Christmas greetings!

Let’s do what God did for Xmas: become human!

One of the beautiful messages that I have received this Christmas is- Let’s do what God did for Xmas: become human! Yes, Christmas is the time when we can become human.

But the question is- are we not human? Yes, we are human but many of us are far away from the humanity. We need to bring more ‘humanity’ in our humanness.

Let’s become human...How do we become human? We can follow the example of Christ – by caring for each other, by loving each other and by sharing our life with others.

Let this Christmas take us toward ‘humanity’ while making us human.

Wish you a blessed Christmas!

 

 

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No 10: My ‘TEN’ Take away from the Tertianship!

On the last day of our Tertianship programme, our director Fr Baylon said, “The initial formation as a Jesuit is over for you. Here begins the ‘ongoing formation’ which lasts till the last breath of your life.” These words resonated for quite sometimes. The marathon journey of my formation that I began in 2000 has finally came to an end in 2021(except six years of active ministries in between). As I leave Kandy Tertianship, I carry with me certain thoughts or sentences which added ‘meaning’ during Tertianship. My ‘Ten Take away’ are:

·       1.  Its Ok- There are times when we cannot execute our plans, when problems seem to be all around us, when our dear ones leave us, when people misunderstand us, when we face with challenges, we fail...just learn to say, “its ok”.

·        2. Gratitude is an attitude- we have received many things before asking. Be grateful for all the blessings...and make gratitude an attitude. 

·        3. Love does not get tired- ‘Love’ can bring about any change in life. Love is the ultimate source of everything. Let our life be the manifestation of love.

·         4.Don’t react to the other’s opinions- when we react to other’s opinion, we are indirectly approving the opinions. Everyone has right to give opinion.

·        5. Our own spirituality- we are all spiritual beings. Spirituality connects us with the Creator, with others and with ourselves.   

·         6.Be a founder- don’t be a follower only. Be a founder in whatever way we can.

·        7. Humility is the outcome of the encounter between Divinity and Humanity.

·         8.Union through loving service, Service out of Union.

·         9.We are forgiven sinner.

·        10. We are special, we are loved.

 

Tips for Happiness

No.10: Being Spiritual

Life story: Let me get back to Sr Manu. I have had many good memories of her as we had studied together in the same university for the four years. Once during exams (thanks God, I don’t to have to burn my midnight oil anymore!), she was going to visit a sick person. Curiously I asked her, “what motivates you to visit a sick person during exams?” She replied with her usual smile, “I have always a soft corner for the sick person. They are most vulnerable people. They need our presence.” “You have a strong spirituality!” I replied promptly, without any prior thinking.

Spirituality is often wrongly interchanged with religiosity. A person is considered spiritual when she or he faithfully performs all religious rituals and practices. This would include regular prayers, visiting Holy places, wearing sacred symbols etc. Some even believe that spirituality is meant only for religious leaders (religious men and women). The modern thinkers confirm that all human beings are spiritual beings too. Even an atheist can be a spiritual being.

Every single acts of one individual reveals his or her spirituality. Spirituality derives out of one’s own involvement with own self, with others and with the Creator. Thus, leading a just and authentic life is part of spirituality. The interactions and dealings with others also reveal one’s spirituality. Spirituality can be expressed with kind words, a gentle touch and even with a smile. Thus, it is important to have our own spirituality to have a happy life.

So, let’s make a decision to have our own spirituality.  It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

No. 9: Enjoying the silence

Life story: Years back, when I was in Europe, I had gone for vacations along with two of my friends. On the first day, we sat together to plan out the itinerary of the trip. We had a long list of ‘what to do’ and ‘what to see’. We were fully immersed in our discussion, when one of us philosophically said, “I suggest that we have some quiet moments every day. I want to enjoy the silence.” Though we were a bit surprised, but we accepted the proposal. Every day we kept aside ‘free time’. It was meant to spend time with oneself. On the last day, we acknowledged that it was a wise decision that we have had some quiet times. During those quiet moments, we felt close to ourselves, close to God and in the process we felt close to each other.

