An Unworthy Knight

Quick Update

2011-11-02T00:25:00.001Z

Ah…

I’ve really been so busy these last few months I’m not sure where to start. For one thing, I finished my dissertation and my MA at Heythrop and moved to Limerick (though not in that order), Ireland to begin my ‘regency’ – a stage in the formation of every Jesuit when he temporarily takes a time-out from academic studies to work full-time in a Jesuit ministry. In my case, it’s at the Crescent Comprehensive College at Dooradoyle, Limerick.

At the moment, I have a couple of classes of religion and philosophy; I help coordinate the debating and chess societies and I’m a form tutor. Perhaps more on that in future posts…

It’s mid-term break at the school; so a couple of other Jesuit regents in Ireland (there are six) and I are going away to the Jesuit villa (holiday) house at Blainroe, Co. Wicklow on the east coast for a few days of “vegging out”.

London / UK Riots

2011-08-11T12:58:00.001+01:00

Just in case people have been wondering, the Jesuits in London and across the UK are fine. While some of the rioting has been close to where we live, our religious houses, churches and works have not been attacked. Of course, there is a lot of work to be done with our local communities now.

Rioters set a London bus on fire

Here in Tottenham, where the trouble started, I wasn't actually aware that anything out of the ordinary was going on until I received a call from Fr. Tim Byron SJ, school chaplain at our college in Enfield, around 11pm asking me to turn on the news. Many in the community were actually asleep at the time. Going up to the roof, I could see the flames and smoke in the distance and the helicopter hovering above. The television pictures were rather unexpected.

CarpetRight building in Tottenham the next morning

By then, the news started arriving that rioting had turned to looting. I had hoped things would calm down by next morning, which it did. By then, looters had been at the retail park nearby, where Br. Mick O'Connor, a member of our community, often shops for gardening supplies and stationery. I'd also heard that some of the shops at nearby Wood Green, where I'd been to see Captain America only last week, had also been hit. Monday evening, a visiting Jesuit and I had to look around for a bit to find an open pub and, when we did, were surprised to watch locals with their attention glued to Sky News as events unfolded in Clapham and elsewhere. Just before we entered the pub, I thought they were looking at sporting events. The landlady was clearly in a state of shock and fear.

Police clash with looters in Manchester

What was unexpected was the way social media: Twitter, Facebook and BlackBerry Messenger would be exploited by would-be looters to organise new disturbances across the capital and then the country the following nights. It took a few days for the police to get on top of the situation but things have calmed down now. Certainly the large assignment of police to the capital, plus the rain, have cooled things down here in London.

In the meanwhile, I'm busy finishing off my dissertation and preparing to move to Limerick, Ireland, for the next stage in my formation - I'll be teaching at the Jesuit comprehensive college there.

Life goes on.

On Spiritual Communion

2011-07-18T14:40:00.000+01:00

A guest post from my fellow-Jesuit and Catching Fire co-blogger, Samuel Overloop SJ.

Roberto Beretta, an Italian journalist who writes for catholic newspapers and journals, attacks in no unclear terms the traditional practice of spiritual communion. He expresses his perplexity with this practice which he calls "one of the most subtle aberration of Christianity". I beg to differ.

For those not familiar with the practice of spiritual communion, it is often in the form of a small prayer which one says when not being able to receive communion at Mass. The purpose is to express on the one hand the desire to be united with Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist and, on the other hand, to express the belief that one is already in communion with Jesus.

My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.

Beretta has basically two arguments. The first is that it 'renders abstract that which is eminently concrete', and second, that it is a practice that was influenced by Jansenist worries of having to be 'pure' in order to receive the sacrament. Let's take them in turn.

The first argument is based on the assumption that spiritual communion is a sort of Eucharistic communion without receiving the Eucharist. If that is the case, than one can receive the grace of the sacrament, namely the union with the Mystical body of Christ, without receiving the 'concrete' sacrament: res sine sacramentu. Granted that the assumption is right, the practice of spiritual communion is indeed pernicious and dangerous to the doctrine of the Eucharist. What need is there after all of going to Mass? Beretta writes that 'evidently' spiritual communion can not be compared to the sacrament. Hence it is a 'fake' sacrament and the practice should be reconsidered.

However, the assumption is false. Evidently, spiritual communion is different from Eucharistic communion. It is not intended as a para-sacrament and it never was. In the words of Aquinas spiritual communion is "an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him". Spiritual communion is intimately connected to the Eucharistic communion, but not in the sense that Beretta sees that relation. Spiritual communion is not the reality without the matter, but an expression of the desire to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. So instead of undermining the doctrine and practice of the Eucharist, it strengthens it.

The second argument Beretta employs consists in rendering absurd and backward those who want to defend the practice of spiritual communion. It is based on a fallacy by association. It is true that the practice of spiritual communion has been abused by 'jansenist' currents in the Church. But by affirming such a thing without qualification Beretta taints the practice of spiritual communion with the label of backward, pre-conciliar, traditionalist, ... Since he does not present a real argument, let me just reply in his own coin. People who recommended spiritual communion were among others Thomas Aquinas, Theresia of Avila and John Paul II. Surely not all were tainted with the 'Jansenist' streak?

Conclusions? There is no contradiction between practising spiritual communion and being faithful to the doctrine and practice of the Eucharist. The two arguments Beretta presents are both flawed. Of course, every practice has its excesses but that is no reason to condemn a practice. I agree with Beretta's last comments, namely that we have to take a good look at our devotional practices. Not in order to reject them, however, but in order to renew them and root them again in the Gospel and in Him who is our Salvation.

Is Cosmopolitanism the new "Catholic guilt"?

2011-04-05T22:47:00.000+01:00

... cosmopolitan emotions are most likely to develop when actors believe that they are causally responsible for harming others and their physical environment

-- Linklater, Andrew (2006) ‘Cosmopolitanism’, in A. Dobson and R. Eckersley (eds), Political Theory and the Ecological Challenge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.3

Cosmopolitanism is the philosophical position that all human beings belong to a single community and our obligations are essentially not bound by culture or nation.Typical concerns of cosmopolitans include world poverty, world government and international justice. Opposed to cosmopolitanism are positions like communitarianism (moral obligations are determined by and limited to one's culture) and post-modernism (nothing matters).

Cosmopolitans like Thomas Pogge (see my friend Eddie's post here) make the point that much of the Western world is actively responsible for much Third World poverty and suffering.

Hence the question - has cosmopolitanism replaced the fabled "Catholic guilt"?

Jesuit Education Redux

2011-03-13T18:32:00.000Z

"We want human excellence" - Fr. Adolfo Nicolas SJ, Superior General of the Jesuits.

Catching Fire

2011-02-28T01:01:00.000Z

In my last post, I mentioned a project I was working on. Well, I'm now at liberty to reveal what it is... (cue drumroll...) another blog! (groan?!)

But in all seriousness, this is a different blog from my previous outings. It's called Catching Fire (check it out here) after a poem by fellow-British Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins. It's a group blog run by myself and five other Jesuit scholastics (seminarians) studying in London. Like An Unworthy Knight, it offers a faith-inspired look at culture and contemporary life but it may not deal as much with aspects of Jesuit living.

I will still continue to blog occasionally on AUK, but (for the next few months, at least) the majority of my posts would be on CF. So add it to your Blogroll / Favourites / Bookmarks / Feed / whatever and enjoy!

Disappearing Act

2011-01-30T19:44:00.000Z

Just in case you're wondering where I've been all these months, I returned to London in September and started my MA in Philosophy at Heythrop College. (That also explains why the header's changed!)

Over the next few days, I'm experimenting with my blog layout for another project I'm working on (no details yet - spoilers!). Keep calm and carry on ;-)

Inter-religious Dialogue Survey

2010-08-06T18:04:00.004+01:00

A classmate and fellow-scholastic of mine from DNC is doing a survey on inter-religious dialogue and needs responses from non-Christians:

Name:
Approximate Age:
Gender:
Address:
Cell number:
Religion:
Kindly voice out your view with regard to the following questions:
Is there inter-religious dialogue among people in India (among different religions)? What do you suggest for promoting inter-religious dialogue and harmony?
What are the reasons for religious violence according to you? What solutions would you suggest?
Does religion unite people or divide people according to you? Give reasons.

Please Note:
Kindly do not forget to fill in your personal information namely, your name, address, etc. Please do not give fake name or fake address or fake cell number. The professor wants it to make sure that we have authentic information.
Your opinion is valuable. Therefore, please voice out your opinion. Your information won’t be misused or misrepresented anywhere. It is just for a survey with regard to a course on ‘Inter-religious Dialogue’.
Lastly, please do not give yes or no answers. Give reasons for your stand.

Thanks a lot for your cooperation

If you'd like to participate, please mail him at romiosj[at]gmail.com (replace [at] with @) by Monday morning.

World Cup Fever

2010-07-20T13:02:00.001+01:00

In the first semi-final, Brazil and Spain were deadlocked until the last minute of normal time, when Spain struck what seemed to be the winner, only for their fans to watch in horror as one of the Spanish defenders turned the ball pass his own keeper two minutes later. And so, on to extra time. In the last minute (again!) of extra time Spain scored a controversial goal with the Brazilian keeper claiming he was kicked in the ear while he scrambled to get a hold of the ball in a goal-mouth scrimmage. In the second semi-final, Germany scored two goals in the first half and, although Argentina fought back to reduce the deficit to one goal, held on for the win.

Don't worry, I've not been hallucinating or in some parallel dimension while last week's borefest between Spain and Holland was being played. 'Brazil', 'Spain', 'Germany' and 'Argentina' are the assigned names to Sarvodaya High School's four student houses (green, yellow, red and blue) for the just-concluded inter-house football tournament. Yours truly was the referee in all matches.
For all matches of the tournament, the entire school gathered around the football ground of the school to cheer the teams on. It was a thrilling experience, watching the usually deserted football field turn into a cauldron of noise and energy. Although it was the senior (VIII to X standard) boys playing, “expert commentary” could be heard all around the field. This sense of togetherness was one of the identifiable gifts of this tournament.
The other was that the team gave a lot of otherwise “silent” (we have all seen them in our classes – quiet, disinterested, restless) lads a chance to become the school heroes. Unlike the West, where sports is given almost-equal priority to academics, Indian education has a strong academic bias (unsurprising if you consider the circumstances where education is often the best, if not only, way out of poverty). A sports tournament at the start of a new year gave many of them (especially tribal youth) a chance to shine forth.

