Friday, September 14, 2018
The Love of Christ has gathered the Pauline Family into one Family.
The journey we have accomplished till now has gone through the following stages:
1. a) The analysis of the life, the preaching and some of the writings of Fr. Alberione has shown us that the Founder, in giving life to the different institutions of the Pauline Family, has obeyed a plan that God was manifesting to him gradually, giving light to him step by step. We can meanwhile speak of a precise unitary project of the Pauline Family.
b) In its turn, every Institution of the Pauline Family has assumed the charism en-
trusted to it by the Founder, codifying it in its own Constitutions and the insti-
tute’s official documents.
2. A reading, under a theological perspective, of the unitary project of the Pauline Family has led us to penetrate into the heart of the common heritage, has allowed us to identify its nucleus: everything finds unity and synthesis in the Person of Christ Master Shepherd Way and Truth and Life.
It is how Fr. Alberione enunciates it with the Pauline expression, Instaurare omnia in Christo, and which hewould have wanted to illustrate with an encyclopedia on Jesus Master. It is always the Lord Jesus who is the perfect image of God, one and three (Trinitarian dimension); who allows the human person, given to Him, to reach his perfection in the mind, in the will and in the heart (anthropological dimension); who continues his work of teaching, of example and of grace in the Church (ecclesiological dimension); who shall be possessed definitively by and shall glorify the blessed in heaven (eschatological dimension).
In this third part of our work, what remains that we analyze is the manner with which every individual Institute of the Pauline Family relates with the same Jesus Christ. This reflection shall allow each Institution to see the elements that it has in common with the others and, consequently, discover the elements that differentiate it and recognize them as specific to itself.
In other words: a comparative vision of the essential components shall allow every Institute to identify the aspects that it finds also in other Institutions—we shall call these common heritage – and the aspects that draws its own identity and specificity.
For this last section, the guiding word is that which the Founder has entrusted in AD in the chapter precisely entitled The Pauline Family (AD 33-35): “Congregavit nos in unum.”174 Recalling such words, Fr. Alberione intends to underline that, although there exist in the Pauline Family “separation” and “independence”, we need to put on the first place among them the “kinship bond”, the “close-knit collaboration among them on the spiritual, intellectual, moral and economic levels,” and “the exchange of prayers and help
in many ways and, finally, the “sharing of joys and sorrows, and of the eternal reward.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
174 “The love of Christ has brought us altogether...” Cf. Roman Missal, Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
The journey we have accomplished till now has gone through the following stages:
1. a) The analysis of the life, the preaching and some of the writings of Fr. Alberione has shown us that the Founder, in giving life to the different institutions of the Pauline Family, has obeyed a plan that God was manifesting to him gradually, giving light to him step by step. We can meanwhile speak of a precise unitary project of the Pauline Family.
b) In its turn, every Institution of the Pauline Family has assumed the charism en-
trusted to it by the Founder, codifying it in its own Constitutions and the insti-
tute’s official documents.
2. A reading, under a theological perspective, of the unitary project of the Pauline Family has led us to penetrate into the heart of the common heritage, has allowed us to identify its nucleus: everything finds unity and synthesis in the Person of Christ Master Shepherd Way and Truth and Life.
It is how Fr. Alberione enunciates it with the Pauline expression, Instaurare omnia in Christo, and which hewould have wanted to illustrate with an encyclopedia on Jesus Master. It is always the Lord Jesus who is the perfect image of God, one and three (Trinitarian dimension); who allows the human person, given to Him, to reach his perfection in the mind, in the will and in the heart (anthropological dimension); who continues his work of teaching, of example and of grace in the Church (ecclesiological dimension); who shall be possessed definitively by and shall glorify the blessed in heaven (eschatological dimension).
In this third part of our work, what remains that we analyze is the manner with which every individual Institute of the Pauline Family relates with the same Jesus Christ. This reflection shall allow each Institution to see the elements that it has in common with the others and, consequently, discover the elements that differentiate it and recognize them as specific to itself.