We are busy people in a busy world. From dawn to dusk, we keep ourselves busy with ‘doing’. Sometimes 24 hours is not sufficient. Many of us prepare the list of ‘task to complete’ before going to bed for the next day. It has also become a ritual for many to begin the day by browsing through internet and conclude the day by doing the same.  

In the lives of many great personalities we find ‘silence’ has a special place. They stated that they had found ‘inspiration and consolations’ during quiet moments. St Ignatius of Loyola invites his followers to spend some quiet time every day. The silence rejuvenates us, gives us energy and refreshes us. It helps us to lead a happy life.

So, let’s make a decision to enjoy the silence everyday.  It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

No.8: Remembering the graceful moments of life

Life story: I used to visit her every Sunday as part of my pastoral activities. She was in her eighties, a retired teacher.  She lived alone and did all her chores by herself. Her children occasionally came to visit her. I would always find a serenity on her face and gracefulness in her approach. She never complained about anything. One day, I took little courage and asked her, “what makes you so happy all the times?” She smiled and gently said, “I am blessed. I have been blessed with so many beautiful things in life. I ponder over those moments and thank the Almighty. I have nothing to regret.”

Life is a chain of events. Some events bring joy whereas some other events bring sadness. It is the combination both - achievements and failures. It is our human tendency that we remember the sorrowful events quite easily. We don’t easily remember the people who have done great things for us. Rather, with hatred we remember the people who have hurt us or caused pain for us. We hardly count the blessings that we have received.

Many positive psychologists would suggest to recall the blessings of life, whenever we are sad. Reflecting over the grace-filled moments can rejuvenate our lives. It will boast our self-image, especially if we are going through the difficult times. In other word, it will make our life happy.

So, let’s make a decision to recall the graceful moments of life.  It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

No. 7: Accepting oneself

Life story: Years back, I met Georgia in a youth gathering. She was physically partial disabled. Practically everyone knew her in the group. Some would show special concern for her. She was full of life. She would talk to everyone smilingly and tried to take part in every common activity. Whenever she was not able to perform well, she would jokingly say about her physical disability. One day, I asked her, “don’t you feel bad about yourself when people make fun of you?” She looked at me straight and smilingly said, “I don’t have time to reflect about others comment. I love myself and I accept myself as I am.”

There are lots of people who suffer intensely because they find difficult to accept themselves. Often they compare themselves with others. They feel jealous of others or they suffer from low self-image.

Our life will experience positive changes if we can accept ourselves as we are. The positive psychologists would constantly insist on having the attitude of accepting ourselves. It gives us inner peace and makes our life happy.

So, let’s make a decision to accept ourselves as we are.  It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

No 6: Friends are blessings

Life story: Sr Manu, a catholic nun from Asia arrived in Italy, without having any knowledge of Italian language. Everything was new to her.  She was a complete stranger to an unknown country. By nature, she was very friendly. She would always keep a smile on her face. She was humble enough to seek others help and ever ready to help others. She soon won the hearts of many. She found many friends. She was always surrounded by others. One day I asked her, “how do you manage to cultivate friendship? You have become a popular figure. Everybody knows you. Everybody loves you.” She just replied, “friends are blessings for me. I like to know many people. They enrich my life. I love people.”

The proverb says, if you have found a true friend, you have found a treasure. Friends are special gifts to us. We can share everything with them. Even the secrets of lives, which we find difficult to share with our family members, we can easily share with our friends. They are always there with us to share our sorrows as well as our joy. They are the one to support us when we fail and to celebrate our success. They add meaning to our lives and make our life happy.

We are not born with friends. Friendship has to be cultivated. It does not require any special effort. We need to be sincere, authentic and show interest about others. Then we will find many friends and our life will become a happy life.   

So, let’s make a decision to cultivate friends.  It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

No. 5: Nobody is Perfect!