Sarvodaya is now a Plus Two School

2010-07-20T12:40:00.002+01:00

Flash News: Sarvodaya, the Jesuit school in Wayanad, Kerala, has been approved to offer Plus Two courses (the equivalent of a Sixth Form College) by the State Education Department. This means that Sarvodaya students can now continue to study here and reap the benefits of Jesuit pedagogy instead of having to scour around for pre-university seats.

Coming on the heels of approval of its 'minority school' status last week by the central Minorities Commission, this is a big development in the 20-year history of Jesuit involvement with the school. Having minority status means the school is protected by the Constitutional rights of minorities to preserve, propagate and develop their own culture and values. In practice, one of the most significant consequences is that the management of the institution in question has greater control over staff appointments. Thus, the Jesuit identity of the school can be further strengthened and the Ignatian outlook of our staff better developed.

A Week at Eachome

2010-07-04T19:02:00.001+01:00

As I come to the end of a physically tiring yet psychologically enervating week where I found myself as an adhoc substitute teacher (English, IT, Maths, Music!), I just wanted to share a few highlights of the week that was at Sarvodaya, Eachome:

The open-hearted welcome I received from the Jesuit community, the Head and staff, and the students here. One of the bright moments each day is when a student (or group of students) walks by and asks in a typically musical Wayanad accent, “Brotherea, sukhamalle?” (“Brother, are you comfortable?” - equivalent to “How are you?”)
Learning more about Wayanad culture and society, particularly about the adivasis (“original dwellers”: indigenous peoples or tribals). It is inspiring to see the work that Fr. Baby Chalil SJ and other Jesuits before him have done to develop the Jesuit-run TUDI (Tribal Unity for Development Initiatives) centre on Tribal folklore and culture here. (Tudi is also the tribal word for a small drum that accompanies most tribal music).
Teaching Maths. Trying to teach Maths to a class where the students are familiar only with the Malayalam terms and I am not was challenging (but not too much – it is Maths after all!), but I enjoyed the experience of trying to lead a mixed-ability class. I also enjoyed the actual experience of setting problems for them to solve.
Collaborating with other consecrated. There are three FCC and two CMC sisters on the staff here along with the two Jesuits (three if you include the Manager). This lends a distinctly Christian character to the educational philosophy of the school. It's also an experience of charisms complementing each other to futher the mission of the Church in the world.
Music lessons. Actually, it should be 'choir practice' with moi as the makeshift choir director. The songs were fairly simple (“Do Re Mi”, “Oh! Susanna!”, “She'll be Coming Round the Mountain”), but the kids are trying really hard even though it's in a foreign language that most are barely familiar with.

Of course, there have been challenging moments too. High-school students can sometimes take it upon themselves to test the limits of authority and it's a new challenge for me to negotiate the line between lenience (I don't want to be disliked, after all!) and discipline. The language can also be challenging – while I can speak Malayalam reasonably, most of the kids are more literate in it than I am (the reverse is true for English).
Sarvodaya operates under extremely challenging circumstances. Easily the vast majority of students come from farmer/labourer backgrounds (a good third, at least, are tribals). As an aided school, while the Government pays the salaries and some operating expenses (hopelessly inadequate, as a community member points out, to meet even a month's actual expenses), it contributes nothing towards infrastructure/capital expenditure as well as co-curricular activities etc. It is beyond the means of the students' families to make up the shortfall. Fundraising from private sources (particularly by the community members) and support from the Province has helped to keep the school afloat. Please keep them in your prayers.

Characteristics of Jesuit Education

2010-07-04T12:56:00.000+01:00

(Below is an abridged/edited version of a speech I gave at the awards function last Tuesday at Sarvodaya High School.)

Respected Chairman, distinguished guests, parents, teachers and my dear friends.

We are gathered here today for two reasons. One, to inaugurate the school club activities for this year. Two, to felicitate the students who obtained high grades at last year's SSLC (Kerala-equivalent of the O-Levels) examinations. The Chairman has already spoken to you about the first, so I would like to focus my speech today on the second.

First, let me once again congratulate the students who received 9 or 10 A+ grades in this year's examinations. Your parents are proud of you; your teachers are proud of you and your juniors gathered here today are proud of you. We wish you all the best for your future studies and careers.

All of the students here today – past and present – are part of a large community of nearly 30 lakh (3 million) students who study at Jesuit educational institutions around the world. Wherever you go, you can always say with pride that you studied at Sarvodaya High School, a Jesuit educational institution. Last year, I worked at our Jesuit school in South London (Sacred Heart College, Wimbledon aka Wimbledon College) where the students look different from you, speak a different language, come from a different culture, do different things with their spare time etc. Nevertheless, you are joined with them by the common bond of your Jesuit education. Studying at a Jesuit school means that people will have certain expectations of you. I would like to focus today on three characteristics you are expected to acquire by the end of your studies in a Jesuit school – excellence in learning, excellence in life and becoming boys and girls (or men and women) for others.

Excellence in learning is not about bookish knowledge or remembering facts. It means that people expect you to have depth of understanding, of insight in all that you have learnt here. It also means that you are expected to have breadth of knowledge – about the world, about society, about yourselves. This can only happen if you are constantly keeping yourself aware of what is happening around us; by reading the daily newspapers, for instance. Excellence in learning can only be achieved if you apply yourselves with discipline to your studies.

Discipline is also part of the second point I want to raise – excellence in life. People will expect from Jesuit students excellence in all aspects of life – work, extra-curricular activities, arts, music, drama etc. In that respect, the other purpose of today's function – inaugurating the club activities – plays a crucial role. In your time here, I hope you will participate in these wholeheartedly. But excellence in life is not just about excellence in achievement. It also means excellence in virtue. As students of a Jesuit school, people will expect you to be men and women of kindness, of courage, of wisdom, of gratitude.

This brings me to the last point – being boys and girls for others. If you have come out of a Jesuit school with a selfish mindset, then our education has not done its work. Concern for others is an absolute must. You can begin in small ways: if you notice a classmate is lagging behind on school work, take the time to help her/him catch up. These three aspects – excellence in learning, excellence in life and concern for others must be part of your everyday life in this school.

Congratulating our former students once again for their achievements in the examinations, I conclude my speech.

The Land of Paddy Fields

2010-06-27T09:53:00.001+01:00

Oddly enough, the weather's just like England. It started off as a bright sunny day; suddenly a few clouds gather together conspiratorially as though to ruin the pleasure of all those (like me) who'd finally hung some washing outside.

This is Wayanad, the land of paddy fields (Malayalam vayal, “paddy” and naad, “land”). But that title's a tad misleading because Wayanad is actually the southern tip of the Deccan plateau and is at least 2000 feet above sea level. Nevertheless, the fertile soil has long made it an attractive destination for agricultural entrepreneurs from various parts of Kerala. The long history of settlement has not been without its social cost, however. The indigenous tribal peoples (adivasi-s) of Wayanad were often exploited, tricked or coerced and, consequently, find themselves on the margins of progress in Kerala.

I arrived on Thursday at the Jesuit-run school in Eachome (a medium-sized village outside the Wayanad capital, Kalpetta) and the small Jesuit community (4 priests) attached to it after a wonderful bus journey through some very pretty countryside. The school, Sarvodaya, serves classes I to X (Years 2 through 11 in the English system). The medium of instruction is Malayalam. The school has nearly 800 students, mostly from agrarian and/or underprivileged backgrounds. About a third of the students are from the adivasi community. I'll be here for a couple of weeks, mainly meeting the students (and, hopefully, inspiring them to ambitious life-goals) and teaching them a spot of English. On Friday, I went around a few of the classes, doing a bit of 'meet n' greet' and letting the kids interview me (the most common question was about my family). Yesterday, I assisted Fr. Salvin Augustine SJ (recently ordained and a new arrival to the school staff) in conducting a day's leadership work for the student coordinators team.

Working with kids can be very very tiring – and still leave you with a buzz and a hunger for more. I think it has to do with the fact that their lives are full of promise, their outlook always optimistic. Somewhere into adulthood, most of us lower our hope thresholds significantly; kids remind us just how high it can (and perhaps, should) be. And, perhaps, how little our many cares actually matter in the grand scheme of things:

How void of care yon merry thrush,
That tunes melodious on the bush,
That has no stores of wealth to keep,
No lands to plough, no corn to reap !
(C.K. Williams, The Thrush)

The Lord of the Dance

2010-06-23T09:01:00.003+01:00

(Photos of the retreat can be viewed online at http://picasaweb.google.com/kensyj/201005AnnualRetreat )

Sing a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Sion’s sons exult in their king.
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp. (Ps. 149)

Between the 23^rd and 31^st of May this year, I joined the scholastics of the Kerala Province on their annual retreat at the Ignatian Retreat Centre, Pariyaram in north Kerala. The retreat was directed by Prashant Olalekar SJ (BOM), Director of the Jesuit retreat house in Bandra and Hazel Fernandes (Pune), a lay collaborator. Most of us were surprised to learn that this wasn’t going to be another vanilla Ignatian retreat.

InterPlay^®

Prashant and Hazel are founding members of InterPlay India, an Indian group inspired by Body Wisdom Inc.’s InterPlay^® programme (www.interplay.org). InterPlay is a set of tools and techniques that help a person be attentive to, deepen, enjoy and ultimately integrate her/his physical experience with her/his emotional and spiritual experiences.

