Three tips to be an awesome Priest

Three Tips to be an Awesome Priest

“If you really want to be an awesome priest, I suggest you 3 things:

Be secure with your identity,

Build genuine Human Relationships and Dialogue and

Stand up for things you feel are not right (diplomacy does not help).” Marina D’Costa  

        The above quoted words make me think and reflect about my life as a consecrated religious. One day as Api Marina D’Costa and I were chatting, she gave me 3 tips “to be an awesome priest.” Even after many days these points keep lingering in my mind, so I decide to share with Fr. Anthony, a good friend of mine. The sharing lasts for two hours. Here I would like to put down the fruit of the dialogue on the three suggestions to be a good priest.

Be secure with your identity:  

 Father Anthony asked me: ‘What is your identity?’ I replied, ‘son of God.’ Again he asked, ‘who gave you birth?’ My Parents, I answered. He said to me, “if you love your parents, brothers and sisters, you are deeply human. And your first identity is to be truly human. He adds, grace is built on nature.” I agree whatever he said because only good human person can also be a good religious. In the context of religious life, prayer is important, without which one can be lost in the work and later questions one’s own identity. Jesus himself sets a good example: “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). In another passage we find: “He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (Mark 3:14). “I am the Vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Indeed, a monk who does not pray is sure to undergo identity crisis.

Build genuine Human Relationships and Dialogue:  

Jesus’ final commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). He also mentions: “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” (John 13:34-35). Jesus clearly calls for genuine love relationship; to love as He loves. A person who is sure of his identity will be able to build good human relationships. Daily personal prayer will purify one’s soul and heart to love God and people more and more. Building genuine human relationship is not a safe state, one may fail many times but the humility to strive towards it should be kept alive.  

Stand up for things you feel are not right (diplomacy does not help):

 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jer 1:4). One of the tasks of a prophet is to speak up for the truth. However, one should keep in mind that every person has good side and bad side, so one has to be very polite and prudent in pointing out the mistakes and wrongs. However, if one seeks for cheap popularity and fails to tell the right thing then the purpose of being a religious is defeated.

  These threefold values are not achieved once and for all. They are to be consciously strived for. They are interconnected and the success in the 1st step will lead to the growth in the second and the third steps respectively. Similarly, identity crisis will lead to the downfall in human relationships and inner principles.

At the end of the day, what counts is love. How much one loves? St. Paul beautifully explains the meaning of love: “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I hand over my body so that I boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (I Corinthians 13:1-7).

Don Bosco says, “Learn to make yourself loved.” Love is so important in human relationship. How does one acquire this energy to love? It is received from the time spent before the Lord. It is the love that comes from within; the overflowing love of God. The three principles can be summed up in one word: “Christ’s Love.” 

Everthing for Christ’s love.  

Inthanmei Scotland mei pui Margaret

Inthanmei Scotland mei pui Margaret

Inthanmei Margaret hei tinkum 1045, Hungary tu mei bam khou puan lou khuan nge. Kapu jan ruai na Edward Atheling tu na kau we. Kapu hei England mei Guang bam lin nimei the. Kapui jan ruai na Agatha tu na kao we. Agatha hei Hungary mei tuang Guang nah ye. Kumna Margaret hei English mei tuang guang nah khuan nge. Norman mei nun ruai England mei ta rih ngam khuan the tingkum 1066 khou. Kum ti pui jang ruai kakai kaikhun Scotland khou tei tat khuan the. Tingkum 1070 khou tei Margaret hei tinkum 25 tang khuan the. Kamei hei Malcom Canmore, Scotland mei tuang guang nou su khuan the. Margaret hei pei na rah lum mei pui khuan nge. Kamei ruai ni lungsi rianra mei nun ta kha lou pui tan peina tan lou khuan nge. Kanah katummei Scotland mei tuang Guang su khuan ne, kumna kanah tunapui ni England mei tuang Guang nou su khuan nge.  