Life Story: Shanti, a 40 years old narrated to her spiritual guide about the imperfections of others. The guide had generously allowed her to pour out all her bitter experiences. She kept on repeating the imperfections of others each time she met her guide. One day, while sharing an event, she happened to say, “partially that was my mistake too”. The guide paused for a while and ironically said, “so you can make mistake! This is the first time I heard it from you.” She immediately replied, “of course, I can. I am a human being. I have so many imperfections.” The guide immediately encouraged her to share some of her imperfections in life. She began to share another side of her life, which she never shared with her guide. From that day onwards, changes began to take place in the life of Shanti. She found the inner peace that she was desperately looking for.

Perfection is a virtue. From the religious teachings to the social teachings, we find everywhere an earnest appeal to remain perfect. It is also a desire of many, who want to be perfect in order to be happy. But humanly speaking, it is not always possible to remain perfect. We make mistakes. We commit sins. We fall into temptations. We find some elements of imperfections in the lives of many great personalities. Sadly, we find some people find extremely difficult to accept their imperfections. They want to remain perfect!

Pope Francis once said, “there is no perfect family, no perfect father, no perfect mother and no perfect children. We are all imperfect. When we accept others imperfections, we accept our imperfections. Similarly, when we accept our imperfections, we accept others imperfections too. And in this process, we make our life a happy life.

So, let’s make a decision to accept our imperfect self.  It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

No 4. Let it be

Life story: Years back, I was asked to deliver a speech in front of a distinguished guest. My director instructed me to prepare well. He gently reminded me that my performance would portray the reputation of the institute. I took enough preparation. But, I made some simple errors while delivering the speech. I felt I had dishonoured my director. I was quite sure that he would scold me for the errors. I was so disturbed that I went to him to ask pardon. But to my great surprise he smilingly said, “let it be. It is past now. Do your best next time.” This was for the first time, that the simple expression, “let it be” brought a lot of consolations to me. I was inspired to do well next time.

There are successes and failures in our life. Every success rejuvenates us, while every failure makes us digressed. Though successes and failures are part of life, we find extremely difficult to accept our failures. The repercussion of failure leads us to give up everything even to the extent that some people want to get away with life.

One of the best ways, to accept the failure is to have the attitude of ‘let it be’. The attitude of ‘let it be’ helps us to forget the failures. In a more simplistic term, it means ‘why worry about every little thing. Just enjoy the life.’ If we have the disposition of ‘let it be’ then many problems of our life will be automatically resolved. It helps us to live a happier life.

So, let’s make a decision to have an attitude of ‘let it be’. It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

No. 3: Being present

Life story: It was during one my annual retreats, when I was constantly getting distracted with many dreams and plans for the future. I was not able to concentrate on my prayer and was feeling restless. I shared my inner turmoil with the retreat guide. He was prudent enough to recognize the elements of evil spirit. He instructed me to dwell in the present and not to entertain any dreams. I followed his instructions. Gradually, I got back the spirit of silence and I could finish my retreat quite fruitfully.  

It is good to have plans for the future. Psychologists insist on having dreams and inspiration for a successful life. As the former president of India, APJ Abdul Kalam rightly said, “Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep.” But there is a concept call ‘day-dream.’ Day dream takes us away from the present, and places us in the world of fantasy. Day dream does not become reality rather it kills our precious time.  

Unfortunately, many of us dedicate our precious time either thinking about the future or recalling the past. The past memory can make us guilty while the future can make us anxious. It can also bring the ‘momentary joy’. But, in the process, we miss out the present. The present has many things to offer us. Unless and until we live in the present, we miss out many opportunities. Being in the present moment is also considered living our life with full mindfulness. Living our life with full mindfulness, eventually leads us to happiness.  

