“I
came that they may have life and have it abundantly”, said Jesus (Jn:
10:10
). God is the author and giver of life. God wants us to enjoy the life which he
has given to us to its full. St.Iraneus says:
“The glory of God is human fully alive”.
People
choose Death rather than Life
The
divine Will therefore is that we live well and fully at all levels. But God has
also endowed humans with freedom. It should be used for the promotion of life
and the development of humanity. Moses
said to his people: “See, I
have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life
that you and your descendents may live” (Deut.
30:15, 19). But at the
turn of this century, we are faced with the reality of our country and the
world, more divided than united, the gap between the powerful and the becoming
wider, and as a result, more conflicts, sometimes violent, between groups and
communities within countries, between neighboring countries and between nations
of the world rather than peace and true well-being of humanity.
The elderly, the aged, the ailing and the terminally
ill, the women, children, dalits, tribals, refugees etc are always at a
disadvantage in society. The institution of homes for the aged, homes for
orphans and street children, HIV/AIDs Centres are a modern invention showing in
many instances a failure to cope with the weak and the poor, with a sense of
reverence and dignity. The sacredness of the person is permanent. It is not
lessened by the advanced stage of life, gender or change of position.
Forces
that destroy life
Whatever
threatens, weakens, diminished and destroys the dignity, respect and equality of
individuals, groups or people and whatever socio-cultural, religious, political,
economic or environmental factor that destroys or threatens life is against
God’s plan for His creation. Murder, abortion, unbridled sex, suicide,
sub-human living conditions, imprisonment without trial, religious intolerance,
abuse of children, child labour, the rising incidence of AIDS, treatment of
workers as instruments of economic gain rather than as persons with dignity and
respect – this disturbing picture shows that we choose death rather than life,
evil instead of good and curse instead of blessings. The unjust distribution of
resources, the arms trade, tampering with the ecological balance, the misuse of
Media –they are all destructive of human life. A look around our world can
show us some of the victims of life-destroying forces: women, children,
unemployed youth, Dalits, Tribals, refugees and Nature.
The
Victims of Life-destroying Forces
Women
should be looked at, not merely in terms of gender in relation to patriarchal
male domination, but as equal images of God, who are precious, valuable, who
have self-worth and hence should live and enjoy human life to the full as women.
The 4th International Conference of Women in
Beijing
in Sept. 1995 declared that “Women’s
rights are Human rights”. The WSF held in Mumbai in January 2004 was
positive about women’s equality saying “A
new world is possible”. The crux of the problem is that women’s
rights are not respected, protected, nor promoted. Atrocities on women are on
the increase.
However,
it is a positive sign that Women’s Movements in the form of Mahila Mandals and
Women Commissions are sprouting up all over the country and taking up an active
part in issues like rising prices, sexual discrimination, wife-beating, dowry
harassment, representation in the Panchayats and more recently, the pressure to
pass the reservation bill for women. Thus, the empowerment and political
consciousness of women will challenge the life-destructive forces of women. What
are our plans for women in the villages wherever we are working?
We do not look at children
merely in terms of age as young in relation to adults, but as human beings who
are precious, who have self-worth and hence should live and enjoy the life of
childhood to the full. In many cultures, little children are not taken
seriously. They are exploited, sold, used for cheap labour; they are sacrificed
to God in the name of religion; they are considered nuisance; they are beggars,
rag pickers, street children; they are at juvenile homes and prisons. Jesus
takes them into his hands and blesses them. Do we care for children in our
institutions and outside? Many such children are not in our schools and in our
health centres. Where are they? They are working in factories for cheap wages.
Due to irresponsible parents, they are on the streets and prisons. When we are
not able to cater for such children in our institutions, why should we run them?
The poor too have the right to use our infra-structure, our ground and our time.
The youth
are another group of people who need our special attention today. Looking at a
young person, Jesus loved him (Mk:
10: 21
). We say youth are uncontrollable. But our present Pope Francis attracts them
without compromising his values. Our President Abdul Kalam devising means to win
over them. They have no jobs and since they don’t know what to do, they go
after drugs and commit crimes. What plans do we have to attract the youth who
are disoriented today? What job-opportunities or training can we provide for
them? They are not useless but they are actually used less by others.
We recognize Dalits
and Tribals, not in relation to others in a caste-hierarchy, but as
human beings who are children of the same God. Hence they, as our brothers and
sisters should live and enjoy human life to the full.
