Mary the Authentic disciple of Christ

Mary the Authentic disciple of Christ

There are five world famous awards which are given to individual or people in recognition for the excellence within a chosen field:

1.      Academy Award also known as the Oscars which is awarded for the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

2.      Nobel Prize which is an international award given by Scandinavian committees recognizing cultural and scientific advances.

3.      The Medal of Honour which is the highest military award given by the United States government and is given by the President.

4.      The Victoria Cross is given for valor during battle and is awarded to members of the commonwealth armies.

5.      The FIFA World Cup is awarded to the winner of the World Cup soccer final, a soccer tournament held every four years for the competing nation’s senior men’s teams.

In the life of Mary, the recognition of the excellence and authenticity of the whole being does not  comes from the word but form God himself through the words of Angel Gabriel: “Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you.” Now, a question can arise, ‘Why God considered Mary as an authentic person”? First, let us see ‘who is an authentic person? Jesus himself gave us a way to be authentic persons, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35). Further, St. John says, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen (1 Jn.4:20). So, an authentic person is one who manifests the “Love of God” in loving concern for oneself and for the other. In short, authentic person is a loving person. Let us see how Mary, the authentic disciple of Christ, translated the love of God into love of self and the other. 

Manifestation of Mary’s Authenticity:

In the Bible we have a couple of instances which tell us how Mary takes the extra mile in reaching out to people in concern and love:

a)      After the Annunciation of the Angel, she sets out at once to the hill country to serve her cousin for three months (Lk. 1:39,56).

b)      In the wedding feast at Cana, she tells Jesus, “They have no wine” (Jn. 2:3).

In Mary we the character of the Good Samaritan who reaches out to people even before others ask for help. We also find the same attitude in St. John Bosco and Mother Teresa whose spirituality is based on the love of God manifested in concern for the self and the other. I believe these are the people who will here the consoling words of Jesus on the ‘Last Judgement Day’: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me” (Mat 25: 40).

Courage to accept the ups and downs of Life:

The annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the journey of the Calvary, Mary accepts humbly the joys and sorrows of life. She stands today as a shinning example for us to accept with courage the happy moments and little hardship in faith and love in our day-to-day life.

Conclusion:

Jesus gave his mother for you and me. If our Mother is an authentic disciple of Christ, we are invited to grow up as her sons. St. Luke in one line shows how Jesus grows up in the Nazareth family: “Jesus was obedient to them…and increased in wisdom (Intellectual Quotient), and in stature (Physical Quotient), and in divine (Spiritual Quotient) and human favor (Emotional Quotient).” St. John Bosco, the master of youth spirituality and great devotee of Mother Mary, imbibed this holistic paradigm of growth and infused into Valdocco experience. In article 40 Don Bosco uses four metaphors which meet the four dimensions of holistic growth namely, Home for physical growth, School for Intellectual Quotient, Church for Spiritual Quotient and Playground for Emotional Quotient. Thanks to the great Saint, we have the same opportunity to grow in every Salesian home. As we are young and still studying, let us grow in all the four dimensions of life and I am sure Mother Mary will be happy and graciously help us in our effort to growth in authenticity, for authenticity is love. 

 Love one another as I have love you

Last but not the least, I would like to conclude with the of Jesus, Don Bosco and Mother Teresa urging us to embark into the eternal journey of love:

a)      Jesus: Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mat. 5:48).

"I Thirst"

b)      Don Bosco: “Studia di farte amare” (learn to make yourself loved).

c)       Mother Teresa: “Love until it hurts.”

"Inner urge to be Authentic"

"Inner urge to be Authentic"

Authenticity according to Oxford dictionary means ‘the quality of being genuine or true.’ If someone asks you, who is an authentic person? What will be your answer? Some may say: one who is sincere, honest, faithful, trustworthy, truthful, courageous and loving. All these qualities are applicable to an authentic person.

Have you ever listened to your heart, gently calling you to be authentic? I am sure in various stages and situations of your life, you might have strongly felt an inner urge to be authentic. If one has given a serious thought about it, ‘life is definitely going to be different.’