So, let’s make a decision to be in the present. It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

(Who does not want to lead a happy, peaceful and successful life! It is a common human desire to be happy and successful. But are we happy? Many of us would reply ‘No’. In this column, I would regularly share some tips which would help us to lead a happy life. Let’s begin the journey)

No 2: Be positive

Life story: Jonas had problem literally with everyone he lived with and hardly found anything in life to be grateful. His complaints are endless. After meeting a few times, one day I had suggested him to spend a day just being only with positive thoughts. He was not very content with my proposal but was obliged to give it a try. On the following meeting, I found him slightly different. His attitude of being distressed replaced with certain calmness. He smiled at me and said softly, “It worked. I followed your instructions of being positive. At the beginning it was difficult. But sooner I experienced inner peace. I began to enjoy other’s company. I took interest to talk to others and I found even others were interested about me.” I encouraged him to make it a habit of being positive.

‘Being positive’ is an attitude, an approach to life. It is an art that can be kept on developing. No one is born with it rather it has to be cultivated by following some simple principles. First of all, we need to say good bye to all our negative thoughts or any activity that make us negative. We may have to discontinue our relationship with negative people. We need to appreciate the beautiful things that we possess and experience. We can recall happy memories and achievements of the past. Over all, it comes from our desire to be happy.

It is true that sometimes our demands are not met, dreams are not fulfilled, plans are not executed and our proposals are not accepted. We are misunderstood, wrongly judged and neglected by our near and dear ones. What do we do then? The simple tip is to be positive. By remaining positive we will have strength to face any difficulty.  

So, let’s make a decision to be positive. It will make a huge difference in life...

 

Tips for Happiness

(Who does not want to lead a happy, peaceful and successful life! It is a common human desire to be happy and successful. But are we happy? Many of us would reply ‘No’. In this column, I would regularly share some tips which would help us to lead a happy life. Let’s begin the journey)

No 1: A decision to be happy

Life story: Newton, a middle-aged man greeted me happily. He was well dressed up, wore a smile on his face and was smart in his dealings. After the introductory conversation, he began to narrate his life story. The issues that he shared with me are – he is unemployed, he does not have good relationship with his siblings and is in debt. While he ended up his narrative, I instantly asked him, “how do you hide your suffering? You remained very composed while sharing painful events of your life.”

He looked at me straight and smilingly said, “It is a decision that I made. I wanted to be happy in spite of all my struggles. It was my decision to be happy.”

We ended our conversation with a happy note and recently he informed me that he has managed to resolve many of his unsettled issues.

The proverb says, life is not of a bed of roses. No one can have a ‘problem free’ life. Problems are bound to happen. It can happen in any area of life. We usually become sad, distressed and frustrated over our problems. Difficult situations make our life so miserable that we want to give up. We become pessimistic. We don’t find any meaning in life. So, what do we do?

All we need is to make a decision. A decision to be happy. It is a simple decision which requires a lots of inner convictions. We can just put aside our tendency of resolving all the problems. We can just accept everything as part of our life and choose to be happy. This will make a lot of differences in life. Many of our problem will disappear once we decide to be happy. It is worthwhile to remember that happiness lies with us. No one can give me happiness unless and until I desire to be happy. We are the master of our happiness.

So, let’s make a decision to be happy. It will make a huge difference in life...

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No 9: Life goes on in the fifth week!

Often we Jesuits jokingly say that we begin the ‘fifth week in life’ after completing the 30-day long retreat.  The 30-day long retreat or the month long Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius is categorically divided into four weeks. Thus, the beginning of normal life (!), after the retreat is often referred as the fifth week. The fifth week comprises the entire life.

Interestingly, many people wanted to know if I have found any difference in my ordinary life after the long retreat which I had made recently. Some even sarcastically commented that I had become more holy after the retreat. Often, I laughed with them! But how is my journey in the fifth week!

The Covid 19 continues

I cannot deny the fact that I have been fretted with the escalating of Covid 19 in South Asia in recent days. The pandemic badly hit the lives of people. I was particularly concerned for the daily labourers, who earn their daily bread on daily basis. Many have lost their jobs and poverty rate is increasing. The media is giving full coverage of the plights of people. In front of this catastrophe, I plea to Jesus as the disciples did when they were caught in storm (Mt 8:23-27).   