The tools explored during the retreat varied from simple walking to free-form dancing. We were constantly reminded to pay attention to our “bodies” (including our instincts and intuitions) and to trust our bodies. We were encouraged to play freely, even as little children. Through simple exercises like ‘walk, stop, run’, we discovered that spirituality doesn’t always have to be “serious business”; sometimes it can just be fun.

We also had the opportunity for some personal direction and counselling (Ms. Fernandes is a professional therapist) to integrate the various movements raised from the subconscious through the InterPlay activity.

Justice

All was not simply fun and games, however. Throughout the retreat we were reminded of the pervasive presence of structural injustices, particularly towards women, and of the need to be committed to ecological preservation. We had at least one session each day outside the house, close to Nature, consisting of exercises that combined elements of Yoga and Thich Nhat Hahn’s meditation techniques.

Ignatian

This was the first time an InterPlay retreat was being offered to Jesuits in India, so an attempt was made to integrate some elements of the traditional 8-day spiritual exercises. Each day had a theme, most of which should not suprise anyone who's done a traditional Ignatian retreat (“Great to be Grateful”, “Come Dance with Me”, “In the Brokenness is the Wholeness”, “The Passion”, “Breath of the Spirit”) along with a few that might (“Embracing the Feminine”). Although the sessions (we had three each day, along with a very active Mass) were conducted in a light and free-flowing vein, we were still expected to maintain silence and spend some time in personal contemplation/meditation outside the sessions.

I was often reminded of St. Ignatius’s fourth Additional Directive [SpEx 76] about the importance of posture and the body in prayer. One of the highlights of the retreat was a video of an Imaginative Contemplation in Dance (called ‘StoryDance’) by Betsey Beckman (www.thedancingword.com).

Personally, I found this style of retreat quite liberating and also helpful in integrating my “left brain” (the centre of our logical and rational thought) with my “right brain” (creativity and spirituality). But above all, I found it useful to be reminded that “I am my body” and that we are not called to a disembodied union with the Transcendent (the focus of many spiritual traditions).

After all, we do profess a faith in the “resurrection of the body”!

Dance then, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He! (Sydney Carter)

Jesuit Summers

2010-06-23T07:37:00.004+01:00

As most of the northern hemisphere moves into its summer break, Jesuits (and particularly Jesuits in formation) take up various summer programmes and apostolates. Some of my noviceship class (almost entirely based out of London) will be going to (or organising!) language schools; some are going on pilgrimage; most will do a little travelling; one is going to Malta to work with Jesuit Refugee Service.

Here in India, the summer programme is over (summer months here are April-May) and most of the scholastics are back to school/regency/studies etc. Between home visits (my parents were down for the summer), I joined the scholastics of the Kerala Province for part of their well-organised summer programme. Along with two Kerala scholastics, I gave a spoken English course to postgraduate students of the Jesuit-run Loyola College in Trivandrum. Most of these students came from very underprivileged backgrounds and went as far as they did in their education only through sheer determination and hard work. I was very impressed by their work ethic and willingness to learn even when some of the exercises (like tense-syntax drills) must've been quite tedious. They also cooperated magnificently with our instruction that they were not to speak in any language but English throughout the course (even in their own rooms or on calls home). I also attended a week's course on Social and Cultural Analysis with the other scholastics. Speakers included M.K. George SJ (Director, Indian Sociological Institute, Bangalore), Prof. Skaria Zechariah (retd. Professor, Kalady Sanskrit University and faculty member at the Jesuit Regional Theologate in Kalady), Baby Chalil SJ (Director, Tribal Development Institute, Wayanad) and Ms Vijitha (a Calicut-based women's rights activist). There was a lot of serious food for thought in those sessions and highlighted the need for Jesuits today to be truly 'men of depth' (in sociology, economics, cultural studies, media studies etc.) for our mission, particularly among and for the poor, to be successful. Following the course, I attended the inaugural ceremonies of the Golden Jubilee of the Kerala Province (although the history of Jesuit activity in the Kerala region goes back to St Francis Xavier himself). The highlight of the ceremonies was the 12-hour Adoration the day before the inaugural function and the inauguration Mass itself - concelebrated by five bishops from two rites! Immediately after the celebrations, I joined the Kerala scholastics for a specially-organised annual retreat - which was a retreat of Movement and Dance (report on that later).

I am now back at the Jesuit HQ in Calicut gathering all my visa documentation together to return to London in autumn.

The Passion Narratives

2010-03-22T17:11:00.001Z

A message from a fellow-scholastic of mine at De Nobili College:

Dear Friends,

From the 22nd to the 28th of March 2010, I am giving a course of the "Passion Narratives" as found in the four Gospels to a group of lay people at St. Britto's High School, Mapusa. It is given in the hope that we can bridge the gap between Catholic ignorance of the Bible and the lastest scholarly research being done in this field. But more than that, it’s purpose is pastoral, in offering fresh insights into the life of Jesus of Nazareth so as to increase our faith and help us share in the eternal life which he promised. The timing is scheduled that this course may be an appropriate preparation for the Holy Week and the sacred Tridum.

I am aware that much of this material will also be interesting to people who have asked such difficult questions about the bible, and have never got any answers. It is for this reason, that to make it available to a much wider audience, I am putting the lectures up on the net, as we go on during this course in this week, so that people from all parts of the world who can't be physically present - can also benefit from the lectures on the "passion narratives" of Jesus.

The lectures are available at http://passionnarratives.wordpress.com

Feel free to pass this message around to all your contact, whoever may be interested!

Thanks,
Richard D'Souza SJ

Transcendence

2010-03-20T14:04:00.002Z

I've finally finished my B.Ph. Hooray!

This is a journey I started over five years ago - before I'd entered the Society, before I'd even considered entering the Society - when I started my Ph.B. at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham. But now it's over. At this morning's oral comprehensive examination, I was asked to speak for four minutes on 'Transcendence', followed by a five-minute viva voce by each of the two examining professors. This, more or less, is what I said:

Arguing from a phenomenological perspective, Jewish philosopher Hans Jonas showed that all living beings demonstrate the propensity to transcend themselves. In plants and animals, this is manifested in the search for food, water, shelter, mates etc. In human beings, this is manifested in the search for an Ultimate Sacred Reality or God.

The notion of the Ultimate or God is a universal human concept, manifested in all cultures in all times. It can be seen as an archetype of the collective unconscious in the Jungian sense. To borrow a term from hermeneutics, this can be called the phase of our pre-understanding of God. Atheistic materialism is easily the exception in human society and history.

Continuing the hermeneutics analogy, pre-understanding becomes understanding in our reflection on God's existence and essence; i.e. natural theology. Normally called 'proofs' of God's existence, they nevertheless serve to consolidate existing belief in God's existence and serve to further our understanding of the nature of God. So, for instance, we have Thomas Aquinas's Third Way (Argument from Contingent Beings) which helps us understand God as the Necessary Being; the Nyayayika-s' Causal Proof helps us understand God as Creator (in the Indian sense). Reflection on the essence and existence of the Ultimate Being (which Aquinas considered identical) usually requires preliminary reflection on Being itself; hence metaphysics develops.

A quantum leap in understanding God occurs in the third phase of revelation: here I include both revelation in the traditional sense in the Abrahamic religions as well as special revelation in the form of mystical or yogic experiences. Natural theology becomes positive theology.

Since humans are social animals, this search for the Transcendent assumes a social dimension – religion. Religion is a complex of code, cult and creed. According to Max Weber, religion usually starts with a charismatic individual who is able to gather a following before evolving into a traditional patriarchal and finally a legal-rational institution. Religion unifies our deepest yearning for God with our desire to be with each other while simultaneously providing the community an identity and sense of purpose or mission.

Religious communities enable individuals to perform great acts of charity, produce great works of art and even philosophical treatises. Nevertheless, it is also true that religious communities also enable some individuals to commit acts of violence and terrorism. Institutional religious leadership can become corrupt and self-serving. Much opposition to God and religion have their direct or indirect roots in such corruption. Karl Marx, for instance, sees religion as a mechanism used by the bourgeoisie to perpetuate the oppression of the working classes (the working classes themselves use religion as an escape route from suffering).

It's not exactly Plato, but I think it did the trick.

Comprehensive Examinations

2010-03-13T15:54:00.002Z

The first stage (written, worth 60% of the Comprehensives grade and 20% of the aggregate) went off without too many hitches this morning. It's a three-hour paper covering all the basic courses B.Ph. students have done here over the last two years. Some sample questions from this year's paper:

Western Philosophy

Analyse categories (Scholastic) with sufficient examples and show how they are relevant in your personal and communitarian life.
Explain how the different theories of values and norms lead to the debate between consequentialism and non-consequentialism.

Indian Studies

Clarify the notion of padartha ('category' in classical Indian philosophy). How many categories are there in Indian philosophy. Critically evaluate dravya (substance) and abhava (non-existence) as categories.
Explain the role of Guru Gobind Singh in founding the Khalsa (Sikh) community, and the importance of the five K's for its members.

Social Sciences

Explain the social functions of religion according to Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx. Compare the two theories and highlight similarities and differences.

The oral examinations start in six days' time. We have been given seven broad inter-disciplinary (i.e. spanning Western Philosophy, Indian Philosophy and the Social Sciences) themes:

Soul and Self
Society and Ethics
God and Transcendence
Reality and the Universe
Meaning-making and Epistemology
Feedom and Destiny
Philosophy as Praxis

Worship

2010-03-05T08:38:00.001Z

In Reason and Religious Belief (Oxford: OUP, 2003) Peterson et. al. argue that God is, above all, a being who is the object of, and worthy of, worship. What does 'worship' mean? It means total devotion, placing ourselves at God's disposal completely and without reservation, with no attempt at “bargaining” with God, no mental reservation to “keep our options open”. In other words, absolute commitment and deference.

The Jesuit constitutions summarise the particular Jesuit mode of worship in it's self description: “The end of this Society is to devote itself with God's grace not only to the salvation and perfection of the members' own souls, but also with that same grace to labour strenuously in giving aid toward the salvation and perfection of the souls of their neighbours” (General Examen [3]).

