Being a missionary

Being a missionary

Who is a missionary? A missionary is a person who gives his 100% for the kingdom of God, to spread the Good news. The word missionary in today’s world is a noble idea many say we want to go, but no one gets up to go. When the thought of being a missionary passes our mind the first thing we must keep in mind is the parable of the window who put two coins in the donation box and that’s all she had, she gave her everything we to should be able to give our everything.

Teresa of Child Jesus never went to the missions than why is she the patron of missionaries? There is difference between being and having a missionary sprit. Though Teresa did not go to the missions she spent her whole life in praying for missionaries and she had a special place for the missions in her heart. A good example of being a missionary is our very own saint Francis Xavier. He was a man who spent his whole life in spreading the Good news and baptizing many. We all have the spirit of a missionary through our baptism. As the pope says our catholic church is a missionary church. It’s high time now that we become missionaries. This call of becoming a missionary is not only for priests and religious but for all people of God. There are so many young and old alike who zealously spread the good news in faraway places where people have not known Christ.

There are so many people in our localities that have not received Christ, so why go far and wide? It’s a very valid point it’s true that there are people around us who do not know Christ. Imagine if early Christians or apostles had restricted themselves only to Jerusalem till they converted every Jew, would there be Christianity in India? St. Thomas the apostle would have never reached our culturally rich India.

Can I become a missionary? Yes! All of us are called to be missionaries but there are a few qualities which help in making of a good missionary. A missionary primarily needs to be committed, sacrificing and needs to be a self-giving person(generous). But what if I fail? It’s better to try and fail rather than not to try at all. We are afraid of failing and making fun of ourselves therefore we don’t try out in the bargain we don’t grow. Its better people laugh at us because we try and fail rather than we sit and cry because we have not done something we wanted or had the desire to do. As someone said “missionary is a person whose heart is bigger than him”.

I have the desire of becoming a missionary but I am not confident, so how do I prepare myself? Following are few points suggested to me by a man of experience and above all a man of God. I don’t want to keep these rich thoughts as my personal treasure.

First, you need to discern a missionary vocation very carefully.  There are some qualities that you need to ensure before making such a choice.  Immediately, a few of them would be:

·         That you are strong in your vocation and that your religious life is firmly based on faith motives - not on emotional enthusiasm or human motives such as feeling good, enjoyable community life, security, etc.  To be missionary is to be able to withstand lots of struggles - the same as for all of us, except that as missionary it is in a foreign country!

·         That you are open minded and able to adjust and immerse yourself in a culture (language, food habits, values, mentalities) that is different from your own.

·         Generosity in offering yourself for a people that are not your own!

·         Ability for much sacrifice as such a vocation takes you away from family and friends.

These are some of the factors on the basis of which I would base my decision for choosing a missionary vocation.

Wedding cards of the Warli community

Wedding cards of the Warli community

If we see the wedding cards of the Warli (adivasi) community of Maharashtra it’s really amazing. The cards have more than 400 odd names of family and friends, benefactors and well wishers etc. on the wedding invitation card, this point out to the fact that there is a lot of unity among the people. We may say that they are illiterate but when it comes to people close to their hearts they are very sensitive and literally know everything about them. The ones getting married try their best not to miss out on any names. It is said that if the friends or relatives don’t find their names on the card they get angry even to the extent of not talking and not even attending the wedding. The quality of the card points out to the importance they give to this sacrament of marriage. They spend a lot of money during the wedding feast. The celebration is for two days. Most of the girls marry after the age of 18 and boys after the age of 21. This shows that they have given up the practices of child marriage. The people also permit widow marriage this shows that the people have got rid of some social evils that they used to have in earlier days. The reverence the people of this community of Maharashtra have for this union between man and women is also commendable. They also respect the women, but the only setback is that a man can have 2 wives while a woman marries only ones.

: this information is collected by interviewing and  through friendly chat with woman, man and many children from the Warli community of Gonde and also a few children of other neighboring villages.

    

      

SOMJIKAI, DHORM ANI DOYEST – MOG

SOMJIKAI, DHORM ANI DOYEST – MOG

Don Bosco-che porbem somoyar(Janerache 31-tarker), hea sovnsarak, tachea bhov motvachea deniacho ugdas koruya, tem zavn asa tachi xikxannik poddort.

Somjikai (reason), Dhorm (religion) ani Doyest Mog (loving kindness) he tin zaun asat koddegant khambe Don Bosco-che xikxonnik (xikovpache) poddortiche. He poddortik inglez bhaxen  “Preventive System” mhonttat. Hea utracho konknni bhaxentlean sompeponnim anuvad kelo zalear, addhavop vo addhkonn korop, him utram amchea monant rokddinch upzotat. Khorem mhonllear, bariksannin pollelem vo onbovlem zalear amkam khobor astoli, hi poddort addhavpachi vo bhondi ghatlea sarki poddort nhoi.

            Atanchea kallar kai zannanim he poddortik novem nav sodun khadlam, tem zaun asa “the expressive system.” Konknni baxen hea utracho anuvad kelo zalear hea utracho ghost vetolo. Tor ami bore baxen somzoche khatir hanv eka udaronna udexim spoxtt kortam. Peter, ho apleach vadeacho bhurgo. Science vixoi taka somzona mhonn pustok bhair udovnk to sodta. “Preventive” hea utracher ami niyall kelo zalear amkam oxem disunk xokta ki Peter pustok bhair udoitana xikxok taka adaita vo bhair udovnk dina. Punn “expressive” hem utor vaporlem zalear amcho ragrong bodlunk xokta. “Expressive” hea utracho upeog kortana amchea monant vegddench chitr upzota, tem mhonnlear tea bhurgeak somzaupacho, pustokachem ani xikxonnachem mol kollit korpachem, ani mogan fuddle pavtti oxem korchem nhoi mhonn sangchem.