In other words: a comparative vision of the essential components shall allow every Institute to identify the aspects that it finds also in other Institutions—we shall call these common heritage – and the aspects that draws its own identity and specificity.
For this last section, the guiding word is that which the Founder has entrusted in AD in the chapter precisely entitled The Pauline Family (AD 33-35): “Congregavit nos in unum.”174 Recalling such words, Fr. Alberione intends to underline that, although there exist in the Pauline Family “separation” and “independence”, we need to put on the first place among them the “kinship bond”, the “close-knit collaboration among them on the spiritual, intellectual, moral and economic levels,” and “the exchange of prayers and help
in many ways and, finally, the “sharing of joys and sorrows, and of the eternal reward.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
174 “The love of Christ has brought us altogether...” Cf. Roman Missal, Mass of the Lord’s Supper.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
MEDIA AND CULTURE
A question that has been constantly baffling me is: has the culture grown hand in hand with the growth of the media or has the media subdued and suppressed culture?
Sometimes, I make a hasty conclusion that culture grows together with the advancement of communication media. But, in a tranquil moment, if such a thought springs up in my mind, I realize that it is not always true. The two pictures of culture-media relationship flash in my mind, one showing the media promoting culture, and the other showing the media suppressing and destroying culture. It is at this juncture that I feel the necessity to gauge these imbalances.
Communication media helps in the promotion of culture. Today media is the link that connects civilizations in the world. In the past, people belonging to one side of the globe did not know what was happening on the other side. Today thanks to the media we know one another well. We know what is happening over there and they know what is happening over here. We know everything about them: their behaviour pattern, their culture, their habits, their religion and what not. In fact media has blended all the cultures into one unit.
Sometimes, we are unaware of our own culture. There are many persons who are natives of one state but are residing in another state. These persons very often may not know the cultural and traditional wealth of their own states. But when they see some of the documentaries on the cultural and traditional heritage of their state in the local or national TV, they are overwhelmed with pride in the fact that they are heirs to such traditional and cultural wealth. This helps them to appreciate their culture.
Moreover, our national culture is diverse. People living in the South do not know the cultural traits of the North and other parts of the country, and vice versa. But media integrate these cultural diversities. For instance, Doordarshan frequently shows many documentaries on the cultural wealth of different states of the country. It demonstrates the diverse art forms of the states, the living conditions of the people, the diverse food habits etc. These programs not only promote awareness of our national culture in the citizens, but also stimulate national integration.
Magazines too are not lagging behind in the performance of this function. For example, The Teenager publishes a column titled destinations. It enumerates the cultural heritage of different states in India. A few years ago, it published in a series, the cultural heritage of the North Eastern states. They were of great help to me because I have a few North Eastern friends. The cultural barrier was a hindrance to our free interaction. After I read those columns I came to know of a few distinct features of their culture. This knowledge helped me to interact with them more freely and jovially.
Today we have the National Geographic Channel, Discovery channel, Animal Planet etc., which present the life style of people living in different parts of the world. We become wonderstruck seeing the life style and habits of some of the aborigines, tribals and eskimos. I was amazed to see on TV how people live in the south pole and north pole. When we see these programmes, we feel that we are a part of their culture, the traditions and habits. Sometimes we are even impelled to assimilate some of the good traits of their culture and traditions.
Media has also negative impacts on the culture. Let us look at our culture. The invasion of foreign media has resulted in the erosion of our culture. Mr Ramanujam, a lecturer of ALC, wrote in a column in a daily: "English by becoming a global language has marginalized many other languages and caused even a linguistic genocide." Along with him I would echo that western media too by its dominance over other native media and culture has caused a cultural genocide. Western media, thanks to its sheer dominance, has already imposed its own cultural assumptions on our culture.Today due to the influence of the western media, our people try to speak like the westerners, behave like the westerners, and dress like the westerners. I have been amazed to hear some people speaking their mother tongue with a foreign accent. Children in the metropolitan cities do not like to hear and watch anything vernacular. Owing to the influence of the western media they like to hear only English songs, and watch western belly dances and English action movies.
