Christianity and Life Skills Training of Youth: Towards HIV Prevention in Africa

September 22, 2011September 22, 2015 selvam Articles/Chapters

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Abstract
On the one hand, faced with accelerating change in the society, African youth have become victims of situations that the society is unable to handle. This could be one of the causes of the fast spread of HIV/AIDS in the continent. To combat this situation, young people need systematic life skills training. On the other hand, religions have their social functions; they are agents of the socialization process of their adherents, especially in Africa, where religion still greatly affects social life. The essay concludes therefore that mainstream religions have greater responsibility and possibility to provide young people with training in life skills to better face the changing situations in the society. The essay goes on to delineate some strategies in carrying out this task.

Introduction[i]

Youth as a stage in the […]

Vergebung muss erfahren werden (Mt 18, 21-35)

September 19, 2011September 19, 2011 selvam German Entries

Vergebung muss erfahren werden (Mt 18, 21-35)
24. Sonntag im Jahreskreis A
Wenn mich Menschen, meist sind es junge, fragen, warum Katholiken bei einem Priester zur Beichte gehen und warum sie nicht Gott direkt ihre Sünden bekennen, dann versuche ich zu erklären, warum Ich zur Beichte gehen. Der bedeutendste Grund ist wohl der: dass ich von einem Menschen gesagt bekommen möchte, dass Gott mir vergeben hat. Dieser Grund entspricht der Theologie der Sakramente – sie sind sichtbare äußere Zeichen eines inneren gnadenhaften Geschehens.
Im Juli nahm ich an den 30-tägigen Ignatianischen Exerzitien teil. Ein Höhepunkt in dieser Zeit war für mich die Feier des Sakraments der Versöhnung, die Beichte. Nach acht Tagen des Schweigens und des Gebetes merkte ich, dass mich Erinnerungen an erlittene Verletzungen und begangene Schuld vom Gebet ablenkten. In mir entstand der Wunsch nach einer umfassenden Beichte, um mich von dieser Last zu befreien. Als dieser Wunsch in mir auftauchte, […]

Step 7 – Proclamation & Mission

September 17, 2011July 20, 2012 selvam Jesus Experience Retreats: Contents

Mission One: Proclamation
In the story of the Samaritan woman, we remind ourselves that she came to the well at 12 noon, obviously because she was avoiding people. She was a victim of human relationships. Her wounds had made her an addict. However, her encounter with Jesus healed her of the wounds, and “the woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people, ‘Come and see a man who has told me everything I have done; could this be the Christ?’ (Jn 4:28-29). Her encounter made her free of her addiction, and as a result she returned to people; returned to the people as a herald of “Good News.”
Experience of Jesus is positively contagious. The two disciples, John and Andrew, who went and stayed with Jesus for the rest of the day, would like […]

St Barlow’s Mission Week – Day 6 – Transformation

September 16, 2011December 17, 2011 selvam Jesus Experience Retreats: Contents

Introduction
When she experienced Jesus as the I AM, the Samaritan woman’s thirst was fulfilled. The “seventh man” that she met had perfected everything. She did not need the empty water jar anymore: “The woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town…” (Jn 4:28). This was her point of conversion, which was the result of her encounter with Jesus.
After their encounter with Jesus, the magi “returned to their own country by a different way” (Mt 2:12). If they had used the same way, they would have betrayed Jesus. Peter’s reaction to his encounter with Jesus was a feeling of unworthiness, as we mentioned earlier. Jesus assured him that the journey had only begun, then “bringing their boats back to land they left everything and followed him” (Lk 5:4-11). […]

St Barlow’s Mission Week – Day 5 – The Encounter

September 15, 2011December 17, 2011 selvam Jesus Experience Retreats: Contents

Emptiness of the Potter-world
One of my New Year resolutions for 2002 was to read Harry Potter – Book 1. I must confess that I was really out of step with the euphoria that was building up in the rest of the world, with four books already published in the series by then. In fact, it was that euphoria that had caught my attention even in the bush in East Africa. I was proud that it did not take me too long to put the resolution into action. I enjoyed reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Since then I have read four of the seven books and watched as many movie-versions of them.
What led me into this “Pottermania”? I was intrigued by the reports in the press, including the five page […]