The woman Who Dared to Love

COMPANION

SANGATI

Konkan Salesian Bulletin Province of Panjim (INP)

July - Sept 2016 | Volume - 09 | Issue 03

The Woman Who Dared to Love Upholding the Right to Live in Dignity

Modern World...

A Modern Leprosy

I Dream of a Salesian Family

Editorial Editor Joaquim Lobo, sdb Editorial Team Francis Xavier, sdb Ralin De Souza, sdb Layout & Cover Design Joaquim Lobo, sdb Consultants Ian Figueiredo, sdb (Provincial) Paul D’Souza, sdb (Vice Provincial) Allwyn D’Souza, sdb (Economer) Distribution Lazar Vaz Printed at James Arts Crafts, Sivakasi Published by Boskon Communications Don Bosco Provincial House Odxel, Goa University P.O. Goa 403206 Ph : 0832 2451449 Kindly send your Donations through online www.donboscopanjimprovince.com or

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It’s not about the height and the built one has. It’s surely not about one’s looks. But it’s about the person you are, your belief and what you do with it.

Anyone meeting Mother Teresa would have remarked about her height - she was short - and her built. Looking at her wrinkled face on the calendar someone told me that she looks scary. None of these - her height, built and looks - obstructed what she wished to do. Her unshakable belief in Jesus and doing everything for Him was a continuous source of strength to her weak looking tiny body that dared to love every abandoned, poor and neglected person. Her zeal for loving the least and the forgotten of the society inspired beauties on the ramp, leaders of the nations, princesses and queens, as well as the most ordinary people.

Mother Teresa strove to restore dignity to every God’s child. She struggled to stir the consciousness of the ‘throw-away-culture’ society. She could not live or sleep peacefully when God’s precious children lay deserted, helpless and voiceless. She did not raise an alarm or blow aloud the siren. She picked up the one from the gutter, the street and the broken hut, cared for them and loved them.

It is easier to pretend to have not seen and heard the plight of the weak. It is easier to hate, to terrorise and kill, than to empathise, love and care. Mother chose to love!

It’s also not about the ideal and perfect place either that one desires to do good from, to excel in the task one has at hand. Once again it comes back to the person you are, what you believe in and what you do with it.

This issue of Sangati pays obeisance to the woman who dared to love.

Joaquim Lobo, sdb This is a Salesian Panjim Province Bulletin, and is directed towards the Salesian works in the regions of Sindhudurg, Goa and Karnataka.

For private circulation only.

COVER STORY Chris Valentino SDB

Mother Teresa

From Macedonia to the World Come September 2016 and the Catholic world will have one more saint officially added to its illustrious list of luminaries. Literature on the new saint abounds. Souvenirs are already in circulation. Grand celebrations are planned by the Catholic Church all over. Mother Teresa was a world conqueror and the world awaits with expectancy this long-awaited day for her to be officially raised to the altar to finally arrive.

Teresa of Kolkata a phenomenal woman?

Macedonia – the name conjures up two world heroes. One is of ancient Macedonia who conquered almost the entire known world – Alexander the Great. Another is of the present day Republic of Macedonia who is also a world-conqueror - Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu.

No similarities, neither the place nor in the persons!

“I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love-letter to the world,” is what Mother Teresa was fond of repeating often. Indeed, she knew that hers was not a destiny to be confined to one place or country or people. Hers was an extraordinarily universal call. It began when Agnes was a child.

Her father’s death under mysterious circumstances and her mother’s determined magnanimity buoyed by her simple faith, in those troubled

What has this new saintto-be achieved? This so called ‘saint of the gutters’, this much-maligned ‘hell’s angel’, this awe-inspiring ‘flame in the slum’ – what is her accomplishment? What is it that the world finds so special about this woman who left her native land, pursued her life’s call with the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Loreto Sisters] eventually finding real joy & meaning in setting up the Missionaries of Charity? What makes

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times of the World War I, left an indelible mark on the young lass. Recalling that she was only twelve, when she first felt the desire to become a nun, Agnes left home and family forever at eighteen to join the Loreto Sisters. From then on, there was no turning back! With that one firm decision, the young Agnes had become a world citizen. She departed to the land of gold – Bengal. A new world, a new people, a new culture, a new language, newer customs and newer learnings were all hers to experience.

The various literature available on her life describe in great detail her ‘call within a call’. Sr. Teresa became Mother Teresa in just this one remarkable stroke of divine calling.

Her mission was clear as she pens in her dairy: “Our Lord wants me to be a free nun covered with the poverty of the cross ... to care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unloved, unwanted, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.” Kolkata was the starting point, the base from where the mission grew and multiplied. Kolkata was the home, the origin of doing ‘something beautiful for God’. The year that India became a sovereign Republic, Mother Teresa of Kolkata

received official permission from the Vatican to start the diocesan congregation popular today the world over as Missionaries of Charity. 13 sisters started what was to become a mission of charity that would be recognisable in every nook and corner of the civilised world.

Coming from Skopje in present-day Republic of Macedonia, this lady of Albanian descent became a citizen of India, a resident of Kolkata and galvanised the world into action for the poor destitute. Leprosy Homes, Shishu Bhavans, hospices for the AIDS-sufferers notwithstanding, Mother Teresa brokered a cease-fire between the Israeli army and the Palestinians to rescue children, ministered to the hungry destitute in Ethiopia, aided radiation victims of Chernobyl, assisted the earthquake victims of Armenia. This tiny, diminutive fivefoot nun with mangled toes, dressed in a whiteblue bordered saree and armed with a captivating smile hobnobbed with the world’s most powerful and influential heavyweights. Teresa of Kolkata was a powerful woman who never allowed any personal indulgences when it came to her observance of religious poverty.

Accolades flowed, awards poured in, financial aid multiplied and she was hailed a living saint by all who came in contact with or

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witnessed her astounding accomplishment of compassionate charity.

Beauty queens and royalty, professionals and researchers, actors and performers, believers and non-believers alike thronged to volunteer their services with Mother Teresa. The mother of Kolkata became the mother of the world when she was nominated for and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. The Bharat Ratna followed in 1980. However, these didn’t matter much to Mother Teresa. She continued doing what she did best – alleviating the misery of the poor across the world establishing centres and care-homes. She lived what she remarked “at the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me.

I was homeless and you took me in.”

For Teresa of Kolkata, in a world that was torn asunder by apathy, misery, strife, violence and bloodshed, she wished that each one would become an ‘angel of mercy’ sowing love and peace, beginning in families rooting out divorce and killing of the unborn. The little girl from Skopje, Macedonia awakened the world to recognise, understand and transform the lives of the poorest of the poor.

The magnanimity which she had witnessed in her family led her to live it all through her life

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caring and giving her very best to those who had nothing to live for. She suffered insults, humiliation and criticism in equal measure as she received praise and appreciation. Yet, hers was a choice and a decision to live her life for God, doing His will at all times.

This little pencil, this love-letter of God to the world – Teresa of Kolkata – showed the world that “not all of us can do great things, but each of us can do small things with great love” for “when we die and it comes the time for God to judge us, he will not ask, ‘How many good things have you done in your life?’ rather he will ask, ‘How much love did you put into what you did?”

This world-citizen, this girl who grew up to be a mother to the world shows us that with love and charity one can conquer the world, as long as “one smiles and does one’s work”. Teresa of Kolkata was God’s love in action to the poorest of the poor, a world-conqueror armed with nothing but a heart that reached out to the sick, the dying, the homeless, the hungry and the naked. Her life is her message, for “a life not lived for others is not a life!” St. Teresa of Kolkata lives on in world memory enshrined within believing hearts and serving hands.

Chris is a Salesian priest, passionate about Christ, Peace, Youth and Media.

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LOVING GOD & NEIGHBOUR Fr Paul D’Souza SDB

Something Beautiful for God The Life and Mission of MOTHER TERESA August 26, 1910 - September 5, 1997

Mother Teresa an Albanian nun founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic order of nuns dedicated to helping the poor. Begun in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, the Missionaries of Charity grew to help the poor, the dying, orphans, lepers, and AIDS victims in over 130 countries. Mother Teresa was always her own person, independent, obedient, yet challenging some preconceived notions and expectations.

Her own life story includes many illustrations of her willingness to listen to and follow her own conscience. Her selfless effort to help those in need has caused many to regard her as a model humanitarian, a “Saint of the Gutters!”

Her early life and her Call to Religious Life Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was the third and final child born to her Albanian Catholic parents, Nikola and Dranafile Bojaxhiu, in the city of Skopje. When Agnes was about eight years old, her father, a successful businessman died unexpectedly. The Bojaxhiu family

always held firmly to their religious beliefs.

The family prayed daily, helped in the church activities and annually went on pilgrimages.

She had never thought of being a nun until she was 18. During her early years, however, she was fascinated with stories of missionary life and service. Having read many articles about the work Catholic missionaries were doing in India, she was determined to go there. She applied to the Loreto order of nuns, based in Ireland but with missions in India. In September 1928, 18-year-old Agnes said goodbye to her family to travel to Ireland and then on to India.

She took her first vows as a Loreto nun on May 24, 1931. Teresa, a name she chose after St. Teresa of Lisieux, took her final vows on May 24, 1937 and officially became “Sister Teresa.”

She was appointed as the Principal of St. Mary’s, one of the convent schools.

Sr. Teresa receives an Inspiration On September 10, 1946, a day now annually celebrated as “Inspiration Day,” Sr. Teresa

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received a message, a “call within a call” on a train journey to Darjeeling. It told her to leave the convent and help the poor by living among them. During the next two years, Teresa pursued every avenue to follow what she “never doubted” was the direction from God. To send a single woman out into the slums of Calcutta was to her superiors a dangerous and futile effort. She had to be released formally, not from her perpetual vows, but from living within the convents of the Sisters of Loreto. She confronted the Church’s resistance to forming new religious communities, and receive permission from the Archbishop of Calcutta to serve the poor openly on the streets. She had to figure out how to live and work on the streets, without the safety and comfort of the convent. However, in the end, Sr. Teresa was granted permission by Pope Pius XII to leave the convent for one year to help the poorest of the poor. After 20 years with the Loreto order, Sr. Teresa left the convent on August 16, 1948.

As for clothing, Teresa decided to set aside the Loreto habit and wear the ordinary dress of an Indian woman: a plain white sari and sandals.

She purchased three cheap, white, cotton saris, each one lined with three blue stripes along its edge. This later became the uniform for the nuns at Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.

classroom, desks, chalkboard, and paper. Soon she found a small hut that she rented and turned it into a classroom. She also visited the children’s families and others in the area, offering a smile and limited medical help. As people began to hear about her work, donations poured in.

In March 1949, Sr. Teresa was joined by her first helper, a former pupil from Loreto. Soon she had ten former pupils helping her. At the end of her provisionary year, she petitioned to form her own order of nuns, the Missionaries of Charity. Her request was granted by Pope Pius XII; the Missionaries of Charity (MC) was established on October 7, 1950. She became the ‘Mother Teresa.’

There were literally millions of people in need and on the streets of India. Various factors like droughts, the caste system, India’s independence, and partition, all contributed to the masses of people that lived on the streets.

India’s government could not handle the overwhelming multitudes that needed help.

Mother Teresa opened a home for the dying, called Nirmal Hriday (“Place of the Immaculate Heart”), on August 22, 1952. These people were given the opportunity to die with dignity, with the rituals of their faith by these caring

A large Movement begins with a single passionate and inspired woman 38-year-old Sr. Teresa took a nursing course with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna to obtain some basic medical knowledge and to prepare for her future work. She ventured out into the slums of Calcutta in December of 1948.

Sr. Teresa began first her teaching ministry to the slum children on the streets without

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nuns. In 1955, the MC sisters opened their first children’s home Shishu Bhavan, which cared for the orphans. In India’s slums, huge numbers of people were infected with leprosy. They were ostracized, often abandoned by their families.

Mother eventually created a Leprosy Fund and a Leprosy Day to help educate the public about the disease and established a number of mobile leper clinics (the first opened in September 1957) to provide lepers with medicine and bandages near their homes. By the mid-1960s, Mother had established a leper colony called Shanti Nagar (“The Place of Peace”) where lepers could live and work. Her mission in Calcutta (now Kolkata) of helping the Sick, the Dying, the Orphaned, and the Lepers began to be recognized and appreciated nationally and internationally. Mother Teresa found a neverending stream of human needs in the poor she met, and was frequently exhausted. Despite the weariness of her days she never omitted her prayer, finding it the source of support, strength and blessing for all her ministry.

International Recognition of her works for the poor Just before the Missionaries of Charity celebrated its 10th anniversary, they establish houses in Delhi, Ranchi, and Jhansi; more soon followed.

For their 15th a n n i v e r s a r y, they established the first house outside India, in Venezuela (1965).

Soon there were houses all around

the world. As Mother Teresa’s MC expanded at an amazing rate, so did international recognition for her work. She was awarded numerous honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She never took personal credit for her accomplishments. For her it was God’s work and she was a mere tool used to facilitate it.