The death of Fr Stan SJ in India

The untimely death of Fr Stan is deplorable. I remember getting a short message from a fellow Jesuit, who wrote: they have managed to kill him. Exasperated with the news, I thank the Lord for giving us an example, a role model. He is a martyr and a prophet of our times. He gave voice to the voiceless, stood for the justice and laid down his life for Christ. He invites us not to be a silent spectator, rather sacrificing one’s own life for others.   

The crisis in Afghanistan

The collapsed of the Afghan government was precipitated which made everything topsy-turvy. The images of desperate Afghans, who are risking their lives to flee from the country portrays a glimpse of the ground reality. I don’t know who is to be blamed for the present crisis. I am concerned for the innocent civilians. I am worried for the orphan children, for the widows, for the injured persons, for the refugees... (to be continued)

 

 

My Ten "Take-away" from the Ignatian Day

During Quarantine in a hotel in Colombo (Srilanka), just before entering into the Tertianship programme, I read James Martin’s famous book ‘The Jesuit Guide to (almost) everything’. It was a very fascinating reading as the author, a Jesuit himself shows the ways of applying Ignatian insights and Jesuit spirit (or Jesuitness) in every aspect of life. Once I began Tertianship, I have had ample opportunities to study and reflect on the life and works of St Ignatius (Inigo). On the eve of the feast of Inigo (July 31), which we Jesuit loving term as Ignatian day, I draw ten “Take-away” from the life of this great Saint. They are:

1. Striving to live a meaningful life. Life is not a bed of roses rather it is a chain of challenges from womb to tomb. We make our life meaningful by focussing on our goal, while working hard to face any challenge. Inigo was never satisfied with mediocracy. He assiduously worked hard, faced all challenges bravely and made his life meaningful.  

2. Failures are part of life. Every failure can be treated as a gateway to excel in life. The turning point of Inigo’s life was a ‘failure’ at the battleground. He rose up again and made a complete ‘U-turn’ that led him to be a founder and spiritual guru.

3. Happiness does not depend on material things or excessive possessions. The inner happiness comes from ‘being’- with the Creator, with others and with oneself. Inigo left his family palace, gave up all his richness and chose to live like a beggar.  After his conversion, he did not waste not even a drop of his sweat to make money rather he gave himself totally to ‘mission making’.

4. Optimism is a gateway to inner peace. Inigo was always optimistic and passionate of being positive.

5. Living and leading life happily is an art. No one can bring us happiness unless we decide to live a happy life. Happiness is within us, around us. Inigo was a happy person in all aspects because he chose to be happy.

6. Experiences of God vary from person to person. Inigo’s vision of God is ‘service in participation’. He believes God takes active part in our lives and He wants us as his collaborators. He found God in everything, in everywhere...

7. Decision making is an art - a process of discernment. Inigo was master of discernment. He gave enough time before making any decision and once a decision is made he stood by it.  

8. Friends are hidden treasures in life. Inigo valued human relationship and was very expressive in his relationship with others. He regularly kept in touch with his friends irrespective of their age, sex and professions.

9. Inigo never had any double standard. He was very outspoken and refused to make any compromise with his values and principles.

10. Real leader exercises leadership by example. Inigo believed in action rather than mere words.  

Let Inigo continue to inspire us all!

Happy feast of St Ignatius to all of you (30/07/21, Kandy Tertianship).

A letter to St Ignatius of Loyola

(Just before entering into the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola, I was asked to present the autobiography of St Ignatius during a prayer vigil on the eve of the Spiritual Exercises (hereafter SpEx). I presented it in a letter format that St Ignatius writes to all the retreatants and narrates his own personal experiences. On the last day of the retreat, I began to pen the reply of his letter. This is just a personal experience.)

Dear Father Inigo,

I prefer to call you Inigo. I find more of personal attachment with your family name, Inigo.