Here at De Nobili College, the second-year philosophers have slowly been receiving news of their regency placements once the academic year ends in a few weeks. Most are heading to Jesuits schools across India; many are going to parishes (particularly mission stations in remote areas). Two (possibly three) are headed to Afghanistan to lecture at one of the universities there while one is headed to China. What takes Jesuits to the far-flung reaches of the globe in frontier, potentially dangerous, situations? A sense of adventure? Undoubtedly. A desire to serve the Church? Of course. Because that's where they've been asked to go by their superiors? Naturally.

But, deeper than all that, a sense that this is how they are called to worship God.

I've often wondered what the word 'worship' denotes today in parts of the world that are largely secularised. The RE Online website (an online resource site for Religious Education in the UK) for instance, appears to use 'worship' synonymously with the specific rites and rituals used to enact it. But what about the internal attitude signified by 'worship'? What of the recognition of God as a being that is infinitely and absolutely greater than ourselves?

And yet, perhaps it is not that nothing is actually worshipped. If complete deference and unconditional commitment are the constituents of worship, then is there something else that people do, in fact, worship in their lives (even if they may not recognise it as 'worship')?

The Beginning of the End

2010-02-16T06:12:00.003Z

That's it for me in terms of lectures for this academic year. Now all I have to do is revise, revise, revise and sit three exams (all oral) plus the big comprehensive examination at the end.

15 of our brothers are getting ordained deacons later this afternoon. Normally, Jesuits are ordained deacon at their place of study and priest (presbyter) in their home province or home town. Please keep our brothers in your prayers. The ordaining bishop is Rev. Thomas Dabre, Bishop of Pune. Please keep them in your prayers.

Pune Blasts

2010-02-14T15:45:00.003Z

We're all fine here at De Nobili College and, as far as I know, no one in the JDV family was involved. Some of our exchange students from Germany had been in the German bakery earlier in the day (one had a narrow escape - she only left the bakery less than an hour before the blast), but they're unhurt otherwise.

Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers. Pray also for God's mercy and repentance for the perpetrators.

The Account of Conscience

2010-02-09T10:12:00.001Z

A long time ago (!) I wrote that my Provincial (Rev. Fr. Michael Holman SJ) was visiting me in early January for my annual 'account of conscience' (also called the 'manifestation of conscience' or simply 'manifestation' in older documents). But what is an account of conscience and what does it mean in the life of a Jesuit?

Later [1], in conformity with our profession [2] and manner of proceeding, we must always be ready to travel about in various parts of the world, on all occasions when the supreme pontiff or our immediate superior [3] orders us. Therefore, to proceed without error in such missions, or in sending some persons and not others, or some for one task and others for different ones, it is not only highly but even supremely important that the superior have complete knowledge of the inclinations and motions [4] of those who are in his charge, and to what defects or sins they have been or are more moved and inclined; so that thus he may direct them better, without placing them beyond the measure of their capacity in dangers or labors greater than they could in our Lord endure with a spirit of love; and also so that the superior, while keeping to himself what he learns in secret, may be better able to organize and arrange what is expedient for the whole body of the Society. (Constitutions of The Society of Jesus, [93])

Notes:

[1] i.e. after formation

[2] of vows

[3] usually referring to the Provincial

[4] Spiritual “motions” or movements. In Ignatian literature, it refers to the interior desires, feelings etc. that each person experiences as a result of the action of the Holy Spirit (or its opposite). Discernment of spirits is the keystone of Ignatian and Jesuit spirituality.

As a missionary order, Jesuits are called to be ready to accept any mission asked of them. But how does the missioning superior (usually the Provincial) know which of his charges is up to the particular task? Of course, a vital input into any such decision is the feedback the superior receives from the peers, community members, colleagues, previous superiors etc. of his charges. Just as important, however, is the direct knowledge the superior has of his charges in the annual heart-to-heart conversation called the 'account of conscience'.

Every Jesuit makes an annual account of conscience to his Provincial or Regional/Mission superior. In addition, Jesuits in formation make an account of conscience to their local (i.e. community) superiors once every six months. The mode of giving/receiving the account of conscience can vary from place to person and person to person. Most commonly, the account of conscience takes the form of an interview/conversation that lasts about an hour. However, I do know of an instance where a superior received the account of conscience spread out over a whole morning whilst the two of them visited museums, coffee shops etc.! Often superiors take great pains to to help Jesuits (especially less experienced ones) relax into the process (Many superiors of Jesuits in formation refer to it simply as the annual or six-monthly “check in”). I should point out that the annual account of conscience is not an obligation under pain of sin as per Canon 630. Great care, especially in recent decades, has been taken to foster an environment of openness between superiors and charges that allows spiritual conversations like this to take place.

Why is the account of conscience so important in Jesuit mission and life? After all, the vast majority of religious orders (or non-religious organisations like the armed forces or even corporations, for that matter) get along perfectly well without it.

I think the answer has to do with our particular charism and spirituality. As I mentioned above, the keystone of Ignatian spirituality is the conviction that the Holy Spirit can and does interact directly with the created person. God's will for each Jesuit is mediated through a number of channels – personal movements of spirit, mission given by superiors, decisions of the hierarchical Church etc. By engaging in a personal, spiritual conversation (which is what the account of conscience is, at its heart) with each Jesuit, the superior participates in the discernment process of, for and with that individual.

Busy!

2010-02-05T09:23:00.002Z

I realise it's been a while since I posted last. It's a busy period at DNC with all the second-year philosophers preparing hard for the comprehensive examination (to see the draft study guide we've prepared, visit the Praxis blog - which is run by a fellow scholastic in my class). The Comprehensive Examination is a combined written-oral exam that evaluates one's synthesis of two years of studying philosophy. We have a 3-hour written paper in mid-March followed by a 15-minute viva-voce at the end of that month.

Goodbye 2009

2009-12-31T13:04:00.002Z

It's nearly the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century since the birth of Our Lord or the third millennium of the Common Era. (Actually, there's another year to go but I've stopped being picky about these things...)

Here at DNC we have a special thanksgiving Mass at 11pm tonight. Tomorrow, a whole group of us is going to Lonavla (a hill-station about an hour's drive from here) for a conference on Nano-science and Religion (organised by the JDV's Association for Science, Society and Religion). We'll be back on Tuesday, when my provincial - Rev. Michael Holman SJ - will be visiting me (all the way from London, no less!) and receiving my annual manifestation of conscience. More on that next year...

2009 has been a memorable year for me. The most important moment, of course, was my profession of first vows in the Society of Jesus on September 5th. This year I've been an assistant chaplain in a South London comprehensive (high school), the sacristan of a suburban parish church and a philosophy student. Some of my favourite memories of the year:

Fun in the snow in London in January (unfortunately I'm missing this season)
The sight of Stonyhurst College, Lancashire as one comes up the drive for the first time
Relaxing in the pub with freshly-minted Jesuits the evening after vows
The hospitality of the Indian Jesuits when I got here in October
Many many long meaningful conversations - with family and friends, strangers and dreamers, laypeople and consecrated and priests

I hope and pray you will have a blessed new year and your heart's deepest desires will come true. See you in 2010!

Christmas at De Nobili College

2009-12-27T09:50:00.002Z

The house has gone quiet now that the Christmas festivities are over (not all – there was a Santhal Christmas Mass in the house philosophers' chapel this morning). Over half of the scholastic

s have now gone back to their Provinces to celebrate New Year's in the provinces, home visits etc.

The main Christmas programme in the house began at

10:30pm on Christmas Eve with the Hindi Mass. The music was largely in the Central Indian style (distinct from the Punjabi bhajans you'd hear in a Hindi Mass in Delhi, for instance). A few of the scholastics (particularly those who weren't feeling too well with the cold snap Pune's being having recently) stayed around to attend. The Mass and following function was organised by the tribal Jesuit scholastics of

DNC.

The main celebrant was Fr. Thomas Kuriakose SJ (Delhi Province), who teaches Church History here at JDV. About 300-400 people must've turned up: the chapel was overflowing and there were people standing in the hallway. Following Mass, there was coffee, cake and tribal dancing! My Phenomenology professor calls dance “the interplay between motion and stillness” - but I doubt there was much stillness in the tribal dance! A few courageous scholastics manfully tried to master the increasingly intricate steps that our tribal brothers and sisters flowed into so effortlessly. The dance went on till about two in the morning, by my reckoning.

The following morning there was no morning wake-up bell in the house. The community Christmas Mass was a sober but cheerful event at 11 a.m., presided over by the Rector himself. Instead of the usual homily, we had an extended period of praying for intentions, particularly remembering those we had prayed for at other times in the year.

After Mass came the DNC Christmas gathering. We sang a few carols, played some silly games and received gifts. Then Christmas lunch – mutton biryani, chicken curry, vegetables and ice-cream. Unfortunately one of our theologian-scholastics got a rather large bone stuck in his throat while swallowing and had to be rushed to hospital (he's fine now and back with us). The afternoon was free for visiting friends etc.

For most Christians, Christmas is the time for being with family, remembering what our loved ones mean to us and (hopefully) evaluating our priorities to see if our families still come first. For consecrated, that togetherness is found in our communities. It is a really sad thing for a person to be alone and lonely at Christmas. The truth of Gabriel Marcel's dictum “esse is co-esse” is incontrovertible at Christmas. Being is being-with; to exist is to co-exist, with others.

Joyeaux Noel

2009-12-23T16:49:00.001Z

The Christmas decorations are up here at DNC. The crib is ready (well, almost). The afternoons are taken up with carol practice for the Christmas Mass. Some groups of scholastics have already been out carolling in neighbouring parishes.

I won't be blogging on Christmas day itself; so I'll leave you with an adaptation of St. Ignatius's Contemplation of the Nativity (Spiritual Exercises [110-117]):

Take a moment to be still and realise that you are in the presence of God.

