Become a Priest only if you are Firmly convinced of your Vocation - Pope Directly to Seminarians

The Following is an Excerpt from Zenith:

"Under the guidance of your formators, open your hearts to the light of the Lord, to see if this path which demands courage and authenticity is for you," the Holy Father told them. "Approach the priesthood only if you are firmly convinced that God is calling you to be his ministers, and if you are completely determined to exercise it in obedience to the Church’s precepts."

He encouraged them to spend their seminary years in interior silence, unceasing prayer, constant study and "gradual insertion into the pastoral activity and structures of the Church. A Church which is community and institution, family and mission, the creation of Christ through his Holy Spirit, as well as the result of those of us who shape it through our holiness and our sins."

"We have to be saints so as not to create a contradiction between the sign that we are and the reality that we wish to signify," the Pontiff added.

The years of formation should also be a time of "deep joy," he continued, lived "humbly, clear-mindedly and with radical fidelity to the Gospel, in an affectionate relation to the time spent and the people among whom you live."

Be ready

Benedict XVI warned the future priests that their vocation will have difficulties.

"Relying on his love, do not be intimidated by surroundings that would exclude God and in which power, wealth and pleasure are frequently the main criteria ruling people’s lives," he said. "You may be shunned along with others who propose higher goals or who unmask the false gods before whom many now bow down. That will be the moment when a life deeply rooted in Christ will clearly be seen as something new and it will powerfully attract those who truly search for God, truth and justice."

The Holy Father encouraged the seminarians to look to Mary, Mother of priests.

"She will know how to mold your hearts according to the model of Christ, her divine Son, and she will teach you how to treasure forever all that he gained on Calvary for the salvation of the world."

Few relevant observations of Fr. Maria Arockiam (Regional for South Asia)

Our Salesian Regional for the south Asian region in his homily on the occasion of the independence day and the assumption of our lady made an observation on the dichotomy that exists between religion and spirituality. He started by mentioning the three questions that he put forward to the school authorities and students of the St. Anthony’s in Shillong. 

He began the flurry of questions:

Which is the most spiritual country in the world? The answer was invariably India. The second question was – Which is the most corrupt country in the world? The answer again was with a loud noise. India! India! Then came a third question which silenced all – How can we be both Spiritual and be freed from corruption. No one seemed to verbalize an answer. Fr. Arockiam says that it is not that the children do not understand our questions. They do understand our questions……

India is definitely a spiritual country. But does the practice of religion resonate with our being spiritual? There exists a dichotomy between religion and spirituality. Religion is mostly understood to be the performance of few rituals to get something from God. It is a high time to question our way of living. Young people want to see in us credulity. Young people these days go after things that are higher. They go in search of peace, silent places. Padre Pio, a saint of credibility, when he was alive attracted many youngsters…..We need to be pointers to the ultimate reality, and show by our life that there is also an internal reality of being with God while being spiritual.

Beloved Countrymen!!

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,

Into the heaven of freedom my Father, let my country awake.” Sang Rabindranath Tagore.

Independence day 64 years ago was marked by a great anxiety and fear as well as by an ardent hope as our nation tasted the sweetness of freedom from the clutches of foreign colonial rule. The infant India then was like a dream realized from Mahatma’s struggle, a nation was truly born, though our freedom was tempered by the horrors of partition.

In the wave of freedom our leaders spoke a new tongue, they breathed a new spirit into the dry bombs of a buried nation. They instilled in the minds of every Indian to think rational, and think national. Hence, a bond was made to be untorn. August 15 was repeated since then, every year adding new life, new vision for change and renewal. Today as India joyfully commemorates her 60^th independence day, we ought to remember and appreciate our leaders who initiated the first Indian freedom movement. Though they adjugated to be timid, yet their efforts stands in need of appreciation. It would also be unjust to remain silent about the thousands of insignificant unnoticed martyrs ad freedom fighters, who dared to give their life for the cause of an independent nation. They were all inspired by the zeal of winning an independent India.

If we look back to the past, we see history repeating itself. We notice the themes of triumph and trauma, of survival under strain; repeat themselves over and over again. But the progress India made in every decade was accompanied by conflicts and tensions – over language in the 1950s, economic strictures in the 1960s and 1970s and communal and caste divides in the 1980s. In 1990s India reaped the benefits of liberalization. Yes dear countrymen, we have made a steady progress over the years in all spheres - political, social, economic, science, sports, agriculture, etc. From the beginning, it has made a wonderful contribution in the field of spirituality. The Buddhist concept of Ahimsa-“ahimsa paramo dharmohi, ahimsaiva param tapaha”, “one caste, one religion, one god” of Sri. Narayana Guru are few among the many rich concepts of Indian spirituality. The phrase ‘Satyam eva jayate’ itself speaks volumes for the deep-rooted spirituality in India.

64 years after independence though India is free from the monopoly of the British, yet in real sense of the term India is not free even today. With the recent bomb blasts in   different parts of India, we sense threat to our life whenever we travel. Can you be free in fear of being killed? Can a minority community live peacefully without facing any threat to the exercise of its fundamental rights in a democratic India? Atrocities against women are increasing in a country where we respect women. Can a woman take a stroll in the streets without facing threat to her modesty and security? The same age old problems appear repeatedly as old errors in new labels. India is infected with the age-old caste system, thus relegating the low caste people to the lower state than a domestic animal. It is still not uncommon to find the ethnic clashes between tribals; morality is degraded in a country where we uphold the spiritual values. Domestic violence, rape and murder are a perennial issue. Children, the future leaders of our country are abused and exploited. Where are we? Where is the respect to human dignity? Our politicians (except a few remain honest by principle and they are rare) have grown individualistic. The British devised a policy of divide ad rule, but our politicians have adopted a theory of rule and ruin.  When will we see a free India and freed Indians? Are we to wait in long expectation? How shall we move from a fear factor to freedom factor? We have to be reminded that we are no more under the clutches of the foreign imperial rule. But we are all in bondage of our own petty selfishness and narrow-mindedness. We have to break free the shackles of indifference, antipathy and negative attitudes. The cause of something going wrong outside would be sought inside. The change must begin in me, in you and in seeing us others will change. Therefore, the biggest ever change we can bring is to change our own self-perception about life and freedom.  We have to make a move from egoism to altruism, which leads us to interdependence. Let our prayer be like Mary the Patroness of India – “Lord make me a captive, then I shall be free”. Let the truth set us free.


One more thing to add finally - IS INDEPENDENCE an idea or a myth? Some would say that it is a myth because there is nothing like independence, but only interdependence.........Think about it....

                                                  Satyam eva jayate!!! Jai hind!!

Internet Life: An interesting image

This is what I got from an email.

Translation in English:

I  first met her from Orkut, love began in Facebook, marriage was in Twitter, First night was in You Tube, Divorce was in Blog, Now the child who is to be breast fed is searching for its parents in Google....

 Though it is a flight of imagination, the virtual life and virtual space is becoming a reality......
If one lives life only in the net, one is truly in the net, locked up in a virtual room, locked up without tradition, faith and the life fully understood in a lived tradtion....and latching on to the networking, one can (unfinished...)