I had begun the journey to be with the Lord for 30 days (though it lasted for 32 days), following your instructions with a beautiful prayer vigil. The marathon prayer got over with the Eucharistic celebration at midnight. Thus, I entered into a monastic silence, both interior as well as exterior.

I began with the meditation on “Principle and Foundation” of the SpEx. You led me to experience that God has created everything and if God is experienced as the centre of all, then there is no need to deny anything, not even the world. While recognizing and praising God in everything, I became aware of my brokenness. I am fragile, week...But how beautifully you made me to feel that I am a loved sinner. You invited me to see graces in my brokenness and experience God’s mercy and compassionate through the sacrament of reconciliation. Then I began to contemplate on the incarnation. Jesus is born for me (I prefer to say ‘only for me!’). While reflecting on the earthly life of Jesus Christ, you inspired me to ask for the grace to know Jesus clearly, follow him closely and love him dearly.

To make Jesus more personal, you led me to reflect on the Baptism of Jesus, on his temptations, on his missions...I went on with Jesus, wherever He went. The key meditations like Two Standards helped me to have knowledge of Christ, The Three classes helped me to make my commitment to Christ way and finally The Three degree helped me to have loving commitment to the person of Christ.

After having gone through the life and Mission of Christ, I entered with him to the last days of his earthly life- his last supper, suffering and death on the Cross. Deep within me I felt, Jesus was born for me so did he die for me! But Jesus won over the death and was Risen- a new life begins. I shared the joy of the disciples who were overwhelmed to meet the Risen Lord. Then you led me to contemplate on the finding of God in everything.  

Thus, I came to the end of the journey. I have roughly touched upon the topics of mediations, but this journey was a process where I became close to Jesus and I tried to see the world with the eyes of Jesus. And, of course Father Ignatius, I tried to give you a chance to inspire me. You were very much alive with me.

I know soon I will enter into the real world. I may not have time to reflect and pray hours after hours (Neither you want from me!). But the experiences that I had gathered will continue to inspire me to your path by experiencing Christ in my life and in my mission.

Continue to inspire me, Father Inigo.

(Composed immediately after the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius during Tertianship in Srilanka, 2021)  

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No 8: God is ‘actively’ present in our life.

Two weeks have just passed since we I began the Tertianship. We have been listening to each other’s’ stories and reflecting on the life of St Ignatius of Loyola.

The more I listen to, the more I reflect on, the more I study, one thought becomes more prominent- God is ‘actively’ present in our life.

A journey begins, when I try to experience ‘active’ God in my life!

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No 7: My sweet Jesuit home.

Our novice master used to tell us, “Once you are Jesuit, any Jesuit community in the world is your home.” Having lived in different Jesuit communities in different countries, I can truly confirm the statement of my novice master. After spending (the)14 days at the hotel, I came to a Jesuit community. It was really coming to my own home!

A big hug from a Jesuit companion made me feel welcomed. It was a meeting of after twelve years. He showed me the room, a very traditional Jesuit room with very little things. He invited me for a cup of tea. I immediately graved the opportunity. Sipping a cup of tea, we began to share our lives. Specially, we began to enquire about our common friends.

We were all together four Jesuits in the community. What did we do in these three days? We have had long chats, long drives, long walks, we cooked our own food...and, of course, we have had manual works too.

We these good memories, tomorrow (15/04/21) I go to Kandy to begin my Tertianship.

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No 6: It is possible to live even with...

(The) 14 Days stay in a hotel have just entered into my memory. I was confined in a small room. There were just two beds (we were two of us), only one small (really small) table and a chair. There was hardly any space left in the room.

It was around 3.30am when I checked in the room. I was so tired that I went to bed immediately. I got up in the morning as I had to go for COVID test. After the breakfast, I went to bed again. I got up on time just for the lunch. I took long rest again after the lunch and got up late in the evening just to take shower and to have supper. The first day at the hotel passed quite fast!