The invasion of western media into our culture has caused the erosion and complete extinction of some of our fine arts. For Instance, once upon a time Chakyar Koothu was a famous art form of Kerala. People used to gather in groups to watch this. But today it has completely vanished from the society. Today there are no such artists because they have no audience. This is the condition of all our fine arts like Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Bharathanatyam etc. It is a usual sight in every function that people prefer western songs and western dance to Indian classical songs and classical dance.
Our culture is filled with rich heritage but we do not sufficiently promote or enrich our inherent culture through our own media. On the contrary, we are busy assimilating and transmitting other cultures. Hence we ourselves should share the blame for letting the western culture dominate our culture. As an act of atonement, we should assert ourselves and make use of our own media to promote our inherent culture and nullify the negative influence of the western media. There are only two options before us to prevent a complete onslaught of our culture by the western media: either native the western media or discard it.
Sometimes, I make a hasty conclusion that culture grows together with the advancement of communication media. But, in a tranquil moment, if such a thought springs up in my mind, I realize that it is not always true. The two pictures of culture-media relationship flash in my mind, one showing the media promoting culture, and the other showing the media suppressing and destroying culture. It is at this juncture that I feel the necessity to gauge these imbalances.
Communication media helps in the promotion of culture. Today media is the link that connects civilizations in the world. In the past, people belonging to one side of the globe did not know what was happening on the other side. Today thanks to the media we know one another well. We know what is happening over there and they know what is happening over here. We know everything about them: their behaviour pattern, their culture, their habits, their religion and what not. In fact media has blended all the cultures into one unit.
Sometimes, we are unaware of our own culture. There are many persons who are natives of one state but are residing in another state. These persons very often may not know the cultural and traditional wealth of their own states. But when they see some of the documentaries on the cultural and traditional heritage of their state in the local or national TV, they are overwhelmed with pride in the fact that they are heirs to such traditional and cultural wealth. This helps them to appreciate their culture.
Moreover, our national culture is diverse. People living in the South do not know the cultural traits of the North and other parts of the country, and vice versa. But media integrate these cultural diversities. For instance, Doordarshan frequently shows many documentaries on the cultural wealth of different states of the country. It demonstrates the diverse art forms of the states, the living conditions of the people, the diverse food habits etc. These programs not only promote awareness of our national culture in the citizens, but also stimulate national integration.
Magazines too are not lagging behind in the performance of this function. For example, The Teenager publishes a column titled destinations. It enumerates the cultural heritage of different states in India. A few years ago, it published in a series, the cultural heritage of the North Eastern states. They were of great help to me because I have a few North Eastern friends. The cultural barrier was a hindrance to our free interaction. After I read those columns I came to know of a few distinct features of their culture. This knowledge helped me to interact with them more freely and jovially.
Today we have the National Geographic Channel, Discovery channel, Animal Planet etc., which present the life style of people living in different parts of the world. We become wonderstruck seeing the life style and habits of some of the aborigines, tribals and eskimos. I was amazed to see on TV how people live in the south pole and north pole. When we see these programmes, we feel that we are a part of their culture, the traditions and habits. Sometimes we are even impelled to assimilate some of the good traits of their culture and traditions.
Media has also negative impacts on the culture. Let us look at our culture. The invasion of foreign media has resulted in the erosion of our culture. Mr Ramanujam, a lecturer of ALC, wrote in a column in a daily: "English by becoming a global language has marginalized many other languages and caused even a linguistic genocide." Along with him I would echo that western media too by its dominance over other native media and culture has caused a cultural genocide. Western media, thanks to its sheer dominance, has already imposed its own cultural assumptions on our culture.Today due to the influence of the western media, our people try to speak like the westerners, behave like the westerners, and dress like the westerners. I have been amazed to hear some people speaking their mother tongue with a foreign accent. Children in the metropolitan cities do not like to hear and watch anything vernacular. Owing to the influence of the western media they like to hear only English songs, and watch western belly dances and English action movies.