Her last days Despite years of strenuous physical, emotional and spiritual work, Mother Teresa seemed unstoppable. Though frail and bent, with numerous ailments, she always returned to her work, to those who received her compassionate care for many years. Only months before her death, when she became too weak to manage the administrative work, she relinquished the position of head of MC. She knew the work would go on. Until her death in 1997, Mother Teresa continued her work among the poorest of the poor, depending on God for all of her needs. The world stood astounded by her care for the downtrodden. When Mother Teresa (87), died on September 5, 1997 the world mourned her passing. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to see her body, while millions more watched her state funeral on television.

After the funeral, Mother Teresa’s body was laid to rest at the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata.

When Mother Teresa passed away, she left behind over 4,000 sisters, in 700 centers in 125 countries.

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Her Journey to Official Sainthood Many believed Mother Teresa will be named a saint of the Catholic Church. In 2002, the Holy Father recognized the healing of an Indian woman as the miracle needed to beatify Mother Teresa. That healing occurred when MC sisters prayed for their founder’s intervention on the first anniversary of her death. It involved a non-Christian woman in India who had a huge abdominal tumor and woke up to find the tumor gone.

On October 19, 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The process leading up to the beatification has been the shortest in modern history.

Her tomb “remains a shrine where people are praying and from which many are receiving grace and strength.” Mother Teresa lived in simplicity and purity of intention. She was

already considered to be a living saint, an icon of God’s tender mercy, radiating the light of God’s love to so many through the works of mercy, both material and spiritual.

On December 17, 2015, Pope Francis recognized the medically inexplicable waking (and healing) of an extremely ill Brazilian man from a coma on December 9, 2008 just minutes before he was to undergo emergency brain surgery as being caused by the intervention of Mother Teresa.

With the canonization of Mother Teresa (September 4, 2016), the Church presents her as a model and intercessor of those like her who, “long to light the fire of love and peace throughout the world.” She can be taken as a patron saint especially for those who are most in need of God’s mercy.

Fr Paul is a vice-provincial of the provinci of Panjim.

THANK YOU Council Members 2010-2016 Fr Paul D’Souza Fr Allwyn D’Souza Fr Savio Gomes Fr B Almeida Vice Provincial

Provincial Economer

Councillor

Councillor

Fr M D’Souza Councillor

We mourn the deaths of 8 students of our Don Bosco School Trasi, Karnataka by a road accident while travelling in a van on June 21, 2016. May these little angels rest in peace!

Calista Olivera Clarissa Olivera Ananya D’Silva Nikitha D’Silva 11 years 5 years 5 years 12 years

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Delwin Dais

5 years

Royston Lobo

4 years

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Alvita Olivera

8 years

Ancita Olivera

6 years 9

MAKING OF A SAINT Fr Dominic Savio Fernandes SDB

A Saint for the 21st Century A Model for Today What makes Mother Teresa a Saint?

These four guidelines are a must for one to be a saint in the 21st century: 1. Readiness to CHANGE: The world is changing quickly and we must be ready to change with it or risk being left behind says Najib Razak. One of my very favorite books in life is ‘Who Moved My Cheese’, by Spencer Johnson, MD. It is a fantastic book for many reasons. It’s about two mice and two men. It has one of the best messages about letting go of the past, getting over the things you cannot change, moving forward, and realizing that there is no reason to fear the unknown because the unknown may be better than anything you could have imagined! It’s really all about change and how change has unlimited potential depending on how you deal with it.

The voice in Mother Teresa’s heart was telling her that she was to make a very big change in her life—that she should leave her teaching position and go into the streets of Calcutta and care for the poor. Mother Teresa did not hesitate to change her vocation to a new one - a nun within the confines of the four walls

and now a nun with the stars as her roof. In the 21st Century, a change can bring you new opportunities to get to a higher way of living a life called by God to be FAITHFUL and not necessarily successful.

2. Proactive GIVER to the POOR: In gratitude we are human; in generosity we are divine: “You received without pay, give without pay” (Mt. 10:8). The highest gift we can give to another is the gift of ourselves. Giving ourselves in this way epitomizes the virtue of generosity. The perfect example of generosity is God the Creator. By means of His generosity,

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He generated man in His image. For Christians, God’s gift of Himself through Christ represents the ultimate form of generosity, and serves as a model for all human generosity.

Mother Teresa was a real giver, she gave till it HURT. Many of her quotes are on giving which was basic to her nature. She says, ‘The person who gives with a smile is the best giver because God loves a cheerful giver.’ The world had millions of poor and Mother Theresa used every opportunity to give to these poor, all that she had.

working in the kitchen came up to Mother Teresa and said, “We’ve planned poorly; we have no flour to make the chapattis for lunch.”

The situation looked bleak and 300 mouths to be fed in about an hour and a half and there’s no food.

Her spontaneous reaction was to say to this little one, ‘Sister, you’re in charge of the kitchen this week? Well then, go into the chapel and tell Jesus we have no food.’ What’s next? And

3.

See everything as MIRACLE: There are some who see everything as ordinary and normal, while there are others who see everything as a miracle. Mother Teresa saw everything coming from God, even her joys and sorrows.

But she saw in them the hand of God offering opportunities to grow holy and lead others towards God. She had the eyes to see the face of Jesus in every human being especially the poor and the destitute. Mother said, ‘Not all of us can do great things. But we all can do small things with great love.’ Seeing everything as miracle is best seen as love for everything and everyone, as it portrays that you love and believe everything as coming from the almighty.

4. Be Prayerful and Faith-filled: One day in the mother house in Calcutta there were about three hundred novices and they were all out for the morning. One of the novices

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behold, ten minutes later there was a ring at the door and a man she had never seen before was standing there with a clipboard.

He addressed her saying “Mother Teresa, we were just informed that the teachers at the city schools are going on strike. Classes have been dismissed and we have 7,000 lunches we don’t know what to do with it. Can you help us use them?” God provided for the needs of his children through simple prayers.

Fr Dominic is a principal of the Salesian school at Quepem, Goa.

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BEING HOLY Ian Figueiredo SDB

As a young seminarian, during my regency, a common complaint of teenage boarders was: “Brother, that boy is calling me ‘sanctus’(‘holy’)!”

To most youngsters, it appeared that holiness or sanctity was associated with being a sissy, a goody-goody. I found it very difficult to convince them that, contrary to their mistaken perception, holiness is not to be equated with weakness. In fact, sanctity requires qualities such as discipline, temperance, mortification, resoluteness, that are not found in weak characters!

At the Valdocco Oratory in Turin, we find St. John Bosco surrounded by several young saintly boys. None of these could in any way be classified as lacking in determination or being sentimentally virtuous. The name of one who stands out immediately, among several others, is Dominic Savio. A book in his honour is appropriately entitled, “A boy with a will”! Here is what young Dominic declared after hearing a talk on holiness, delivered by Don Bosco, “Now that I know that one can be holy and happy, I absolutely want to become a saint”. No sooner did he make this decision, he began to undertake rigorous spiritual and ascetical practices to attain his goal. On another occasion, Fr. John Francesia, a teacher of Savio, remarked that he came across Don Bosco and Dominic talking together. He writes, “I had always thought that Dominic was rather timid, but I was shocked now to see him, hands on his hips, insisting with Don Bosco: ‘Father, this must not be tolerated at the Oratory! It is a scandal! It must be stopped!’

It was the first time I had ever seen Dominic

assert before Bosco”.

himself Don

Then, of course, we know of other youngsters like Michael Magone, Francis Besucco, Michael Unia, Louis Lasagna. These would not be classified as ‘saints’ prior to meeting Don Bosco. But, with the touch of the master’s hand, the saintly educator was able to mould their young lives and place them on the path to sanctity. Studies on our Founder’s youth ministry reveal that he did not merely aim at developing ‘good’ boys. He wanted them to be ‘saints’. Taking a boys’ character

Me! A Saint? as he found it, he tried to guide him to live the Christian life. At the Oratory, the stress was on the supernatural!

Three characteristics of salesian youthful sanctity stand out in the pedagogy of Don Bosco. They are: 1. Sanctity is possible for all people of all ages: The topic of the sermon Don Bosco gave, which set Dominic’s heart aflame with a desire for sanctity, was direct and inspirational: “It is God’s will that we become saints. It is not difficult to become a saint. There is a great reward in heaven for those who become saints”. At the Valdocco oratory, holiness was something within reach; an ideal even for a teenage boy! Terence O’Brien notes that Don Bosco’s originality can be seen in his statement

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that it is easy to be a saint. “He knew that no one could be truly cheerful and happy unless there was interior peace and a clear conscience.

By keeping happy and cheerful, the boys were doing what was needed to work out their sanctification.” In the case of Dominic, we can say that he is Don Bosco’s proof to the world that holiness is not the prerogative of monks, priests or religious. It belongs to everyone, the young and the old, even mere school boys!

2. Joyful holiness: Dominic Savio’s instruction to Camilo Gavio, new entrant in the Valdocco Oratory, is well known to us. He said, ‘Here we make sanctity consist in being very cheerful’.

I n the ‘Companion of Youth’, one of Don Bosco’s best known works, we are struck by the purpose of the book.

It aims at offering young people ‘a cheerful and happy way of living as a Christian, a proposal for spiritual life and youthful holiness.’

Addressing young people, Don Bosco warns them of the devil’s ploy by which he convinces them that to serve the Lord, to practice virtue, is the path to melancholy, devoid of all enjoyment. On the contrary, he himself declares that he would like to teach them a kind of Christian life that will make them happy and contented.

!

Everyone who visited a Don Bosco institution would testify that it was exploding with festive happiness. Sensing that joy was what every youngster seeks, Don Bosco offered them a playground, music and singing, theatre and

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outings and periodic celebrations in which they could participate. But the secrets to happiness really were the joyful, witnessing presence of Don Bosco in the midst of his boys and his careful survey of each youngster to ensure that the joy was emerging from a soul in peace with God, with itself and with its neighbour. These elements generated a joyful atmosphere that gave rise more easily to optimism, to trust, to a quiet acceptance of the difficult moments of life.

3. Nothing complicated: Don Bosco’s recipe for sanctity did not have forbidding ingredients!

It was attractive, because it did not require tough penances. An inspirational quote by Don Bosco declares that “Sanctity is easy.

God does not scare us away. You do not have to scourge yourself or fast or pray long hours.

Just do your duty in school, at home, at work.

Take sufferings as they come- bad weather, disappointments, physical illness, sorrowthey will make you saints”. The trilogy he gave as a programme of life to his boys was “Cheerfulness, study and piety”. It derives its inspiration from the advice of King David: “Serve the Lord with gladness”.

In conclusion, I would remind us salesians and members of the salesian family of the urgent need to re-visit attentively our Founder’s legacy of salesian spirituality and the elements that make up youth spirituality. I am certain that, contrary to our opinion, young people are looking for God and for sign-posts that can lead them to Him. More than ever today, we need to be ‘saintly pastors of youth’! If holy educators are more numerous, there will be more holy young people who, rather than protesting the tag ‘sanctus’ will instead declare, ‘if they could become saints, why can’t I’!

Fr Ian was a provincial of the Salesian Province of Panjim for the last 6 years.

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AN INSTRUMENT Fr Felix Fernandes SDB

Like a Pencil...

“I am like a pencil in the hand of the Lord,” Mother Teresa would often say. And it is anyone’s guess as to how much the good God has written with it. A pencil is one of those simplest and humblest of articles. Yet, it is one of those primary instruments that introduced us to the world of learning and wisdom. An instrument! That is what Mother Teresa always desired to be in the Lord’s hands, surrendering herself to His will in her life. And let us not forget that a pencil undergoes its own share of suffering and pain in the process of being scraped and sharpened, in order that it might write effectively.

In his book The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey writes thus: “An Albanian nun spent sixteen years in an exclusive convent teaching geography to the wealthiest Bengali and British daughters of Calcutta. One day, on a railway trip to the Himalayas, she heard a voice calling her to change paths and minister to the poorest of the poor. Can anyone doubt that Mother Teresa has found more personal fulfillment in her latter occupation (calling, italics mine) than in her former? I have seen this principle borne out in saints and in ordinary

people so often that I now easily understand why the Gospels repeat the one saying of Jesus more than any other: ‘Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’”

She did God’s will in all things. The late Fr Joseph Langford, co-founder with Mother Teresa of the priestly branch of the Missionaries of Charity, and author of Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire said this about her: “She lived a tremendous love for God and neighbor, in darkness, for 50 years. Her apostolate - to work alone in the streets of Calcutta, as a religious, outside of her convent - was entirely new in the 1950s and 1960s. But this was entirely God’s plan,

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in every detail. She only did what was asked of her by God. He directed her in all, even in what she was to wear.”

Fr Langford was asked: “For those who never met Mother, could you describe what it was like to talk to her, to be around her, to watch her?”