Visualise, in the mind's eye of the imagination, the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. How long is it? How wide? Is it level, or does it wind through valleys and hills? Imagine also the cave or manger where the birth of our Lord is to take place. How big or small is it?

Now imagine Our Lady, St. Joseph and the infant Jesus after his birth. Imagine yourself a poor, little servant, gazing at them, contemplating them, and serving them in their needs just as if you were there. Freely interact and converse with either the Holy Family or anyone else who happens to be there.

After a while, when you feel satisfied, take a moment to take stock of what has just been happening.

End with an Our Father.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

End of Term Thanksgiving

2009-12-20T09:47:00.003Z

It's over! (Well, almost... I still have one paper on Existentialism to submit, but otherwise it's over.) I had 13 credits this term (which works out to about 65 hours of lectures and coursework a week) so it's been very, very hectic.

Just some of the things I've really been grateful for this term:

The support and care of my Jesuit brothers
The deep and moving conversations I've had with many people - Jesuits and non-Jesuits, consecrated and lay
Daily sports
Phenomenology, existentialism and Indian philosophy

Jesuits at Copenhagen

2009-12-08T15:46:00.003Z

Something to take a peek at while we DNC-ites are busy cramming for the exams that start on Monday, finish our scientific papers on Existentialism and present our seminars:

IgnatianEconet is a blog run by two Jesuits working at the OCIPE (that's our office for collaboration with EU agencies) who've just registered for the Climate Change Conference as observers.

Here in India, the conference is not exactly front-page material but the editorials are taking it seriously. The key question seems to be whether the developed countries (who bear most of the historical responsibility for pollution and climate change) will bear the lion's share of the cost in the near future while developing countries like BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) catch up. In the current economic climate (no pun intended), one cannot blame European leaders for wanting to ease the carbon "drag" on the economy; but nor can one but sympathize with the developing countries that feel the double injustice of historical exploitation of resources and current pressure to slow industrialization.

Fr. Joseph Neuner SJ (1908-2009), RIP

2009-12-04T06:41:00.003Z

Today we at DNC and JDV woke up to the news that our co-founder, Fr. Joseph Neuner SJ, passed away during the night. As a mark of mourning, there are no classes today and the funeral mass is in the afternoon. Fr. Neuner was originally from Germany and entered the Society in 1925. He was a peritus during the Second Vatican Council.

I didn't know Fr. Joseph personally but I hope you will join me in praying that this faithful servant and companion of the Lord will receive his eternal reward.

Update (1840 IST): Correction of name and some additional biographical details.

Explaining Religious Formation

2009-12-04T06:35:00.001Z

In my earlier post, 'Explaining Consecrated Life', I had reflected on various analogues for consecrated life that might be helpful in explaining who we are and why we do what we do. After, “What is consecrated/religious life,” the question I've faced most often is, “How long does the training last?” That is the question I'd like to reflect on today; hence we look at formation in consecrated life.

As I had written then, I found marriage the best analogy to what we are in consecrated life (the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience we make as consecrated being analogous to the exchange of vows in marriage). In fact, consecrated make two kinds of vows – simple and solemn. The former is usually a low-key affair attended by members of the consecrated institute and immediate family only; the latter is a much more public and … well... solemn affair. There are technical and canonical differences between the two in terms of how they are viewed by the institute, the Church etc. As I understand it, solemn vows have a definitive, public and permanent character (thus they are also often called perpetual or final vows). One cannot usually be dispensed from them without the approval of the General (that's the highest authority within a consecrated institute). Thus, it is actually the solemn vows that I find come closest to the definitive commitment of marriage.

What about simple vows, then? They represent a positive commitment and intent, but of a more contingent nature. A person can usually be dispensed from these by the provincial (the head of the institute in a province or region). In most institutes, consecrated first make simple vows that are temporary (say, for 3-5 years; thus simple vows are often called temporary or first vows), subsequently renewing them annually or biannually etc. until it is mutually agreed between the order and the consecrated that she or he is ready to make solemn vows. A few institutes, like the Jesuits, make perpetual simple vows so that, as far as the person making the vows is concerned, the vows have a definitive, permanent character etc. (as you can guess, there is no end of confusion caused by this, especially when interacting with members of other consecrated institutes!) To go back to my analogy, I find that it is the rite of engagement that comes closest to simple vows. (In my experience, while marriage retains its ceremonial nature in the West, a ceremony that celebrates the engagement of a couple is largely unused. That is not the case here in India, however, where an engagement ceremony is only outdone by the actual wedding itself.)

With that in mind, we can look at the process of formation itself. Formation is a two-fold process. On the one hand, it is a process of discernment: both the individual and the institute try to determine over a period of time whether it is really God's will that the person consecrate her or his life in this institute. On the other hand, it is a process of incorporation: the individual becomes part of the body of the institute and makes the charism and way of proceeding of the institute her or his own. Or, as I prefer to think of it, both the person and the institute increasingly discover that God has already endowed this person with the charism of the institute, which must be developed and nurtured so that the person becomes a gift to the concrete institute. Put another way, formation is the process of establishing connaturality between the person and the institute. Of course, the balance between discernment and incorporation normally shifts to the latter as the formation process continues.

In one sense, formation is a lifelong process as there is always room for growth. In another sense, the formal process of formation ends with the solemn profession of vows. At that point, the consecrated has judged herself or himself as possessing and has been judged to possess the gifts needed for a full and productive life in the institute.

When a person wants to join a consecrated institute, the first stage of formation is the postulancy, which is also known by other names like aspirancy, pre-noviceship, candidacy etc. This is, effectively, a “come and see” programme that is implemented variously between institutes and provinces. So, for instance, some institutes admit postulants into the house or community but accommodate them in a separate part of the house (postulants do not usually wear the habit or cassock of the institute); while others have a programme of spiritual direction and visiting of communities while the candidate continues to live and work in the professional world. Some institutes have a separate pre-novitiate house established in the province with a fixed programme of academic and spiritual formation. At the end of the process, the postulant formally applies to enter the institute. This stage of formation can take between 6 months to a few years (if the candidate continues studying or working etc.).

If accepted, the person enters the noviceship stage (also called novitiate – but I prefer to use that term for the novitiate house itself). This is a period of focussed discernment in the context of an atmosphere of prayer, work, increasing familiarity with the rules and way of proceeding of the institute one has joined etc. In terms of the analogy, this is the “serious dating” phase. Novices of many congregations wear a modified version of the habit of their institute. At the end of the noviceship, the novice makes simple vows (as described above) and becomes a consecrated proper. They subsequently receive the full habit of the order. Canonically, the noviceship must last at least 1 year; some orders (like the Jesuits) have a 2-year noviceship.

The period between simple and solemn vows is characterised by growth in the connaturality (as I wrote above) between the individual and the institute. This is usually facilitated by inserting the consecrated into the full flow of life in the institute. In an apostolic institute, this means full-time work in an approved apostolate; for contemplative institutes it is simply integration into the conventual or monastic life proper. Some institutes may have a period of reflection and study similar to the noviceship during this period (in the Jesuits, this is called tertianship as it is considered the “third year” of the noviceship). This stage of formation can take between 3 years to a decade or more.

Everything I've written so far applies to all consecrated institutes – of men and women. Whether one joins an institute as a brother, a sister, a monk or a nun, this is the basic process of consecrated formation. If you've been doing your maths, the process will be seen to take about 7-9 years on average.

The alert reader now asks, “But what about priestly studies?” I've not included it in my description of formation so far. Canonically, the candidate for the priesthood in the Catholic Church must have studied for a minimum of 6 years full-time or equivalent – 2 years of Philosophy and 4 years of Theology. All priests – diocesan (also called secular) or consecrated – have the same 6 years of study as a requirement.

Different institutes integrate priestly studies into their overall process of formation in different ways. Many institutes will have the two run concurrently; in such cases the consecrated makes his solemn profession before ordination to the priesthood. Some institutes effectively alternate between the two; e.g. having a 2-4 years full-time apostolic work between philosophy and theology (this is usually called regency). In this case, depending on the length of formation stipulated between simple and solemn vows, the consecrated may be ordained before or after solemn profession. In most cases, it is the latter but, with the Jesuits for instance, ordination always precedes solemn profession.

To summarise, formation in a religious institute has the following stages – postulancy, noviceship, (simple vows), “on-the-job” (my term) formation, (solemn vows). Priestly studies (philosophy and theology) can run either concurrently or interspersed with these.

A final note: I've seen that many diocesan seminaries (that's where a diocese trains men for the priesthood) have adopted elements from religious formation. For instance, some seminaries in England have a pre-seminary year (analogous to the noviceship) in Valladolid. Similarly, many seminaries in India have adopted the regency as a period of personal integration of one's studies with pastoral work.

Feast of St. Francis Xavier

2009-12-03T15:28:00.002Z

No classes today at DNC. Plus we had mutton and ice-cream for lunch. It's been a hectic time with assignments etc. Exams are in two weeks so the scholastics are beginning to hit the books. In the meanwhile, check out the pictorial report of our trip to Goa in October when we visited the relics of "our brother Francis".

To Any Regions Whatsoever

2009-11-22T12:06:00.002Z

… we have judged that it is of the greatest profit to us to … [vow that]wherever [the Pope] may be pleased to send us to any regions whatsoever, we will obey at once, without subterfuge or excuse, as far as in us lies.(1540 Formula of the Institute of the Society of Jesus, 3)

As common works of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia (JCSA), De Nobili College (DNC), Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV) and the Papal Seminary come under the direct authority of the President of the JCSA aka the Provincial of South Asia (POSA – we Jesuits have a knack for coining words and abbreviations) - currently Fr. Edward S. Mudavassery SJ (of the Hazaribagh Province). Every year, therefore, the POSA makes a visitation of these three institutions and, as part of his visit, takes the opportunity to talk to scholastics about the Conference-level view of the Society (a Conference is a group of Provinces that are closely linked, by geography and culture, and collaborate extensively). This year's visitation started earlier this week and just concluded yesterday. On Thursday night, the philosophers had the opportunity for a tête-a-tête with the POSA.