Journeying towards self-authenticity needs courage and daily effort. For instance, a person has to strive towards truthfulness in his or her daily affair. Besides, he or she possesses the courage to accept and admit the mistakes or limitation with openness to improve. So, to be authentic means the courage to be true-self and be transparent which require continuous effort.

It is important to note that authenticity calls for loving self and the others. Firstly, to love self means not to misuse or abuse oneself, physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and sexually. On the contrary growth is fostered in all these areas. Secondly, to love others means to be more understanding and to trust the other person. The love of neighbour also calls for being true-self which means the avoidance of double-behaviour.

An authentic person enjoys inner freedom and has strong courage to stand for any noble cause without fear and shame. The world has indeed witnessed many authentic persons such as: Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, holy men and women, and simple people form various walks of life. These people though they have left the world, yet their authentic lives continue to inspire people across races, nations, cultures, religions and languages.

It is easy to perform good deeds, but it is difficult to be first authentic and perform good deeds. The inner urge to be authentic means to love oneself and others. Whoever we are and whatever we do, each one is called to grow into loving person day by day, for Authenticity is Love.

Journey towards Progress in Life

Reading an article on ‘the Human Good,’ by Bernard J.F. Lonergan, in the book, Method in Theology, I came across a wonderful “Insight,” to make  Progress in Life.

            At the outset, I will like to share something about this great author. Bernard Joseph Francis Lonergan was born in Bucking ham, Quebec, on December 17, 1904. In 1936, Lonergan was ordained Jesuit Priest in Rome. His important works are, Insight: A study of Human Understanding and Method in Theology. Lonergan was made companion of the Order of Canada in 1970; the Catholic Theological Society of American presented him with the John Courtney Murray Award in 1972; he was made corresponding fellow of the British Academy in 1975, and he was awarded nineteen honorary doctorates. Thanks to his wide range of interest in theology, philosophy, human sciences and human studies, he has been called ‘the Christian thinker of the twentieth century.’

            What is Progress? Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines progress: the process of improving or developing or of getting nearer to achieving or completing something. According to Bernard Lonergan, progress consists in the integration of four elements:

Ø   Be attentive,

Ø   Be intelligent,

Ø   Be reasonable,

Ø   Be responsible.

            Let us see how Lonergan explains each point: Being attentive includes attention to human affairs. Being intelligent includes a grasp of hitherto unnoticed or unrealized possibilities. Being reasonable includes the rejection of what probably would not work but also the acknowledgment of what probably would. Being responsible includes basing one’s decisions and choices on an unbiased evaluation of short- term and long- term costs and benefits to oneself, to one’s group, to other groups. Thus, progress means balanced- growth in these four areas.

            Having seen the elements of Progress, it is also important to note the threat to Progress, which is, “Egoism.” It poses a great threat to Progress by disregarding others, concentrating on short- term benefits and overlooking long- term costs. Egoism is in conflict with the Progress. Development guided by group egoism is bound to be one-sided and creates two classes in society, the have and the have-nots. In other words, egoism causes decline in the society due to individual or group inattention, obtuseness, unreasonableness, irresponsibility.

            Therefore, Lonergan proposes transcendental precepts to be followed by individual and group. They are: Be attentive, Be intelligent, Be reasonable, Be responsible. These precepts promote Progress, so the refusal of self- transcendence turns Progress into cumulative decline. Lonergan concludes his article in these powerful words: “Finally, we may note that a religion that promotes self- transcendence to the point, not merely of justice, but of self-sacrificing love, will have a redemptive role in human society inasmuch as such love can undo the mischief of decline and restore the cumulative process of Progress.”

            Now the question is: Can you and I be a part of redeeming the world? Can I go beyond mere Justice and walk the path of self- sacrificing love? Can I transcend myself, my culture, my tribe, my religion, my nation, to build a true Progress of the whole humanity?

            Yes we can! No matter from what faith cast, tribe, language, culture, society, religion, and nationality we belong to. What we need is to: Be attentive, Be intelligent, Be reasonable, and Be responsible. This is how we can make Progress in our generation and prepare a way of Progress for the generations to come.