don bosco march 2009

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5 Second chances are for the prudent

31 Men in black vs khaki

Bible Well-Being

4 So many other shoots 12 Rector major’s visit to the glorious province of chennai

8 Choose to say no

Values

Media Matter 11 ‘SMILE’ lost in slumdog

28 Church news 32 Stories for radiant living

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16 Learning and remembering

30 Humour 34 Children’s page

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The Blessings of

Spiritual aridity

If not for the moments of aridity in spiritual life, perhaps we will never fully understand the possibilities of our upward journey and the height we can reach in spiritual life. The season of Lent manifests this great and profound truth. It is when we journey from darkness into light and from moments of spiritual aridity into gracefulness, shall we realise the blessings of spiritual aridity.

22 Lent An annual reminder of our vocation

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Editor : Glorious Steve

6 Saul, Israel’s first king

Spirituality

Salesian

24 The paul i know Don bosco march 2009

RECTOR

A

MAJOR

s it is well-known that there are 23 groups officially part of the Salesian Family (SF).

Others will certainly be approved in this special anniversary year. It is very clear therefore that in addition to being an official organisation the SF is a much more open movement. There are so many individuals and groups who recognise Don Bosco’s spirituality as theirs. I also like to think of those innumerable lay collaborators who are working side by side with the Salesians and share the same educational ideal and apostolic commitment. There are tens of thousands of them. And it is only right to remember the even larger number of benefactors and friends; without

I mention the reasons why a group is recognised as belonging to the SF. Several years ago the Rector Major Fr Egidio Viganò suggested some criteria.

Above all “participation” in the Salesian vocation: the group which asks to form part of the SF, is called to share in the “charism”. It needs to show therefore that it is moved by the Holy Spirit to look to Don Bosco as the model and teacher and to want to put into practice his charism. All this is easier if the founder is a Salesian or another member of the SF. A second element is participation in the mission to ordinary young people.

This means that the group ought to have the same aims: evangelisation and

A VAST MOVEMENT FOR THE YOUNG

SO MANY OTHER SHOOTS The movements “waiting”.

Don Bosco’s Family becomes the inspiration for an even wider Salesian movement when, in addition to the characteristics proper to the various Groups, it is able to express some dynamic uniting factor which reveals the common apostolic identity. (cid 32) their support it would not be possible catechesis, the all-round development to do what is being done in the poorest of the young, especially the poorest and parts of the world. Many of you too, the abandoned, concern for the working dear readers, are part of this great host classes, for social communication for of people. And the young? I’ll tell you missionary work. about something that happened to me A third aspect is a sharing in the spirit recently in Brazil. Various groups of the and in the educative-pastoral method.

SF were explaining to the Rector Major The characteristic elements are pastoral their apostolic and Salesian commitment. charity, the family spirit, optimism, They spoke with pride and enthusiasm simple and lively prayer, appreciation for of their love for Don Bosco and their the sacraments and devotion to Mary. involvement in working with the young.

Another important element is the At a certain point, a girl, caught up in evangelical life lived according to the the general enthusiasm, came up to me Salesian spirit. The group proposes looking worried: “But we young people, to its members the ideal of the gospel, can we be part of the Salesian Family?”. which can be expressed with religious I replied at once with joy: “Certainly you vows or with simple promises or some can! You are the purpose and the centre other form of commitment, with Don of our family.” In fact, the SF is the most Bosco as the model. beautiful and complete expression of Don Bosco alive today, who puts himself Each group preserves its own specific at the service of the young in a totally character and autonomy. Being an up-to-date and committed way. active part of the SF, it is committed

Don bosco march 2009

to creating an active spirit of fraternity in collaboration with the other groups and recognising in the successor of Don Bosco the role of Father and centre of unity in the great Salesian movement.

These elements are the basis of a deep communion and apostolic fraternity.

Don Bosco had tried to do all that was possible to establish a close union among the groups he founded. Today, actively faithful to his desires, we are continuing to find ways together to strengthen this communion. There are more than a few groups who ask for a closer charismatic link. I shall mention some of them, not without expressing my total affection for those un-named.

“The Disciples” founded by Fr G. D’Souza who are working in the field of evangelisation; the “Comunidade Cançao Nova” of Father Jonas Abib dedicated to evangelisation through the media (radio and tv, songs, music); the “Misioneras de Maria Auxiliadora” of Sr A. L. Bimos; the “Community of the Mission of Don Bosco”, composed of lay people who also make a special promise; the Mamma Margaret Association, springing up almost spontaneously in various parts of the world, dedicated to supporting by their prayers their own consecrated sons and daughters. The charism of Don Bosco is alive and fruitful. And today more than ever we feel the need for it.

The SF is making it present in a vival and original way. We are happy to represent its presence, its passion for education, its missionary heart and its love for the young who are poor and abandoned.

Pascual Chavez Villanueva sdb

E d i tor i a l

Second chances are for the prudent Every new day of Lent is a time to grow stronger smarter, taller and freer than we have ever dreamed we could be.

“T

here is no chance which does not return,” says a French proverb. But in daily life, it looks as if we are starting everything anew all the time; every day, every minute. We keep starting a new day, a new friendship, new jobs, new adventures and of course, new problems __ just when we thought we are done with the old ones.

I can never forget how angry I used to be as a small boy when my mother repeatedly gave some household chores which I disliked. I always like to innovate and tried to do new things. I hated my teachers who made me study the boring lessons again and again. I hated the idlys of Tamilnadu when I was a kid and refused to have them for breakfast when offered every day, unless I was too hungry and there was no other choice.

Just when you are about to relax after a heavy dosage of work, there crops up the next trouble, another hurdle and a huge problem. You are surrounded by problems all over again and find yourself in a critical juncture. You are back to square one to start everything all over again.

We hate doing things again if they are not what we wanted to do in life.

Finding yourself in a pool trouble is not what we dream for.

At the same time we know that we like to do the things that we cherish most. We don’t mind doing them again and again if we have some personal or selfish interest in that. We do not hesitate to spend money, time and energy to make an attempt once again.

We even go on to say, “ If only I get another chance I will certainly perform well.” More than all our theoretical lessons, we learn to grasp the secrets of life better after a few experiences of failures. In fact we could finally get everything right—and it would be so much easier the second time around.

But, we go in search of new avenues, new chances, new experiences and new relationships. We keep experimenting with new things in life. We know we are not going to do things again and again eternally. We know that we will not get second chances all the time.

In fact we will not be able to take back the harsh and angry words aimed at someone. We cannot give out mercy and kindness when we were too busy or insensitive. But, when we are in the fear of tradition and routine, there is a new and fresh invitation from life to lead an innovative life and to start afresh.

Chris Benguhe says, “In actuality, however, we are all getting second chances over and over again every time we wake up and take a breath. May not always with the same people or the same situations, but with the same heart and soul that we are constantly Don bosco march 2009

challenged to expand. Instead of fearing or dreading those chances let’s reap them for what they really are.” Lent is a second chance given to us. Every new day of Lent is a time to grow stronger smarter, taller and freer than we have ever dreamed we could be.

Let us let go of the regrets over the past and stop trying to fix the old issues. Instead let us learn a new way of handling our future. Even if the hard work on our side does not pay results, the smart work we put in will pay much results. All we need to do is to be very sincere with our own conscience.

Lord Acton once said, “ You can fool some people all the time; all the people sometime; but not all the people all the time.” You can never successfully make use of the second chances if you are fooling around with yourself. You cannot escape from life’s pressing problems all your life. You will not be given chances to prove yourself endlessly It is true, according to the French proverb, that there will not be a chance which will not return. But, chance fights ever on the side of the prudent. Only the prudent will know the benefits of the season of Lent that makes us spiritually agile and pure again.

Glorious Steve sdb Editor

BIBLE ably by his wife Ahinoam, including his heir Jonathan, two sons by his concubine Rizpah and of two daughters Merab and Michal. His home was at Gibeah, three miles north of Jerusalem. Best known as the first king of the Jewish nation. His disobedience resulted in the Lord’s appointment of David to the throne.

After the rejection of the sons and potential successors of the high priest Samuel as corrupt people, the nation’s historical necessity requested God for a king.

Though God was not particularly thrilled with this idea, He permitted the establishment of the monarchy. The providential circumstances connected with Saul’s

Saul’s was a tragic figure whose leadership collapsed in failure because of jealously, disloyalty and insecurity.

Personality for Imitation - 15

S Saul, Israel’s first king

aul’s was a tragic figure whose leadership collapsed in failure because of jealously, disloyalty and insecurity. His leadership emerged in a transitional period between the end of an old order of tribal leadership through the Judges and the birth of a new order of leadership, Israel under the monarchy of kings. His reign, pivotal time in Biblical history, is dated approximately from 1010 B.C. Saul means “asked (of God)”, was the son of Kish, a prominent Benjamite. He was the father of several sons presum-

Don bosco march 2009

election as king appears in three different traditions. In the first, Saul is looking for his father’s lost she-asses where at Ramah he meets Samuel, who anoints him secretly. In the second, Saul is hidden among the baggage at Mizpah when Samuel casts lot in public to choose the king. In the third, Saul’s kingship was firmly established upon his victory at Jabesh-Gilead against Ammonites, after which he was proclaimed king at Gilgal.

In the beginning, Saul was humble and adhering to God’s directives. Later, he began to love himself more. Following initial successes against Ammonites, Saul soon began making a series of very seri-

BIBLE ous blunders. He offered the sacrifices himself, that was to be performed only by the high priest Samuel. He kept some of the livestock of the Amalekites for himself, when told to destroy utterly. He set up a monument in honor of himself at Carmel. These incidents of rebellion showed that Saul preferred running the kingdom his own way, ignoring God. It was this foolish and presumptuous disobedience to God that transferred his kingship to his successor. Samuel gave a sign to recognize the future king, who would cut a piece from Saul’s mantle.

Saul’s behavior then further degenerated from unwise to outright insane. He became paranoid, a cruel oppressor of his own friends; including ordering his military forces to go without food until they had defeated the enemy; and attempting to have his own victorious son Jonathan executed for disregarding the foolish order, not to eat anything until the batter was over. Saul’s continued bizarre behavior and disregard of God’s instructions.