Margaret kaghan ti hei peina tikalai lou khuan nge. Kamei ruai kaghan khang Bible ni pa lou khuan nge. Kumna kamei hei Church kalummei tuang tan duan kaguai na khou tei pei na lunggut na tan lou we. Kaghan akhatni kanha nun guai- kadai suna kanah ganlou liangmei David I- hei Guang  gai mei akhatni inthan mei nun chapat ngam khuan ne. Margaret hei pei na inthanne, kumna kakheiliak ni pei na gai khuan ne, kumti pui jang ruai kaghan tani kamei ruai tikalia lou the, kumna Scotland guandi ta ni gaimei cheng khou tei jai lou khuan nge.  

Kamei hei lungsi mei nun akhatni puipu mak mei nha nun khang nap ti tulou khuan nge. Kumna lungsi mei phai ni khu we, Jesu Christa tan mei lou mei ti kum ma. Jipmang khou ni rah kalum khang thao thao khuan nge. Kamei rah kalum khang kagan gei na tipat re, inthan mei larik nun ni gei na pakhuan ne, kumna church tuang phei nun ni lung gut na hui lou we.  

Kaghan Malcolm le kanha ganthao mei, Edward hei Alnwick rhi khou ruai thei the. Mi pau tei chu lou khou ruai ni kapum suanmei tei ni hian kulana kamei ni jang nei thum pui nei tang thai the. Kumna kata Dunfermline Anney tumei bam khou phum lou ka the. Kamei ti hei Pope Innocent IV ruai tingkum 1250 khou tei inthanmei the tuna daolou the. Kamei hei Scotland mei tuang jao sinlou bamei inthan mei the.  

Asei hei Kamei tati hei aniu tuang Church ruai Pui nun guai khang kadai su na Inthanmei lulung tei lung ngam khang tu na dao lou tuang the.  

Inthanmei Margaret, aniu guai kaikhun khang kalum lou wo!

Saint Margaret of Scotland

Saint Margaret of Scotland

St. Margaret was born in 1045 in Hungary. Her parents were Edward Atheling, heir to the English throne and Princess Agatha of Hungary. She was the English princess. Norman conquered England in 1066 so the family left for the Kingdom of Scotland. In 1070, at the age of 25, Margaret married the king of Scotland, Malcolm Canmore. She was a pious woman, and she established many charity centres. Three of her sons became kings of Scotland and a daughter became a queen of England.

She influenced her husband Malcolm by reading him stories from the Bible. She was concerned about the worship of the church. Her husband and children – especially her youngest son, later David I – also to became just and holy rulers. Queen Margaret was a strong, pure, noble character, who had very great influence over her husband, and through him over Scottish history, especially in ecclesiastical aspects.

She attended to charitable works, serving orphans and the poor every day and washing the feet of the poor in imitation of Christ. She rose at midnight every night to attend church services. She spent much of her time in prayer, devotional reading, and ecclesiastical embroidery.

Her husband, Malcolm III and her eldest son, Edward died in the battle of Alnwick on November 1093. After three days, she too died and was buried in Dunfermline Anney. She was canonized in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV and named patron of Scotland in 1673.

Today she stands as the shinning model for all Christians especially for the mothers.

St. Margaret of Scotland, Pray for us!

Silence

Silence...

“People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices...”

This is a prophetic song. These days you see two people sitting in a park but each one is busy with the phone. One talks with a person who is far away, but one fails to speak to the neighbour. How many times we hear and not listen.

How often people like music to be always by their side: study, games, rest, meals, sleep, and in personal rooms. Is there fear of silence? Does silence make one in touch with himself or herself? 

Simon and Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Grafunkel. They were one of the most popular groups of the 1960s, and were viewed as counterculture icons of the decade’s social revolution, alongside artists such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

This song was written in Feb. 1964. Paul Simon took six months to write the lyrics, which are about man’s lack of communication with his fellow man. He averaged one line a day.

The song contains right words and right melody. It is worth spending in contemplating the depth in those very fine lines.

Here are the lines of the song:  

"The Sound Of Silence"

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence.

"Fools," said I, "You do not know –
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you.
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence.  

(Thank You Friar Sidney J. Mascarenhas for sharing with me this inspiring song.)

Honesty! Walk with me

Honesty! You are welcome

Human beings tend to go beyond material and words in relationship. It takes courage to be true to ourselves and with everyone. The need for trust and honesty arises when relationship goes deeper. Just think to how many people you can really share your feelings and inner thoughts. How is that a person gets a lover but not honesty?