The invasion of western media into our culture has caused the erosion and complete extinction of some of our fine arts. For Instance, once upon a time Chakyar Koothu was a famous art form of Kerala. People used to gather in groups to watch this. But today it has completely vanished from the society. Today there are no such artists because they have no audience. This is the condition of all our fine arts like Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Bharathanatyam etc. It is a usual sight in every function that people prefer western songs and western dance to Indian classical songs and classical dance.
Our culture is filled with rich heritage but we do not sufficiently promote or enrich our inherent culture through our own media. On the contrary, we are busy assimilating and transmitting other cultures. Hence we ourselves should share the blame for letting the western culture dominate our culture. As an act of atonement, we should assert ourselves and make use of our own media to promote our inherent culture and nullify the negative influence of the western media. There are only two options before us to prevent a complete onslaught of our culture by the western media: either native the western media or discard it.
My Encounter with Paul
I can’t forget the train journey and my encounter with a stranger on this journey. I have to acknowledge his simplicity, love for people, search for knowledge and regard for values he displayed in his attitude. Curiosity and eagerness were mainfest on his illumined face.
On that day my co-travellers a businessman, a lawyer and a government officials hovered abusive words on him. I too was tempted to join in the amusement to get entertained by his reaction. To my surprise he kept calm.
At the station the businessman was calling out for a coolie. The stranger approached him, " I shall help you my friend," he said. The businessman was suspicious.
The stranger spoke again, "I have only one life to serve you friend." The man fell at his feet.
I enquired of the Muslim who greeted the stranger on the platform regarding his whereabouts. With awe and enthusiasm he remarked:
Moral Television, Serve.com (for charity and social service), The Better Yourself Movies, School of Journalism for Mankind (trains young people to work for justice, peace and social upliftment) are his enterprises. SJM News Paper is the pioneer in revival. The Secular Co-operative Wing and Universal Spirituality Centre are his new foundations... He is the Messiah of our times....
My heart was pulsating with emotions of service, humility, love, tolerance, simplicity and devotion. I decided that I must meet him. I decided to pursue his noble mission.
I met the stranger and expressed my desire vehemently. He smiled and said, "Never." He understood my disappointment. He spoke again, "I am doing Christ's work. Come." My joy know no bounds.
I saw the stranger absorbed in work. His dynamism, zeal and conviction kept me under his spell. He was replying emails, giving directions, establishing relationships etc.
He had tremendous faith in God. He said that he obeyed his Master and he guided his people. Thus the mission is carried out through them. His vision is to reach the communist world while nourishing the faith of the Church.
He wrote to his people, "Our whole being should preach today. The tongue is helpless if the body is unwilling. Put on Christ, and let your actions substantiate the dogmas." He wrote to the communities, " Let the risen Christ initiate and inspire you to cultivate a global vision and local mission. Our mission is of relationship."
To those who run bookshops he advised: "Let us leave counter (cash) service to the people's care and pick up the threads of customer service. Let them experience Christ through us."
To the electronic media he said, "Test every item, to see whether it pleases Christ. If the test is positive diffuse them to the people."
He addressed the secular institutes. "Let us make sure our decisions bring about human formation and world peace. Our actions should never vitiate morals and spirituality, for god is supreme."
Dear 4th estate, "The axis of the world is on you. Tune it to dethrone the evils to bring up a new civilization."
He invited the different religions to bring together the message of sacred scriptures for setting up a new purity-culture and an era of peace and unity.
He always treated me lovingly, yet I didn't enquire of his identity. today it is revealed to me that he is Paul of Tarsus.
It is crystal clear that he is in India to serve Christ by giving Gospel values to this country. He is appointed to spread the culture and spiritual traditions of India in the western world.
He realized the power off media to treat people alike. So he decided to exploit media to win all sections of the society. He wants to conquer the world with love. "I want that you too must strive to imitate Christ" he said and embraced me.