Limit yourself! I began the second day, by discovering and accepting the ‘reality’. First of all, there was no facility to wash cloths and giving them to laundry would be exceptionally expensive. I cannot effort to go out for walk or any sorts of physical exercise.  I cannot get the food that I like. And most importantly, I don’t have a separate place to pray of my own.

But it did not take much time to look for other alternatives. I began to manage quite well. Perhaps my Jesuit training to ‘adjust oneself with any situation’ has helped me to adjust myself. Once, one of the senior Jesuits told me, “we, as Jesuits not only find God in everything but also we try to adjust in everything/everywhere.” How true were his words!

As I leave the hotel, (last) these 14 days will remain as memorable days in my life. I may not have the opportunity to live all by myself again for 14 days. But the experiences that I have gained will remain with me for many years...

 

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No 5: Pray even when you are ‘disturbed’.

I am not sure if I could really greet anyone ‘good morning’ today. My morning was hampered with some negative news. The first message that I received from the hotel receptionist was, “your PCR (Covid test) test result came negative.” It is a positive news though came in the form of ‘negative’ word! Then I received another call from my country. The most of the contents of our conversation was full of negative news. Then a Jesuit companion of my mine gave me another set of negative news.

A decision: I was aware of my emotions. I knew that I could not get rid of these emotions. But what I can do is to ‘being with them’. I took a decision to give a pause. I disconnected myself from the rest of the world and sat at the one corner of my room.

With Jesus: I was aware of my emotions. I was sad, angry, frustrated...I opened the today’s Gospel reading. Today’s Gospel tells us Jesus’ apparition to His disciples. Jesus appeared to His disciples who were utterly disappeared after His death. He sat with them, listens to them, shares their concern and sufferings...Gradually I entered into the scene. I was consoled with His presence. I was motivated to face the world even it was full of ‘negativity’.

Have a good day to you all...

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No 4: Easter message!

I have received many messages these days, explaining the importance of the Easter Sunday. Among many messages, I liked a short message which was sent to me by a Sister (also a psychologist), who was my class-mates in Rome. She writes, “our life is in between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday becomes meaningful because there is a Good Friday, similarly Good Friday makes a huge impact because it is followed by the Easter Sunday. We need to accept both Good Fridays and Easter Sundays in our life. But we need to have faith like the women of the Gospel, who went to the tomb to meet Jesus. Knowing the fact that the tomb is covered with a huge stone, they went to meet Jesus. What a good example of faith!”

It is true that we can live in between Good Fridays and Easter Sundays of life if only we have Faith- Faith in God, Faith in others and Faith in ourselves.

 

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

 No 3: Good Friday at the hotel!

(As far as my memory goes (I suppose my memory does not betray me!) that I have never missed any Good Friday liturgy. Even, I had the opportunity to preside over Good Friday liturgies after my ordination. But today I am confined in a room. As I sit at one corner of the room, I tried to pray, reflect, meditate or being with the Lord. My dialogue with Jesus...)

Jesus: Yes, it is the day, marked as the ‘failure day’ in your life. You were defeated. You accepted the ugly human plots against you. You surrendered yourself to the wickedness of the fellow human beings. But God has not left you. God has raised you to life on the third day, the resurrection day.

Me/we: In life, failures are bound to take place. Sometimes we need to make ourselves ‘victim’ for the sake of others. We become prey of ugly plots, wickedness or dirty politics. But that is not the end...there is always third day!

Jesus: You carried the Cross. Your cross was the full of others’ sins. You fell three times while carrying the burden of others, but you went on...You did not want to become cross for others. You simply followed the instructions of the soldiers without any argument.

Me/we: In life, we need to carry our cross too. Our cross could be consisted of others faults, stupidity, weakness. But we need to carry the Cross. We should not become cross for others.

Prayer: Jesus help me to lead a life where I don’t become cross for others. Rather I may carry others’ cross.

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

No. 2: At the airport!

You were a God sent person to me! Thank you...