Saul remained king until the time needed for the youthful David to prepare and mature. It was during this period that David distinguished himself against Goliath and Philistines. This achievement plunged him into King Saul’s military campaigns; into marriage relationship with his second daughter, Michael. Being a member of Saul’s household, David became a very close friend of Saul’s son Jonathan, who clearly understood David as his father’s successor. Saul became jealous at the sight of David’s military success and popularity with the people and resulted in attempting to murder him at different times. His anger became intense knowing the deep intimacy between Jonathan and David, which led to throw his spear even at Jonathan. Finally David became a fugitive from the king and took refuge in Philistine territory.

There was another failure in judgment and obedience to God, as Saul consulted the witch of Endor to know what will

happen with his war against Philistines. The witch summoned back to earth the dead prophet Samuel, who predicted Saul’s killing along with his sons during the battle. Thus, on the very next day, Saul went with his three sons to the war and all were struck down.

No man in the Bible had so many chances thrust upon him to make a success of life, and no one ever missed so much as Saul. He not only missed great opportunities, he deliberately abused them.

He is a classical example of disobedience in Israel’s history. The downgrade of his life is the old familiar story of pride, egotism and the abuse of power leading to fatal consequences of ending his reign and ruining his life. This shows, disobedience ultimately results in the loss of God’s purposes in our lives and set us slipper slope downwards.

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Saul betrayed his real character of self will, impatience, and the spirit of disobedience. He obeyed so far and so long only as obedience did not require crossing of his self will. He continued to be disobedient by doing things according to his whims and fancies. In the battle against Amalekites, he obeyed partially and kept the nice bits, the best of the livestock and the king. When confronted

by Samuel, Saul told a lie that he obeyed God’s command; further excused the livestock for sacrificial offering and put the blame on the people. Saul obeyed God with some exceptions and decided to do in his own way. His partial obedience was complete disobedience of God’s words. He thought he knew better than God, yet he was lost out by God. Don bosco march 2009

Publisher

When confronted of his disobedience, Saul blamed on the people. This is an age old problem of ‘passing the buck’, or ‘I am never to blame attitude’. This is an easy way to shirk one’s responsibility. Often disobedience has its roots in the fear of man. It makes one to obey people’s voice than God’s. Due to social pressure, Saul was afraid of losing friends, or not being popular; more concerned about his social status or looking good before people. He regarded man’s favor more than God’s displeasure.

In conclusion, may we say that one should never fall into the trap of Saul who neglected the portion of God’s law he did not want to do; blamed the people for his sin; and feared the people more than God.

Victor Antonyraj sdb victoraraj@yahoo.com

W E LL - B E I N G

Choose to say no

fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.

“That will teach you,” said an old man who had followed them: “Please all, and you will please none.”

This story teaches us that there are times when we should choose to say “No!” We have been regularly writing in this wellbeing series that life is all about choices we consciously make and one of the important choices is to say “Yes” or “No”. The story of the man, boy and their donkey makes us understand that they could have said “No” to the negative or thoughtless remarks made by people who did not really matter. They trusted all that was said without personal critical thinking. It is important to learn to say “No” when needed.

M

any of us would have at some time or the other read or listened to the story of a man, his son and their donkey. A man and his son were once going with their donkey to the market. As they were walking, a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a donkey for, but to ride upon?” So the man put the boy on the donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster; he lets his father walk while he rides.” So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.” Well, the man didn’t know what to do, but at last he asked his son to sit with him on the donkey.

By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped

“Every time you say yes to something that is unimportant, you say no to something that is important.”

- Robin Sharma and asked what they were scoffing at.

The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey with you and your hulking son?” The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders.

They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the donkey fell over the bridge, and his Don bosco march 2009

Jesus was in the desert for forty days and forty nights to prepare himself with prayer and fasting for his ministry. He was tempted by the evil one to go beyond his Father’s love and act like God. He was tempted to make use of his powers to satisfy his own hunger, his own choice to fast for the Kingdom and use his divine power for a display of spectacular events to satisfy the greed and superficial needs of onlookers. Jesus says an emphatic “NO!” He was ready to follow the path of love and sacrifice.

We also see how the Pharisees demanded a heavenly sign (a miracle) from Jesus and He said, “Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this people.” Jesus teaches us to say “no” when needed.

First, we have to learn to say “no” to ourselves. There is a strange sickness called Akrasia (or acrasia - an ancient Greek word κρασία). It is the state of acting against one’s better judgment.

W E LL - B E I N G The condition in which while knowing what it would be best to do, one does something else. In other words we are not able to say ‘no’ to ourselves. For example, I know I have to reduce my weight and yet I overeat and often eat junk food. I am killing myself. I have to learn to say no to my body.

If you don’t want to live in debt and misery you have to learn to say ‘no’ to the latest I-phone or other funky gadgets which many of your friends may be possessing. If you want to succeed in life you have to learn to say ‘no’ to laziness, late rising or just spending a lot of time relaxing. If you want your marriage to last you have to learn to say no to certain words you feel like using in a moment of anger. If you have to succeed in your exams you have to learn to say ‘no’ to the exciting cricket match being telecasted on television.

Robin Sharma, the author of a bestseller, ‘The monk who sold his Ferrari’, says, “Every time you say yes to something that is unimportant, you say no to something that is important.” We have to become good in saying ‘no’. It is not just saying no for everything in life. The secret lies in living a conscious life and setting priorities. It is important to set value based priorities. We say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ based on these value based priorities.

I have a friend who can never say no to anyone who comes to his office. He takes upon himself all the work thrust on him by others (because of their own laziness or lack of creativity).

He tries to please everyone and in the end his own life priorities go haywire.

At a certain point of time he was not able to do the most important things in life.

If a friend of yours invites you for a late evening get-together and it is also your son’s birthday party at home, you have to say a firm ‘no’ to your friends. This is the meaning of working with value based priorities.

really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” “No, on the contrary, it is bad.”

“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?” “No, not really.” replied the man. “Well,” concluded. Socrates, if what you want to tell me is neither true, nor good, and not even useful to me, why tell it to me at all.”

There is no choice really if you have to choose between a thrilling movie and going to Church for mass on a Sunday. We have to learn to say no to groups that just gather together to gossip or to spread negativity and cynicism. We have to say no when people deliberately spoil the names of other people. There is a beautiful story attributed to Socrates, entitled ‘the Triple Filter Test’.

One day a man met Socrates, the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about one of your friends?” “Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything, I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”

“Triple filter?” asked the man. “That’s right,” Socrates continued.

“Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Are you absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?” “No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and wanted to tell it to you” “All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t Don bosco march 2009

Socrates had a wonderful way of saying ‘no’. This is an important value we have to teach our young people.

Youth are easily influenced by the media and by the peer group. History is replete with incidents that speak of how young minds have been so strongly influenced by other young minds. Many young people do not have the power to say “No”. The invitation to smoke or consume alcohol, to try drugs just for fun, to cut classes and go for movies on a regular basis and to try out experiences that leave traumatic imprints on their mind, are everyday happenings. We have to help young people set their priorities and dreams and do some critical thinking regarding media and peer group. It is the age when a person can be easily led astray. Parents and teachers have the important duty of helping young people to discern and to live a conscious, value based life.

The gospels are full of positive events and sayings of Christ, we can call them the ‘yes’ aspects but there are times when Jesus said a firm ‘no’. We can also pattern our life in keeping with the Gospel values.

Joe Andrew sdb

joeandrewsdb@hotmail.com

advt

10

Don bosco march 2009

me d i a

‘SMILE’ LOST IN SLUMDOG

I

ndian impact at 81st Oscar Academy Awards was India’s glorious moment. Bnch of Indians led by a British director walked the red carpet at the Oscars.

I always wondered why this red carpet is so much talked about. A. R. Rahman, the Mozart of Madras, the first Indian ever to win two Oscars at one go for his divine music and Resul Pookutty for sound recording were at their career best. (?). A. R. Rahman’s astounding original songs and background scores in umpteen numbers of Tamil and Hindi films have become second to Slumdog.

Debates are on discussing whether it is an Indian movie or a movie made on India. Do we need a discussion on this at all? Eyebrows are still raised in praise and paradoxes it presents. But TEAM SLUMDOG has trounced every critic and gone away with accolades all the way. Eight in total, the same number that matches Richard

Slumdog is like a company in silicon valley that had Indians working in it. And we are proud of the Indians who have achieved it on their own merit. Jai ho Rahman and Resul. I don’t think we Indians could own slumdog.

Attenborough’s Gandhi. No one then claimed that Gandhi was Indian film not even for the sake of Gandhi. All other discussions, whether the film has done justice to India or an Indian director like Mani Ratnam or Sekar Kapur had done much better job, have all faded.

On the other side, every Indian is taking credit for the slumdog. Media persons, film fraternity and the politicians (Of course always around) are all around slumdog. We have done it for Kalpana Chawla, Amartya Sen, Sunita Williams and now for slumdog. We have done it all along.

Slumdog is like a company in silicon valley that had Indians working in it. And we are proud of the Indians who have achieved it on their own merit. Jai ho Rahman and Resul. I don’t think we Indians could own slumdog.

On the same same event,

night in the Pinki, a

matter

little girl of eightyear-old walked on to the stage to receive Oscar award along with her director Megan Mylan for letting Megan to tell her story to the world. Megan won the Oscar award for Best Documentary (short). The documentary was shot in Mirzapur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Pinki herself is from Uttar Pradesh.

The documentary deals with social stigma that a cleft-lip could bring and particularly on the children.

They are teased, harassed, marriages get indefinitely get postponed and they are traumatized. After all it is a documentary for awareness creation.

The inlay cover of the documentary is not glamorous. It is Pinki at her worst. It has not sparked discussions among media persons, public and still worse among politicians. It sure will call for political intervention.

“Smile Pinki” was funded and produced by Smile Train, world’s largest cleft charity. There are 2,238 volunteering doctors and nurses, 1,307 participating hospitals, 43 employees, 1,345,567 generous donors. All these people have worked a miracle and brought smile on 400,000 children like Pinki. Pinki allowed her story to be told on behalf of 35,000 children born cleft-lip in India every year. The surgery is considered modern-day miracle. It brings back a new smile on the cleftlip children.