“Honesty is such a lonely word.” Looking within oneself and the society around us, one can see that honesty is disregarded. However, deep within one’s heart everyone longs for honesty. Sometimes functional relationship takes precedence over genuine relationship, when the other is treated in terms of productivity.

Yes, one can built a mansion, buy large plot of land, accumulate huge sum of money and so on and so forth. But at the end of the day, one longs for someone to whom one can trust. This deep thirst cannot be satisfied with material value but only with genuine human touch, that is, honesty.

There are many people who are sincerely seeking for meaning in relationships, work-place, school, hospital, religion, marriage, family, association, organization, and society at large.

The song “Honest” is one of the masterpieces of an American singer and song writer, Billy Joel in 1978. This song challenges the listener....will you let down your brother and sister, who silently beg you to be honest with them.  

"Honesty"

If you search for tenderness
It isn't hard to find
You can have the love you need to live
But if you look for truthfulness
You might just as well be blind
It always seems to be so hard to give

Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you

I can always find someone
To say they sympathize
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve
But I don't want some pretty face
To tell me pretty lies
All I want is someone to believe

Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you

I can find a lover
I can find a friend
I can have security
Until the bitter end
Anyone can comfort me
With promises again I know, I know

When I'm deep inside of me
Don't be too concerned
I won't ask for nothin' while I'm gone
But when I want sincerity
Tell me where else can I turn
Cause you're the one that I depend upon

Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you  

(Thanks Friar Sidney J. Mascarenhas for sharing with me this insightful song. This song is the true cry of humanity for building genuine human relationships.)

Let’s invite honesty personally and in our society.... Honesty! Walk with us....

You are a beautiful Rose!!!

You are a beautiful rose!!!  

The seed is within you.....in the winter of your life, the seed is beneath you and with the sun’s love you will surely bloom in the spring.  

Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945), also known by her informal stage name The Divine Miss M, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, comedian, and film producer. The song “The Rose” was performed in the year 1981 and won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.  

“The Rose” is a classic pop song written by Amanda McBroom in 45 minutes and made famous by Bette Midler who recorded it for the soundtrack of the 1979 film The Rose in which it plays under the closing credits.  

"The Rose"
Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.  

What is love according to you? It may depend on your experience.....The composer, Amanda McBroom,  says: “Love is a flower and you its only seed.”  

How can we learn to live?
As one tries to progress in life, one may encounter many tough times, bitter experiences, hard-times, and risks.  However, it is one who dares to face and accept the reality that grows.  

How can you discover your true worth?
Life may be mysterious and unsure. But, it is the love that we have for one another that will sustain us in our life’s journey. The present may turn out to be a severe winter and one may think that ‘it is all over.’  

Stop and listen to these words of the song “The Rose”:
“Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love
In the spring becomes the rose.”

You are the seed that holds a beautiful rose......  
Thank You Friar Sidney J. Mascarenhas, O.F. M.  For sharing with me this beautiful song.......You are a beautiful Rose!  

The world is a garden of beautiful roses.....You and I are part of it!

Maximum Happiness

Maximum Happiness!!!

This afternoon as I was glancing a book called You by Fulton J. Sheen, I was thrilled with the insight that was in the book. Fulton’s uses down to earth example here to convey something transcendent. Hope you too enjoy and gain from this message...

“Anyone who gives freedom to another assumes great risks, whether it be a parent to a child or a Creator to a creature. In a certain sense, even God took a great risk when He made man free, for the very freedom to become a child of God implied the possibility of becoming a rebel.

Since God made us free to choose what is right, we are also free to choose the wrong. We too often interpret freedom as the right to break God’s commandments. When you buy an automobile, the manufacturer will give you a set of instructions. He will tell you the pressure to which you ought to inflate you tires, the kind of oil your ought to use in the crankcase, and the proper fuel to put in the gas tank really, he has nothing against you because he gives you these instructions, as God had nothing against you in giving you His commandment. The manufacturer wants to be helpful: he is anxious that you get the maximum utility out of the car. And God is more anxious that you get the maximum happiness out of life. That is why He gives you commandments.