            Hi poddort atanchea kallar khub famad zal’li asa. Don Bosco-cheach xallenim nhoi punn dusrea-i  xallenim  hem podorticho vapor khel’lo amkam disun ieta. Ami avoi-bapainim vo xikxokanim amchea bhurgeank sopurnn xikxonn ditoleanv mhonn bhas diuk zai. Xallek vo kolejik datt’tana ami amchea burgeanche  mon-bud’dikuch nhoi punn somajik, otmik ani kuddichea vhaddponnak mot diunk zai. Ami somzotanv ki  hea soglea vixoiam-cher, Don Bosko-n, zachia zolmachim donnxim vorsam ami gel’lea vorsa sazor kelea, tannem purai toren lox dil’lo asa. To zavn asa he poddorticho “expert” zannkar.

                                                                                                                      

Superman!.... Is he a catholic?

Superman!.... Is he a catholic?

Is superman created in the image of Christ just to deny the existence of God? Is superman the new Christ?

These are a few interesting facts which show us a common thread that we can see passing in Jesus and superman

·         Man of steel not of this earth

·         Was raised by human foster parents

·         Slowly came into his full powers

·         Started his good works in young adulthood

·         Championed the good

·         Had both “truth” and the “way” in his most famous motto

·         People did not realize who he truly was

·         He relentlessly fought against evil

·         Novel (death and life of superman) he spends time in a tomb, people later find it empty, he is seen again on earth

In our culture, superheroes often serve as models. This is especially through of boys. Superman, Batman, Spider-man, etc. and also inculturated forms like Saktiman, Karma, Krish etc. As we grow older we realize that there is no superman or other such hero’s in reality. Our sturdy or other things may influence us very much and we become so sophisticated that we even deny God. Quite interestingly some highly influential philosophers, take for example Nietzsche; said God is Dead. We need a superman. We can see that he merely replaced God by placing superman in his place. We see that some atheistic philosophers and scientists who say that it’s the ignorant who believe in God actually themselves retain a belief in a superman.

‘The conception of “superman”, an idea put forth by some as an alternative to Christian belief, can actually help lead us to Christ’  - Kevin Vost 

Vocation…. Priest? No ways!

Vocation…. Priest? No ways!

The word vocation comes from the Latin word vocare which means “to call”. No sooner we hear the word vocation we associate it to priesthood. It’s true that it is God who calls us, but he has a different plan for each one of us. Imagine a word in which all are priests and nuns. This is not possible. The one common thing we share with all humanity is, our first calling, our basic vocation is to love. We carry out this calling in different ways some are called to be farmers, some teachers and some others doctors. Priesthood is one among many other vocations. Most likely the reason to narrow down the term vocation to just priesthood or religious life is because it’s God who calls. We interpret this calling as the calling to serve God and the best way according to many is by becoming priest or religious. All these vocations are equal, there is no superior and inferior. There is a difference between vocation and career. Vacation is living life for others where as career focuses on self. Vocation involves Gods intervention, career is totally human. Career is money oriented where as vocation is not. There are certain life choices that can be looked upon either as a career or as a vocation. What makes the difference is the attitude of the individual. How do we now whether we are following are vocation. Are you happy? A wise man would ask. Yes! If you are happy, that means you are on the right path but you may not be happy always. Apart from you being happy ask whether god and those I am serving are happy. You may always not get a positive response immediately it’s a process. Vocation is associated with passion. All this things about being happy on not is a complicated process or task. Now psychologist too offers us some solutions. We can go for various tests and find out our personality type which can in turn help us to follow our call. It’s true that something’s we are passionate amount my not help us to have a royal lifestyle but it can give us what nothing on earth can give that is happiness.

Nothing can be predetermined based on background or cast or class. Let us challenge our own limits and pursue our vocation.

It’s a correct insight!

How do we know whether an insight is correct or not? An insight is correct if there are no further relevant questions. No.. no.. it’s not simple to say that there are no further relevant questions that occur to me.

To pass a judgment hastily would be rash. But on the other hand if we do not decide or are very slow to make decisions, this itself may take away the possibility of further question. So how do we strike a balance?

·        Give further questions a chance to arise. We got be alert, spend time over the issue and if possible test it in action.

·        See that the problem is set correctly. To set a problem correctly we have to be familiar with it. And to be familiar we have to already know many things about it. This is a vicious circle.

·        The process of learning. The vicious circle is broken by the process of learning. Here we do not judge, we suspended our own judgments, but we take the judgments from others. The process of learning is a self-correcting process.

·        Temperament. Rashness and indecision are based in temperament. We need to be aware of our temperament and make efforts to overcome our tendencies.

Even after following all these points we cannot be certain. This is not a formula to get a correct insight or to make a good judgment, it’s just an outline. These are just some factors to be kept in mind.

What is Success?????

True success is measured by the feeling of knowing we have done a job well and have achieved our objective. Success is measured by our position in life but by the obstacles we overcame to get there. Success in life is not determined by how we are doing compared with other, but by how we are doing compared with what we are capable of doing. Successful people compete against themselves. They better their own record and keep improving constantly. Success is not measured by how high we go up in life. But rather by how many times we bounce back when we fall down. It is this bounce back ability that determines success.

Most people give up just when they are about to achieve success. They give up at the last minute of the game. Successful people do not do great things, they only do small things in a great way. Success and happiness go hand in hand. Success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get.

This whole essay may sound very obvious but the thing is, do we really reflect on this? We know it as theory; do we put it in practice? We learn the value of success when we taste failure. So let us enjoy when we are successful and try our best to get back and learn when we face defeat.