Don Bosco India

A JUBILEE OF SORTS

On 6 August, the new academic year at Sacred Heart College, Mawlai, Shillong, was inaugurated. The occasion had a special significance for me.

WHY DO GOOD WITH MEANS NOT SO GOOD? (Contd.)

Educational institutions are an excellent means of doing good. There is no doubt that much good is done.

WHY DO GOOD WITH MEANS NOT SO GOOD?

I am surprised every time I read the story of Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5. By modern standards they were by no means bad people.

A Difficult Idea

When I was young, teachers taught me to learn Mathematics. Not merely did they teach Mathematics. They taught me to use my fingers and count.

LETTER FROM AMERICA (contd.)

(Fr. Paul Vadakumpadan continues his reflections on his recent visit to America to preach mission appeals.)

How tempted...!

How tempted am I to pray this!

Letter from America

For a long time, I used to be a regular listener to Alistair Cooke`s BBC radio programme Letter from America. Cooke`s letter was the longest running radio programme in history by a single person, lasting 58 years.

TILL WE MEET AGAIN AT THE NEXT FUNERAL

An interesting aspect of funerals is that they bring together people who have not met one another for a long time. A fitting parting wish at funerals could be ``till we meet again at the next funeral.`` So the dead render a remarkable service by bringing together the living.

Politics in Religion and Religion in Politics: A Tale of two Gujaratis

A Tale of two Gujaratis This is the story of two Gujaratis. One I would like to call Mohandas Jesus Gandhi and the other Narendra Hitler Modi.

What`s in a Name?

When I was a little boy, my mother took me for admission to a local school. Thank God this was many years ago, when there was no rush for admissions. Moreover, there was no such thing as commercialised education or even if there was, the common people did not know about it. Anyway, I got admission for the asking.

Holy Men?

We always need holy men and women. But who are they and what are they like? We need not only holy but also men and women, genuine human beings. In other words, holy men today need to be more human. Does that mean we need more humanity and less sanctity? Not exactly. Deeper humanity will lead to higher sanctity.

To Auschwitz and Back (Part II)

The recent events in Orissa, Karnataka and elsewhere in the country have made me realise that what I saw at Auschwitz was not just an aberration of history. Fundamentalism, ethnic chauvinism, hatred towards the other, and exploiting human suffering for political gain are as much a fact today as they were in Hitler`s Germany.

To Auschwitz and Back (1)

I set foot in an Auschwitz gas chamber good sixty years after the death of Adolf Hitler. Fortunately! If I had entered there when that monster was alive, I would by now have been part of history. An international association of missiologists to which I belong held its plenary sometime back in Poland. No one goes to Poland without visiting Auschwitz and Jasna Gora and of course, Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II.

THE WORD OF GOD: Life for the Soul, not chewing Gum for the Mind

There was once a Salesian community that was known for its attachment to scripture. In fact, they had the bible enthroned not only in the chapel but also in the dining hall and in the community room.

Pate, Paunch and Power

Men in midlife face a three-fold problem, more correctly a three-fold challenge. Each begins with a P. We may speak of a 3P problem: pate, paunch and power.

SHEPHERDING POLICESTYLE

I have spent much time looking for the word police in the bible. So far I have not found it. You may wonder why I looked for such a word. The reason is simple. I find a lot of policing going on among those who follow the bible or profess to follow it.

FAMILIARITY WITH THE WORD OF GOD

Following up the report on Fr. Frank Moloney`s Good Night to the members of GC26

CONGRATULATIONS

welcome to shillong