He replied, “To encounter Mother was to feel the warmth of God, the love, the acceptance of God. People felt God’s presence around her … often to the point of tears. When you were with her, even in a crowd, there was an easy and instant intimacy, as though you were the only person in her world. You felt drawn to God, embraced and cherished by God, not unlike what people must have felt around Jesus.” – I can vouch for this. I had the good fortune of seeing Mother Teresa in person when she visited a certain seminary in the country. All I remember is that her presence had an amazing salutary effect on both, the learned professors and the eager students. Moreover, the one message she conveyed was simply this: God is love, and love is God. Mother Teresa was an angel of love and

rip

light, particularly in the lives of the poor and forgotten. Once, in the context of her work with leprosy patients, she acknowledged, “We have drugs for people with diseases like leprosy.

But these drugs do not treat the main problem, the disease of being unwanted. That’s what my sisters hope to provide.” She understood that the sick and the poor suffer more from rejection than material want. The Home for the Dying that she established for instance is only symbolic of her care and concern for those on the peripheries, literally.

Even as we look expectantly to 4 September 2016, the day of her canonization, we would do well to realize that our lives gain meaning when we dedicate ourselves to God and to the service of our neighbour. That is what the Christian experience is all about. In addition, as someone has rightly said, “it’s not what you do every once in a while; it’s what you dedicate yourself to on a daily basis that makes the difference.”

Dr Felix is newly appointed provincial of the Salesian Province of Panjim.

BR JOSEPH CHOWRI SDB (E C JOSEPH)

BORN: SEPTEMBER 16, 1921 DIED: JULY 10, 2016 He was 68 years a Salesian; worked at Madras, Andheri, Borivili, Chhota Udepur, Valpoi, Sulcorna and Panjim with great skill as a Carpentar and a Motor Mechanic. As a person he was warm and sincere. He had limited wants. Many Don Bosco past pupils remember him with much love. Sangati requests readers to pray for the repose of his soul.

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LONELINESS Charlene Farrell

Modern World

. . A Modern Leprosy

The year 2016 is halfway t h r o ug h , rewind a few years and we can actually remember days sans the screens that are so common place right now.

Today, everywhere we look there is a screen serving some purpose or the other.

Children constantly have their heads bent low and their eye glued to something virtual. As adults we find it so very difficult to let go of those gadgets that even a dinner is nothing but munching and staring at a phone. We claim and proclaim constantly how modern technology has brought the world together, and definitely, to some extent it has. True, sitting here in the comfort of our own homes, we can visit places on the other side of the earth through various modes of technology, something happens on the other end of the globe and we hear of it almost immediately, there is a medical breakthrough in some nook of the earth and

its results are transmitted almost immediately to us. What more can we ask for?

The bitter truth lies in the reality that exists on the viewing end of the screens. The reality lies in the fact that all we know is now digital but all we truly need more than anything else is human contact. Social relationships are the reason we have developed thus far. Sadly, it is the social development in terms of technology that is actually tearing apart the base of what society is. When our entire focus lies on that which is inanimate, we know we are in trouble. Einstein foresaw this degradation in society ages ago.

He identified early on that a day would come

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when we would suffer extreme loneliness even though we were surrounded by people on all sides. As participants in it today we find it very difficult to actually identify for ourselves. How often have you gone out for a gathering and the first thing you reached for before leaving the house was your phone? A few weeks ago I went for lunch with a few friends and there was a good 15 minutes wherein each one of us were engrossed in our phones.

What advancement are we talking about when basic etiquette is ignored?

Being so caught up in the modern world, has caused an immense hole in the fabric of society. In the years gone by, there was communication of the purest kind. We sat together, spoke, laughed and mingled. The scenario now is completely different. Today, life has become very fast paced, so fast in fact that we sometimes forget the finer things. Each one of us is striving to achieve the best. We are in the age of accumulation right now. We are in a race to accumulate the best. The best gadgets, the best cars, more houses, more wealth; in this race to acquiring and procuring the maximum we find that we run out of time too fast. Time has turned into money, money has turned into obsession and family has turned into a replaceable resource. There, that’s what we have gone and done. Isolated ourselves because everyone else is a distraction. If only success was measured in relationships this world would have been a better place to live in.

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Development is a great thing. There’s no disputing that. Individuals began inventing to make life easier, to save time in fact. With the extra time we have because we have so many machines to do the work for us, we ought to use it up for what’s important. Human contact, love, peace, happiness; the industrial and now the computer age have made time for all these things. What we need to bring to awareness is

that the virtual world is just that… virtual. Not reality. Going out, expanding our real world, making friends, abolishing our loneliness, shedding our isolation, these are goals that will help us achieve our true happiness. We have to wake up and as they say... ‘Smell the coffee’, why not go to a coffee shop with friends and leave those phones at home? The modern world has found its new disease…loneliness… we are advanced enough today to find a cure.

Charlene is a counsellor and a teacher; she writes for ‘the Goan’.

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RESPECTING WOMEN Fr Tony D’Souza SDB

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

My first personal contact with this holy nun was at the Mumbai airport. As I walked through security into the departure lounge, I saw quite a crowd of passengers standing in awe and gazing at a lady who was seated quietly all by herself. As I got closer to the scene, I recognised Mother Teresa in her blue bordered white sari and her simple wooden handle shopping bag.

Something within me pushed me to approach her and I did. With a slight smile and a welcome nod of her head, she seemed to welcome me to sit by her side and this I did as I introduced myself, a priest belonging to the Salesians of Don Bosco Society. Already then, She came across to me as very motherly in our brief conversation. I told her I was looking after a group of seminarians in Pune and requested her for more than an autograph, a message for my community of young seminarians. This is what she wrote: “Teach your seminarians to find joy in sacrifice.” I was reminded of mama Margaret’s words to her newly ordained son, John Bosco: “Remember, to be a priest is to

begin to suffer”.

Over the years, I have experienced the wisdom of these messages and shared them with others.

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

But my best memory of Mother Teresa was a spiritual retreat I was invited to animate for the Missionaries of Charity in Nairobi.

The Retreatants were superiors/leaders of the many MC communities in East Africa and their Foundress was to attend as well.

Mother Teresa arrived late night on the eve of the retreat. She was received warmly at the airport by a small group of sisters and treated respectfully by the immigration and customs officials. However, there was one problem. The young novice from Poland who accompanied Mother Teresa was held up at the immigration as at that time Poland, a Communist country, had no diplomatic relations with Kenya. The Principal Immigration Officer could not be immediately contacted for special clearance.

The Officer on duty suggested that Mother Teresa could proceed to her convent. The Polish

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sister, they assured her, would be well cared for while she awaited clearance. Mother Teresa stayed with the sister saying: “You have held back my daughter and I must stay with her”.

The Principal Immigration Officer was finally contacted by 2am and an entry permit granted to the young novice. What a motherly gesture.

The next morning, despite a sleepless night, Mother Teresa was punctually present at 7am in the chapel, for the first meditation talk of the retreat. Infact, she participated prayerfully in all the liturgical services and listened attentively to the meditation talks, seated devoutly in the last row.

Overwhelmed by her humble presence, I concluded each talk by sitting at her side and inviting her to share her own reflections on the topic. And she did so, very modestly. While I preached from a pedestal of theory, She preached from the pews and her sermons were not just words but real acts of selfless motherly love for the poor, the sick and abandoned.

Preaching in the presence of a saintly Mother Teresa whom I always held in high esteem, was quite a privilege, but also a nervous experience.

And when she approached me in childlike simplicity for spiritual guidance followed by confession, my nervousness reached its climax. I just could not remember the prayer of absolution. Instead, Mother Teresa was one

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penitent who converted me into a repentant confessor.

At the end of the retreat Mother Teresa thanked me profusely and thoughtfully gifted me a rosary for my own Mummy. She even accepted my request to visit Don Bosco Boys Town in Nairobi the following day.

Unfortunately, she fell sick with cold and fever.

Nevertheless, motherly as ever, to assuage our disappointment, she sent me an apologetic regret note and a bus load of her sisters to spend some time with our poor youth.

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

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

Fr Tony has been a missionary and an ex-provincial.

Presently at the studentate of Nashik as a confessor and spiritual director.

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INTERVIEW Joanne D’Souza

This a rare privilege for the readers of Sangati! The sisters of Mother Teresa who normally hide from all publicity and display, and go on quietely working for the poor and suffering, made an exception for the benefit of the readers.

Here is the glimpse of the ones who have lived with the mother and worked with her. Ms Joanne D’Souza after few refusals by the sisters was able to briefly chat with the Missionary Sisters of Charity at the mother house in Kolkata. (The names of the sisters are undisclosed as per their strict request.)

1. What were the ideals by which Mother Teresa lived?

Mother Teresa saw everyone as a child of God and as her ‘brother’ and her ‘sister’. It did not matter what caste, religion or nationality the people were. Mother believed that we should give with a smile until it hurts. In the words of Jesus “Love one another as I have loved you.”

This is what Mother did all through her life.

2. What was her advice to the sisters?

A Missionary of Charity is a carrier of God’s love especially to the poorest of the poor setting all on fire with his love for Him and one another, a healing touch of God that cures all diseases, a soothing smile of God that warms all hearts, God’s own language of love that all understand.

3. What were Mother’s joys?

The whole of Mother’s life and labour bore

witness to the joy of loving the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love and the surpassing worth of friendship with God. 4. What made her suffer?

Mother Teresa loved God with her whole heart, soul, mind and strength and she used to feel God’s great love for her. There was a time when she began her work among the poor, she didn’t feel that God was very close to her anymore, even though she continued loving God just as much as before. She called this experience “the darkness”. It was then that she realised that God was letting her share how he felt when He was dying on the Cross and how many of the poor people feel lonely, unwanted and unloved. She understood the poor so well because she experienced the same rejection and loneliness as they did. Mother Teresa continued to pray, love and serve God, and

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loving and serving her religious family and the poor. Her smile kept anyone from guessing what she was feeling inside.

5. How many countries are you in now?

We are present in 130 countries.

6. What is the total number of sisters?

There are about 4500 religious sisters.

7. Recently 4 of your sisters and 14 others were killed working in the care giving home in Yemen. How is the situation in that convent now?

We pray for peace in the convent and in Yemen.

The work must go on and there is suffering in our work. God gives us the strength to continue.

8. How is the scenario of adoption of children in India?

The Missionaries of Charity have shut down the adoption services in India over religious objections to the country’s new adoption rules.

There were two points of dispute mainly they will not allow adoption by single parent and they also have issues with couples, one or both

of whom has had a divorce earlier.

9. What changes in general do you wish to see in society?

The general objective of the society needs to change. The focus is so much on oneself that people have become so selfish. We need to be merciful and charitable keeping Mother Teresa as an example of today.

10. India is getting ready for the canonisation of Mother Theresa, how are you preparing for it?

We have a number of activities and events in preparation for the Cannonisation: Cannonisation Web TV channel “Blue Stripes”, Painting & Drawing competitions, Quiz, Film Festival, Art & Painting Exhibition, Civic Program – “Saint Theresa of Calcutta”, Cultural Program in October. Apart from this we are also preparing ourselves spiritually for the Cannonisation.

11. Sainthood of Mother Teresa - what does it mean for the Missionaries of Charity?

It means a lot to us of course. We already know that she is a Saint and that she continues to intercede for us. But that the Vatican officially accepts her as a saint means a lot to us and the congregation.

12. Your message to the world on the sainthood of the Mother.

Give your hearts to love and hands to serve after the example of Mother Teresa.

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HUMAN RIGHTS Nirmala Rebello

Upholding the Right

To Live in Dignity Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it.

Without dignity, identity is erased.

Human dignity is a central consideration of Catholicism and Christian philosophy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church insists “the dignity of the human person is rooted in his or her creation in the image and likeness of God.” “All human beings,” says the Church, “in as much as they are created in the image of God, have the dignity of a person. The right to the exercise of freedom belongs to everyone because it is inseparable from his or her dignity as a human person.” We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it enhances or threatens the life and dignity of the human person.

In Governance too, the Constitutional award of Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of

State Policy make it mandatory for every Government and every Organization and Institution to see that the Right to Life and Human Dignity are available to every human being who resides in our country.

The global importance of human dignity, across the boundaries of space and time, are recognized in the path breaking Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly and accepted by member countries. Although the Declaration with its broad range of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights is not a binding document, it inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. Today the general consent of all United Nations Member States on the basic Human Rights laid down in the Declaration makes it even stronger and emphasizes the relevance

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of Human Rights in our daily lives. Human Rights Day is celebrated across the world on 10th December every year.

Sadly, the Right to Live in Dignity is still a substantial distance from being realized and despite the efforts of individuals and organizations the world over, exploitation and inequality are rampant in our society.

The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, unethical embryonic stem cell research, the use of the death penalty, unreg ulated human organ f a r m i n g , ma l nut r it ion, poverty and disease, inhumanity in the name of religion and enslavement of various kinds.

The intentional targeting of civilians in war, or terrorist attacks, is always wrong. Nations must protect the right to life and dignity by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means.

In our world and nation, many of our sisters and brothers live in abject poverty. The causes are complex, but the results are clear. They cannot find decent work, feed their families, educate their children, secure health care, or find adequate housing. Millions of children live in nations with too much debt and not enough development, in societies with deadly diseases and inadequate health care, in lands where

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conflict and corruption leave people without a place at the table. Millions of families cannot live in dignity because they lack the conditions worthy of human life.