In the grandeur of slumdog Oscars ‘Smile’ is lost. But ‘Smile Pinki has offered herself to tell incredible story to usher in smile in millions of cleftlip children all over the world. Pinki’s smile was at best in Oscars.

Jai ho Pinki!

A. Raj sdb

rajsdb@gmail.com Don bosco march 2009

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s a l e s i an

Rector Major’s visit to the Glorious

Rector Major’s message to the salesian family

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he members of the Salesian Family in Chennai Province gathered around the Rector Major Fr. Pascual Chavez and his Vicar Fr. Adriano Bregolin on 3rd February in Chennai to felicitate them. It was indeed a gathering characterized by the typical Salesian simplicity, cordiality and family spirit. Present were representatives from all the nine branches of the Salesian Family in the province: SDB, FMA, Cooperators, Alumni, VDB, ADMA, SMA, SMI, and MSMHC. After thanking each group for the love and esteem shown to him, the Rector Major shared with them several important thoughts on the Salesian Family.

He began by defining the Salesian Family as a spiritual, apostolic movement and went on to explain the significance of these three words. Don Bosco, he said, is not merely the founder of a congregation, but rather a patriarch of a large spiritual and charismatic family, like the great Augustine, Ignatius, or Francis of Assisi. who founded vast movements in the world. The Salesian Family, he said, is a large and dynamic reality, full of life and vitality. We are invited to 12

grow numerically, spiritually and charismatically. First of all, we need to grow in numbers because there are so many young people in India who need us for their education, empowerment and fruitful insertion into society. If we are convinced of the value of our vocation, we will invite others to join us. Each group considers itself responsible not just for its own growth but for the growth of the whole Family.

We need to grow in our Salesian charismatic identity. We should know who we are, where we come from, where we are oriented. We are part of a spiritual movement; fruit of the Holy Spirit. We are an apostolic and spiritual movement, not a social movement. To grow in this knowledge, we need to familiarize ourselves with what is laid down in the Common Identity Card and the Common Mission Statement of the Salesian Family.

For the Salesian Family to become a vibrant reality we need a change of mentality; we need to shift emphasis from excessive autonomy to the synergy of a vast movement of persons; we need to underline not the autonomy of individual group but the synergy of the whole group. In the Salesian Family each group is incomplete without the other. This change of mentality, the Rector Major pointed out, must start with the SDBs.

Don bosco march 2009

s a l e s i an

province of Chennai Rector Major visits three unique salesian works

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n the afternoon of 4 February, the Rector Major visited three unique Salesian works in Chennai - the Don Bosco Sports Academy, the Don Bosco Beatitudes Centre, and Anbu Illam (Home of love) which is the Centre for the Young at Risk.

At the Sports Academy in Wisdom Town, the Rector Major blessed the new football stadium, and presided over the finals of the Don Bosco-McFerran national football tournament. The tournament was started in memory of Fr. J. McFerran, an Irish Salesian missionary who was a great promoter of sports in Chennai. The Rector Major was happy to learn that the Salesians in Chennai have produced several sports persons of international fame. On this occasion, he felicitated Don Bosco Sports Achievers like Ms. Ilavazhagi (World Women`s Champion in Carrom), Mr. Viswanathan Anand (World Chess champion), and Mr. Ravikumar David for his lifetime contribution to football in Tamil Nadu.

The Rector Major addressed the gathering during which he spoke of the importance of sports in the Salesian system of education. `The playground,` he said, `teaches us that in life we have no enemies but only partners in the game, who are also our friends and whose happiness is also our concern.` The Don Bosco Sports Academy, an initiative of Fr. Gerard Nelliyottukonam SDB, is a concrete expression of the Salesians` commitment to the total development of

young people. Created in collaboration with the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, the academy has world class facilites for training boys and girls in sports and games. The Don Bosco-McFerran Sports Hostel, attached to the Academy, can accommodate around 100 students.

At the Beatitudes Social Welfare Centre in Vysarpadi, the Rector Major thanked God for `the mighty service that is being done to the poorest of the poor in the name of Don Bosco.` The Centre was started by Fr. Orpheus Mantovani, an Italian Salesian missionary, in one of Chennai`s worst slums in the early 1960s. It has remained the most visible expression of the Salesians` closeness to the poorest of the poor. The Rector Major was moved at seeing the variety of services this centre offers to the down trodden of the city of Chennai and was loud in his appreciation of everything.

The services of the Beatitudes Centre has been acclaimed by the State and Central governments too. Once, after visiting this centre, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, exclaimed, ``What you do here is marvellous, something very few people will dare to do.`` In 1995, the Centre received the National Award for the Welfare of the Handicapped, and in 1998, the Tamil Nadu State Award for the Welfare of the Disabled.

At Don Bosco Anbu Illam at Vyasarpadi, the Rector Major met the children and young people who had gathered there from various Salesian Centres for the Young at Risk in Chennai. He expressed his appreciation and love for them and the Congregation`s commitment to them. Anbu Illam

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s a l e s i an runs an astounding network of services in favour of the young at risk, the most vulnerable and neglected section of the country`s youth.

when he accepted her as his mother and teacher. Citing the Constitutions, he said, like Don Bosco, `we believe that Mary is present among us and continues her mission as Mother of the Church and Help of Christians.` (C 8).

Conclusion of platinum jubilee celebrations

In this Salesian devotion to Mary are highlighted the ``motherly`` aspects, in the sense that she gives an unconditional welcome to young people in need or in situations where they are at risk spiritually or socially, and shows kindness to be the fundamental attitude in our relationship with them as educators.

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he four-day visit of the Rector Major to the Province of Chennai in connection with the Platinum Jubilee of the Province came to a close with a solemn thanksgiving Eucharist in the Sacred Heart College indoor stadium at Tirupattur on 6 February. For the entire province, it was a day of memories and thanksgiving.

The Eucharistic celebration began with a soul lifting dance by the students of the Salesian Sisters, symbolically gathering the hearts of everyone into a song of praise and thanksgiving. At the introduction of the liturgy the glorious works of the pioneers and builders of the province were remembered with gratitude.

The Rector Major said he wanted this Eucharist to be an expression of our gratitude to the Lord who has been blessing us with vocations, to Our Lady who has been a mother and teacher to all of us, to Don Bosco who has fascinated us with his charism, to the first missionaries who brought Don Bosco to India, and to the Indian people who welcomed us.

The Rector Major chose the Mass of Our Lady Help of Christians and used the occasion to reflect upon the role of Mary in our congregation and in the life of the Salesian Family.

For Don Bosco, he said, Mary was very much a living presence from the time of his dream at the age of nine

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The Gospel story presents Mary to us as a true woman, full of kindness, and attentive to small details. She notices the lack of wine at Cana, and realizes that there is a danger of the joy turning to sorrow. Mary`s greatness consists in her ability to discern not only the distress of the couple caught unawares, but the presence of Jesus, and to direct others to him: ``Do whatever he tells you`` (v.5).

Mary appears at Cana both as a believer and as one who generates faith. the Gospel of John, says that because of the miracle worked through Mary`s intercession, the disciples believed in him.

The Rector Major concluded saying that at the school of Cana, Mary teaches us four important attitudes for our life as believers.

In the first place, to share the ups and downs of men and women, to participate in the trials and sadness, the hopes and joys of our contemporaries.

Secondly, to be attentive to the needs of others, to live other-centred lives, and not be self-centred. The words, They have no wine` is a proof of her ability to note what is lacking.

In the third place, to discern the presence of Jesus and to turn to him, as the only one capable of responding to our deepest needs and real life problems.

Don bosco march 2009

s a l e s i an

And fourthly, to be believers who are credible, so that our own faith may be such as to make possible the faith of others.

We are urged to take Mary into our own home, as did the beloved disciple, so that she may be for us, as she was for him and for Don Bosco, a mother and teacher who will enable us too to be helpers of the young.

Rector Major visits the Cradle of Salesians in South India

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he sprawling grounds of the Sacred Heart College in Tirupattur, the first institute of Higher Education in the Province of Chennai, were transformed into a magnificent sea of smiling faces in the evening of 5 February. The flexo-banners, the fluttering flags, the twinkling lights and the colourful festoons all around set the mood for the day`s major event -- a grand reception to Fr. Pascual Chavez, the ninth successor of Don Bosco, and the celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of the Chennai Province at Tirupattur, the cradle of the Salesians in South India.

After the traditional welcome on arrival, the Rector Major and the other dignitaries went to the chapel for a brief moment of prayer during which they renewed the consecration of the province to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Rector Major was then taken to the venue of the meeting, with the College National Cadet Corps giving the guard of honour.

A hush fell on the mammoth audience as the Rector Major was led to the colossal stage, accompanied by his Vicar, the Regional Councillor and all the provincials of South Asia. And then came a thunderous applause as the Rector Major stepped forward and waved his hands in a gesture that said, `I love you; I love you as Don Bosco loves you.`

The highpoint of the evening, however, was the historic platinum jubilee address of the Rector Major, who took everyone by surprise by his ellorukkum vanakkam, (Tamil for `greetings to all of you!` With the presence here of the Rector Major, his vicar Fr. Adriano Bregolin, his secretary Fr Huan Bartolome, the Regional Councillor, Fr Maria Arokiam, and all the provincials of South Asia, he said, Tirupattur had become the centre of the Salesian world for today.

Though it was his first visit to Tirupattur, the Rector Major said, he had heard much about this `holy land` of the Salesians, which has rightly been called `the cradle of the Salesians in South India`. In 1934, the province was started in this district, with the Provincial House in Vellore, and was only later shifted to Madras.

The Rector Major remembered with gratitude `the great pioneers who laboured to build up this province,` starting with Fr Tomatis and his companions in Thanjavur, and later Bishop Mederlet, Archbishop Louis Mathias, Fr. Cinato, the first provincial, and the other provincials who nurtured the province. The great Fr.Carreno, he said, deserved a thunderous applause, for the daring initiative he took in promoting local vocations and thus ensuring the future of the Salesian works in India. He also remembered the first Tamil (and Indian) Salesians, Fr. Ignatius Muthu and Bro. Savarimuthu.

He said this `glorious province` of Chennai has grown, like the mustard seed of the Gospel parable, into a great tree with seven provinces today. It is a marvelous gift of the Lord and we are here to thank Him for it, said the Rector Major.