Bartimeus was blind and begging by the roadside –
doubly unfortunate. In the context of Jewish background, being blind itself is
reason enough to be cursed. People rebuked him and asked him to be quiet. But
Jesus’ attitude came through powerfully when he stopped and said “Call
him” (Mk: 10. 49). In the midst of a large crowd, a shout by a blind beggar
was enough to stop the Son of God. He lovingly asked him: “What do you
want?” What is our attitude towards the
marginalized poor? Modern human beings have no time to spare for
others. Torn between the old value system and the success-oriented social order,
he/she is sandwiched between the two. In this context, where is the time to care
for others? So the question remains the same: “Am
I my brother’s keeper?”
We
look at Nature,
not as an object to be dominated, exploited and used, but as sharer with human
beings in the common heritage of life. Life is not merely limited to human
beings, but also to the Cosmos. Nature and the humans are so close to each other
for mutual existence and sustenance. The growing menace of the pollution of
nature like the drying up of water resources, the poisoning of the atmosphere
with chemicals because of the high concentration of industries and factories,
the throwing of garbage and solid wastes anywhere at people’s convenience, the
high level noise specially in urban areas that harms the human nervous system
– are some of the results of the pollution menace and it harms life in
general.
The environmental destruction has led to the
intensification of the poverty and destitution of the forest dwellers in terms
of non-availability of food, fuel, fodder, fertilizer and the disappearance of
medical herbs. The Tribals are displaced and uprooted from their homeland due to
natural calamity and planned destruction of forests. Slowly we are heading
towards a world of deserts and dry lands and nothing else.The
United Nations has declared 2014 as the International
Year of Family Farming so as to support the farmers achieve food
security and eradicate global poverty. "By choosing to celebrate this year,
we recognise that family farmers are leading figures in responding to the double
urgency the world faces today: improving food security and preserving the
natural resources, in line with the Millennium Development Goals, with the
debate on the post-2015 development agenda and the zero hunger challenge,"
FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said.
The Mass- Media
The
above-mentioned death-dealing forces are today strengthened by the invasion of
the mass-media. Of course Pope Francis said recently that the
Internet and social media are making people across the world increasingly
interdependent. The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for
encounter and solidarity and that this is something truly good, a
gift from God.
At the same time, though, all those tweets and texts and comment streams can
cause people to "lose our bearings," said the 77-year-old pontiff.
"The speed with which information is communicated exceeds our capacity for
reflection and judgment, and this does not make for more balanced and proper
forms of self-expression. The speed of communication hampers reflection, he
warns.
The
New Millennium is witnessing a heart-rending scene of the media taking control
of the whole world. The Media with new developments like fast reaching satellite
television and sophisticated networking across nations is definitely breaking
the geographical boundaries. The dominant culture of the West is conveniently
walking into the homes of developing nations. A cultural shift is quietly taking
place all over the world. The media invasion of the family is upsetting the
stability and morality of the family members. Many media programmes promote
sexual permissiveness, violence, consumerism and superficial entertainment.
Media also promotes the values of Globalization. In this process, western dance,
dress, language, food habits and sports are made popular and commonly acceptable
and slowly the richness of our culture is disappearing. How are we going to save
our native culture from extinction?
But
the Mass-Media have a tremendous potential to uplift the poor. Efforts should be
made to make them participate in the communication process. Their folktales
should be serialized in the official Media. The heroic deeds of Dalit and Tribal
leaders should be filmed. The womenfolk should be given enough opportunity to
give expression to their struggles and cultural richness and they should take
control of the Media.
We also note with pain that our sisters and brothers
in our country are still denied their rights to
religious freedom. In the area of religious pluralism, we reflect on
the growing fundamentalist extremism and fanaticism discriminating and excluding
people who belong to other religious traditions, thus destroying the harmony of
peoples’ lives and their solidarity already witnessed to in a dialogue of
life. This is another obstacle to the achievement of Life in Fullness.
It is in this context that we should listen to the
call of our late Holy Father
John Paul II: “The
right to life is the first of all rights. It is the foundation of democratic
liberties and the keystone of the edifice of society. We must be committed to
the defense of life in all its stages and in every condition”.
The Vision of every Founder/Foundress and the
Charism of every Religious Congregation is basically focused on giving life to
the needy. Every religious is invited to join hands with them in their struggle
for a new world which is just, egalitarian, humane and where all are brothers
and sisters to one another. The marginalized victims of dehumanization long for
a humanizing and humanized world, where no one will be used and humiliated,
whereon one will be treated as less than human, where no one will go hungry or
be left out on the sidelines of society. Basically it means that human beings
have to be like human beings, because God created them in His image. Abundance
of life involves treating all as human persons and allowing them to live with
dignity, respect and equality. Therefore we say “NO” to all the anti-human,
anti-community, anti-life forces and ideologies. We say “NO” to
marketization of human life and to the culture of competition promoted and
intensified by globalization.