As Christians, we must come together with a common conviction that we can no longer tolerate the moral scandal of poverty in our land and so much hunger and deprivation in our world.

As believers, we can debate how best to overcome these realities, but we must be united in our determination to do so. Our faith teaches us that poor people are not issues or problems but sisters and brothers in God’s One Human Family.

In Jesus’ description of the Last Judgment, the critical question is “What did you do for the least of these?” Jesus identified himself with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the imprisoned, and the stranger, insisting that when we serve them we serve him.

It is in this context that we prepare to confer the status of ‘Saint’ on the frail, wrinkled old nun who left her homeland in Poland at the age of 19, to serve Jesus in the poor and the homeless, the abandoned and the diseased, the hungry and the hopeless in an alien land – India. Over the last several decades, her name

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has become synonymous with Service and the Missionaries of Charity, the religious Order she founded, have become a household name in our country and in the world at large.

‘The Saint of the Gutters’, ‘The Angel of Mercy’, as she is affectionately called, is claimed by all Indians as our very own Saint and Kolkata in particular is proud to be the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity and the final resting place of the Mother.

In her private writings, to be published in September under the title of Come Be My Light, we get heartwarming glimpses of her love for the downtrodden and her efforts to give them a life of dignity: “If I ever become a Saint -I will surely be one of ‘darkness.’ I will continually be absent from Heaven- to [light] the light of those in darkness on earth.”

“Our poor people are great people, a very lovable people. They don’t need our pity and sympathy. They need our understanding love and they need our respect. We need to tell the poor that they are somebody to us; that they too have been created by the same loving hand of God, to love and be loved.”

To commit herself to becoming “an Apostle of Joy” when humanly speaking she might have felt at the brink of despair, was heroic indeed.

She could do so because her joy was rooted in the certitude of the ultimate goodness of God’s loving plan for her. And though her faith in this

truth did not touch her soul with consolation, she ventured to meet the challenges of life with a smile. Her one lever was her blind trust in God. “The Particular End is to carry Christ into the homes and streets of the slums, among the sick, the dying, the beggars and the little street children. The sick would be nursed as far as possible in their poor homes. The little children would have a school in the slums. The beggars would be sought and visited in their holes outside the town or on the streets.” She would later elaborate and broaden the text to read, “Our Particular Mission is to labour at the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor, not only in the slums, but also all over the world, wherever they may be.”

As the Missionaries of Charity, along with their many volunteers, donors and well wishers, strive to serve those on and below the margins of society, let us all remember that it is our duty to be a part of the Apostolate of Joy that seeks to give every human brother and sister the Right to live in Dignity, just as we do.

In the words of Mother Teresa, “It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” No doubt, “We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone”- Dr. Loretta Scott.

Ms Nirmala is an ex-principal, presently a staff member of Don Bosco Konkan Development Society.

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MOTHER TERESA Anthony da Silva SJ

God’s Angel of Mercy No Christian figure has touched the hearts of millions in modern India, as has Mother Teresa of Kolkata. Indians had already proclaimed her a Saint during her life-time. People would travel long distances to see Mother and receive her Ashirwad (blessings). So, what is it that attracts millions to Mother Teresa?

God’s Angel of Mercy People in India as well as world-wide saw in the frail and diminutive figure of Mother Teresa, the face of God. Through the numerous services Mother rendered to the suffering people, they quickly recognized the presence of the Divine and tasted of His mercy and love.

To millions Mother became the living angel of God’s mercy and care in the midst of their poverty and suffering. As Pope Francis recently tweeted, “small gestures of love, tenderness, of care make people feel the Lord is with us. This is how the door of mercy opens”.

Mother Teresa entered through this door of mercy and dedicated her entire missionary life of 47 years to performing corporal and spiritual Works of Mercy. She became identified especially with the seven corporal Works, namely: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit prisoners, and bury the dead.

This was the charter of the Angel of Mercy.

An entire life driven by this charter inspired countless millions the world over to share

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in Mother’s mission of proc la i m i ng God’s mercy and love. Mother Teresa said to her followers, “be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies”.

Mother Teresa’s Life of Mercy After 17 years of teaching as a Sister of the Loreto Congregation in India, Mother Teresa felt drawn to living and working with the destitute and marginalized peoples of the city of Kolkata. She said, “Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work”.

Hence, in 1950 Mother Teresa started a new Religious Congregation and named it “Missionaries of Charity”. Its sole aim was to serve the poorest of the poor especially in the slums and shelters of Kolkata. She brought solace and dignity to the suffering masses in the streets and gutters of this mega city.

Through a variety of corporal Works of Mercy she responded directly to the needs of the people, as God’s angel of Mercy. Mother Teresa said of herself, “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world”.

Today in 2016, The Missionaries of Charity run more than 700 homes in 125 far-flung countries

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with nearly 4000 Sisters and 10,000 volunteers.

Their corporal Works of Mercy are as diverse as AIDS hospices, leprosaria, orphanages, shelters for the homeless and destitute, refugee centers, homes for victims of epidemics, famines and wars. All of these Works reach out to thousands of people irrespective of caste, religion, gender or ethnicity. Truly a remarkable story not only of success but also of vividly demonstrating the power of the Mercy and Love of God that transforms society as well as individuals. As Mother Teresa used to say, “I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness. Good works are links that form a chain of love”. This chain of love and mercy continues to grow every single day whether in India or other parts of the world.

If evidence of greatness is what some skeptics of Mother Teresa still demand, this is readily available in the universal recognition accorded to Mother for her inspirational Works of Mercy.

She was awarded the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), Nehru Prize for the Promotion of International Peace and Understanding (1972), Balzan Prize (1978), Nobel Peace Prize (1979) and Bharat Ratna (1980). But perhaps the most cherished recognition for the Missionaries of Charity and the entire Catholic community is the forthcoming canonization of Mother Teresa

by Pope Francis on September 04, 2016. Placing her on the altar for public veneration opens yet another door through Saint Teresa of Kolkata to experience the mercy of God. A Saint of Mercy in the Jubilee Year of Mercy It is fitting and proper that Pope Francis decided to raise Mother Teresa to the altar during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. The universal recognition of Mother’s service through corporal and spiritual actions of mercy, presents her as a model worthy of emulation. In this Jubilee

year as the Pope urges us to practice in small ways, in our neighborhoods and families acts of kindness and mercy, Mother Teresa’s exemplary life can act as a motivating force in our own daily lives. As Mother herself would say, “You don’t have to go to Kolkata to find the poor. You find the poor right around you, in your own family. Those acts of mercy are little things: a smile, a word of consolation, reading the newspaper for someone, doing the shopping, spending a little time speaking to them.”

From Mother Teresa to Mary, Mother of Mercy Father Kolodiejchuk who is the principal advocate in the cause for Sainthood of Mother Teresa reminds us not to overlook Mother Teresa’s close and special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy. He says, “Mother Teresa was also obviously devoted to our Blessed Mother, especially the Miraculous Medal, the Rosary and the Memorare… Some people felt Mother was like Our Lady… Mother had a simple, childlike love and devotion to Our Lady… If her hands weren’t doing something, she w o u l d have the Rosary in her hand and pray silently. In the car, we would pray the Rosary.” As Pope St. John Paul II once remarked in his homily,”…(Mother Teresa) proclaimed the Gospel living her life as a total gift to the poor but, at the same time steeped in prayer.”

May such be our attitude as we celebrate our new Indian Saint in this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

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The writer is a Jesuit priest and works at Xavier Centre, Porvorim, Goa July - September 2016

CARING WORLD Sr Melissa D’Souza FMA

A Little Gesture of Love The other day I had to go for an eye check up. Since I am new to the place I didn’t know where I could find an eye specialist. I stopped at a shop to enquire. And there walked up to me a cobbler who was sitting nearby and who had probably heard my query. “There”, he said and pointed out to me the direction to an eye specialist. I was quite surprised and at the same time grateful. I wondered, “Why did this stranger have to come up to me and show me the direction? I hadn’t even asked him for help.” And yet little things like these make life so easy...so wonderful. On another occasion, I was waiting at the station for a train to Wadala with a friend. We had had a busy day and were quite exhausted. I looked at her and said, “I am very thirsty”. Within seconds a woman who was standing beside us, offered me a bottle of water. Just imagine my joy! And once again I pondered, “Why did she have to offer me water?” Another little act of love! A month ago when I reached Thivim station, and was walking with a trolley and a hand bag, a man walked up to me and offered to help me carry my bag. At first I refused, but then he insisted, so I allowed him to help. To my amazement he walked all the way with me right up to the rickshaw. Yet another small deed of love…

I could mention many many such small incidents that have occurred to me. And I am sure that if you pause to think, you too will find many such incidents in your life, small deeds

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done without expecting in return. Each of the above incidents although ‘a small are in fact great acts of love.

anything act/deed’,

If you think deeply you will realise that these small deeds done on the spur of the moment, even without a second thought...add so much joy to people’s lives. They seem to be small when you narrate them, but when done to you personally they are indeed ‘big’.

In one of his homilies, Pope Francis said, “I am thinking of what St Ignatius told us... He pointed out two criteria on love. The first:

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love is expressed more clearly in actions than in words. The second: there is greater love in giving than in receiving”. And I would like to add that Jesus wants us to express our love for all, whether we know someone or not, whether they are our friends or enemies. And for little deeds of love, you surely do not need to know the person. The very fact that someone around me is in need should spur me to reach out in the best way I can, be it through the smallest and most insignificant deed for it is beautifully said, ‘It’s the little things of life that count most. Hence, never get tired of doing little things for others.

Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.’

The very essence of humanity is not faith, but love. And love is not found in words alone, but in ‘deeds’, deeds done in complete selflessness, in sincere generosity and without expecting anything in return. Mother Teresa, the heroine of our times has beautifully quoted, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” On another occasion she said, “Do not think that love in order to be genuine has

TOy E B I R C S B U S ne or Print Cop Onli

to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” Yes indeed! Let us pause for a while to look back with gratitude to all those who have reached out to us in little ways, may be through a smile, or a helping hand or an encouraging word, or a pat on the back, or by going out of their way to reach out to us in our need. These are angels of love who make the world a better place just by being in it. What about you?

Would you not want to be an angel of love and of little deeds to bring a smile on the face of someone? Would you not want to brighten the world and make it a better place by reaching out in small ways to someone in need? There are opportunities at every moment. Just look around and you will find them. The joy you will feel in your heart will be your reward.

Sr Melissa is in-charge of the Salesian Communications Commission of the FMA Province of Mumbai

Email to sangatidonbosco@gmail.com

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Send Your Address & Email to The Editor Boskon Communications Don Bosco Provincial House Odxel, Goa University P. O. Goa 403206 Ph: 0832 2451449 July - September 2016

SELFLESS SERVICE Fr Jason Pinto SDB

Social Work,

Conversions & conversion Let me begin on a very controversial note. A couple of months ago, veteran RSS sanchalak Mohan Bhagwat, while citing to his fellowworkers the example of selfless service made a sweeping statement regarding Mother Teresa.

He said, “you must indeed serve, but without any dual motive… even Mother Teresa served but her motive was conversions”. And then we had the Indian media flooded with all sorts of interpretations, some for while others against, the ‘saint of the gutters’ – Mother Teresa. Did Mother really convert through her social service?

Different people from all walks of life serve.

Yes, the waiter at the hotel serves you tea, coffee, snacks, etc. Think of the teachers serving in our educational institutions, our leaders serving the nation and so on. We also have young boys and girls who wish to serve in the army, navy and the air force. And then think of the Vodafone and Idea services, on your mobile. Serving is a very broad concept indeed. However such services are only ‘services rendered for’ while expecting something in return. If so can we serve without any expectations or incentives?

A quick glance into Mother Teresa’s service mission will be of great help to us. This Macedonian born young girl at the age of 18 decided to give her life entirely to God. She joined the Loreto sisters. Fortunate for us, she

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was sent to India. She laboured as a Loreto nun for almost 20 years. Till one day while at Darjeeling (West Bengal) she got, what she calls it as a “call within a call”. To leave the security of the convent and be there in the streets among the destitute people. This “foreign woman” dressed in an Indian saree, a little similar to that of the municipal workers, single-handedly offered her service to God, whom she believed to be hidden in the poor and the sick.

Mother’s selfless service attracted many likeminded people from different religions to do the same. This ultimately gave shape to a new congregation called the Missionaries of Charity. This newly born congregation was only of the diocesan rite then, with just 12 members. The impact of Mother’s work was such that it attracted not just Christians and people of other faiths, but even those who did not believe in God as well. Atheistic communism had already taken root among the intellectuals of Bengal by then. Hence when the Communist atheist leader, Jyoti Basu was asked, “what do you an atheist and Mother Teresa a devout Christian have in common?