Don bosco march 2009

Fr. Jefferson, Bro.Anand, Bro. Selvan, Bro. Jagadish with Fr. Dominic Matheus

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s t u d ent s p l u s

14. Learning and remembering - 2 Understand your learning preferences and learn effectively

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ave you ever tried to learn something fairly simple, yet failed to grasp the key ideas?

Or tried to teach people and found that some were overwhelmed or confused by something quite basic?

If so, you may have experienced a clash of learning styles: your learning preferences and those of your instructor or audience may not have been aligned. When this occurs, not only is it frustrating for everyone, the communication process breaks down and learning fails.

Once you know your own natural learning preference, you can work on expanding the way you learn, so that you can learn in other ways, not just in your preferred style. And, by understanding learning styles, you can learn to create an environment in which everyone can learn from you, not just those who use your preferred style.

ard Felder and Linda Silverman in the late 1980s. According to this model (which Felder revised in 2002) there are four dimensions of learning styles. Think of these dimensions as a continuum with one learning preference on the far left and the other on the far right.

Felder and Silverman’s Index of Learning Styles One of the most widely used models of learning styles is the Index of Learning Styles developed by Rich-

Figure 1: Learning Styles Index Sensory Sensory learners prefer concrete, practical, and procedural information. They look for the facts.

Intuitive Intuitive learners prefer conceptual, innovative, and theoretical information. They look for the meaning.

Visual Visual learners prefer graphs, pictures, and diagrams. They look for visual representations of information.

Active Active learners prefer to manipulate objects, do physical experiments, and learn by trying.

They enjoy working in groups to figure out problems.

Sequential Sequential learners prefer to have information presented linearly and in an orderly manner. They put together the details in order to understand the big picture emerges.

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Verbal Verbal learners prefer to hear or read information. They look for explanations with words.

Reflective Reflective learners prefer to think things through, to evaluate options, and learn by analysis. They enjoy figuring out a problem on their own.

Global Global learners prefer a holistic and systematic approach. They see the big picture first and then fill in the details.

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Once you spot your preferences, you can begin to stretch beyond those preferences and develop a more balanced approach to learning. Not only will you improve your learning effectiveness, you will open yourself up to many different ways of perceiving the world.

Balance is key. You don’t want to get too far on any one side of the learning dimensions. When you do that you limit your ability to take in new information and make sense of it quickly, accurately, and effectively.

Using the Learning Style Index You can us the learning style index to develop your own learning skills and also to help you create a rounded learning experience for other people.

(I) Developing Your Learning Skills Step One: Identify your learning preferences for each learning dimension. Read

s t u d ent s p l u s through the explanations of each learning preference and choose the one that best reflects your style..

Step Two: Analyze your results and identify those dimensions where you are “out of balance,” meaning you have a very

strong preference for one style and dislike the other.

Step Three: For each out of balance area, use the information in figure 2 to improve your skills in areas where you need development.

Figure 2: Bringing Your Learning Styles Into Balance Sensory Learners – If you rely too much on sensing, you can tend to prefer what is familiar, and concentrate on facts you know instead of being innovative and adapting to new situations. Seek out opportunities to learn theoretical information and then bring in facts to support or negate these theories.

Active Learners – If you act before you think you are apt to make hasty and potentially ill-informed judgments. You need to concentrate on summarizing situations, and taking time to sit by yourself to digest information you have been given before jumping in and discussing it with others.

Intuitive Learners – If you rely too much on intuition you risk missing important details, which can lead to poor decision-making and problem solving.

Force yourself to learn facts or memorize data that will help you defend or criticize a theory or procedure you are working with.

You may need to slow down and look at detail you would otherwise typically skim.

Reflective Learners – If you think too much you risk doing nothing… ever.

There comes a time when a decision has to be made or an action taken. Involve yourself in group decision-making whenever possible and try to apply the information you have in as practical a manner as possible.

Visual Learners – If you concentrate more on pictorial or graphical information than on words, you put yourself at a distinct disadvantage because verbal and written information is still the main preferred choice for delivery of information.

Practice your note taking and seek out opportunities to explain information to others using words.

Verbal Learners – When information is presented in diagrams, sketches, flow charts, and so on, it is designed to be understood quickly. If you can develop your skills in this area you can significantly reduce time spent learning and absorbing information. Look for opportunities to learn through audiovisual presentations (such as CD-ROM and Webcasts.) When making notes, group information according to concepts and then create visual links with arrows going to and from them. Take every opportunity you can to create charts and tables and diagrams.

Sequential Learners – When you break things down into small components you are often able to dive right into problem solving. This seems to be advantageous but can often be unproductive. Force yourself to slow down and understand why you are doing something and how it is connected to the overall purpose or objective. Ask yourself how your actions are going to help you in the long run. If you can’t think of a practical application for what you are doing then stop and do some more “big picture” thinking.

Global Learners – If grasping the big picture is easy for you, then you can be at risk of wanting to run before you can walk. You see what is needed but may not take the time to learn how best to accomplish it. Take the time to ask for explanations, and force yourself to complete all problem-solving steps before coming to a conclusion or making a decision. If you can’t explain what you have done and why, then you may have missed critical details.

Don bosco march 2009

(II) Creating a Rounded Learning Experience for Others Whenever you are training or communicating with others, you have information and ideas that you want them to understand and learn effectively and efficiently. Your audience is likely to demonstrate a wide range of learning preferences, and your challenge is to provide variety that helps them learn quickly and well.

Your preferred teaching and communication methods may in fact be influenced by your own learning preferences. For example, if you prefer visual rather than verbal learning, you may in turn tend to provide a visual learning experience for your audience.

Be aware of your preferences and the range of preference of your audiences. Provide a balanced learning experience by: Sensory - Intuitive: Provide both hard facts and general concepts.

Visual - Verbal: Incorporate both visual and verbal cues.

Active - Reflective: Allow both experiential learning and time for evaluation and analysis.

Sequential - Global: Provide detail in a structured way, as well as the big picture.

Merlyn Ross

merlyns@rediffmail.com Dear students, write to merlyns@rediffmail.com about the problems and anxieties you face in your studies. They will be addressed in the forthcoming issues.

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COVER STORY

The Blessings of

Spiritual aridity

If not for the moments of aridity in spiritual life, perhaps we will never fully understand the possibilities of our upward journey and the height we can reach in spiritual life. The season of Lent manifests this great and profound truth. It is when we journey from darkness into light and from moments of spiritual aridity into gracefulness, shall we realise the blessings of spiritual aridity.

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he aspects of spiritual life we tend to like best are the moments of grace and illumination, the times when we see the love and meaning behind creation and realize that everything is happening as it should, and that the good of all is, in the long run, assured.

We are thrilled at the taste of our essential nature with its infinite richness and possibilities. We cherish the moments when we felt close to God and our fellow creatures.

But these are the high points; they are not the whole journey. The path is also strewn with obstacles and difficulties. There are times when we are hostage to doubt or lost in despair, extended periods when we cannot feel the ground beneath us and don’t trust God’s protection.

Any description of spiritual life that neglects these aspects does not serve us in the larger task of spiritual transformation. In fact, the season of lent shows us the secrets towards a life of fulfilment and fills the vacuum in our spiritual life.

Transforming the Darkness Within The process of transformation can be seen as one of illumination and awakening. It is an illumination that happens naturally as the darkness is 18

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COVER STORY dispelled gradually. Each act of healing makes way for more light.

For light is our very nature, and if not obscured by false ideas, identifications, and what in various traditions are called hindrances, attachments, veils, or sins, we are fully lit.

True surrender is not falling into the patterns of the past or the fray of uncontrolled emotions. It’s not giving up.

Another way to say this is that the personality with its many fissures and fractures, its obscuration and dullness gradually becomes more and more clear and transparent to the light of one’s deeper nature, which in many traditions is called the Self.

One of the things we must do on our journey to wholeness is integrating the shadow-the disowned parts of the personality. It is everything we consider either too bad or too good to be part of us. As we embrace these rejected qualities and feelings, we “eat” the shadow. What this means is that we reduce the shadow by bringing it into consciousness where we can better understand it. If we do this conscientiously, the shadow drops off of its own accord.

things are based on false assumptions.

They are unnecessary. They hurt me.

As I understand this, the greediness lets go, and what is left is generosity.

In some models, healing the personality (such as integrating the shadow) is seen as a prerequisite for entering the transpersonal or higher dimensions. In others, it is not sequential but simultaneous: healing the personality and discovering one’s truer being go hand-in-hand. We recover aspects of our essential nature as we heal the injuries to our character structure.

For many years, I worked with a spiritual teacher, examining the everchanging array of difficulties that showed up in my life. These problems were valuable because they revealed restrictions in my personality, unfinished business from the past, and old sensitivities that were scabbed over but had not healed. In the process of this exploration, I learned something invaluable: that rather than being only obstacles, these places of

Let’s take the example of greed.

Greed is not considered a desirable trait, so most people stuff it into their unconscious. Yet this only perpetuates the greed, which can now operate without interference because it is safely outside of our awareness. The first step in integrating the shadow is to have the courage to allow for the possibility that this quality that we judge and reject may be present inside of us. When we encounter it, we must touch it with compassion so we can get closer to it and see what maintains it and where it comes from. An exploration of greed may, for example, lead me to examine my fear that there won’t be enough for me, my lack of trust, and the barriers that separate me from other people. With enough compassion, love for truth, and objectivity, I may see that my attempts to hoard and hold on to Don bosco march 2009

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COVER STORY pain conceal a hidden doorway, a place where Essence is hiding. I learned to go into the pain and to retrieve the part of my essential presence that had been lost. This came only when I was able to feel the wound completely, without judgment or resistance. It was like magic. Going into the wound took me to that which was the perfect resolution. I went into the feeling of being unloved and came out with the realization that I am love, went into the hole of feeling impotent and came out with a power that belongs to Being, let myself feel utterly insignificant and discovered the preciousness and true value of my inner nature. Searching out these dark places helped me find the light that had been cut off.

Dark Nights on the Spiritual Journey Like any undertaking, the spiritual journey has its share of Dark Nights and dull moments. These are times when we lose hope and have nothing to hold on to. Having lost our familiar structures and supports, we often feel as if we are about to fall through space. We have no ground, and it’s terribly disorienting. There are moments when we don’t want to go on-or don’t see how we can.