MY VOCATION TO RELIGIOUS LIFE
This is how God used me for 19
years of my child and adulthood in my native village with my parents, brothers
and sister, and for the last 25 years in His vineyard of St. Pauls.
I was born on 13th of February
1956 as the first child of my loving parents Mr. Rayappan and Mrs. Maria
Packiam. I grew up in a loving family with two brothers, a sister and my
parents in a small village in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. My parents were
illiterate but they educated all of us even though education to children in
that village was rare. After completing my high school, I remained at home
helping my father in cultivating the land. It was indeed a very hard job for me
but I enjoyed being with nature.
In the evenings I used to be a leader of a prayer group and pray with all
those who were interested in prayer. I also used to conduct the funeral
services for the dead in the village named Arianellore at the out skirts of
Dindigul Town.
Mr. A. Lucas, the head of the village, really admired my behavior and
placed me in-charge of the village Church. He also inspired me with his
simplicity and kindly nature. We used to talk about the saintly persons who
lived and died for others. I came to know that these kinds of noble
thoughts would work out only when I wholly dedicated myself to God.
St
Pauls offered me many opportunities to learn and educate myself both
spiritually and academically. It was only in the monastery that I learned the
English language as well as many other values in human life including
Spirituality of Don Alberione, the Founder of the Pauline Family.
On June 30, 1979 I was initiated after four years of rigorous training into the Religious Life. After that, I was sent to Allahabad a small city on the banks of rivers the Ganges and the Yamuna in North India. Focusing on the gospel of Jesus, I was given additional training to understand and live the word of God in my daily life.
In 1982 transferred back to Bangalore I was asked to look after the young candidates to Religious Life who had just joined. I became one among them in praying, playing, working and resting; giving them inspiration and guidance to live and love Jesus all through the day in all that we had done. Being with the young,
I learned to be humble of my seniority. They always tried to find in me something of the Lord Jesus, who chose them to be His own, that they could imitate and follow.
In 1984 back to Bangalore, I was given a short course on Biblical studies in the St. Peter's Seminary, Bangalore. After the completion of the course and spiritual studies, I was promoted to be a permanent member of the monastery by committing myself to the Lord for all my life. After a couple of years I was transferred back to Mumbai to do my apostolic activity in the Examiner Bookshop of the monastery. Later I was appointed as the diffusion in-charge of the Better Yourself Books and St Paul Publications. During that time computers were widely introduced in India and I could make use of them to computerize our
publications.
On June 30, 1979 I was initiated after four years of rigorous training into the Religious Life. After that, I was sent to Allahabad a small city on the banks of rivers the Ganges and the Yamuna in North India. Focusing on the gospel of Jesus, I was given additional training to understand and live the word of God in my daily life.
In 1982 transferred back to Bangalore I was asked to look after the young candidates to Religious Life who had just joined. I became one among them in praying, playing, working and resting; giving them inspiration and guidance to live and love Jesus all through the day in all that we had done. Being with the young,
I learned to be humble of my seniority. They always tried to find in me something of the Lord Jesus, who chose them to be His own, that they could imitate and follow.
In 1984 back to Bangalore, I was given a short course on Biblical studies in the St. Peter's Seminary, Bangalore. After the completion of the course and spiritual studies, I was promoted to be a permanent member of the monastery by committing myself to the Lord for all my life. After a couple of years I was transferred back to Mumbai to do my apostolic activity in the Examiner Bookshop of the monastery. Later I was appointed as the diffusion in-charge of the Better Yourself Books and St Paul Publications. During that time computers were widely introduced in India and I could make use of them to computerize our
publications.
Though I wanted to specialize in computer applications by doing a course on computers, the Spirit of God inspired me and lead me to the Vidya Deep, a Theological Institute affiliated to
Dharmaram College in Bangalore. There I was putting my heart and mind to study theology and Religious sciences. In fact I enjoyed being a student at the age of 38 for the three year intensive course. It contributed many things and changed my life totally.