He replied convincingly, “we both share the same love for the poor”. Across borders, even in Communist China, where Christian missionaries are banned, the Church cannot operate without government intervention, the Missionaries of Charity have been invited by

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the government itself to render their selfless service to the poor and the destitute. Today her sisters are in thousands, with more than 700 centres across the globe running orphanages, hospitals, hospices, etc. serving the young, the old, alcoholics, refugees, victims of war and famine, etc.

What is conversion? A conventional meaning of the word ‘conversion’ would be – a change or transformation. Very often it is wrongly applied to the Catholic Church to mean only “religious conversions”. God definitely wants all of us to change, to be converted. (S)He wants us to transform the world and be happy. This indeed is the sole purpose of our life. And it is no secret that Mother found her life’s purpose to work among the poor and the dying. In this venture she did not lose her connection with God whom we believe to be the source and origin of all that is good. Hence she began her day spending an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. For Mother Jesus was everything.

Once an American journalist told her, “Mother, the work that you do is certainly commendable, I would not have done it even for a million dollars”. To this Mother quickly retorted with an angelic smile on her face, “and I, not even for ten million dollars…I do it for Christ.”

Yes an internal conversion, both at the personal and social level was the motive behind her social work. Just as during her life time she sought to transform the world, even after her death she continues to transform the world. Perhaps the awards that she received, is our human way of looking at how the world recognized her endeavours. The Nobel Peace Prize, the Pope John XXIII Award, the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the US along with honorary US citizenship are the prestigious

international awards that she received. In India she was awarded with the Padma Shree and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. And the most prestigious of all, India’s highest civilian award– the Bharat Ratna award is a sure acknowledgement of her work by the Indian society. Well the list goes on. The recent martyrdom of the Missionaries of Charity sisters at the hands of the ISIS fundamentalists, also bears witness to the fact that her selfless spirit still continues to inspire millions of people all over the world even today.

What is the sole purpose of your life? What is it that will make you sell everything and buy the field of great price (Mt 13: 46). Looking at the life of Mother Teresa there is so much we can learn. Service rendered solely with the intention of serving God is what can bring about a conversion, in oneself as well as in the society at large. It is then that our services and works will become our delight. Our professions/ careers will become a vocation.

Coming to Mr Bhagwat, he was not wrong after all. Living with her, working with her would have converted him as well. I too, would have become a better Catholic. One of her biographers rightly states, “Mother did convert, she converted a Hindu to be a better Hindu, a Muslim into a better Muslim, a Christian into a better Christian and so on”.

Let us also join in with Mother Teresa in her endeavour to make this world a better place to live in, transforming ourselves and the society, with our exemplary service which has only God as its beginning and end.

Fr Jason is a Salesian priest working in the mission centre at Ghataprabha in Belgaum.

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FOR A BETTER WORLD Diana Charles

Peace I Give to You. . .

We live in a world where there is hatred, strife and anger wherever we look. We fight over land, water, sports, relationships, religion, children... literally everything.

Anger and hatred are some of the most toxic emotions that we can have. Feelings of rage and hatred build up in the mind, body and soul and affect our body’s organs and natural processes, breeding even more negative emotions. People who permanently live on a tinder keg are often forced to go for Anger Management classes or take up yoga and meditation, to learn how to control their spiralling anger. According to Andrew Schauer, psychologist at St. Francis Health Center, someone who spews hatred is often isolated by others and this then tends to turn into their either lashing out at society or themselves. We see so many horrific examples of this on a daily basis. Our country too is surrounded by unhappy neighbours and because of this we spend crores every year on arms and an army, instead of channelling the much needed funds towards education and health and alleviation of poverty. Most of our world is in the same state of unrest and turmoil.

Hatred affects everything it touches, just as Love changes everything it touches. Hatred loses its power when we as individuals and collective units encourage flexibility of mind

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and body as a valuable asset to all and spread the message of peace and love.

Fortuitously, just as there are many haters, there are also many who work endlessly to bring peace to this world. They could be your family member or someone you work with or even yourself who bring happiness and peace in big and small ways. Then there are innumerable Spiritual leaders, philanthropists, humanitarians, even politicians, who have worked diligently and tirelessly to contribute to world peace. Some are mentioned below.

Nelson Mandela - Although imprisoned for fighting apartheid, he was released and became the first democratically elected President of South Africa.

Mandela sought to forgive and work with the former white minority instead of being embittered and revengeful.

He became a global symbol of goodwill, peace and a beacon of hope for suppressed people the world over.

He was rightfully awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Until his death, he worked for peace around the globe.

Tegla Loroupe - A Kenyan marathon runner and peace activist, she is widely praised for promoting peace amongst the warring African tribes.

She is also a global spokeswoman

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for peace, women’s rights and education. In 2003 she created an annual series of Peace Marathons sponsored by the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation. Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors and government officials run with warriors and nomadic groups in Kenya, in Uganda and in Sudan, to bring peace to an area plagued by raiding warriors from battling tribes. Hundreds of warriors laid down their weapons, because of her efforts.

Malala Yousafzai - This young Pakistani schoolgirl overcame an assassination attempt by the Taliban to campaign for universal access to education, especially for girls. She is the youngest person to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. She was the winner of Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize, and the recipient of the 2013 Sakharov Prize. Yousafzai has opened a school in Lebanon, near the Syrian border, for Syrian refugees.

The school, funded by the not-for-profit Malala Fund, offers education and training to girls aged 14 to 18 years. Yousafzai called on world leaders to invest in “books, not bullets.”

Pope John Paul II - He had a great effect on the many lives that he touched. He lived through two very difficult periods of Poland’s history – occupation by Nazi Germany and the Communist era, before becoming the first Pope who came from Poland.

He tried to bring peace between the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians.

When he visited Poland and kissed the ground at the Warsaw airport he began the process by which Communism in Poland— and ultimately elsewhere in Europe—would come to an end. He campaigned for world debt forgiveness and social justice. In 2000, he

publicly endorsed the Jubilee 2000 campaign on African debt relief fronted by Irish rock stars Bob Geldof and Bono. He was an outspoken opponent of apartheid. He criticised the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, saying in his State of the World address “No to war! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity.”

14th Dalai Lama -The spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama cannot be left off this list. He has sought to protect the interests of the Tibetans whilst promoting a non-violent approach to the Chinese. He teaches the importance of compassion for promoting happiness and inner peace.

Mother Teresa - Mother Teresa is one of the most influential persons in the history of mankind. She embodied kindness and compassion. She was a selfless and inspirational woman who put her own needs last. Today, one can’t hear the word, Mother, without thinking of the Saint of the Gutters. She strongly believed in the Family - What can you do to promote World Peace? Go home and love your family.

There are millions of people across the world who promote peace in so many different ways.

If each one of us walks just that one extra step, we could make a huge difference in making our world a better place to live in.

Like Jimi Hendrix said - When the Power of Love, overcomes the Love of Power, the world will finally know peace. Let us hope that day is not too far off.

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Diana is an ex-principal and a freelance journalist.

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CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIETY Fr Daniel Joy SFX

Pursuing Noble Goals Most people set goals in life. Some set short term goals while others set only long term goals. Some people are good at setting both short term and long term goals. Goal setting is a very important exercise because it helps people to live a more focused life. Life is all about making the right choices. When one has a goal in mind he is able to make choices based on the goal he has set ahead. He is able to reject those things that go contrary to his goal.

Most people set personal goals. For instance we see how students plan their careers. Based on their interests they check out various career options. They meticulously check out what are the requirements for any particular course and then plan their course of action. Today’s youth are really proficient at this.

Apart from setting personal goals there are those who set goals that would influence their families, near and dear ones in the long run.

For example some try to even plan the lives of their children, their marriage, the amount of money that will be needed to start a new business for them, etc.

There are however, some people who plan their lives in order to contribute towards society. They come from all walks of

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life, the rich, the poor everywhere. They do not worry much about themselves, however their primary concern is how they can improve the conditions of their fellow brothers and sisters, specially the weak, the marginalized, the outcasts, women and children, and the sick. In my opinion people who set such goals which contribute towards the welfare of others are the ones who set real noble goals.

Mother Teresa too had such a goal, as its beneficiary was not herself but the poor and the needy. Mother’s goal was to alleviate the sufferings of the poor, the crippled, the lepers, children, outcasts and the broken hearted. She was clear in her goal and therefore she was able to make the correct choices that led to the flourishing of the Missionaries of Charity all over the world. Mother Teresa’s disciplined life style, her trust in God’s providence, the tough life that she led were all means for her to accomplish h e r goal which was to manifest the love o f God to the poorest of the poor. In spite of being a tiny woman, she had big dreams. She set out to change the world, one person at a time.

Her work with the people she called “the poorest of the poor,” her advocacy for human rights and her tireless faith and gentle demeanour made her saviour to thousands. But her grand goals were based on

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a simple commitment to give.

Paulo Coelho in one of his bestselling novels has rightly said that if a person wishes to do something with all his heart then the universe conspires to realize the dream of this person.

This is very evident in the case of Mother Teresa.

Mother Teresa depended on Divine providence. To her being faithful to the Lord was more important than being successful.

The Lord rewarded her generously. The speed at which her congregation spread all over the world shows how, God intervened in her work.

In the eyes of the world she was a powerful individual. World leaders would often come to meet her and offer her various favours. To Mother this was only an outcome of her close and intimate union with God. I would like to cite some factors because of which Mother Teresa was able to realize her goal of serving the poorest of the poor against all odds all through her life.

Reliance on God Mother Teresa gave herself fully to God, especially when she left the comfortable confines of the Loreto Convent to embrace abject poverty that was prevalent in the slums of Calcutta. God did not forsake her but used her to accomplish great things on the condition that she believe much more in His love than in her own weakness.

She cared for everyone Spread love everywhere you go was her philosophy in life. She

saw Christ in the suffering and the poor. She was able to love them because of this. Often young people would come to her asking how they could contribute to society in the way she did. To them she would say start loving your parents, husband, and wife at home first.

She cared about Little Things Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing. Very often we all aspire to accomplish great things all the time. We often want to be in the limelight all the time. We forget that to accomplish any goal there is a process involved and this process involves doing little things. Mother Teresa always said that we should do small ordinary things with great love.

She never worked for rewards Many people today are engaged in Philanthropy. They help other people in order to get some name and fame. Their work may be admirable but their intentions are not good.

During her life time Mother Teresa never worked for rewards but for the love of God. Working Collaboratively What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do something beautiful for God. Mother Teresa believed in this and therefore she began a congregation for both men and women. There are also thousands of lay volunteers who render their valuable time and money to support the Missionaries of Charity. In this way she was able to make good use of human resource

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for spreading the kingdom of God through her work.

Reliance on Prayer Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.

In spite of her busy schedule mother never compromised on her prayers and the Holy Eucharist and daily Adoration in particular.

The ways adopted by Mother Teresa may seem simple but in reality they are not that easy to practice. They however helped Mother Teresa accomplish her noble goal of serving the poorest of the poor and accomplish so much in life, not for herself but for her fellow brothers

and sisters whom society had neglected. We are all called to make a difference in this world.

Mother Teresa can therefore be considered to be an inspiration to all of us. Let us therefore be inspired by her zeal and try to find some way to contribute to society, because once we leave this world, we will not be remembered for the degrees we have earned or the wealth we have accumulated. We will be remembered for the positive changes we have brought about in people’s lives. This is the only way one can truly find satisfaction and proudly say that my life here on earth was worthwhile.

Fr Daniel is a newly ordained priest of the Society of Pilar, presently working at Ambernath.

‘I am a Child of God’ Br Damodar Wankhade SDB

I was brought up by the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, through whom I am experiencing the LOVE of God. I did meet Mother Teresa few times in Calcutta & Nagpur.

On my visit to the MC Mother House in Calcutta I happened to meet Mother. I introduced myself to her. She was very happy to hear my story. Immediately she took me to her chapel to pray, to experience the love of God and to thank Him for the gift of my life and vocation. While praying, I could see the smile on her face, feel the experience of Jesus in her heart. That was a great example of prayer for me.

After the prayer we came out. She welcomed me warmly and gave me a book mark of her own picture signed by her. “Br. Damu,” she said, “be a good Brother. Always be faithful to God, keep up your vocation with cheerfulness and smile. My prayers and blessings are always for you.”

Whenever I met her I strongly felt that she was, a woman of God, very close to Him, caring, loving, understanding, dedicated, a woman of prayer, sacrificing herself in service to others, strong in her own vocation, always speaking about God’s love, very simple and poor. She had understood the purpose of God’s call and His plan for her mission.

Today if I can spend more time in prayer, it is because of Mother Teresa. I know how important it is to pray, to remain faithful to God and to love my neighbour.

I am grateful to God and to Mother Teresa for my beautiful vocation as a Salesian Brother. The Mother Teresa Sisters and the Salesians of Don Bosco have helped me grow with their love, concern and support.

Br Damodar is a principal of the Technical School at Narukot in Gujarat.

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RELIGIOUS LIFE Neil Fernandes

The Vows and Love An Everlasting Bond

“The most beautiful thing in the world is to love one another as God loves each one of us. This is why we have been made.”-Mother Teresa.