Today is the Maundy Thursday, a very special day for every Christian. I was obviously sad that I would miss all the liturgical ceremonies of this sacred time. I received many greetings of happy feast (it is also observed as priest day). While browsing through all the messages, I saw a message from Sajol. It reads, “Brother, you were a God sent person to me. Thank you ...”

I met Sajol at the airport, while travelling to Srilanka. While waiting to get boarding pass, a boy in his early twenties showed his passport and asked me, “Dada (brother) is my paper okay?” I had a quick look at the passport and told him, “everything is fine. You are going to have good time in abroad.” He gave a very innocent look. It was quite obvious that he was travelling for the first time. He informed me that he was going to Saudi Arabia along with nine more young men. Finally, I told him, “don’t worry Sajol. Come back to me if you need any help.” He gave a surprised look and asked me, “how do you know my name?” I smiled and said, “it is very simple. I saw your name in the passport.”

I got the boarding pass and was waiting for the check-in. Again Sajol came to me and asked for some information. I felt pity for him and took little interest to know about him. He spent a huge amount of money to get the visa to a broker. He was badly need of a job to sustain his family. I encouraged him and positively spoke of the possible bright future of his life. He also asked some questions about me and asked me to help him at the transit airport.

Our transit airport was in Doha. After coming out of the aeroplane, I gave him some instruction and I went to a less crowded place for a little rest. While I was trying to catch up with my friends over the phone, Sajol came to me and asked, if he could get lunch with his boarding pass. It seems the travel agent mentioned that he would get lunch as he had transit of more than twelve hours. I took him to a ‘help desk’ and spoke to the concern person on behalf of him. The kind lady of the ‘help desk’ informed me that he can take lunch at the specific restaurant. He was so happy when I told him about the lunch. I took him to the specific restaurant and helped him to order for food. He insisted that I should share meal with him. I politely declined and left him. Before I left, Sajol asked for my Facebook account name.

People like Sajol give meaning to my priestly life.

 

 

My “last” formal formation as a Jesuit!

(In this column, I hope to share with you my experiences of Tertianship in Srilanka. Tertianship or the second noviciate is considered as the last formal formation as Jesuit.)

No 1: The unexpected ‘Mission’ from the Provincial!

I was supposed to go for Tertianship in 2020. But the pandemic situation has changed the plan of my provincial. Instead, he missioned me to the formation cum retreat house as a residential staff. I began to enjoy every bit of my time there... In midst of other activities, I almost forgot about the Tertianship and began to immersed myself with other activities.

On January 29, I was going to make my annual retreat to another city. While travelling, I just happened to see a message from my provincial. It reads, “I gave your name for Tertianship which begins after Easter.” I just replied – “thanks” and waited for more instruction from the province curia.  

In middle of February, I had to send an official mail to the socius (assistant Provincial). While acknowledging my mail, he casually asked me, “have you got any news from Srilanka?” My immediate reply was “no” and I curiously asked him, “do I need to send any mail?” He suggested me to get in touch with the director.

Visa and the airport!

As an obedient Jesuit (?), I sent a mail to the director of Tertianship programme. There was a quick reply from him with the instruction to send my passport details. I sent him all the details and there was no reply from him. Suddenly on March 8, I received a mail from the director, asking me to send him my flight details and he asked me to book tickets for March 18. I booked the tickets and sent him the details. Again, there was no reply from him. I sent him a mail on March 15, just before cancelling my tickets as there was no sign of visa. He sent me reply immediately, asking me to do PCR test on March 16 as the visa will be sent to me on March 16. I did the test and the result came ‘negative’ but the visa arrived only on March 17 evening.

On March 18, I arrived at the airport. But I was barred to board as Ii didn’t have landing permission from the Srilankan’s Govt. I returned to the Jesuit community and began to collect all the documents. I rebooked the tickets for March 28, thinking that the ten days are good enough to collect all the necessary approvals. I obtained many approvals but could not obtain ‘Okay to board’ from the airways. However, I came to the airport on March 28 with certain amount of uncertainties. But everything went on very well at the airport...We began our journey (to be continued).