I was in a Dark Night recently where the prolonged absence of outer structures and supports accelerated the crumbling of inner structures and supports. Although this was difficult, I trusted that the crumbling of the inner structures would make room for something infinitely stronger. I suffered from a lack of confidence and hope, and yet I realized that here was an opportunity to find a truer confidence and a truer hope.

One of the things I learned in this Dark Night is about strength-insurrender. It is easy to collapse and call that surrender, but true surrender is not falling into the patterns of the past or the fray of uncontrolled 20

Saints show us the way to fullness in spiritual life Here are some passages from Saints who had much aridity, but profited from it: 1. St. Therese of Lisieux, Autobiography (Cap 13, p. 196, Kennedy edition): “Do not think that I am overwhelmed with consolations. Far from it! My joy consists in being deprived of all joy here on earth.

Jesus does not guide me openly: I neither see nor hear Him.” 2. St. Therese of Lisieux, Poem: “I know that at Nazareth, Virgin full of graces/ You lived in great poverty, not wishing anything more; No raptures, no miracles, no ecstasies/ embellished your life, O Queen of the elect. / The number of little ones is very great upon the earth. / They can, without trembling, lift up their eyes to you. /It pleases you to walk among the common way, / Incomparable Mother, to guide them to the heavens.”

3. St. Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle 6.9: “I will only warn you that, when you learn or hear that God is granting souls these graces [visions etc], you must never beseech or desire Him to lead you along this road.

Even if you think it is a very good one, and to be greatly prized and reverenced, there are certain reasons why such a Don bosco march 2009

course is not wise.” She adds: it shows a lack of humility, one leaves self open to great danger since the devil will take any opening, there is also danger of autosuggestion; it is presumption to want to choose one’s own path; very heavy trials usually go with such favours and, “There are many saintly people who have never known what it is to receive a favour of this kind, and there are others who receive such favours, although they are not saintly. . . . It is true that to have these favours must be the greatest help towards attaining a high degree of perfection in the virtues; but anyone who has attained the virtues at the cost of his own toil has earned much more merit.”

4. St. Francis de Sales, Letter 764 to St. Jane de Chantal: “It is the height of holy disinterestedness to be content with naked, dry, and insensible acts carried out in the higher will alone. You have told me well about your suffering and there is nothing to do to help it but what you are doing: affirming to our Lord, sometimes out loud and sometimes in song, that you even will to live and to eat as the dead do, without taste, feeling or knowledge. In the end, the Saviour wants us to be His so perfectly that nothing else is left for us, and to abandon ourselves entirely to the mercy of His providence without reservation.”

Fr. William Most

COVER STORY emotions. It’s not giving up. What we are surrendering is our preferences, our judgments, our need to control.

We’re surrendering into the truth of the moment. It takes strength to meet uncertainty, objectivity to not be swallowed by despair. The path of surrender is not for sissies.

Dark Nights strengthen us by bringing up what still needs to be purified.

Doubts safely hidden during the good times now come out of the woodwork.

Sometimes our whole perspective is challenged, our spiritual outlook suddenly appearing absurd. It is good for the doubts to come up, because then we can look at them. We can expose our fears and beliefs to the light of inquiry and can dissolve what is false in them. Dark Nights also expose our attachments. We see the places in our lives where we are not willing to let go.

Although the term ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ has been broadened in popular use to include many difficulties, its original meaning was more precise. It is the desolation that results when God seems to withdraw. Before this, the seeker has, through prayer or mystical union, enjoyed the presence of God, but this has now disappeared, as have all spiritual “consolations.” It is a time of spiritual aridity. What was full now is empty.

The traditional understanding is that God is preparing the seeker for a yet deeper communion by taking away the earlier ways in which God was known. Something lesser is taken away so that something more can replace it. Perhaps a spiritual practice that has served one for years now falls flat. This clears the space for something new. Of course, none of this is under our control; we cannot order up a replacement. It is a gift from Spirit, awaiting the right timing.

Just as the love between two people is tested by an imposed lack of contact,

encounter a third and holy darkness.

It is called by different names: The Shining Void, The Dazzling Dark, The Luminous Night. It is the nothing that is the home of everything.

Those who have experienced it directly have described it as a blackness that is paradoxically bright and shining.

It is the beyond. Beyond mind, beyond self, beyond form. Although few have experienced this luminous darkness as such, it is our source and thus informs us all.

what looked like

The route to this Dazzling Darkness is to let ourselves dissolve. We must let go of our boundaries, our definitions, the filters that limit our awareness. Only then can we hear the song that beckons us home.

love or faith is a

Song of the Night

Letting go of

necessary step so that real love or real faith can be found.

faith in God is tested when the Divine slips out of view. Either love (in the case of relationship) or faith (in the case of Spirit) must grow to take one over the gap, or what we thought was love or faith is exposed for the lesser motivations that informed them.

Letting go of what looked like love or faith is a necessary step so that real love or real faith can be found.

The Luminous Night When the personality has been harmonized and has surrendered itself, when our faith and trust have withstood great trials, we may Don bosco march 2009

Once mind is silenced nothing remains to keep me from falling into the night, its silken blackness enfolding me.

It is a relief to let go, to no longer prop up a cardboard form I thought was me.

I spread out, dispersing through the void, feeling myself everywhere in this Nowhere that is home to only One. From out of the silence, I hear sounda soft and subtle crooning.

It is the song of the cool, black space the song of the Beloved beckoning me.

And I follow it Home.

Tina Elizebeth 21

COVER STORY

Lent An annual reminder of our vocation “Therefore all in the Church, whether they belong to the hierarchy or are cared for by it, are called to holiness, according to the apostle’s saying: for this is the will of God, your sanctification” - (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, No. 39)

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he first preface of Lent, contains, among other things, the following phrase: “As we recall the great events that gave us a new life in Christ, you bring the image of your Son to perfection within us”. This phrase could hold the key for the right understanding of this privileged season of the liturgical year and a more committed and fruitful living of the same.

long to the hierarchy or are cared for by it, are called to holiness, according to the apostle’s saying: For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, No. 39). Naturally each one tries and should try to grow in holiness, in this new life, according to his or her specific vocation. The liturgical year with its various seasons and

We received this new life in Christ at our baptism, by which we were plunged into the Paschal Mystery of Christ. St. Paul tells us: “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6, 4). Now our vocation is to grow in this image, in this new life, to the full measure of the stature of Christ. The Vatican Council forcefully reminds us: “Therefore all in the Church, whether they be-

“We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”

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celebrations, is given to us precisely to be faithful to this our vocation and obligation. Lent is a privileged season to do so more committedly. How may this be achieved?

The same preface offers us a suitable answer: “You give us a spirit loving reverence for you, Our Father, and of willing service to our neighbour.” This spirit of loving reverence for God, our Father, is probably best realized by a meditative listening to the word of God, which is “a pure and lasting fount of the spiritual life” (The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, No. 21). And Pope John Paul II adds: “The word of God is the first source of all Christian spirituality (Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation: Vita Consecrata (The Consecrated Life), No. 94). Hence, a more abundant, meditative reading of the word of God, both in and outside liturgy. As we meditate on

COVER STORY

“Charity constitutes the essence of a Christian so radically that without it one is nothing and without it all other charisms serve no purpose.”

the word of God, we recall the great events that gave us a new life. We understand our origin, our destiny, the history of salvation, that we have no lasting City here below, that we must strive to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, that Christ considers as done to Himself whatever is done or not done to any of his followers, His relies on earth. In a word we begin to understand more and more the unfathomable love of God, revealed to us in His son, climaxing in the Paschal Mystery and our obligation to respond to it.

This loving reverence is generated and increased by the meditative listening to the word of God, and the celebration of the liturgy, above all the Eucharist: “For in the most blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself our Pasch and the living bread, which gives life to

men through his flesh – that flesh which is given life and gives life through the Holy Spirit” (The Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, N0.5). And “The celebration of the Mass, as an action of Christ and the people of God hierarchically ordered, is the centre of the whole Christian life for the universal Church, the local Church, and for each and every one of the faithful” (General Instruction on the Roman Missal, No. 1).

Other devotional practices, the Rosary, way of the cross, novenas, will also be of considerable help in this work of holiness. This loving reverence for the Father must now be translated into willing service of our neighbour. All through his ministry, Christ insisted on the love of neighbour, making it His new and only Commandment, pointing it out to be distinguishing mark of His followers (cfr. Jn. 13:35) and declaring it similar to the first: loving reverence for Don bosco march 2009

God. This willing service may take on so many forms: offering spiritual, material, other help to those in need, spending time with the lonely, the unloved, visiting the sick, and standing for the rights of those unjustly treated. We should always keep in mind: “Charity constitutes the essence of a Christian so radically that without it one is nothing and without it all other charisms serve no purpose.”

Fast, penance, especially recommended during this season, should not be neglected. The important thing here is not to limit our observance and practices to what may be officially prescribed, but stepping out of these boundaries, naturally in keeping with out particular state of life, doing what may be far more demanding.

May this season of Lent, serve as a special reminder to us of our vocation and spur us on to co-operate more generously, to grow in the new life, to bring to perfection within us, the image of Christ.

Abraham Kadaplackel SDB 23

S p i r i t u a l i ty

The Paul I Know As the Church recalls the contributions of St.Paul, who has practically defined most of Christianity’s theological systems in following Christ, it is good to feel close to this Apostle who himself claimed and proved that he was close to Jesus.

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o me, Paul is the most vibrant, influential and exhaustive author of the NT, towering above the others like “Atlas or Tenerife far removed”. He is the tallest pillar and the pioneer of the Christian Church and the Holy Father has rightly dedicated a year to the memory of this great apostle.

The bulk of Christian theology and doctrine proceeds from the Pauline Letters. The book of Romans, a case in point, has been acclaimed as the gateway to Christian doctrine. This book alone has impacted the life and thinking of great individuals and saints down through the centuries - early Patristic Church fathers like Origen and John Chrysostom, great saints such as Augustine and Theresa of the Child Jesus, theologians like Thomas Aquinas, major Protestant Reformers like Luther, Calvin and Wesley, thinkers of more recent times such as C.K Barrett and Karl Barth, to name some. It is also of significance that the Letters are the earliest of NT writings and were circulated among the various Christian churches even before the Gospels came to be scripted. For all this, it can be seen through a reading of his letters that Paul was also a man for all times.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.”