If Mother Teresa’s entire life and message could be summarised and described in two words, then those words would indisputably be “God” and “Love”. God was the centre of her existence and Love was her message. But if we have to summarise her whole life in one word, it would be “love”, for God is Love.

Hence, where there is Love, there is God. Religious men and women are called to imitate this love which Mother Teresa talks about and the best way to do this is through the practice of the vows. But why vows?

Isn’t love enough? Mother Teresa explains, “Binding oneself with vows is an expression of love.” and “Religious vows are a way to love until it hurts.”

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So, our religious vows are one way of experiencing a more intimate conversation, rooted in baptism and dedicated totally to God. “Our chastity,” Mother Teresa explained, “must be rooted in love and manifested in love freely given to God’s children.” She practiced chastity through a unique relationship with Jesus, her complete belongingness to him in spousal love.

We too, need to love, without compromise, only Jesus. We need to cleave to Jesus. We can love all people, but the ONE we need to love is Jesus.

“Poverty is love, before it is renunciation.” It is a love we show Christ; we have left everything for His sake and hence we can serve the people with greater love and compassion. “The less we have, the more we give,” and what better way to love than giving? Isn’t charity love?

For Mother Teresa, the vow of obedience meant, “to put love into acton.” “Submission for

someone who is in love, is more a blessing, than a duty.” Mother Teresa’s manner of obeying shows humility, wisdom and maturity. She dedicated her service to the one she loved, with total surrender and loving trust. She was ready to even embrace the “obedience of the cross.” Are we?

Inspired by her work for the poor, Mother Teresa professed a fourth vow, i.e., “Wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor.”

The vow demanded not only hands to serve, but also hearts to love. Anything worth doing was to be done with love, if not, it’s not worth doing at all.

Mother Teresa had a very special love and respect for priestly vocations. We are called to be instruments of God’s love and mercy and help the people build a strong relationship with God. She felt that only if a priest lived in close intimacy with the Lord will he be able to live a life of dedication to God and to the Church.

She also asserted that lay people have a call to Holiness. “Love begins at home.” A home is a cradle of love, where Christians learn to live in love for each other. If we are able to radiate this love to our neighbours, enemies and others, we can inspire everyone to love and in the bargain, make this whole world a cradle of love and a house of God, for “Where there is Love, there is God.” Neil is a novice at the Salesian Training Institute at Nasik.

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ON OUR KNEES Valentine D’Souza

Prayer Makes a Difference Let’s call him Joe. We were a group of friends in college and in character with many of that age, a bit on the wild side. Joe was a born leader and could get a group of lively boys to do the most outrageous thing. He was regularly pulled up by the college principal for indiscipline, rowdy behaviour and for teasing the college girls.

He was never in class and more often on the footpath outside the college plotting various pranks to be executed with precision on unsuspecting college boys and girls. Needless to add this resulted in him failing the class and losing a year.

during Mass when this gentleman led the Offertory hymn, Joe would shout all sorts of nicknames from across the road loud enough to be heard by one and all in the church.

Once Joe hid his bicycle in one of the garages and when the cycle could not be traced, the situation worsened and the local police was called in. Finally Joe disclosed the location and he was let off with a warning.

His mother was a pious lady, a mother to two sons, he being the elder of the two. The younger son had learning disabilities and did not attend school. This worthy lady prayed for hours in church and was often seen sitting on the last row with rosary beads in her hands.

Joe struggled for awhile with his wayward life whilst his mother continued to pray for him.

Long after the Mass was over, she would be seated in the last row with her rosary beads slipping through her fingers. A few years later she told me that Joe expressed a wish to join the priesthood. I was surprised and told her that her prayers were being answered. But secretly I wondered whether he could commit himself to a life of discipline.

Joe, attended Mass daily but did not like the gentle man who led the hymns from the lectern near the altar. This gentleman had a way which did not go well with adolescents; he was the pontificating type with a pate as smooth as a billiard table. Joe made him a target of several pranks.

Often

We graduated from college and proceeded to find a place in the world, a job, a career and a life.

Joe went in and out of various formation houses. After many setbacks, he finally found his vocation.

After a few years, I received an Invitation card inviting me for his Ordination to the priesthood. I was overjoyed. As we climbed up the stairs to the reception hall, he turned

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around and said to me. “At last Val, at last!”

I was at loss for words. How do you describe a mother’s determination never to lose hope?

How do you describe a son’s struggle to rein in his rebellious soul?

Many years later I heard that Fr. Joe had been transferred to a Shelter for Orphans closer to my home. I went to see him. I found him occupying the Director’s Office, seated at a desk. In conversation I realized that he was responsible for the welfare of close to 300 orphan boys. He had acquired a Masters degree in Social welfare and a degree in Law which gave him the expertise to look after the boys in his charge. His boys would often fall

foul of the law and would require to be bailed out.

He had finally found his calling.

Mean while his mother relocated to her native village with her younger son who by this time could secure employment doing sundry jobs.

I have often felt disheartened and lost hope during the difficult moments in my life, only to draw inspiration from the abiding faith of this simple woman. I have to admit – Prayer does make a difference.

Valentine is the President of the ADMA in the Salesian Province of Panjim.

The Teacher I Still Remember Ian Pinto SDB

I live near a Missionaries of Charity institute and what strikes me about them is their availability, serenity and commitment to serve the inmates be they infants, children, physically or mentally challenged people, diseased, or even aged. The sisters devote their time and energy to caring for these people and making them feel loved. They become the face and hands of God to these people just as the inmates become Christ to the sisters. Therefore, a mutual service is constantly taking place. Christ is ever present there as every action is done in His name and for His glory.

I recall having a Missionary of Charity as my catechism teacher. I don’t remember much of what she taught me but the Gospel values I picked up from her life and the way she carried herself, have remained with me.

I fondly remember her as being the most gentle and kind person I’ve ever come across. She was soft-spoken and didn’t seem the jolly type but her face revealed her inner contentment and serenity. I was quite young at the time and her demeanor made a strong impression on me.

Unfortunately, a year or two later she was transferred and I remember feeling a bit disappointed at her absence. I never gave much thought to her then but as I reflect upon it now I’m convinced that the Spirit of God rested on her and allowed her to work with some of the most challenging people and situations, and yet be so serene and happy. I’ve never met Mother Teresa in person but I’ve met her through this wonderful sister (and through many others after her) who taught me more than the catechism – she showed me what God can write with a person who is willing to be a pencil in His hand.

Ian is in the period of formation to the priesthood, doing his Practical Training at Don Bosco Academy, Sutgatti.

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STUNTED BRAINS Joel D’Souza SDB

THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belong to the world, the world would love you as its own.

Because you do not belong to the world but I have chosen you out of the world – therefore the world hates you”. (Jn. 15: 18 - 20).

These words of Jesus are so very true about his disciples and Mother Teresa is no exception.

As a true disciple of Christ, she spent her life caring for the sick and the destitute especially those found on the streets, the ones most neglected in our present world.

During her own life time and also after her death, ‘The Saint of the Gut ters’ had her own s h a r e of critics who did not bat an eyelid to spew venom against her and her Congregation “the Missionaries of Charity”.

the medical care the patients received as “haphazard”. He observed that the sisters and volunteers, some of whom had no medical knowledge, had to make decisions about patient care, because of the lack of doctors in the hospice. Fox specifically held Mother Teresa responsible for conditions in this home, and observed that her order did not distinguish between curable and incurable patients, so that people who could otherwise survive would be at risk of dying from infections and lack of treatment.

In 1991, Robin Fox, editor of the British medical journal The Lancet visited the Home for dying destitute in Kolkata and described 40 SANGATI

The late British writer Christopher Hitchens became one of the most vocal critics of Mother in the 1990s. In 1994, Hitchens and British Pa k i st a n i journalist Tariq Ali produced an ext remely critical

documentary on her titled “Hell’s Angel”.

The documentary drew heavily July - September 2016

from the account of Arup Chatterjee, an Indian-born British writer who had worked briefly in one of Teresa’s charitable homes and listed a catalog of criticisms against her. It found fault with the conditions in the facilities of her Missionaries of Charity in Kolkatta. The documentary also pointed out to her dealings with dubious figures all around the world, most notably Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and scandal-hit American financier Charles Keating.

In the year 2013, in a comprehensive review covering 96% of the literature on Mother Teresa (the claim made by the group), a group of University of Montreal academics reinforced the foregoing criticism, detailing, among other issues, the missionary’s practice of ‘caring for the sick by glorifying their suffering instead of relieving it, her questionable political contacts, her suspicious management of the enormous sums of money she received, and her overly dogmatic views regarding abortion, contraception, and divorce’.

In India, the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sparked outrage when he criticized Mother Teresa’s intentions.

“It’s good to work for a cause with selfless intentions. But Mother Teresa’s work had ulterior motive, which was to convert the

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person who was being served to Christianity,” the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said at the opening of an orphanage in Rajasthan. “In the name of service, religious conversions were made. This was followed by other institutes, too.”

Dear readers, the works of Mother Teresa and the band of tireless sisters and brothers of her congregation are there for all to see. Reading and reflecting through the articles in this issue of Sangati would have helped us to know more about the ‘nun in the bordered saree’. Our own encounters with the Missionaries of Charity and their works will help us make our own judgment in order to refute the allegations leveled against Mother Teresa. Let us not forget the fact that no matter what good you do and how much you do it…there are the vultures waiting to take a pound of your flesh. It happened to Jesus. It happened to Mother Teresa. And it will happen to you.

Let us take courage from the words of St Paul, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12: 10).

Fr Joel is a Vocation Animator and in-charge of the aspirants at Don Bosco Panjim.

A pic of a street urchin waiting to pay his last respects to Mother Teresa (his mother) at her funeral.

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YOUTH SPEAK Joanne D’Souza

A Visit to the

Tomb of Mother Teresa Recently I had the privilege to spend some time in Kolkata training at the SSKM Hospital which is one of the biggest Government Hospitals in West Bengal. I am a physiotherapist by profession and it was indeed one of the best experiences of my life. I had an opportunity to work with so many other professionals working with special kids and improving their quality of life.

I thought of taking this unique opportunity to visit Mother Teresa’s Home in Kolkata.

It was not far from where I was staying on Chowringhee Road hence I thought of finding my own way without help. I must say that my over confidence got the better of me and I lost my way. Kolkata has preserved most of its British India history hence I was caught between Lee Road and Shakespeare Sarani with my Google maps indicating turn right and left. It was a total

fiasco!

Luckily for me I saw an Old age Home run by the Poor sisters of Our Lady. Desperate for help and lost in translation I pleaded with the sisters for some assistance. They were kind enough to show me the bus route I could use and I had to remember to alight at Ripon Street. One of the staff from the Home was travelling the same route and hence accompanied me. She was a cheerful lady and we started talking about my visit and about my training when I explained to her the purpose of my visit. Her eyes lit up when she spoke about Mother Teresa. She said “Mother has helped me so much. Whenever I am in difficulty I visit her tomb and I feel the weight lift from my shoulders. Recently I was desperately in need of money for my children’s education and Mother came to my aid”. A simple ordinary lady and Mother heresa have touched her life so much.

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This was my second visit to Mother Teresa’s Home and everything about it is so peaceful.

I observed so many young people of different nationalities praying and working. The Missionaries of Charity sisters work with quiet and humble diligence shying away from any publicity. I prayed at the tomb myself and before the Blessed Sacrament. The Museum at the home is an experience in itself. It catalogues Mother’s life and is very inspirational. Her entire life was dedicated to the service of the poor and needy. Her room at the top of the stairs is small and pokey with a map indicating the mission work around the world. The most striking thing about the room was that Mother never used the fan and considering the heat in Kolkata is no small feat.

I came away from the Home with the need to return again. Mother Teresa inspires me so much. Kolkata is a place where there is widespread poverty. There are young children and families on the street and I ask myself

“what will they do during the rain? I live in so much comfort. In Goa even the poor are taken care of with so many Government schemes, in fact we abuse and take advantage of all our benefits. The Government hospital in Kolkata has an influx of 150 children per day travelling over 500 kms for decent treatment.

In Goa even if a patient is required to wait for 10 minutes they complain and threaten to inform the Ministers. We live in a cocoon of our selfishness and will continue to do so unless we really want to make a change and be the difference. Mother Teresa was one person but she touched the lives of millions of people around the world and continues to do so even today.

In Mother Teresa’s own words “Thoughtfulness is the beginning of great sanctity. ... Our vocation to be beautiful must be full of thought for others.”

Joanne is a Physiotherapist and an ADMA member.

Be a Part of the Don Bosco Family!

