“Father Savio was a hard worker, great builder and a good religious.” This is how the provincial would have ended his eulogy at the funeral of Fr Savio.
Fr Savio had built several churches in the missions, and supervised even the construction of a formation house. He was not just a supervisor in these construction sites; often he worked in them himself. He was a six-footer with a well built physique -he could carry two cement bags on either hands and go up the stairs. He could drive long distances without any food or drink. Every one in the province praised him as a self-sacrificing Religious.
He said his prayers, whenever he was in the house. When he could not join monthly recollections – everyone knew Fr Savio was busy. Often he did not celebrate daily mass; sometimes he exercised his baptismal priesthood. When it was his turn to preside at the community Eucharist, he was more […]
Month: March 2011
Religious Life – The Active Ants
There was once a colony of ants. The colony was divided into many units, and each unit had its leader and the colony itself had its own leaders. Every unit was known for its hard work and tremendous activity. Since they worked hard some were always tired and sick, so others had to work harder. They worked so hard that they had no time for reflection, evaluation and planning. They always consoled themselves dreaming of the day when they will have enough ants to accomplish all their work. But that day never came. The new recruits always filled gaps. Their numbers never increased because of the situation that they had created for themselves some died (after all, isn’t true that ants do die?), others got sick and still others dropped out of the colony.
It is not that the ants were little devils. They always said their prayers (problem was perhaps they only said prayers!), they obeyed their rules (they were […]
African Worldview
THE AFRICAN ANSWER TO
THE QUESTION OF ULTIMATE REALITY:
THE VITAL FORCE.
Sahaya G. Selvam
0. INTRODUCTION
Simply put, the fundamental question in philosophy is, what is the ultimate reality?
The Eastern religions, the earliest sources in the known human history to answer this question, were mystical in their approach. They gave different names to this “ultimate reality which underlies and unifies the multiple things of events” of the universe. The Chinese called it Tao, the Hindus, Brahman and the Buddhists called it Dhamma.
Judaism might have been the first well-known religion to give a personal dimension to this ultimate reality, though without giving a definite name. They calledHim, YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph. Later Christianity would be born out of the fact that this “God” would even take a human form.
The early Greek philosophers of the Ionian school were too concerned with the material cosmos and they began their philosophical search with the question: What is the world stuff? Their […]
Via Lucis – Version 2
A pious exercise called the Via Lucis has developed and spread to many regions in recent years. Following the model of the Via Crucis, the faithful process while meditating on the various appearances of Jesus – from his Resurrection to his Ascension – in which he showed his glory to the disciples who awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14, 26; 16, 13-15; Lk 24, 49), strengthened their faith, brought to completion his teaching on the Kingdom and more closely defined the sacramental and hierarchical structure of the Church.
Through the Via Lucis, the faithful recall the central event of the faith – the resurrection of Christ – and their discipleship in virtue of Baptism, the paschal sacrament by which they have passed from the darkness of sin to the bright radiance of the light of grace (cf. Col 1, 13; Eph 5, 8).
For centuries the Via Crucis involved the faithful in […]
Being Here and Now
Sit and calm yourself. Take a comfortable posture, with your feet flat on the floor if you are seated on a chair, and keep your back straight. Close your eyes.
Become aware of the fact that you are breathing. Do not manipulate your breathing. Just be aware that you are breathing in and out. As you breathe out, relax the different parts of your body: have you closed your eyes too tight? Relax your facial muscles. You can actually let go of your lower jaw without opening your mouth. Enjoy the moment.
Relax your neck, your shoulders, and above all your stomach. Keep your back straight.
Keep paying attention to your breathing. Each time you realise your mind was wandering, bring back your attention to your breathing. Be here and now!
Now and then become aware of your feelings. How do you feel?
End the exercise by becoming aware of the fact that you are in the presence of God. Be at peace!