not really responsible.  Or rather, when one begins to live a life of second mile he can no more ask like Cain “Am I responsible for my brother?” for he feels responsible for everything around him; towards God, towards others, towards himself and even towards nature. 

La cosa più nefasta,,,

Un monarca dei tempi antichi, nel regno di Persia, fece chiamare davanti a sé tre dei filosofi più celebri allora conosciuti e domandò quale cosa essi riguardassero come la più nefasta sulla terra.  Il primo rispose: “La cosa più nefasta è la malattia”.  Il secondo dichiarò: “La cosa più nefasta è quella di invecchiare”.  Il terzo (concluse): “La cosa più nefasta è quella di scoprire, al punto di morte, d’avere sciupato la vita”.

Voi siete la luce del mondo e il sale della terra! (condivisione della Lexio Divina)

La Domenica scorsa il vangelo era sulle beatitudini e dicevamo che la santità consiste nel vivere lo spirito delle Beatitudini. E oggi continuando il discorso sulle beatitudini Gesù ci dice: se fate così  nella semplicità di ogni giorno “voi siete come quel pizzico di sale che basta a dar sapore a tutto il minestrone”; e dice ancora “voi siete  quel lumino che tutte le tenebre non possono spegnere ma che da solo le vince tutte”. In altre parole, ci dice la grandezza e la responsabilità della nostra fede! Nel Vangelo di Giovanni Gesù dirà di se stesso, "Io sono la luce del mondo, chi segue me non cammina nelle tenebre". Ma oggi lui dice a noi "Voi siete la luce del mondo.., voi siete il sale della terra! Risplenda la vostra luce perché gli uomini diano gloria al Padre vostro che è nei cieli!". 

Adesso guardanco insieme a questi due esempi davvero simpatici che Gesù ha scelto per spiegarci cosa significa essere suoi discepoli. Sono due esempi proprio belli e concreti che conosciamo molto bene dalla nostra vita quotidiana:  la Luce e il Sale. Ma io commento solo uno. Il sale.

Ascoltiamolo di nuovo: “Voi siete il sale della terra”.

Il primo impegno di un vero discepolo di Gesù, quindi, è essere come il sale. Non lo so se vi è mai capitato di assaggiare un granellino di sale grosso, da solo, senza altro cibo, solo mettendolo sulla lingua? Se anche non avete mai provato potete immaginare che scena sarebbe! Questa è una cosa veramente interessante. Un ingrediente così importante per il cibo ma il sale, da solo, non riusciamo a mangiarlo, ma se si unisce agli altri cibi, li rende ancora più deliziosi!

Mi pare che questa sarebbe la prima lezione che possiamo imparare da questa metafora del sale. Essere discepoli di Gesù, vivere secondo il suo Vangelo, non è qualcosa che possiamo fare da soli, soltanto per noi stessi. Se vogliamo essere veramente come il sale, dobbiamo stare insieme alle altre persone, perché è allora che possiamo dare il sapore: da soli, saremmo immangiabili! Perché ogni cibo è buono per l’insieme degli ingredienti che lo compongono: il sale è solo uno degli ingredienti, non l’unico. É questo il ruolo del discepolo “stare insieme agli altri e dare il sapore alla loro vita”.

La seconda cosa sarebbe: quando il sale compie bene la sua funzione di dare il sapore, nessuno si accorge della presenza del sale.  Ci sono solo due occasioni in cui ci facciamo caso: quando manca oppure quando è troppo. Ecco, una altra lezione del sale. Il sale compie il suo ruolo silenziosamente. Senza fare troppe rumore. Scegliendo questo esempio del sale, Gesù vuole dirci che non dobbiamo aspettare che tutti si accorgano di noi, che tutti ci dicano che siamo bravi, o tutti ci applaudano. 

Prima di finire, una parola sola sull’altra metafora della luce e il nostro compito di essere una luce nella strada dei nostri giovani che non sarebbe solo una luce che indica la strada ma illumina la loro strada. Il nostro Rettor Maggiore nel suo messaggio ai giovani il 31 Gennaio di questo anno per la festa di Don Bosco dice ai Salesiani. “...I nostri giovani sulla loro strada verso la stella, vorrebbero incontrare dei magi piuttosto che gli scribi di Gerusalemme; giovani che non ci chiedono ancora che cosa bisogna credere, ma piuttosto che cosa significa credere.” 

Ecco, il ruolo del discepolo è chiarissimo. Ascoltiamo le parole del nostro maestro: essere il sale e la luce della terra e diamo una risposta adeguata con la nostra vita.

Musings on Vita Consacrata

"Oggi il 2 febbraio, Festa della Presentazione del Signore.  La Chiesa celebra la Giornata della vita Consacrata, ringraziando Dio per le donne e gli uomini che seguono con dedizione gioiosa e fedele il Signore in questa forma di vita.  