One of the key points the POSA took pains to emphasise was the universal nature of the Society's Mission. In his words, “One joins the Society and is missioned to a Province, not the other way around.” Jesuit Provinces are not conceptually autonomous entities, even if they are so administratively. This universality is, for me, exemplified by the Irish Province, whose official title is “The Jesuits in Ireland” rather than “The Jesuits of Ireland”. Right from the foundation of the Society, we were and are a body called to transcend racial, ethnic and cultural differences to form one, unified, world-wide missionary society at the service of Christ and His Church under the direction of the Pope. In doing this we are not, however, called to be mass-produced automatons; we are expected to lose nothing of the richness and giftedness that the same racial, ethnic and cultural differences bring.

The universal mission of the Society is driven by our vow of obedience which, in our case, carries the specific sense of mobility and availability for mission (as expressed in the quote from our Formula above). I like to say that, while Benedictines take a vow of stability, Jesuits take a vow of instability. This availability (disponibilité as Gabriel Marcel would put it) calls for a comparatively long formation process, which I'll be describing in a subsequent post.

Back to the POSA's chat: the talk was certainly effective in raising awareness of the role played by the JCSA in the Society today (nearly one in four Jesuits worldwide comes from South Asia – the vast majority from India) and in the future (over one in three for Jesuits in formation). Combined with the rapidly growing provinces of Africa and South-east Asia, this means that the Society of Jesus (like the Church) is moving “southward” (see Catholic-journalism stalwart John Allen's penetrating analysis of “mega-trends” in the Church). Thus, the POSA exhorted us scholastics to maintain such a universal perspective and yet be rooted in our Indian culture so as to present a distinctive giftedness to the Society, the Church and the world. We must take responsibility for our own formation and always look to develop skills that are useful at Province, Conference and worldwide levels.

Formed to Live in Community

2009-11-18T11:12:00.001Z

(I'm back after a brief hiatus submitting essays and assignments.)

In an earlier post, I referred to common prayer in small groups every other day. There are two kinds of small groups that a person (formally) belongs to here at De Nobili College. The first is the Province group which, as the name suggests, is the group comprising all members of a Province (philosophers, theologians, priests and brothers) residing in the community. Province groups meet on Wednesdays for common prayer before supper and common recreation after. Each Province has its own dedicated room where one can find newspapers, periodicals, books etc. in one's native language and Province group meetings are occasions for members of the Province to get to know better the people they will be living and working with for the rest of their lives. It is also an occasion for sharing news from and views about the Province. Often, a scholastic refers to going to the Province room or one of these gatherings as simply "going to the Province" - an indicator of the sense of home and belonging that comes from this group. As the only member of the British Province at DNC, I am attached instead to the Kerala Province, which is the Jesuit Province in my home state.

The other kind of small group a person belongs to is the Living Group. This is a group consisting of 8-10 scholastics at the same stage of formation (philosophers and theologians have separate living groups). The purpose of the living group is to create a sense of community at the micro level. A living group has four main functions:

1. Common prayer that is more intimate and personal than the whole-community prayer (there are nearly 90 philosophers alone at DNC)
2. Household chores (scullery, cleaning, gardening) are allocated to living groups.
3. Liturgical duties (sacristan, community prayer) are also allocated to living groups.
4. When a scholastic falls ill, the living group takes care of him in the infirmary.

What is the living group experience like? The first thing I noticed was the sense of diversity. A recent Tablet article used the expression, "Jesuits are as distinct as snow-flakes". I belong to a living group that has North Indians and South Indians; scholastics from working class, middle class, upper class and tribal backgrounds. There is a deliberate attempt to make living groups as diverse as possible when they are set up at the beginning of the year; living groups usually go away for a day of 'faith sharing' (i.e. sharing one's life story from a faith perspective). The living group is a microcosm of the Society of Jesus in India and offers a balanced experience when combined with that of the Province groups.

Second was the sense of giftedness. The diversity of members is not merely in where we are from, what languages we speak, our backgrounds etc. but also in the gifts we offer to the group (and, by extension, to the community and the Society). Living groups enable the sharing of gifts in the diversity of activities engaged in and the more intimate space of developing relationships.

Third was an observation of the similarities and differences with my prior experience of community in the noviceship. The novices' community was about the same size and at least equally diverse – at an international level. Like the noviceship one is 'thrown into' (an expression from my Phenomenology class) Jesuit life in a diverse group that one "didn't know from Adam" (an expression – this time – from my novice-master). Like the noviceship, intimacy is facilitated through a variety of activities (in my experience, men bond better through activity – sport, projects etc. - than simply conversation). There are a few significant differences, though. The novices' community lived and worked in relative isolation from other similar communities (we met with the Lyon and Nuremberg novices once a year for a week-long symposium) and Jesuits; this isn't the case here – in addition to Province groups, there are both formal and informal study groups and other activity groups and teams. As novices, we had a clear superior (the novice master); living groups have a leader who play a coordinating role with other house officers and liturgy and party coordinators but no superior.

Finally, unlike the noviceship, the emphasis here is on formation rather than discernment [of one's vocation]. This is not to say that the element of formation was insignificant in the noviceship or that one does not continue to discern as a scholastic; but the emphasis has definitively shifted from "Should I take Jesuit vows?" to "How do I live the vows I have taken?". This is, of course, the question that animates scholastic life (and beyond) as a whole; living groups offer another input through the experiences of diversity, giftedness, previous apostolic / community experiences and future apostolic / community expectations.

Échale un vistazo a esta página

2009-11-13T03:30:00.002Z

"Take a look at this page."

Just a brief plug for the blog of a brother philosophy scholastic. Short excerpt:

Suffering is like the chisel that brings out the hidden art in a statue. A Rabbi once said, “When bad things happen we should not attend to it with theology but with sympathy. When suffering strikes all theories collapse.Acceptance of suffering as a passing moment is a better way though it weakens and embitters us as persons. Suffering never leaves anything as before. No one remains the same after an encounter. A new chapter is written in one’s life.

The "Slum Dwellers"

2009-11-12T10:59:00.001Z

We've had monsoon-like rains on campus the last two days because of Cyclone Phyan (thankfully, it looks like it's going to die out). I always hope that loss of life and property will be minimal when a phenomenon like this strikes, but that is rarely the case. For many poor families along India's west coast, Phyan was, at best, a frightening event accompanied by a few sleepless nights and loss of income. At worst, it was a faceless grim reaper that took away loved ones. For us here on the JDV campus, it meant clothes that wouldn't dry, regular black-outs, no outdoor games and carefully-tended gardens ruined (the marigolds, in particular, falling victim to un-aesthetically-minded winds).

But not all JDV students (even Jesuit ones) live on campus. Every year, a few groups of Jesuit scholastics move out of their relatively comfortable (if Spartan) rooms at DNC between July and December to live among the poor and homeless people of Pune in the slums. Each 'slum community' consists of 3-5 scholastics; they commute in for classes and are expected to be self-sufficient. Thus, most such communities supplement their scholastic allowance with income from odd jobs, tutoring kids etc. My 'living group' (more about these in a subsequent post) has a member living in such a slum community. We went out to visit them on Tuesday (with Phyan's van – pardon the rhyme – doing its best to keep us from moving outside) in the pouring rain. There are three scholastics in this particular group; they live in a small single-room house about 4km from campus in the midst of a crowded settlement. I was certainly glad to be inside, dry and with a warm cup of tea in my hand by the time we got there – even if about a dozen of us were crammed into the room! I was very impressed by their hospitality, edified by their witness and reminded again that the Jesuit is called to live in solidarity with the poor, the dispossessed, the voiceless, the weak, and the helpless.

Because of the swine flu pandemic, this year’s groups are being recalled a month early. It was a real privilege to be able to visit the group we did before they came back (they’re back at DNC now).

Pretty Woman

2009-11-08T11:42:00.003Z

Image: Mid-day

They belong to “the oldest profession in the world”. They exist, and have existed, in every culture and civilisation. They are glorified in art, fiction and films from around the world (including the Hollywood film that gives this post its title). They are vilified in social convention, ignored in polite conversation, talked about passionately at social justice conventions. They were once called ‘prostitutes’ (or, less politely, ‘whores’), also ‘courtesans’, ‘call girls’ and even ‘ladies of the night’; now they’re referred to (by the government, press and NGOs) as ‘commercial sex workers’. But what and who are they? Are they so much prostitutes as being-prostituteds? Are they more than conduits for erotic energy and frustration?

As part of our formation, we are asked to commit some time (usually around 3 hours a week, including commute, for DNC scholastics) to apostolic work. Some scholastics go to nearby parishes to help out with catechetics or parish home visiting; some others organise events for children of construction works; yet others work with young adults in Pune as part of a group called Searching and Service in Unity (SSU), founded by our (philosophers’) superior, Fr. Cyril Debruslais SJ. A few weeks back one of my fellow-philosophers asked me to consider teaching English and communication skills to the volunteers and social workers at Saheli (Hindi: “friend”), a CBO (community-based organisation) that works with commercial sex workers at Budhwar Peth, a residential locality of Pune that houses a famous Ganesha temple, a bustling shopping district and one of the largest organised brothels in India (if not the world). Saheli offers these women (and men – or more precisely, trans-genders) emotional support, HIV/AIDS prevention information, condoms, emergency food and medicines, crèche services for their children etc.

Yesterday afternoon, four DNC scholastics (the above-mentioned scholastic, the coordinator of JDV’s social action group, another fellow-philosopher and I) took the bus from Ramwadi to Manapā, from which Budhwar Peth is a short walk. Through the ride in the Indian afternoon sun I wondered what I could (or would) say if I were to enter into conversation with a prostituted woman. That didn’t happen yesterday; it will have to wait for another day. We visited the offices of Saheli and spoke to some of the workers there. This November’s a busy month as they’ve just received some funding and need to prepare the necessary reports etc. But yes, they would very much like some English classes. Although most of them have a Master’s in Social Work (MSW), they are not confident enough when speaking, especially, to foreign donors and agencies.