- St Paul

Coming to the person of Paul, one is naturally inclined to begin with the dramatic Damascus encounter which, in one fell stroke, upset the applecart of his traditional and Pharisaical upbringing: Saul, with the bigoted zeal of a Bajrangdalist, was pursuing 24

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and persecuting the neo-Christians; but once convicted, he undergoes a volte-face, a perfect ‘metanoia’, and becomes the champion, the ‘ambassador in chains’ for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The beauty of Paul lies in the all-out way in which in which he responds to the call of Christ. Not even the Twelve, personally called

by Jesus during his life on earth, came anywhere close to Paul in the boldness and force with which he took the gospel to all peoples. This boldness was the outcome of the divine revelation he speaks of so often in his writings and can be linked to a life in the Spirit which again he always advocated (Gal 5: 15, 25).

S p i r i t u a l i ty A prominent trait in Paul’s Letters is his clarity in stating basic doctrines and fundamentals of Christianity such as the oneness of God, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the redeeming death and resurrection of Jesus, the sanctifying grace of the Spirit, the hope of resurrection and the eschatological theme. We have picked up from him the concepts of the gospel of grace, sanctification and justification. .He writes on all this and more with authority and clearness. He also juxtaposes faith and Law and is very emphatic in stating that it is faith and not the Law which can save us - a teaching which had such an impact on Luther.

The inclusive spirit encouraged in the Church after Vatican II was first manifested by Paul through his ministry to the Gentiles. As he so wonderfully expresses it in Galatians 3: 28, “ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” He says again in Ephesians 3:6, that” the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

The author of 2 Peter, writing about the end times, says of Paul in 3:15 that he wrote about these matters “ according to the wisdom given him “.In other words, Paul’s authority was acknowledged and his wisdom commended by Peter who was the leader entrusted with the Church.

Paul himself alludes to the formal approval given to him by the Elders of the Church at Jerusalem to preach the gospel to the Gentile community.

The Paul I know is a man possessed of an extraordinary zeal for spreading the gospel; it is his passion and life’s work. His focus is always on Jesus and he says in Philippians 1:21, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”..

The Pauline letters also serve to reprove, exhort, edify and elucidate.

Paul’s pastoral letters are full of instruction, advice and admonitions.

Nevertheless he evinces a parental love for each church and its elders.

This is very evident in expressions like “Timothy my son”, “Titus, my true child in common faith”, and in his description of his relationship with the community of believers as “a nurse taking care of her children” and like “a father with his children”. He is keenly aware of the needs, weaknesses and strengths of each church and is able to write discerningly as he addresses various situations. Never a man-pleaser, Paul is able to confront individuals as well as the community at large and challenge them to take the right stand on the different issues that cause dissension or division. Paul is always resourceful with answers to every kind of problem – be it dress code, eating of certain foods, observance of special days, sexual immorality, fair distribution of bread, or weightier matters like growing heresies and false preaching within the church.

Paul’s authority was acknowledged and his wisdom commended

by Peter who was the leader entrusted with the Church.

I find many verses in Paul that lift a person out of an ordinary and futile way of thinking into a lofty and transformed level. The text in Romans 12 gives the key to this new perspective; here Paul appeals to the believer to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” At the same time, he is a man who believes in the importance of working for a livelihood Don bosco march 2009

and says, “If anyone will not work, let him not eat.” In all he said, he himself set the example and we read many a verse where Paul is able to ask his fellow-workers and believers to ‘join in imitating him.’ – “what you have learned and received and heard and seen me, do; and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil4:9).

We, in the Church today, owe a great deal to Paul with regard to liturgy and aid to daily living. The Holy Mass begins with Paul’s inspirational benediction in the name of the Trinity; his letters are very widely used in the Mass readings. It is Paul who has furnished a list of the gifts, fruits and charisms of the Holy Spirit. He has provided some of the most stirring and motivating truths and utterances which help the contemporary believer looking for assurance and counsel.

They occur in a variety of context of which a sampling would be:1) redemption – “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.”(Rom8:1) 2) love – “Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful….

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”(1Cor13:4-7) 3) confidence – “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.”(Col4:13) 4) supremacy of Jesus - “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.”(Col.1:17-18) It is but natural that this first and greatest missionary of the Church could look back and say of himself, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.”

Manju Pereira 25

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B R I E F L Y Youth Rally on Human Rights in Madurai

There were 1000 youngsters from the 27 presences and neighbourhood who took part in the youth rally held on January 24. 2009 to give a thrust to ``Human Rights`` especially that are concerning the young. The thundering and analytical talks of the eminent speakers made the young to reflect on their role in shaping a society of equity and equality by respecting the rights of each other.

In the evening for the concluding celebration, the talks of the provincial and the Mayor of Madurai Corporation and the

Rector Major`S Visit Mark Series Of Releases Province Of Trichy On the occasion of Golden Jubilee celebrations of Jnanodaya college of Philosophy in the province of Trichy (INT), the Rector Major released the productions of `alaihal MIDEA` the Production wing of the communication centre in the Province of Trichy.

The Rector Major released video DVD named `DANSING` with 60 action songs in English, Hindi and Tamil. The Second video DVD `Kalai Mozhi` (Beauty of language) is an album of folk songs and dances that are extinguishing. `Irai Sayal` is a Video DVD of songs. The occasion also marked the acknowledgment and re-release of the book ``From the Gospels at a tangent` written by Rev. Fr. Maria Arokiam Kanaga sdb, the Regional Superior of South Asia. The Rector

National Seminar on Childcare opens in Kolkata A two-day national seminar on Emerging Trends in Childcare was held at Don Bosco Nitika in Kolkata on 21st and 22nd February. The seminar was organized by Ashalaya

Coordinator of People`s Watch - Madurai made the young to be courageous citizens by knowing ones own rights and respecting the rights of others

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of the Forum for the Young at Risk (YaR) in Kolkata, the seminar was attended by 75 Salesians and lay collaborators from 51YaR (BIS) centres from all over India.

Poland – Generously building for the future coordinators in the area. In Zambia, in the Salesian mission at Kabwe, about 150 km from the capital, some months ago a sports complex was set up for the children and youngsters of one of the poorest areas. At present this is the only sports centre in the city. It has a volley-ball court, two basketball courts and a health centre. With these the Salesian centre in Kabwe has new facilities for its pastoral work and to provide the children and youngsters with a better future.

Vatican – Appointment of Vicar Apostolic of Petén On 10 February, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI appointed as Vicar apostolic of Petén, Guatemala, Fr Mario Fiandri, up until now the principal of Theologate in Guatemala City. He has been assigned the titular See of Madarsuma. Bishop Fiandri will take up the See left vacant in 2007, after Bishop Oscar Julio Vian Morales SDB was appointed archbishop of Los Altos Quetzaltenango-Totonicapán.

Major also launched a video DVD named ``Watch and Pray`` (25 Visual Prayers for all occasions) to commemorate 150th year of foundation of the congregation.

The Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs the Salesian Missionary Volunteer Service in Krakow “Youth for the World” has been able to undertake several projects in Africa, putting up buildings and providing training opportunities.

At Biharamulo, in northern Tanzania, close to Lake Victoria, some class-rooms for an elementary school have been built. Some training courses were also held for educational Don bosco march 2009

The third project was in the Chimese district of Mansa, a city 900 km from Lusaka in Zambia. Here at the Salesian “Saint Dominic Savio” centre some rooms have been built for a nursery school. In addition to the three fully-furnished rooms and a playground, the volunteer have also run training courses for teachers and parents to help them to be more aware of and to combat the HIV/AIDS virus.

(ANS)

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Italy – The Message of the Rector Major to the young people of the Salesian Youth Movement

As is traditional, this year too on the Feast of Don Bosco the Rector Major has given the young people of the Salesian Youth Movement a message. It was read by himon 31 January, in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin.

The Rector Major invites the young people to think about the event of the founding of the Salesian Congregation on 18 December 1859 in Don Bosco’s room. A group of young man decided to stay with Don Bosco, in this way beginning “a story far greater than him, far greater than those poor but generous young men,”, “a story that has reached even us because that seed has become a great tree: the Salesian Family.” He has suggested to the young people the attitudes and the practical commitments to ensure that the Salesian Youth Movement becomes stronger and positive sign in the world of youth.

(ANS)

International Affiliation for Don Bosco Tech, Vaduthala Bosco Vaduthala is the second institution to receive the IIW-ATB(Indian Institute of Welding - Approved Training Body) status in the country. By this certification the institution is authorized to conduct the

`International Welder Diploma` and the trainee on successful completion of the course will be certified as `International Welder` which is currently approved in 40 industrial (BIS) nations of the world.

RMG – Presentation of the “Project for Europe” The Rector Major, Fr Pascual Chávez, with a letter dated 31 January, presents to the Salesians of the Congregation the “Project for Europe.” The drawing up of the “Project for Europe,” begun immediately after the General Chapter, followed a very precise programme. In summer 2008 Fr Chávez coinvolved the Provincials of Europe and their Councils in an enquiry in which starting from their own circumstances, they were asked to reflect on how to revive the Salesian witness and mission on the continent. The European Provincials suggested priorities, proposals for forms of collaboration and ways in which to coordinate the Project.

At the end of the winter plenary session the General Council approved the “Project for Europe” which is now being consigned to all the Salesians so that it may be shared by the whole Congregation.Quoting the Pope’s appeal, in his message for the opening of the GC26, the Rector Major makes an appeal

to the Salesians: “This then is the time for missionary generosity; I therefore appeal to all of you, dear confreres, also those who are in initial formation, to respond with eagerness and enthusiasm to the needs of evangelisation, following the example of the great apostle and missionary Saint Paul, the two thousandth anniversary of whose birth the whole Church is remembering this year.”

(ANS) Don bosco march 2009

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B R I E F L Y RMG – Two publications for the Salesian Family During the Spirituality Days of the Salesian Family, which ended on 25 January, two publications for the benefit of the 26 groups which belong to it were mentioned and presented.