As a Salesian (Priest/Brother/Sister) Contact: Fr Joel D’Souza, Don Bosco Panjim (North Goa & Maharashtra) Ph: 9421117819 joelmaxsdb@rediffmail.com

Fr Austin Fernandes, Don Bosco Benaulim (South Goa) Ph: 9420906544 austinworld69@gmail.com Fr Kiran Nazareth Don Bosco Youth Centre Shirva (Karnataka) Ph: 9765958832 kinnanaz13@gmail.com Rector of any institution

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As a Benefactor / Donor Contact: Fr Loddy Pires, Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Don Bosco Panjim, Goa 403001 loddyp@gmail.com Ph: +91 832 221986 ext 276 Mob:+91 8762801749

To BOOK MASSES & MAKE ONLINE DONATIONS visit: www.donboscopanjimprovince.com

As a Volunteer Contact: Executive Director, Konkan Development Society, Odxel, Goa. Ph: 0832 3260711 / 09881810953

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LIGHT OF THE WORLD Steve Anskar Rodrigues

Satiating

The Thirst of Jesus “If I ever become a saint, I will surely be one of darkness, I will continually be absent from heaven – to light the lives of those in darkness on the earth.”

These words of Mother Teresa are finally coming true as she will be canonized this September.

She was a woman who strove to be the light of God’s love in the lives of those who were living in darkness of poverty and misery. This call to be the light wasn’t any ordinary call but a ‘call within a call’ and she was able to discern and answer this call by being docile to her Love – Jesus – for whom she could do anything. In her writings she reveals “I am a pencil in God’s hand and God is using my nothingness for his greatness.”

Her first call was to be a nun in the Loreto congregation. During her years of formation, she grew in love for Jesus, she longed for complete union with Christ, which she found missing in her life. This union with Christ was later realized to be in being among the poor and the downtrodden.

In the Loreto convent in Calcutta, Mother Teresa was always seen happy; this was noticed by her companions. Sister Gabriella, her companion, said, “I think that Jesus loves Sister Teresa very much. I think He has chosen her for greater things.” This great thing was to satiate the thirst of Jesus. To the end of her life Mother Teresa insisted that this was the most important reason for the existence of her congregation and so the main aim of the missionaries of charity is to satiate the thirst of Jesus on the cross for love and souls. This indicates the mystical experience Mother Teresa had in the context of Calvary at the time when Jesus was dying on the cross. The Scripture quote, “I Thirst” summarized her whole life and reminded her of her mission and therefore the same words of

Jesus are present on the wall of every chapel of the missionaries of Charity.

Mother Teresa never took credit for her accomplishments and always tried to divert the attention she received to God and His work. People of all creeds and walks of life recognized her selfless love and compassion for the poor. They admired her simplicity and genuineness and were attracted by the joy and peace that radiated from her.

As I come to the end of this article I wish to narrate my own experience with the missionaries of charity.

Their love for the poor, not only the financially poor, but also the ones who are spiritually poor is remarkable. I remember a missionary of charity who used to get up early and go around to wake up youngsters for Sunday catechism. If you happen to visit the missionaries of charity you will feel so happy, as happiness just radiates in their surroundings. Their devotion to Jesus is something one should learn from, they believe that the Eucharist strengthens them to do their daily work and so they start their day by participating in the holy Eucharist. They give you happiness out of their nothingness. This is where we experience the grace of God in their lives.

As Christians, we are called to radiate the same joy and happiness which we receive from our Love – Jesus. As we, signs and bearers of God’s love to the young, bring souls to God and God to souls, let us be instrumental in satiating the thirst of Jesus.

Steve is a novice at the Salesian Training Institute at Nasik.

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VOCATION STORY Fr Neville Luis SDB

My Life for Africa It was dawn on a wintry December morning that our ship landed along with my widowed mother and two siblings at Marmagoa Harbour after a 9 day journey from Mombasa to settle down permanently in Goa. I remember leaning against the rails on the deck looking at a sleepy Goa awakening as our ship moved to dock and in me too arose a feeling of a new dawn, a new life to be built, after the traumatic loss of my Dad a little less than a year earlier. I can still recall saying to myself, “I must build up myself again.” It was not easy to adjust to a new place, a Goa without the amenities and company we enjoyed in Nairobi, Kenya. Then there was the language barrier, the moves to making new friends with our Konkani speaking neighbours. Mom enrolled us, two school-going kids, in Loyola High School Margao where I was befriended by friendly Jesuits and understanding teachers. We slowly integrated ourselves with the neighbourhood boys who were attending the same school and formed our clique of football, cashew-loving boys who had a rhythm of recreation on a daily basis. We had the only leather football in the neighbourhood and the two bicycles imported from Kenya were the great attractions for the young boys to flock to our verandah; Carrom, Monopoly, Wembly board games were played when the summer afternoon was too hot for the restless lads. Little did I realize that in a way a rudimentary Oratory was born at the Luis homestead.

We were integrated into a larger group of youth of our neighbourhood by the efforts of two talented and apostolic-minded diocesan seminarians who inspired me to think of a higher calling. I wanted to be like them, because they played with us and organized so many youthful activities to keep us busy during the summer holidays. Priesthood was lived by them with so much of joy and youthfulness unlike the impression that so many other Goan priests gave me. My mom got an inspired insight

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to seek a place for me in the Aspirantate at Don Bosco Lonavala where my maternal Uncle Fr Olivio Miranda was a Rector. I guess I gave her cause for concern that me growing as a teenager at home would be a risk given the adjustments I had to make in a new culture at that crucial age. So there I went with a group of like-minded aspirants under the guidance of the Vocation Promotor Fr Henry Torra who was then the Superior of Don Bosco Fatorda.

I spent three years under the care of exceptional Salesians who were wonderful models of Salesianity.

They nurtured in me the vocation that was already there and I loved to live the life they lived…to offer myself for young people. Having completed my SSC I was sent to Pune to do my PUC in Science and from there was admitted to the Novitiate in Yercaud, Tamil Nadu where I made my first profession in 1977. The new programme of University studies beckoned us back to Pune where I completed first my B.Sc. at Wadia College and Philosophy at the Papal Seminary. It was here that I received my missionary call within the salesian call. I offered myself for the African Project launched by the Salesians who were sending missionaries to this continent that largely did not know Don Bosco and his educative method.

I was chosen and sent to Tanzania to do my Practical Training in 1982 and after two years returned to make my Perpetual Profession and to study Theology in Bangalore. They were four wonderful years of bonding with my batch mates who helped me mature towards becoming a minister of God’s Word and Sacrament. It was a joy to be ordained on the 27th Dec 1987 at the Shrine of O.L of Fatima, Don Bosco Panjim. That was 25 years ago during which time I have shared the Word and Sacraments with my fellow Christians and the young of East Africa who show so much of enthusiasm to grow in and to live their faith. May the Lord touch many a young heart so that they respond to this noble task of accompanying the young on their journey to faith!

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WORTH FOLLOWING Vivian Andrews SDB

The Call Within a Call Learning from Mother Teresa and Don Bosco

In order to realize His plans in this world, God makes use of humble instruments, sincere souls, individuals not perhaps capable for the task at hand, for the enormity of the project.

He does this so that His glory is revealed in all that is accomplished through the individual.

He calls them, makes a breakthrough in their lives and the world is transformed for His greater glory. The Bible is full of such instances wherein fragile people are transformed and anointed by God for a mission.

Through the ages God has called individuals through spectacular signs, messengers, dreams and visions. At other times He has also called men and women through the inner voice of conscience, that mysterious voice in our being that spurs us on to be someone, to do something. This call may be confirmed by events, things, people or even supernatural signs. It is the voice that calls us out of our nothingness to walk in the ways of God and partake in His plan. This is what the Church calls a “vocation”. However, once a person is called, the Spirit sometimes reveals a more specific task within the call. Through her own spiritual experience and in her simple wisdom, Mother Teresa called it “the call within a call”.

Sister Teresa, a Loreto nun after arriving in India, began teaching History and Geography to girls from wealthy families at Calcutta. In

course of time she became aware of the situation of the poor in the vicinity which moved her deeply.

In the year 1946, while travelling by train from Calcutta to Darjeeling for a retreat, she felt the call to leave Loreto and to live among the poorest of the poor. She says, “The message was clear, I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” In 1948, with permission from Rome she left Loreto which was a rather painful decision for her.

“Abandoning Loreto,”she confesses, “was an even greater sacrifice for me than leaving my family for the first time to follow my vocation.” We observe here that her calling was to be a religious nun and in the following her vocation, the Spirit led her to a more precise task i.e. selfless service to the poorest of the poor.

We observe something similar in the life of Don Bosco too. Although he received his vocation in a dream at the age of nine, he wasn’t quite sure of what it actually meant.

While at the seminary, he wanted to join the Franciscan Friars only to be dissuaded by his parish priest Fr. Dassano and a dream which he himself had. He continued his studies for the priesthood uncertain of his future. He knew his vocation was to be a priest, but after being ordained he wasn’t sure of what to do.

As he himself confessed to Fr. Cafasso, his

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guide, “I do not know what to do; I do not have the slightest inclination for parochial life”. Being a chaplain, curate or vicar didn’t catch his fancy.

He even gave up an offer as chaplain of a noble Genoese family besides other offers.

Knowing the ways of the Lord, the saintly priest Fr. Cafasso advised him thus, “Come and study at the Convitto, in time God will show you His will”. After completing two years there, he received three new offers in 1844 and he found himself in distress. At this time, he had the dream of the Shepherdess in which he saw boarding houses, playgrounds, Basilica etc. He was left perplexed. Meanwhile he continued his weekend ministry with boys, wherever he found a place till he finally purchased a shed and some land at Valdocco, outside Turin. His work took a toll on his health. One Sunday while teaching a boy arithmetic, Don Bosco vomited blood and fainted. On being diagnosed, it was found that his lungs were infected and for eight days he hung between life and death.

The news that Don Bosco was dying spread in the by-lanes of Turin. Throngs of youngsters kept vigil in scorching heat by day and through the night crying and praying to God to save the life of their father and friend.

Some fasted; others gave up drinking water, while some others made strict ascetic promises.

After Don Bosco m i r a c u lo u s ly

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recovered, he was overwhelmed and thanked the boys for their prayers declaring, “I owe my life to you. Be sure that from now on I will spend everything for you.” This was for Don Bosco, the surest sign from heaven that God wanted him to carry on his work on behalf of needy youngsters and from then on his hands were set firmly on the plough and there was no turning back.

We have seen the ‘call within a call’ of two very charismatic personalities. In the first place they were deeply in love with God and secondly, they wanted to do God’s will and waited on the Lord, for His inspiration, the rest is history.

God gives each one of us a mission in life, which He wants to make known to us. In order to respond to God’s call we need the following – w Freedom from personal ambitions w Openness to God’s will w Being attuned to the Holy Spirit w A readiness to launch into the deep not knowing the what, where and how of things to come.

Above all it is imperative that we attune ourselves to His voice and listen. Holy Mother Church teaches us that, “It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself to hear and follow the voice of his conscience” (CCC 1779) We live only once and will never walk this way again. Let’s make our lives count!

Vivian is in the process of formation to the priesthood. He is doing his practical training at Shirva, Karnataka.

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MESSAGE Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, RM

Iof DREAM a Salesian Family

that Carries the poorest in her heart Another dream of mine for the Salesian Family and for the friends of Don Bosco all over the world, as the fruit of this Bicentenary we lived as a year of grace of the Lord, is what was the norm of his life: carrying in one’s heart the poorest, especially children, boys and girls, young people, the most destitute, the most disadvantaged.

As I am writing to you, I still have in my eyes and in my heart the eighteen-day visit I lived in Sierra Leone, where I could meet some of our authentic reasons of deep happiness: the boys collected from the streets, the girls set free from the sexual exploitation that enchained them, the youth who have become orphans because of Ebola. Seeing all of them in the Salesian house of Freetown, and seeing how their lives now had a different horizon, gave me the same joy Don Bosco felt in Valdocco and Maria Mazzarello felt in Mornese with their first youth.

Visiting the detention home of the capital, in an encounter with 10% of the detainees (160 out of 1600), of whom over 1200 were young people between 18 and 25 ears of age, I had the same feelings as Don Bosco did at the “Generala” in Turin.

When in Accra, the capital of Ghana, I met our FMA sisters with the boys gathered in their house and when at “Don Bosco” I saw the children and youngsters who were victims of human trafficking, I could not help being moved and thanking the Lord who grants us the grace as Salesian Family to be a beam of light in the midst of so much darkness.

In Mecanisa, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), when I met the 500 children who every day at our place can

have a full meal and attend school, and as I greeted the boys saved from the streets who were learning a profession or the 28 young people who every day come from the streets to eat, stay with their friends and with the Salesians to decide whether to return to their wandering life or to be part of the young pupils of the house, my heart beat in unison with Don Bosco’s heart who certainly sustained all this together with Jesus, who continues to ask us to go and reach out to the poorest.

Because of this, I once again repeat to you my conviction that the poorest are the reason for our existence as Salesian Family, in the Church and that our dedication to them is the reason of our lives.

I am convinced of how precious is the witness of so many confrères who every day donate their lives with true educative and evangelizing passion in favour of the young; I am convinced that many are the Salesian presences that look with predilection at the poor.

I give thanks to the Lord for this and I repeat: Dear brothers and sisters, “we must go further on, we must go beyond”. We must all have a heart as the one of the Good Shepherd, and the one of Don Bosco, as the one of the holy men and women of this religious family that aims at giving the best of herself in favour of the youth. We must unite this commitment of ours to the one of all persons of good will.

