How about your Consecrated Commitment (life)?

It is God who takes the initiative in creation, sustaining and salvation. With this the initiative is not stopped. He continues to seek the humanity in all asking us to turn to Him. He is after us although we are busy like Eve and Adam satisfying ourselves and indulging with the apple of egoism, power, prestige, possession. Yet God takes initiative to ask, Where are you? Gen 3: 9. He asks us, as he asked Cain Where is your brother?    

‘Talitha Cum!’ two Aramaic words spoken by Jesus Christ, in the Gospel of St Mark 5:41 when He raised up or brought to life the dead daughter of Jairus, an official of the synagogue. The word means “little girl, get up!” If we take original Aramaic expression, ‘talitha’ meaning ‘little lamb’followed by the feminine imperative singular ‘koum’ as found in Greek translation. It is one of the few recorded words of Christ retained in near original form in any of the Gospels. Keeping the meaning of the word talithakum and the context as the background I would like to pose few questions that emerge from those questions that God the Father asked our first Parents in the book of Genesis, Where are you? And where is your brother/sister? I am sure these questions and answers will certainly respond to the needs of the Mission that the Clergy and Religious are privileged to carry on in a given situation and the context.

1.      What do you believe are the 3 big changes for you as a religious today compared to what a religious you may have had to face say 5 or 10 years ago?

a.       Religious and Clergy are active on Mass Media and Communication.

b.      As a result most of us spend less time with books and scripture to read and update our knowledge of Word of God.

c.       Hence our homilies, sermons and talks become monotonous and stereotype and ineffective.

2.      What do you believe are your top 3 challenges as religious today?

a.       Personal Prayer (priority to the work of the Lord rather than the Lord of the work. Hence, we do not become people of prayer but of rules, portfolios and professionals. Hence we are no less than those NGOs and professionals.

b.      Vow of Obedience (we live in terms of gossip and backbiting and Chastity is a compromising value and not a conviction of a religious value).

c.       Most of us like and love people outside the community than inside the community.

3.      Which is the way you are hoping to make an impact and make a difference as a religious in the next 10-20 years?

By becoming more people oriented/mission oriented I shall make my presence as a blessing to the people entrusted to me by becoming one with them; and by knowing their difficulties and joys of daily life. Teaching them how to trust God at all times of life, rather than escaping the realities and responsibilities of life.  

4.      What is an example of a difficult choice you confront regularly in your work and life as a religious?

Unsteady emotions and inhibitions particularly while relating to the equals and the people of God (faithful).

5.      What do you find most meaningful about being a religious and a clergy today?

Befriending the youth and not judging them. Being with them is a blessing. It is time for all the parish priests and religious to render a helping hand to the poor families and others who badly in need of a listening ear. People need our pastoral ear and a shepherd’s heart. Meaning to see we need to invest our valuable time with the people of God.

6.      What do you find most difficult about being a religious and a clergy today?

Not able to balance between prayer and work. At times we lose focus of our vocation, mission and witness and become like those NGOs and Charitable Trust engrossed in the work of the Lord. 

7.      What specific inputs on being more effective religious would be most useful for you in the role you play today?

a. Emotional Integrity and Maturity.

b. How to use Media as a Means in our Mission.

c. Clarity over life of Radical Witness and Life of Professionalism.

d. How to meet people of faith and other faiths.

e. Due to lack of PRAYER we lose focus and get attached to individuals and things and thus get into vocational crisis and end up life in scandals.   

8.      For a religious like this to be effective, you believe he/she should be.....

a.       Should be prepared well (like this theme) setting our mind and heart on a specific theme to think and reflect over may be in retreats, recollections and seminars. 

b.      Should be interactive and relevant for our times to set us into our mission and apostolate.