Mio amico Hyacinthe mi ha fatto gli auguri sta mattina con questo bellissimo pensierino che io pubblico qui. 

"Tutti possono definire la vita religiosa o i religiosi partendo sia dalla rinuncia, sia dalla testimonianza, sia dai santi voti di castità, povertà ed obbedienza! Però quando mi tocca parlarne, tremo perché non è un semplice oggetto di chiachere. A differenza degli altri, si tratta della mia vita, del mio essere per il Signore... non di una favola. Ma quale è la differenza tra quello che possono dire gli altri ed io? 

Se ci fossero soltanto pocchisimi a credere in questi voti, vorrei esserci dentro quel numero... Anzi sto cercando di credere sempre di più nella loro realizzazione nella mia misera persona. E questo nessuno me lo toglierà perché so in chi ho posto la mia fiducia e non sarò deluso!"(2Tim1,12).

La mia umile preghiera al Signore in questo giorno è solo questo, che queste parole diventano veramente convinzioni anche nella mia vita. 

The Magi and not the Scholars,,,

"Today’s young people in their life journey would like to meet the Magi than the scribes in Jerusalem; The young people do not want any longer scholars who would tell them what they should believe but rather people who can show them what does it mean to believe."

(from the message of the Rector Major, Don Chavez on 31.01.2011)

The Galilean Master

The Gospel of tomorrow presents the scenario of the call of the first disciples.  This morning during the Lexio Divina as this passage was being read, an episode passed through my mind.  It was a scene from a film on Jesus that I had watched sometime back.  The film presents beautifully the call of each disciple by Jesus himself.  Each one receives a personal invitation from Jesus.  But only Judas comes at the end and presents himself to Jesus describing his qualities as to convince Jesus of the great asset that he could be to the group of the disciples, if he formed part of it. Later he asks Jesus whether he could be one among them.  Jesus accepts and Judas too becomes a disciple. 

I don’t know how much of historical value can be attributed to this particular episode (may be no value at all) but still it tells us a lot knowing the pathetic end that Judas had at the end of his life.  I think in our religious and priestly life, one of the convictions that can offer us a great consolation is the strong belief that it is not we who have chosen the Master but it is the Master who has chosen us.  We have begun our journey hearing his personal call being addressed to each one of us.  In our moments of trials and difficulties, when we reach the point of saying “can’t bear it anymore” we will do well to remember that for God giving a mission to someone and offering the means to achieve the mission is just the same.  

NANO reflections!

We are in the age of Nanotechnology.  The catchword seems to be “the smaller the better”. The past 20 years have seen maximum advancement in the field of technology as never before in the past.  But the experts say we're no longer in the technology revolution, but in the technology evolution. The trend is to make everything we use shrink. We have gadgets like cell phones, laptops, and MP3 players getting smaller and smaller, yet doing much more.   I remember the first time I ever saw a computer.  It was way back in 1991 as a class V student and that too because I was fortunate enough. I say fortunate because my father was working as a peon in the Union Bank and that year they had procured this “new gadget” in the bank.  I still remember the owe and the wonder with which I witnessed this great thing.  I remember that it occupied the whole space on the table.  It was quite huge in size with a fat monitor and a big CPU.  In 20 years things have changed drastically and there is no more that old and heavy desktop computers which have been very well replaced by the latest thin and smart Mac books and notebooks, or the palmtops and iPads, one still better than the other! The smaller the gadget, the greater the demand. 

Gone are the days of those old music discs which were replaced by the audio cassettes which gave way to the CD ROMs and then the Mp3 players, Blue ray discs and iPods and what not? Always becoming smaller and smaller.

I can go on and on with this list.

But there is only one thing that doesn't want to follow this trend. While I want everything else smaller and smaller, I don't want to become small in front of anyone.  My constant tension always is to appear big in front of others.  That's why John the Baptist quite fascinates me. He says "I must decrease and He must increase". What is this logic? And Jesus would still radicalize it when he says, "Blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth".  Oh so that is the point! I think even Jesus also shows me the same thing. St. Paul summarized it so beautifully when he said, Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2: 5-9).  I wish if I had a little share of the spirit of Jesus.  

Nostro Battesimo

Domani è il battesimo del Signore.  Il più gran dono che Dio ci ha fatto dopo la vita è il dono della fede che abbiamo ricevuto nel giorno del nostro battesimo.  Infatti, mi sono meravigliato quando ho sentito alcuni giorni fa di un gruppo satanico a Roma che avevano più di 3000 persone iscritti che volevano sbattezzare; cioè volevano togliere ogni traccia del loro battessimo che avevano ricevuto da piccoli.  Da un lato mi addolorava questo fatto, dall'altro lato mi ha fatto riflettere quanto il diavolo ha paura di questo benedetto sacramento del battessimo. 