I bless you all, that the Lord may continue to fill your lives with that fullness that ONLY COMES FROM HIM.

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Letters to the Editor...

April - June 2016 | Vol 09 Issue - 02

I must congratulate you very heartily for bringing the magazine to a good standard. It is informative, illuminating and inspiring. Keep up the good work.

- Joaquim D’Souza SDB, Nashik

I enjoyed the most recent issue of your province newsletter - the topic chosen is something that we all need to reflect on the articles written by ‘experts’ and ‘novices’ were all extremely interesting and inspiring...

May ‘Sangati’ continue to inspire and inform all its readers...

Thank you for your e-mail of 20th April and the attached copy of SANGATI, which contain wonderful articles on the Family. Keep up the good work. It is essential for today’s world.

- Bp. Peter Machado, Belgaum I think getting priests to share their experience of being confessors is a wonderful idea. It puts the (forgotten) sacrament of reconciliation in perspective and in the spotlight. Don Bosco must be proud of you!

- Matthew Coutinho, Jerusalem

Congrats for an excellent issue of Sangati on the theme of Mercy. The E-Magazine was very readable because the articles were well written, brief, with a judicious mix of young and old contributors thus giving a good perspective from a wide cross section of people. Good clean layouts with apt pictures kept me engaged.

- Fr Mario Vaz, Mumbai

- Peter Gonsales, Rome Thank you for sending me the two volumes of Sangati which are very informative and useful.

So much information and lots of hard work.

Congrats.

The latest Sangati on the theme of Mercy is just awesome! All the articles are so lifegiving. I like that you invite different writers to contribute from among the young and older people, women and men Religious and Lay persons... This gives us readers a rich perspective on the topic you choose.

- John Samala, Baroda

- Anthony da Silva sj, Goa

- Fr Valerian Mendonca, Barkur

July - September 2016

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SALESIAN

BENAULIM FATORDA LOUTULIM KAKATI ODXEL DABOLIM OROS KUDAL PARRA PALIEM PANJIM SIRSI

PROVINCE NEWS

Three Perpetually Professed

received a Cross as the sign of commitment!

On the feast day of Mary Help of Christians on May 24, three young salesians - Cleric Bryce Rodrigues, Cleric Christovan Cardozo and Cleric Willis Pinto pledged their fidelity to God in perpetuity in the Salesian Congregation at Benaulim, Goa. They were welcomed with a fraternal embrace and

A brief cultural programme to felicitate the perpetually professed preceded a fellowship meal for salesians, religious, parents and relatives of the professed salesians and the Friends of Don Bosco.

Don Bosco Past Pupils of Mormugao Unit Don Bosco Past Pupils Vasco celebrated the feast of St Dominic Savio on May 1. Fr Ian Figueiredo whild doing his official annual visitation to the group appreciated the activities conducted and for incorporating the young in the group.

On May 29, they celebrated 11th anniversary of the formation of the group. Fr Donald Fernandez sdb, celebrated the Eucharist.

Panjim Aspirants Visit DB North Goa

Aspirants of Don Bosco Panjim visited North Goa istitutions of Don Bosco, interacted with the Salesians and the boys and got familiar with their activities.

Workshop Organized at College of Engg.

Fatorda

Don Bosco College of Engineering Fatorda organized a week long workshop on ‘Engineering Management Strategies for Sustainable Development’ from May 9-13. The workshop was handled by a long team of eminent resource persons from their respective fields and it brought together over 54 participants from institutes like Govt Polytechnic Bicholim, Panjim, Agnel Polytechnic-Verna, GEC, KLE and Italab. A field visit to a mine reclamation project at Sanquelim was an added advantage to the beneficiaries.

Fr Romulo Noronha Honoured Fr Romulo Noronha was thanked on the last day of the novena to Mary Help of Christians (May 23) at Don Bosco’s Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Panjim as he lays down his office as an incharge of the Shrine and the Province Procurator after working tirelessly for 11 years.

The Provincial handed over a little memento to Fr. Romulo to a generous round of applause from those attending the Novena and the confreres of the Panjim community. He is in need of our prayers as he is confined now from wheelchair to his bed. Fr Loddy Pires takes over charge from Fr Romulo.

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PINGULI QUEPEM SHIRVA KELMBET SULCORNA SUTGATTI TRASI TUEM CORTALIM GHATAPRABHA TIVIM

SFC Win Seven-a-side Football Tournament

Feast of St Dominic Savio & Installation of School Leaders

The feast of St Dominc Savio was celebrated in the Salesians institutions on or around July 6 with much enthusiasm and solemnity. Keeping before the students the leadership qualities of this ‘little giant’ the house system is inaugurated and the leaders are installed. Some institutions have a week long program that ends with ‘Savio Nite’. Here is how some of the houses celebrated the day.

Shirva Football Club emerged winners after defeating Don Bosco Youth Centre, Shirva via the tie- breaker in a dawn to dusk seven-a- side football tournament held at Don Bosco Youth Centre, Shirva, organised by BUS (Bosco Uth Shirva). In all eighteen teams from the Udupi-Mangalore region participated.

Pre-Novices begin their Journey The pre-novices were initiated into the community with a ceremony during the solemn Eucharist presided by Fr Ian Figueiredo, the Provincial of the Province of Panjim.

In his homily he compared the prenovitiate to a period of courtship – of knowing Christ and Salesians. He urged them to be sincere and true to their feelings and discern their vocation under the guidance of the superiors. Fr Simao Fernandes was installed as the new Rector of the Pre-Novitiate at Pinguli.

SHGs Trained

Past Pupil’s Book of Poems Released

Self Help Groups were trained at Sangameshwar to seek business opportunities and run small, groupbased micro-businesses in their locality by Don Bosco KDS.

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SALESIAN

SOUTH ASIA NEWS National Consultation Dr. Stephen Mavely SDB among ‘100 on Strategic Planning for Salesians in South Most Influential ViceChancellors’ Asia

The National Consultation on Strategic planning organised by the Salesian Provincials’ Conference of South Asia was held at Don Bosco Skill Mission at Bangalore from July 1-3, 2016. Fifty participants and delegates from the various Don Bosco networks participated in the seminar.

The macro and micro analysis of the external and internal environments of India and South Asia and the global ramifications were discussed.

The group introspected within the Salesian organisation, especially the Salesian identity to see how to be relevant to the changing times with the current challenges and opportunities.

The Vice Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University, Father (Dr.) Stephen Mavely has been awarded with the award for the ‘100 Most Influential Vice-Chancellors’ in Asia-Pacific region by World Education Congress, held on June 23, 2016 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai.

The 100 awardees spanned most of the countries of Asia and Africa.

The award, instituted for Asia-Pacific and African countries, was based on criteria such as the importance given to strategic planning in the university, quality of infrastructure, future orientation, body of research, emphasis on sustainability, proven record of performance, personal integrity and ethical practices.

2nd phase of the CREAM project Launched

Nearly one hundred thousand (97,900) children educated about their rights, through 907 special clubs and courses in schools; 13,900 minors benefitting from supplementary education; 1571 dropouts brought back to school; 1144 taken from work and 1,473 street children helped to social reintegration; 172 early marriages prevented – these are some of the statistics from the first phase (2012-2016) of the CREAM project (Child Rights Education and Action Movement - Action Movement and Education on Rights of Children) sponsored by the Office of Development of the Province of Bangalore (BREADS - Bangalore Rural Education And Development Society).

Father Sylvanus Sngi Laid to Rest The state of Meghalaya bade farewell to one of its most illustrious sons - Father Sylvanus Sngi Lyngdoh SDB on May 30, 2016. An estimated forty thousand people from all parts of the state and region, cutting across churches, religions and political leanings attended the funeral of Fr. Sngi who passed away on May 28 at Nazareth Hospital in Shillong, Among those present at the funeral were Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, Honourable Member of Parliament Shri Vincent H. Pala, former Chief Minister Dr. DD Lapang, Archibishop Dominic Jala of Shillong, Archbishop John Moolachira of Guwahati, Bishop Victor Lyngdoh of Nongstoin, Bishop Andrew Marak of Tura, Bishop Joseph Aind of Dibrugarh, Bishop Goerge Rajendran of Thucklay.

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SALESIAN

WORLD NEWS War Refugees at Salesian House

Thousands of frightened people sought refuge in the Salesian mission at Gumbo, 8 km from the centre of Juba, in South Sudan, because of the resumption of armed clashes. Now the mission is home to a huge number of people: between 5,000 and 8,000 by day, a number that increases at night because many return there to sleep. And they need everything: food, water, basic necessities.

New Martyrs of Spain’s Civil War to be Beatified Soon

Soon there will be the beatification of over 100 martyrs killed in hatred of the faith during the bloody Civil War in Spain. Pope Francis approved the promulgation of the Decree of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the course of the audience granted to the Cardinal Prefect Angelo Amato SDB, on June 14.

World Youth Day 2016 and SYM World Day

The 31st World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland (26 to 31 July 2016) is getting closer. The theme is: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Mt 5,7). Its pastoral spirit and youthful joy make it a perfect fit with the World Day of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) which will be celebrated on July 27. To make this meeting truly fruitful for all, the organizing committee, in collaboration with the Departments of Youth Ministry of the SDB and FMA, is preparing two events - the SYM Forum and an SYM Festival. Both events will be attended by Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the SDB, and Mother Yvonne Reungoat, Mother General of the FMA.

Cause of Fr Carlo Braga is Moving

The Cause of Beatification of Fr Carlo Braga, the “little Don Bosco of China”, has taken a little step forward in the last few days thanks to the pentagonal cooperation of three Dioceses (San Fer nando-Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau) and two Salesian Provinces (CIN and FIN).

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Strenna 2017: WE ARE A FAMILY!

As part of the work of the General Council, the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, in line with the Pope and the whole Church, had given the title and the guidelines for the message of the Strenna 2017: “WE ARE A FAMILY! Every home, a school of Life and Love”.

Hundreds of young people prepare to be Salesian Leaders According to the Reference Framework of Salesian Youth Ministry, “Group experience is one of the most important pedagogical insights in Salesian Youth Ministry.

Don Bosco saw the importance of the group as an educational presence capable of multiplying formative influence.” And it goes on: “To opt for the group means constantly training educators and leaders.” To this end, about 170 young people from the Salesian houses in Bolivia are participating in the National School of Leaders, with the motto: “The call”.

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CHURCH

WORLD NEWS Bangladeshi Militants Charged for Shooting Italian Missionary

A court in Bangladesh’s northern Dinajpur district accepted a police charge sheet against seven suspected Islamic militants for shooting an Italian Catholic priest last year. All those charged are from the banned local militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh, said investigating officer Bazlur Rashid of Dinajpur police.

Protect Human Right Defenders in Pakistan

Vatican Condemns Nice Terrorist Attack

Pope Francis has condemned the terrorist attack in Nice, France, which on 14th night killed at least 84 people. The terrorist drove a heavy truck at high speeds into a crowd that had just watched a fireworks celebration. The truck was finally stopped after travelling two kilometres, and the driver was killed in a shootout with police.

Female Infanticide: China and India still at the Top of the List China and India are among the countries at the top of the world rankings for female infanticide: says the latest report released by the Asian Centre for Human Rights , the first global study on the topic.

Archbishop-Elect Spends Time on Streets to Raise Funds for Homeless

Canadian Archbishop-elect Donald Bolen says social justice, ecumenism and dialogue with indigenous peoples will be among his top pastoral priorities in the archdiocese of Regina. Bolen, currently the bishop of Saskatoon in the central province of Saskatchewan, was named on Monday as archbishop of the provincial capital.

Last month, Bishop Bolen was in the news as he spent a couple of days living out on the streets of Saskatoon to raise awareness and funds for a hospice for the homeless. He described the experience of sitting on a sidewalk, being ignored by people all day, as “a deep learning experience”.

There is urgent need to protect human right defenders in Pakistan: is the appeal launched by the Government to civil society and international organizations such as “Christian Solidarity Worldwide”.

The call comes following the murder of Muslim activist Zafar Lund on July 14. Lund was hit in the head by unidentified assailants and died Pope Francis has sent a letter to the President of the outside his house in Kot Addu, in Argentinian Episcopal Conference on the occasion of Punjab province. He was the founder the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence. of a civil society forum that aims to In the letter he invites people in his homeland to “dare protect the rights of communities to dream”. In the letter the Pope says he desires “that that live thanks to its proximity with the Indus River in Kot Addu, but this celebration will make us stronger in the path taken by our ancestors two also education and children’s rights. hundred years ago,” and invites the people of the country “not to sell the Motherland” and to resist “all forms of colonisation”.

Pope invites Argentinians to dare to dream on 200th anniversary

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‘Mother’ to the World

Mother Teresa with St Pope John Paul II, Amitabh Bachchan, Princess Diana, Ronald & Nancy Reagan...

...Queen Elizabeth II...

...Nobel Peace Award...

...poor children...

...Zakir Hussain...

Congratulations Fr Felix Fernandes, Our New Provincial

Thank You Fr Ian Figueiredo,

for years of service as our Leader