I came to know that God dwells in every human being; to love God is to love humans here on earth. It is only in loving human beings that I can love God. My prayers life is nothing else but a conversation with God and listening to Him attentively. It is an examination of my conscience in relation to my fellow beings here on earth. As Jesus came on earth not for himself but for others, I too must be a person for others that the other may find in me a drop of honey and I in them. I decided to live and die for others as Jesus himself has showed by his own life by dying on the cross.
After my studies I was transferred to Jorhat in the north East part of India where I met many people all over Assam for a whole year moving around with Mobile Unit. In 1987 I was transferred to Allahabad where I am today. In 1998 I joined for a diploma course on computers and obtained an Advanced Diploma in Computer Applications. Allahabad is a holy city on the banks of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna. These rivers are very holy for Hindus. In this city most of the people are Hindus and Christians are hardly 0.1%. It is really worth living in this part of India radiating the light of Christ to the millions who do not know Him.
THE SACRAMENT OF CONVERSION AND HEALING
The goodness and sinfulness of human beings is always a mystery. Mystery cannot be solved here on earth but lived. We try to live a good life but we are prone to do evil as St. Paul says, "What I do, I do not understand; for I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate." (Rom. 7:15) To understand the mystery of sin and to come back on the right track we need help. That help too can come only from God. God offers this help through his self revelation in Jesus Christ. So the mystery of sin can be handled only in the context of the mystery of Christ.
In the past, the attention of theologians was mostly focussed on the individual, one's acts and their consequences, one's salvation or damnation. The definition of sin as "violation of God's commandment knowingly, willingly and with full consent" has brought about laxity in the Church, because without having a clear idea about God's commandment and without any evaluative knowledge the same we include all the rules of the Church and consider that their violation is sinful. For example even breaking of the Eucharistic fast was considered to be sinful, without evaluative knowledge of why it was sinful.
The Sacrament of penance came to be considered as a magical cleansing of sins that provided psychological comfort. Tariff penance was easy for the priests to follow the manual of penitential books and assign appropriate penance for each sin. The morality of an act was based purely on the act itself. The person and his intentions were often neglected. In 1225 A.D. there was a shift from tariff penance to auricular connfession wherein the emphasis was on act of confessing. Penitential liturgies were introduced and confession was an integral part of the Eucharistic celebration itself. In the penitential service of the Mass people confessed their sins publicly and the priest absolved them.
After the Vatican Council II the focus has shifted to the opposite side. There is much talk about social sins, and an over-indulgence concerning personal sins. The sacrament of penance is now conversion-oriented. It is a total turning away from sin and turning to God, establishing a new relationship with him. It is a dynamic of daily conversion, free from selfishness, bondage, anxieties.
This conversion implies a lot of things. Above all it means to live in Jesus who sheds light on the mystery of life. We have to become transmitters of life. A bread that is not broken is wasted; a life that is not spent for others is also wasted. Therefore we have to become bread and life by living and dying for others. Acts of loving is more important than acts of charity. We have to give what we are and what we have, to all those who are in need, first and foremost to the poorest of the poor. Conversion always entails reconciliation with our brothers and sisters who are harmed by our sins.
In this regard sin can be defined as a futile attempt to realize oneself without any reference to the Other and others. So sin is the violation of the basic principles of one's own self realization. Trying to be happy without having communion with others. Our sorrow for our sins must be based on love. If our sorrow is motivated by love our contrition is perfect. If we feel sorrow for our sins motivated by fear our contrition is imperfect, though imperfect it can lead to perfect contrition. As in the case of prodigal son the imperfect contrition of his hunger lead him to perfect contrition of returning to his father establishing a real conversion. Guilt neurosis is a self-centered reaction which leads to further alienation from the person who is hurt, whereas the sense of sin leads to repentance with perfect contrition, conversion and further reconciliation with that person.