An encounter with the Focolare movement at Loppiano

I am just back from Loppiano, the city of fraternity! A city of joy and smiles… A centre of the Focolare movement began a few years ago by Chiara Lubich.  Little did I know how it would all turn out to be, when Prof. Castellano invited me to join him to spend the new year at Loppiano.  All the same, desiring to have an experience of this new movement in the church I agreed to accompany him.  We were eight of us Salesians from Rome, six clerics and two priests.  The experience at Loppiano was a memorable one. 

A CHRISTMAS WISH

Do not hesitate to be generous with someone, 

because we do not know where our generosity ends...

It is like the first Christmas, the generosity of God's Son, 

is still felt and shared by us today.

A blessed Christmas to all,,,,,,

Christmas – A love story between God and Man

I don’t know why, every year around this time when it comes to celebrating Christmas I just can’t help reminiscing the memorable Christmases that I have had in my childhood days. How happy days they were! Christmas cards and Christmas carols, Christmas cribs and Christmas gifts! Yes, it was the most exciting time of the year, a memorable period always to relish in my heart.  I think the saying is very true, “our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and we are better throughout the year for having in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.”

 

Gone are the days now!! Unfortunately, over the years things have changed, and changed drastically.  The cheerful “Merry Christmas” of Yesterday has been replaced by today’s all inclusive “Happy Holidays!” In the minds of many people, we celebrate “holidays,” and no more holy days. Not only is Christ not at the center of the celebration, he isn’t even considered to be a reason for the season! Oh yes, he has been very well replaced by the Santa Claus and the Befana.

What do I mean? I am referring very well to the commercialization of Christmas that surrounds us today.  There is a great frenzy around the time of Christmas, all buying gifts and exchanging gifts, looking out for the discounts in the market to go for a new car, a new TV set, and what not!! The same is true reading the clues in our culture of Hollywood Christmas stories, casual comments, Christmas cards, even some sermons.  All trying to perpetrate one single meaning of Christmas: “Christmas is the celebration of love, generosity, benevolence, kindness, brotherhood, and familial bonding”.  Yes, I wouldn’t have any objection to this meaning of Christmas. 

But my question is, is that, in fact, the true meaning of Christmas? No, I dare to say it is not….. The true meaning of Christmas is not about man loving man, means to say, human loving human. The true meaning of Christmas is about God loving Man. It is about God giving the most amazing and spectacular gift of his love to us the human beings. This is what we celebrate in Christmas.  We often glory in Man’s search for God.  But little do we realize that it is not man’s search for God but rather God’s search for man.  The first initiative always comes from God, it is God who loved us first.  The post modern thinker Emmanuel Levinas would sya “this relationship is asymmetric.  It is the Greater, the Fullness, the Infinite who reaches out to the lesser, the lack, the finite.”  This is the beauty of this relationship with God. 

I think, our Christmas celebrations will have a better meaning when we are ready to look at Christmas in this light of God coming to meet man.   The Gospel of John reminds us: “God so loved the world that he gave us his only son…”(3:14)  As we look at the babe in the Crib on the Christmas night, I think we would do well to recall to mind the self-annihilation that God underwent for love of the human being. Today in this world of individualism and tight competition for self-realization God sets a wonderful example in front of the human being.  Today humility is seen as a virtue of the weak and the Beatitudes of Christ are being re-written day by day as “Blessed are the powerful and mighty for theirs is the earth.”

But then, what is my response to this example that God sets in front of me? I wish I find a response to this intriguing question as I celebrate the Christmas this year. In my merriment and enjoyment let me be convinced that Christmas doesn’t become Christmas if my egocentrism remains unquestioned and unchallenged.  But instead Christmas will become a meaningful event in my life if I allow myself to be transformed through a process of self-emptying. I wish that it really happens!

At the threshold of 2011

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year. Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.  That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way…….”  (Poem “God Knows” by Miss Minnie Louise)

IL MIRACOLO DEL NATALE

ORA LA PAROLA HA UN VOLTO,
che dunque possiamo vedere; Gesù Bambino di Betlemme.

(Verbum Domini, 12)

The Seed!!

"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." (John 12:24)

Two are the possibilities that are open in the life of a seed. The first is that of a granary and the second is that of a field. The granary assures security but it is not life-generating. Instead the field, even though cannot assure security, it is life-generating.

Applying to our own lives the image of the seed, the possibilities open in the life of every individual can be just these two: one of granary or that of the field. It calls for a concrete life-choice to make between the security of a granary and be unproductive or the uncertainties of the field and be life- generating.

As the year 2010 is taking leave of me and the new year 2011 is just at the threshold, my simple prayer to the Lord is only this; "shake me off from the comfort and the security of the granary and throw me into the uncertainties of the field to be a life-generating seed producing thirty fold, sixty fold and even hundred fold.