Having fixed a mutually convenient time for these classes (mine is on Saturday afternoons), we visited the crèche. Most of the children (1-5 years) were asleep; a few were having a late lunch. I was told later that most of these children will be moved to orphanages around and just outside Pune once they’re older – Budhwar Peth is not a safe or suitable place for them to grow up in.

The four of us then took the opportunity to walk around the main brothel area. Since it was mid-afternoon, the streets were relatively quiet and we were able to move without much difficulty (apparently the streets get so busy in the evenings it’s difficult for even small groups to stay together). We did, however, run the risk of being hustled for quick “business” during the quiet hour; so we had to stay together. The first thing we saw as we arrived were the women themselves, sitting on plastic chairs on the pavement or standing in the shade just inside the houses on either side, heavily made up and (usually) in colourful sleeveless tops or blouses. We walked up one of the numerous blocks of flats that constitute the brothel. Almost all the flats were open, the wares inside hidden only (and only sometimes) by a curtain half-drawn. Elderly woman (usually ex-prostitutes themselves) sat outside most flats, beckoning the numerous men who walked by to come in and see. Inside each single-bedroom flat were about 8-12 women, awaiting customers, sitting around, or chatting. Perhaps another day I might have the courage to go in and have a chat, yesterday I didn’t. Indeed, I could see that many of them were having late lunches, so I felt embarrassed at being an intrusion. I am told over 5,000 sex workers (not including the men / trans-genders) live and work in the area.

We only visited one floor yesterday. One floor is education, any more voyeurism, I felt. At the end of the street was the main police station of the area. A few police constables milled around in the late afternoon sun. Apparently, prostitution was “legalised” in Budhwar Peth some years back. I think this means the police made an unofficial policy decision to look the other way, allowing social organisations like Saheli to come in and work more effectively with the sex workers. I was reminded of Season 2 of the hit US series, The Wire, where drug trade is unofficially “legalised” in a fictional street of Baltimore, nicknamed “Amsterdam”. If it cannot be stopped, it can at least be controlled and overseen.

On our way back to the bus station, we also visited one of the side-streets where the male (trans-gender) prostituteds work. They have a reputation for being more aggressive (a few stood guard at the top of the street impolitely dissuading casual gawkers from going any further). We moved on and got the bus back to DNC.

Ordo

2009-11-05T10:17:00.000Z

Having slowly settled into a rhythm of phenomenology and Indian philosophy, community prayer and table-tennis here at DNC, I thought it was time to describe a typical DNC day.

The Beadle (a scholastic appointed by the rector to carry out certain official tasks, organise events and people etc.) rings the morning bell at 5:30am. We have time for about 45 minutes of personal prayer before the bell for Holy Mass is rung at 6:35 (at DNC, you never have to worry about the time since the bell always reminds you!) Mass itself is at 6:40, followed by breakfast. Some scholastics may have early classes at JDV (the academic institute proper) at 8:20; otherwise the first lecture is normally at 9:10. Lectures are 45 minutes long, with a 5-minute break between classes. Coffee break's at 10:45 and lectures resume at 11:10. Then it's the lunch examen at 12:45pm and lunch proper at 1:00. We have an hour of silence / study-time between 2:00 and 3:00 before the afternoon lecture (depending on the optional course chosen). Tea and games from 4:00 to 5:30 and then silence / study-time again from 6:00 to 7:45. Then it's evening community or small-group prayer, followed by supper at 8:00 and recreation. By 9:30pm we're expected to be back in our rooms studying, reading, praying etc.

Variations on the ordo will have to wait for another post!

Explaining Consecrated Life

2009-11-04T09:50:00.000Z

Preliminary Note: In common parlance, members of Christian orders like the Jesuits (or Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans, Salesians etc.) are called ‘religious’; such orders are called ‘religious orders’ and this mode of life is called the ‘religious life’. In the reflection which follows, I have chosen to use the terms ‘consecrated’, ‘institutes of consecrated life’ (shortened to ‘consecrated institutes’ or ‘institutes’) and ‘consecrated life’ respectively instead. I do not wish to imply that we consecrated are holier or more religious than other Christians (every baptised Christian has a universal vocation to holiness, as Vatican II taught). What defines consecrated is the concrete self-dedication or consecration to the praise and service of Christ in the Church.

When I first announced my intention a few years back to enter consecrated life, I received a lot of confused looks and earnest questions from family, friends and well-wishers (some Catholic themselves!) who wanted to understand this way of life better. On and off since then, I’ve been thinking about ways or models of explaining consecrated life to people (perhaps not Christian) for whom such a way of life is outside their range of direct experience. Even lay Catholics whose vocation lies in the married life often have difficulty relating to the internal motivation and external mode of living that consecrated experience and could benefit from an explanation.

A clarification: there are significant differences between the vocation of a Catholic priest in an institute of consecrated life and that of a ‘secular’ or diocesan priest. We take vows of poverty, celibacy/chastity and obedience; diocesan clergy do not take a vow of poverty (and in some eastern Catholic disciplines, celibacy as well). While we are both motivated by the desire to give our lives in Christ’s service, members of consecrated institutes make that commitment in the context of a specific spirituality and spiritual charism (a way of living that spirituality as a gift to the Church) and also in the context of a concrete consecrated family of people who have taken similar vows. A diocesan serves the Church in a particular geographic area under the local bishop; the consecrated’s area of service can be as small as within a monastery (e.g. with a monastic institute like the Benedictines) or the whole world (e.g. with a missionary institute like the Jesuits or a contemplative institute like the Carmelites). In some ways, the consecrated called to be a priest has two distinct but related vocations – to the priesthood and to that specific consecrated institute.

I have a special liking for analogy (or models) as a pedagogic tool; after all, even Christ taught in parables! I will present three models (plus one sub-model) of consecrated life – two of them are (in my opinion) flawed and uninspiring; one I have found helpful. This is not a definitive or academic account of consecrated life – it is simply the personal reflection of one member of an apostolic institute of consecrated life. As a person of Indian origin writing in an Indian context, naturally, these models will draw largely from the Indian experience. Nevertheless, I hope you will find them helpful whether you are lay or consecrated, non-Catholic or Catholic.

The first model is that of the sanyāsi or hermit. In classical Indian thought, human life was described as the passage through four stages (or āshrama) – brahmacharya (youth), grihasthya (adult family life), vanāshrama (retired life) and sanyās (renouncing the world in search of enlightenment or perfection). One person asked me why I was entering sanyās this early in life before enjoying the other stages. This is a natural question, and completely understandable in the Indian context (the questioner was not a Christian). The origins of Christian consecrated life lie in the desert hermits of the first few centuries AD – people like St. Antony of the Desert and other Desert Fathers (and mothers!) Undoubtedly, the idea of renunciation towards perfection was an important factor in their thinking. For much of the history of consecrated life in the Church, this thinking persisted and consecrated life was seen as a higher mode of perfection than ordinary [lay] Christian life. Further, the idea of renunciation towards perfection and enlightenment is manifest in non-Christian traditions as well: Buddhist monastic life and Hindu ashrams, for instance.

Nevertheless, this model does not correspond to my experience of the call to religious life. We do not seek to renounce the world, but to embrace it. In September, whilst on holiday with my (then) fellow-novices in Wales, we had the opportunity to meet the (enclosed) Carmel nuns at Dolgellau. What surprised us was that, not only were the nuns not uninformed of world events, instead they seemed to know more of what happened in the far reaches of the globe than even we apostolic Jesuits did! St. Therése of Liseux (the Little Flower) chose the Carmelite life because she saw prayer itself as an apostolate for and in the world (the famous incident where she prays for a condemned prisoner’s conversion being a case in point). If this is true of contemplative consecrated, how far renunciation must be from the mind of those engaged in apostolic work for the Kingdom!

The second model is that of the social worker or reformer. Bl. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) and the congregation she founded, the Missionaries of Charity, have come to epitomise the conjunction of consecrated life and social work. "But why join a consecrated institute if one desires to serve the poor, the marginalised, and the oppressed? Surely one can do the same as a [married] layperson," I was asked several times. Certainly, before Vatican II, consecrated were seen as the front line of the Church’s social action – as teachers, nurses, development workers etc. But the last half-century or so has brought the realisation that the laity have no less responsibility and capability (more, according to many) in this area. A well-paid and highly trained professional can do more good for the world (financially, politically, and intellectually) in his/her position than a lone missionary in a shanty town somewhere in Central America.

This argument has much to commend it; but it is simply not why I entered consecrated life. Of course, the desire to serve people and combat social evils is an integral part of my calling as a Jesuit, but it is not my prime motivation.

The third, and most helpful model, is (paradoxically) that of a married person. Traditionally, many women’s institutes (aka congregations) celebrated their final profession of vows (i.e. when the consecrated makes a final, definitive commitment to life under the vows in that institute – usually 5-9 years after entering) analogically to a wedding. The sisters would be dressed as brides and the profession was seen as a nuptial union with Christ. Post Vatican II, almost all institutes I’ve seen have retained the practice of profession rings even if some of the bridal imagery has been toned down.

Marriage is characterised by an exclusive, mutual self-giving of two persons made explicit by the exchange of vows and gifts. Analogically, the consecrated person gives herself/himself completely to Jesus Christ who has already made a complete self-gift of himself to us in the Paschal Sacrifice; this consecration is marked by the making of vows. Different institutes, then, represent different ways of living out this union with Christ: contemplative orders represent union with Christ praying on the mountain; monastic orders represent union with Christ living with his disciples; apostolic orders represent union with Christ working and preaching among the people.