The first is a new edition, in a unified form, of the “Carta della Comunione” [Identity Card] and the “Carta della Missione” [Mission Statement], texts which were used as the foundation of the reflection and discussions of the Spirituality Days. This is aimed at facilitating the creation of that “culture of the Salesian Family,” the Rector Major hopes for in his commentary on the Strenna for 2009.

The Mission Statement, on its part is “an inspirational and demanding text which invites each member of the Groups in the Family

to undertake a real Salesian process of discernment with regard to the choice of those for whom to work, the way it carries out this work of promotion and evangelisation, the deeper study of the great insights of the Preventive System, the involvement of everyone, emphasising the role of lay people, the cultural implementation of the Salesian charism and mission.”

(ANS)

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BRIEFLY Nuncio says development programs must help people ‘shape own lives’ The “ultimate purpose” of development programs must be to give people “the concrete possibility to shape their own lives” and make sure even the most vulnerable groups feel they are a part of the larger society, said the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United Nations. Archbishop Celestino Migliore made his remarks in a Feb. 5 address to a meeting of the U.N. Economic and Social Council’s Commission for Social Development. Commission members gathered Feb. 4-13 at the United Nations to consider how to help vulnerable groups from being excluded in society and to review the implementation of various U.N. action plans for groups such as disabled people, youths, the elderly and families.

(CNS)

Agnostic Ad Tour Stirs Up Defense of Religion Public spaces should not be used to offend citizens, say Spanish bishops in response to an agnostic ad campaign that is touring the world.

With precedents in Great Britain and the United States, the ads run on Madrid buses, reading “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

Christians have answered the campaign in Britain and the United States with various tactics. In England, a Christian group reported the ads to the agency that monitors advertising, basing their complaint on a policy that prohibits ads from making unfounded claims. (CNS) 28

“LEPERS’ APOSTLE” AND 9 MORE TO BE DECLARED A SAINTS

The miraculous healing of a Hawaiian woman with cancer is leading to the canonization of a priest known for his ministry on the island with lepers relegated to a sequestered community.

Belgian Father Damián de Veuster (18401889) is known as the apostle to the lepers, for his ministry on the island of Molokai. The Holy See reported that there will be a consistory to decide the date for his canonization, and that of nine other blesseds. Pope John Paul II beatified Father Damián in 1995.

Father Damián who requested to work with the lepers managed to establish for them a parish, schools and a society. He himself died of leprosy. The miracle that paved the way for his canonization was the healing of Audrey Toguchi of Honolulu. Her cancer was considered incurable, but she spent nearly a year asking God to heal her through the intercession of Father Damián.

Along with him the Church will soon have 10 more canonized saints. The 10 to be canonized are: Blessed Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski, former Polish archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary.

Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Blessed Jozef Damien de Veuster, Belgian priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

Blessed Bernardo Tolomei, Italian abbot and founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto.

Blessed Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Spanish oblate friar of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance.

Blessed Nuno de Santa Maria Álvares Pereira, Portuguese religious of the Order of Friars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.

Blessed Gertrude Caterina Comensoli, Italian founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

Blessed Arcangelo Tadini, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Worker Sisters of the Holy House of Nazareth.

Blessed Marie de la Croix (born Jeanne) Jugan, French founder of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Blessed Francisco Colly Guitart, Spanish Dominican priest and founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the

Blessed Caterina Volpicelli, Italian foundress of the Institute of Handmaidens (Zenit.org) of the Sacred Heart.

ROMANIA THREATENS TO TAKE CHURCH PROPERTY Sixty years after it happened in Communist times, the Catholic Church in Romania is again afraid that the state will expropriate their property if a controversial bill is approved. The prelate, who is also responsible for the laity commission of the Catholic bishops’ conference of Romania, told that this bill about the legal regulations of real estate belonging to the Orthodox and Byzantine faiths in Romania was discussed from Jan. 27-29 in the juridical committee of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies.

Archbishop Lucian Muresan, sent a letter Don bosco march 2009

to the president and the prime minister of Romania to express “dismay” and to request the withdrawal of a bill that would “cause moral and material damage to our Church and violate the constitutional rights of the Greek Catholic faithful.” The bishop explained that there are cases in some localities where there are two churches, originally an Orthodox and a Byzantine Catholic. 11 marked a day of prayer and fasting for members of the Byzantine Catholic Church, to pray for aid in this situation.

(Zenit.org)

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SALESIAN SUPERIOR CALLS FOR MOVEMENT OF SALVATION The rector major of the Salesians urged the order’s youth to build a movement of salvation, as he launched a year of celebrations to mark the 150 years since Don Bosco founded the society.

Father Pascual Chávez Villanueva, the Rector Major recalled in his homily the “seed” that was sown by a small group of 18 young men who, on a cold evening on Dec. 18, 1859, were gathered together in Don Bosco’s room near the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales in Valdocco to make the most important decision of their life, which was “to stay with Don Bosco, giving themselves completely to the Lord.”

Father Chávez invited the youth to “make the voice of young people present, especially the many young people who do not have a voice and who no one hears; make their needs and their expectations known, defend their rights and accompany them in the claims they make.” The superior of the Salesians called on the young people to always remain “present in the reality of youth with your heart anchored in Christ,” and asked them to never neglect volunteering in the community or the missionary commitment.

BRIEFLY

The “year of grace” will be marked by other special dates and events including the celebration of the feast of Mary Help of Christians (May 24), the name day of Don Bosco (June 24), and Don Bosco’s birthday (Aug. 16). On Dec. 18 all the Salesians in the world will be invited to renew their religious profession.

A casket containing relics of Don Bosco will visit the various countries where the Salesians are present. The long journey will begin in July this year beginning in Chile and will come to an end in 2015, the year of the bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth.

The Salesian Congregation is present today in 129 countries with 16,092 Salesians: 10,669 priests, 2,025 coadjutors, 2,765 seminarians, 515 novices, 118 bishops and five cardinals.

(Zenit.org)

In Kosovo, whole families return to Catholic faith Although armed conflict in Kosovo ended nearly a decade ago, the capital city still feels like a place hit recently by war or natural disaster. Electricity goes out often, water is strictly rationed, U.N. jeeps are ubiquitous and people look harried.

Along the main road leading to Pristina, every other lot is full of old cars, stolen from other European countries and picked clean or abandoned by families

who fled the war. But during Sunday Masses at the Church of St. Anthony of Padua, an active Catholic community packs the pews. There are families and old people, a full-voiced choir, eight young altar servers and long lines to receive the Eucharist. The church, located in a workingclass neighborhood, was built in the 1960s after the communist regime demolished

the Catholic cathedral in the city’s center. “We are small but very alive. Children from every grade are in catechism (classes),” said Father Albert Jakaj, 30, whose identical twin is a priest in Montenegro.

“People are coming back to their old faith. We have whole families coming back to their roots.”

(CNS)

Supreme Court accepts CBCI petition on Orissa On 23rd February the Supreme Court of India accepted a petition from the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, which sought guidelines for preventing communal violence. Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam accepted the petition and issued a notice to the Centre seeking its response and tagged the PIL with pending petitions relating to communal clash in Orissa. The petition filed by Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) said that

parameters should be clearly laid down for holding the responsibility of the authorities in the case communal clashes. Senior advocate Soli J Sorabjee and Romy Chacko, appearing for the CBCI, said Kandhamal incident should be probed by the CBI. It said should be made mandatory that in events of any communal clash irrespective of the community, a judicial authority should be set up to decide the issue of compensation among the victims.

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Benedict XVI entrusts sick to mary of lourdes Benedict XVI is inviting youth, ill people and newlyweds to entrust their lives to Mary on 11th Feb as the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes that day. The Church also celebrates the World Day of the Sick on the same day and the Holy Father addressed the ill to express his hope that “the Virgin of Lourdes, to whose intercession many ill people of body and spirit entrust themselves with trust, may place her gaze of consolation and hope on all of you.”

In this way, he continued, the ill can receive support to “carry the daily cross, in intimate union with the redeeming [cross] of Christ.”

Finally, with a word to the newlyweds at the audience, the Bishop of Rome said: “May Mary accompany you […] in your path, so that your families become communities of intense spiritual life and concrete Christian testimony.”

(Zenit.org)

Heritage editions will make Saint John’s Bible accessible to world With masterful artwork adorning its majestic pages, the handwritten Saint John’s Bible is a work in progress that Jim Triggs of Minnesota is proud to display at museums, college campuses and conventions. Triggs had a display table about the Bible at the annual meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Washington.

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h u mo u r

Humour

E levator

C ric k et in He aven

Tommy and Joe were huge cricket fans.

One day, both Tommy and Joe made an agreement that if either of them were to die; they had to come back to the other in the form of a ghost to let the other know if cricket was played in heaven.

Sure enough, Tommy dies and eventually comes to Joe one night in the form of a ghost.

A startled Joe realizes it is the ghost of his deceased friend and says “Tommy, it is so good to see you...so tell me, is there cricket in Heaven?”.

“Well”, Tommy says, “I have some good news and bad news for you.

First the good news...YES, there is cricket in heaven!”.

“Thank God!” Joe shouts...

“What is the bad news?!”.

“You’re batting tomorrow.”

C onfessions A drunken man staggers in to a Catholic church and sits down in a confession box and says nothing. The bewildered priest coughs to attract his attention, but still the man says nothing. The priest then knocks on the wall three times in a final attempt to get the man to speak. Finally, the drunk replies: “No use knocking’ mister, there’s no paper in this one either.”

E ating prope rly A man walks into a doctor’s office. He has a cucumber up his nose, a carrot in his left ear and a banana in his right ear.

“What’s the matter with me?” he asks the doctor.

A father and a son from the village were visiting a city mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by the elevator.

The boy asked his Father what this was and the father (never having seen an elevator) replied, “Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don’t know what it is.”

While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, fat old lady went in and pressed the button. The elevator went up and after few minutes the elevator door opened and an extremely attractive 24 year old woman stepped out. The father, not taking his eyes off the young lady, said quietly to his son, “Son, go get your mother.”

School J okes Teacher: Could you please pay a little attention?

Student: I’m paying as little attention as I can.

Teacher: Name two days of the week that start with “t”.

Pupil: Today and Tomorrow.