In the Old Testament conversion meant returning to a covenantal community. The partakers of covenantal community were God and his people. Breakdown of this covenantal relationship meant sickness and sin, when it was restored the inner healing was taking place which was considered to be conversion. In the New Testament conversion means metanoia or a change of heart consisting in a profound, total and definitive turning away from sin and turning to God, establishing a personal relationship with him for his kingdom. This involves conversion to people as Jesus placed himself at the level of sinners and lead them to metanoia without offending their dignity. Metanoia is very important for inner healing and inner change; it is a home-coming; it is the dynamic of daily conversion. Through conversion we are brought from death to life, from darkness to light.
Therefore the primary symbolism of the sacrament of conversion is a seriously estranged brother/sister coming back to the community which he/she offended. Confession is the celebration of this home-coming. The obligation to confession is by Divine Law but the manner of confessing to a priest privately is one of the ways of fulfilling this obligation. The council of Trent acknowledges that the Eucharistic Communion has also the power to forgive the sins. So a worthy participation of the Eucharist, without previous confession, grants on its own the grace of forgiveness even of the grave sins. This forgiveness in turn directs the Christian to the Sacrament of conversion, in case of grave sin, if a confessor is available. In conversion formal integrity is more important than material integrity. Formal integrity refers to one's ability to become converted from all the sins. Material integrity on the other hand focuses on one's ability to confess correctly all the grave sins into the ears of a priest. It requires the ability to remember ones sins and availability of a priest to hear the confession. Material integrity is desirable but not essential for the process of conversion.
It is good to keep in mind the following points while celebrating the sacrament of conversion:
1. Confess only real sins.
2. Do not abuse the Sacrament of conversion by converting it into a devotional practice.
3. In communities try to incorporate it in common celebration.
4. Try to do relevant penances related to one's sins.<
5. Build a room for a friendly atmosphere.
6. Face to face discussion and dialogue.
7. Never give the impression of begging for mercy.
8. Educate people about the importance of conversion and conditional necessity of the confession.
THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
There is an absence of authentic reflection on our faith-experience. Consequently the relevance of our life is being questioned today.
Theology is the articulation of our faith experience and therefore there is no reason why it should remain the exclusive domain of a professional few.
Why do many of the Religious Brothers, Sisters and the laity do not come forward to do theology? Do we not seek God and reflect in our own way on the life-related implications of our God-encounter? What does theology mean if it is not a reflection on God-encounter?
God-encounter is available to every human being, and reflection on it is possible for all. So theology is a must for all to live and reflect on our God-experience in human experience.
We need to liberate theology from abstract concepts which do not quite correspond to the concrete life-situations of people. We need to be liberated from a god who is totally independent of the world and the humanity.
Teaching and learning theology are not more the prized privilege of a few. It is open to all humanity that it may be related to real life contexts. When we reflect life on texts, we need to take into account not only humanity but also the whole creation. In this regard Sr. M. Bertille rightly points out:
One of the challenges we face today, is that of introducing and living a fresh vision of creation, a creation spirituality that places the importance of relationships between humanity and nature based on the relationship of the Creator with creation.
Therefore there is an urgent need of awakening that has to take place in our attempt to respond effectively to the call of God, an awakening that will re-enact the message of the Gospel in today's context. We need to re-interpret the Bible in the context of Religious pluralism and alienation, human exploitation and pollution of the natural environment, religious fundamentalism and cross-cultural conflicts.
Among the new challenges to the theological task are issues relating to ecology, the dignity of the human person, human rights, human developments, the caste liberation, women liberation, liberation from structural imprisonment etc.
What we need today is a deeper involvement in all aspects of the life of the people and consequently a new approach to the understanding of our life and the life outside. In this context
Sr. M. Bertille says:
Today, we need to make way for a new language, a new method, a new paradigm and certainly a new praxis capable of recognizing the the close connection between the social issue and the environment
In our approach to transform the world, we shall follow the model of Resurrection-event which sets the principles of transformation of the human context in terms of continuity of the mission of Christ. In this context the emergence of a theology for all with a specific reference to Indian situation is of paramount significance.
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