Signs
of Hope
If
the focus of every human being and Religious Congregation is to bring about
cultural and spiritual transformation towards fullness of life, we can see
around us many signs of hope in People’s Movements, Group Initiatives and the
Efforts of the Church in the service of Life. We need to affirm and encourage
these and collaborate with them.
We also note the emergence of Movements for the
protection of the Environment and the eco system linked to justice. They are in
solidarity with other committed groups struggling for the rights of women, of
children, especially the girl-child, the child labour and of indigenous peoples.
The increasing number of young people searching for solidarity and community and
seeking a deeper spirituality is truly remarkable. We are consoled by the
efforts of many peoples to foster dialogue with those other faiths. Some
sections of the Media are committed to the promotion of values and of people’s
Movements and Rights. To these life-giving forces, we give a resounding
“YES”.
Our
Search for Life
We
are searching, not simply for the meaning of life, but for life itself. Life is
a gift and a mystery and our efforts to achieve it often fall short. Ours is a
Vision of holistic life, entrusted to every person and community regardless of
gender, creed, culture, class or colour. We envision a life with integrity and
dignity, a life of compassion for the multitudes, especially the poor and the
needy, a life of solidarity with every form of life and of sensitive care for
all the earth. For us, to
live is to live and let live with dignity and integrity, in peace and justice,
in freedom and participation, in mutuality and complementarity, in simplicity
and sensitivity.
Our vocation to Christian / religious life is to
continue the mission of Jesus. It is to confront
and act against death-dealing realities. Just as Jesus worked as a promoter of
new life and died to usher it, so today we must prophesy on behalf of the God of
life through our ministries and service for their rightful place in society and
in the Church. Refusal to speak against the forces of death is to fail in
serving life.
Speaking
of “fullness of life”
Jesus says in John’s gospel: “I
am the Gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and I will come in and go out
and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came
that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:9-10). Jesus
and the thief stand at opposite extremes from one another. The thief comes to
plunder the poor so they will die. Jesus came to bring fullness of life. Either
we participate in Christ’s mission or in the thief’s plundering of the
world. As long as we remain merely victims or spectators in this
struggle for Life, we are supporting the thief and so go against God’s plan
that all may have life in fullness.
We have to empty ourselves first in order to give
life to others in abundance. Jesus tells the rich young man: “Give
away what you have, give it to the poor. Then you will find what you are looking
for”. The story of this rich young man ends in a sorrowful note,
because he goes away. Then Jesus says: “How
hard will it be for the wealthy to enter the
Kingdom
of
God
!” (Mk.
10:23) Fullness of life and the Reign of God are destroyed by our unjust
salary and wages to our co-workers, exploitation of the poor in our
institutions, desire for power and possessions and justifying the means to
achieve them, insensitivity to the cry of the people around but regular to
exercises of piety and multiplying them, developing a culture of being deaf and
silence in the midst of injustices etc. Sometimes we make ourselves untouchable
and unavailable to others in the name of busy schedule and our walls are sound
proof so that we cannot hear the cries of the needy. Apartheid is not just a
political system. It is a certain way of thinking, feeling and living, without
being conscious of what is happening around us. We need a radical change of
heart and a paradigm shift in our thinking and functioning.
How
to Promote Life today Concretely?
:
We have to look into our way of life sincerely and question ourselves whether
the poor feel at home in our presence and comfortable with our life-style
:
All our traditional ministries have to be seriously re-oriented keeping in mind
the life-giving forces
:
India
still needs literacy and health services provided if we are clear about our
target people in today’s context. Where and whom are we serving for - is an
important question to be answered by every one of us.
:
Due to globalization and secularization, new problems and new needs are
emerging. We need to discover new ministries in order to respond relevantly to
these new demands.
:
In today’s context, a good percentage of our religious should be allowed to
involve in non-institutional ministries and a suitable training and
re-orientation should be provided to them to take up such ministries.
:
We have to give priority to involvement and eco-friendly spirituality and we
need to revise our Laws, Constitutions and regulations to this extent.
Conclusion
It
is apt to quote the words of Mother Theresa as I conclude this article:
“There
is the Government in our country to take care of the POOR.
There
are N.G.Os to care for the POORER.
But
Religious are specially called to take care of the POOREST!”
Who are the people we talk about in our Chapters and
Chapels and who are we sincerely serving? Are they the POOR,
the POORER or the POOREST?
As she says, we are called to be
FAITHFUL to God’s Will and not SUCCESSFUL
according to our Will! We are called to go DEEPER
and not HIGHER. Our
vocation is to become
EFFECTIVE in God’s
Mission
and not to be EFFICIENT
in our own way!
Inigo
ssa
New
Delhi