A little boy wasn’t getting good marks in school. One day he tapped his teacher on the shoulder and said, “I don’t want to scare you, but my daddy says if I don’t get better grades, somebody is going to get a spanking

The doctor replies, “You’re not eating properly.”

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Don bosco march 2009

Joseph

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Men in black vs khaki H eartland of law in Chennai saw a bloody skirmish between cops and the advocates. Both these arms of law didn’t gel well and the trouble was brewing for quite sometime.

There have been instances of brawls and scraps between these group in and outside the court campus. But it took a very violent turn on February 19, when a group of advocates went to lodge a counter-complaint seeking the arrest of Janata leader Subramanian Swamy for his anti LTTE stand. It sparked the worst ever clash between these two groups inside the High Court campus. Many vehicles were torched and damaged by stone pelting advocates and lathi wielding cops who even vented their anger on parked vehicles. A High Court judge was also not spared, he sustained head injury in the violence, while advocates, police personnel, media persons and others were injured in the melee which lasted for more than three hours. A group of lawyers set fire to a police station and there were bloodshed on both the sides. Media persons covering this conflict earned the wrath of cops as well as advocates.

The violence came to an end after the intervention of Chief Justice Mukhopadhyaya and also has sought a CBI probe in this incident. It is very painful to see this kind of frictions between the government agencies. Just a day before the violence when Subramanian Swamy was inside the court hall, pro LTTE advocates hurled rotten eggs on him in front of two Judges. Then again this happening was recorded and report sent to Chief Justice for further action. When these kind of incidents happen people will lose faith in this machinery and paints a very bad picture of our lawyers and judges. On the other hand police are also to be blamed, when they were onlookers during the law students vio-

The Judiciary and police machinery should work out a mechanism to ease the discomfort as these acts demean the core values of our country. lence episode citing permission, on what ground did they barge into the campus this time. They unleashed violence on whomsoever they saw inside the campus and were seen breaking the window panes of cars. They have a moral responsibility for lives and property and they go on a violent spree hitting everyone and everything. It’s a shame to see our police fraternity in such a poor light.

A Journalist covering the court beat points out that the advocates here are politically more sensitive than their peers in other states but at the same time they are also disoriented in their approach and call for strike of work for any incident that hurt their sentiments. When there was war in lanka they condemn Rajapakse Government then later Sonia Gandhi and congress leaders were their targets and after sometime it was Subramanian Swamy and now they want the suspension of DGP and City police commissioner. They can have their views Don bosco march 2009

but they don’t have the right to disrupt daily court proceedings because its affecting many number of people at a time when there is a severe backlog of cases.

It has worsened the situation for corporate that are already reeling under downturn. Several merger and acquisition cases, writ petitions and other cases are piling up at the court, aggravating the agony of companies across sectors. Companies are even looking at High courts in neighbouring states to expedite their cases. Several crores are lost because of these unfortunate developments. Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has categorically stated that lawyers have no business to strike work and points out that there are nearly 4.5 lakh cases pending in the Madras HC while over 10 lakh cases crowd the subordinate judiciary.

Chennai press club Joint secretary Bharathi Tamilan has strongly condemned the police as well as advocates for attacking the journalists. “ Cameras were seized and damaged by the police, this kind of an act is totally unacceptable. They were also intimidated for their reporting ”.

Vijay, employee in a private firm feels that, “ we don’t know who is responsible for this violence, in few media we see advocates are the cause of trouble and in some other we find police high handedness and brutality. We don’t have a clear picture not only in this but in many issues ”.

Accountability is the need of the hour, be they lawyers or police. Whatever be their qualms, people’s welfare should be their priority. Both the Judiciary and police machinery should work out a mechanism to ease the discomfort or else these episodes can go on like mega serials demeaning the core values of our country.

S. Rajvee

www.rajvee.com, rajvee@rajvee.com 31

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STORIES FOR RADIANT LIVING Scars of Love

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nce a little boy went to swim in a pond. He jumped into the water and as he swam towards the middle of the pond, a crocodile came towards him. His mother seeing the danger ran towards the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late.

Just as he was about to reached her, the crocodile snatched his legs. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms and started pulling her son to the shore.

The crocodile was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A hunter who happened to pass by heard the screams of the desperate mother came to her rescue. He took his gun and shot the crocodile.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn’t let go.”

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars too; scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unpleasant and have caused us deep regret. But, some scars my friend, are because God has refused to let go. He’s been there holding on to you in the midst of all your struggles.

Three Fishes

T

hree fishes lived in a pond. One was named Plan Ahead, another was Think Fast, and the third was named Wait and See. One day they heard a fisherman say that he was going to cast his net in their pond the next day.

Plan Ahead said, “I’m swimming down the river tonight!

Think Fast said, “I’m sure I’ll come up with a plan.

Wait and See lazily said, “I just can’t think about it now!”

When the fisherman cast his nets, Plan Ahead was long gone.

But Think Fast and Wait and See were caught!

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Think Fast quickly rolled his belly up and pretended to be dead.

“Oh, this fish is no good!” said the fisherman, and threw him safely back into the water. But, Wait and See ended up in the fish market.

That is why they say, “In times of danger, when the net is cast, plan ahead or plan to think fast!”

The Star in the Window

D

uring World War I, families with a son in the war would place a star in the window. A man was walking along with his grandson when his grandson asked “Why do all these homes have stars in the windows?” The grandfather explained to the grandson what the star symbolized.

They walked along and every time they passed a home with a star in the window the boy would smile and clap his hands together. Then the boy pointed up to the sky and pointed to a star. “Look,” he said. “God must have given his son too!”

Many gave their lives for their country, but God gave his son for the world.

The clever astrologer

A

n astrologer predicted that the daughter of the king would die within a week. When the prediction happened to come true, the king ordered the astrologer to be brought to him, intending to hang him that very day. As soon as the man came, the king said: “Since you are so perfect, how about predicting when you will die.” “Sir” replied the astrologer, divining the king’s intention, “it is written in the stars that I shall die three days before you die.”

The king was so taken aback at these words that he not only spared his life, but ordered that he be protected to prolong his life as much as possible.

Don bosco march 2009

va l u e s

Sympathetic Oneness

The Horse

father and son were walking together, enjoying the early morning breeze. They had covered a good distance when the father stopped suddenly and said, “Son, stop!”

cosmic god had a horse. The horse was beautiful and also it had many good qualities. But it wanted to be more perfect in every way. It especially wanted to become the most beautiful beast in the world

A

The son said, “What’s wrong?”

The father said, “Nothing in particular, but let’s not walk any farther on this road.”

“Why not?” asked the son.

“Do you see that elderly man coming toward us?” the father asked, pointing down the road.

“Yes, I see him,” replied the son.

“He’s a friend of mine,” said the father. “He borrowed money from me and can’t pay it back. Each time he sees me he tells me he’ll borrow the money from someone else and give it to me. This has been going on for a long time, and I don’t want to embarrass him anymore.”

A

One day the horse said to the cosmic god, “0 Lord, you have given me beauty. You have given me other good qualities. I am so grateful to you. But how I wish you could make me more beautiful. I would be extremely, extremely grateful if you could make me more beautiful.”

The cosmic god said, “I am ready to make you more beautiful.

Tell me in what way you want to be changed.”

The horse said, “It seems to me that I am not well proportioned.

My neck is too short. If you can make my neck a little longer, my

The son said, “Father, if you don’t want to embarrass him, why don’t you tell him that the money is a gift and you don’t want it back?”

“I’ve already told him that,” said the father. “When I said, ‘I don’t want it back; it’s a gift,’ he got mad. He said, ‘I’m not a beggar. I’m your friend. When I was in need, you gave me money, and when I can, I’ll give it back. I want to remain your friend, not become a beggar.’ Now I don’t want to embarrass him, and I don’t want to be embarrassed myself. So let’s take another road.”

The son said, “Father, you are truly good. I’m very proud of you, it’s usually the borrower who tries to avoid the lender. It’s usually the receiver who is embarrassed, not the giver. But you want to spare his embarrassment. What I have learned from you is a sympathetic oneness.”

Double Trouble

A

man of middle age, whose hair was turning grey, had two wives, an old woman and a young one. The elder of the two didn’t like having a husband who looked so much younger than herself; so, whenever he came to see her, she used to pull the dark hairs out of his head to make him look old. The younger, on the other hand, didn’t like him to look so much older than her, and took every opportunity of pulling out the grey hairs, to make him look young. Between them, they left not a hair in his head, and he became perfectly bald.

upper body will be infinitely more beautiful. And if you can make my legs much longer and thinner, then I will look infinitely more beautiful in my lower body.”

The cosmic god said, “Ok!” Then immediately he made a camel appear in place of the horse. The horse was so disheartened that it started to cry, “0 Lord, I wanted to become more beautiful.

In what way is this kind of outer form more beautiful?”

The cosmic god said, “This is exactly what you asked for. You have become a camel.”

The horse cried, “Oh no, I do not want to become a camel I wish to remain a horse. As a horse, everybody appreciated my good qualities. Nobody will appreciate me as a camel.”

The cosmic god said, “Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you. If you want to lead a life of desires, then at every moment you will want more and more. But you have no idea what the outcome will be. If you cry for a longer neck and legs, this is what will happen. Each thing in my creation has its own good qualities. The camel is not as beautiful as you are, but it carries heavy loads and has a tremendous sense of responsibility.

Don bosco march 2009

A.J. Frank sdb

ajfrankie@gmail.com 33

1 Find the way out

2 Thanksgiving Word Search

Find 20 hidden words related to Thanksgiving Words in this puzzle may be found from top to bottom, bottom to top,left to right and right to left.

1.autumn 2.blessings 3.celebrate 4.cider 5.Corn

6.cranberry 7.dressing 8.family 9.feast 10.friends

11.gravy 12.harvest 13.holiday 14.pie 15.potatoes

3 Sudoku Corner

16.pumpkin 17.squash 18.thanksgiving 19.turkey 20.yams

Answers for the February 2009 Brain Teasers 1.

2.

3.

4.

MACARONI (All the others are furniture: Chair,Table,Carpet) Andy swims with a tube A) PUNJAB, B) KERALA, C) GUJARAT D) ASSAM, E) HARYANA The frog should play through mouthpiece #2

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Editor, Glorious Steve 34

Don bosco march 2009