In the Indian context, the daughter-in-law (bahu in Hindi, mařumakaļ in my native Malayāļam) is expected to part from her own family and enter the household of her husband. She does not thereby completely sever her ties with her own family, but it is understood that the family of her husband is her primary kinship circle now. She becomes a daughter to her parents-in-law. In fact, I have noticed that many of my married friends refer to their parents-in-law with the same terms as their husbands ("Papa", "Mummy" etc.) Whatever one might think of the gender/power relations inherent in such a conception of marriage, I have found it helpful to draw comparisons with the commitment of the consecrated to his/her own institute, its rules and ways of life, superiors etc. Being a member of a new family transforms the prior relationships of the bride; so too does being a member of a consecrated institute for the consecrated.

In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius has an exercise where the exercitant mediates on three ways of humble service of Christ. The third way is to "desire and choose poverty with Christ poor rather than wealth; contempt with Christ laden with it rather than honours." Ultimately, I think that the commitment of the consecrated is not to a way of perfection or service or an ideal, but a person – Christ.

Our Brother Francis

2009-11-04T04:21:00.000Z

(As promised, my reflection on the Goa trip follows.)

Goa: land of sun, beaches, verdant woods, parties. And, as one brother scholastic pointed out, the second most-active hotspot for child prostitution in the world (after Thailand). For Jesuits, Goa is also the birthplace of the Indian mission (now, with nearly one in four Jesuits worldwide, the Jesuit Conference of South Asia) and the resting place of one of the founders of the Society of Jesus – St. Francis Xavier SJ. Or, as our rector calls him, “our [elder] brother Francis”.

Every year, the second-year Jesuit philosophers at De Nobili College, Pune make a pilgrimage to Goa during the Deepavali (Diwali) term break in October. I was kindly invited to join this year’s expedition by our rector. This was my first time in Goa but, after a rough 12-hour overnight bus journey, I would rather have been at home in bed!

The first day, we visited the relics of our brother Francis at the Bom Jesus church in Old Goa. As a trans-continental Jesuit, I have drawn much inspiration from Francis. We were especially privileged to have a mass in the enclosure with the relics, presided over by the rector of the Jesuit community there. Many years ago, I blogged in defence of Francis’s legacy in India. Now, in the presence of the great missionary himself, I prayed for myself, the Society of Jesus and especially for the Church in Europe, birthplace of Francis and the Jesuits. Walking around Old Goa and seeing the remains of churches and monasteries built there by the Jesuits and Augustinians was a moving experience. It’s also interesting to note, from a European perspective, how orders transposed and adapted European architectural conventions in a very different land: the ruins of the magnificent St. Augustine’s monastery being the case in point.

After visiting a few more places in Panjim (capital of Goa), we retired to our base for the trip – the guest house of the Jesuit retreat house on Baga beach. It was wonderfully relaxing to be in a house right on the beach. And, of course, I was ready for bed!

The second day was a designated “rest day”; I had the chance to dip in the Indian Ocean (since it’s not as cold as the Irish Sea, I didn’t have to get out within 15 minutes!) and visit the local shops. The third day we visited the Jesuit tertianship at Raia and also the oldest church in Goa, built by the Jesuits. This is also where the Goan Jesuit martyrs were first buried. In my noviceship, I had made a presentation on the Jesuit mission to the Mughal court; Bl. Rudolf Acquaviva and the other Goan martyrs were an important part of the story.

Then another 12-hour bus ride (this time, thankfully, less bumpy!) back to Pune and rest!

Going to Goa

2009-10-20T12:43:00.000+01:00

After the trip with the first-years, now it's time for a slightly different trip with the second-year philos (philosophy scholastics) from DNC. We're going to Goa in a few minutes and hope to catch up with our brother in the Society, St. Francis Xavier.

Update (25/10/09): Just got back yesterday morning after a 24-hour period when we spent nearly 18 hours on the bus; so I've been recovering ever since! A report and photos of the Goa trip will have to wait till Thursday or so. First, we scholastics of DNC have a Triduum (Lat. "Three days"; a three-day Ignatian silent retreat) after which we will renew our perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the Society of Jesus. I've only seen the renewal of vows once before (at the British Province Meeting earlier this year in Swanwick) and it was a very moving experience. Yes, it is a private affair (Jesuits and close associates only, I'm afraid!), but it isn't hard to imagine the emotional force of two hundred young men jointly re-committing themselves to total dedication and self-giving in the service of the Lord. Pray for me!

The Cave Temples (Part 2)

2009-10-20T06:14:00.000+01:00

The second day of the Ajantha-Ellora trip was a much more hectic affair. Our first port of call was the fort at Daulatabad. The fort itself is fairly impressive and more or less impregnable in medieval times. Nevertheless, I find myself a little weary when it comes to fortresses – once you've seen one impressive fort you've pretty much seen them all (Tower of London, Lal Qila / Red Fort etc.) unless there is some special personal reason why a particular fort is of significance (e.g. the Tower of London was more a personal pilgrimage because of the many Jesuits interned there and subsequently martyred). Most of the scholastics decided to climb the 750-odd steps to get to the top of the fort; I decided to conserve my energy for the caves of Ellora which, if they were half as impressive as Ajantha the previous day, should not be missed because I had too little energy. Instead, I had the opportunity to wander around the grounds and meet our primate cousins!

Then the cave temples at Ellora. Like those at Ajantha, the Ellora temples, too, were carved out of solid rock and entire temples are, effectively, a single block of stone. In fact, the Kailasha temple (Temple N.16) at Ellora is the biggest monolith in the world. However, where Ajantha was entirely Buddhist, Ellora has Buddhist, Hindu and even Jain temples. The Ellora temples are spread out over a much larger area and the terrain is not as precarious. There are also more caves than at Ajantha ("cave" is a misnomer for these structures since, as one guide pointed out, they were not constructed from existing natural caves but were created artificially). While the artwork at Ellora was not as impressive as those at Ajantha (very little evidence of murals have survived and the sculptures are not as intricate), the engineering is most certainly impressive. When I saw two- and three-storey temples carved out of the rock-face I had to ask, how on earth did they do it? The sheer imagination, planning and coordination, the determination and skill of execution needed makes my head swim. For instance, did they start at the top and build their way down? The interior spaces are also much larger; where each Ajantha temple might accommodate on average 200 devotees, you could fit over 1,000 into Ellora's multi-storeyed monoliths.

As at Ajantha, I tried to compose the space as it must've been in the 7th-8th century AD when devotees must've streamed here in the thousands from all over the region. Torches or, perhaps, oil lamps must've lit the corridors and prayer halls. The Ellora temples seemed to be younger by a few centuries than their Ajantha counterparts. Artistically, one can also see greater evidence of Hindu-Buddhist hybrid styles at Ellora. In the Dashavathara temple (N.15), there seemed to be evidence that the Buddha was already being venerated by Hindus as one of the dash-avathar (lit. "Ten incarnations" or "ten descents"): ten instances when Lord Vishnu, one of Hinduism's chief deities, took human/corporeal form to combat injustice on earth (the two most famous of these avathars are Lord Rama and Lord Krishna). At the Kailasha temple mentioned earlier (pictured right), there were so many people I thought the temple was still used as a place of worship! As with the previous day, I was conscious of being on holy ground, sites sanctified by the devotion and piety of thousands of seekers of the divine, the transcendent ground-of-being.

My one regret was that our programme did not allow a whole day at Ellora. We only had a couple of hours before we had to get moving; I only got to Cave Temple No. 16 (of over 30!) in that time. I certainly hope I'll get the opportunity to go back some day and, this time, I hope I can convince an expert on Indian temples and religions to give me a running commentary!

On the way back, we stopped at the tomb of Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor. Aurangzeb was undoubtedly a man of great personal piety; he was assiduous in his study of the Qur'an and practised great austerity of life. When he died, he left strict instructions that he be buried in a simple tomb with no great edifice or gardens to commemorate him. Aurangzeb was also one of the most religiously fanatical of India's Muslim leaders and left behind him a legacy of religious oppression of Hindus and Sikhs that endures in common memory to this day. It was an interesting experience visiting his tomb and reflecting on the tension between his apparent personal holiness and public cruelty. Indeed, one is left reflecting on the relationship between religious absolutes and violence. Does all dogma lead, eventually, to violence? How and should religious truth be asserted?

We eventually got back to Pune around 11pm after having supper at a road-side dhaaba (a working-class eatery by the highway that acts as a rest stop, mainly for all-night truckers).

The Cave Temples (Part 1)

2009-10-19T11:51:00.000+01:00

The first semester here at DNC ended just last Friday with the end of semester examinations. We now have a two-week break before the new semester begins. It is customary for the philosophers (philosophy scholastics) to go for a sight-seeing trip to either the Ajantha/Ellora caves or Goa (first and second-years respectively) during this period; theologians (theology scholastics) are free to join either group. All scholastics will have a 'Triduum' (three-day silent retreat) next week before we renew our vows in a special mass. (Left: the first-year philosophers of DNC - I'm second from right, top row)

The first-year philosophers didn't hang around very long after the end of exams; the Ajantha/Ellora trip began at midnight on Friday itself! First, there was a six-hour bus ride to Aurangabad (named after Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor – more about him in Part 2), where we had been provided accommodation in the assembly hall of the high school run by the Holy Cross sisters. There was just enough time to wash up before we had Mass (pictured right) in the hall. The young sacristan had forgotten to bring a Bible along for the Mass readings, so my pocket copy of fellow-British Province Jesuit Fr. Nick King's translation had to come to the rescue. Although we didn't have hymn-books, I was very impressed by how well the scholastics sang many well-known English hymns (“As the deer pants”, “Take our bread” and so on) from memory; many of them have only learned English within the last 7-8 years since joining the Jesuits!

Breakfast, then another three-hour ride to our first major stop – the cave temples of Ajantha. The caves were hewn out of solid rock-face in a beautiful valley, where the river makes a U bend, nearly two-thousand years ago. In fact, the oldest cave temples here date back to the 2nd century BC. You cannot help but be impressed at the manner in which rock-cutters and sculptors must've worked decades in those times, hundreds of feet above the ground. But that isn't all, the craftsmanship and artistry of Ajantha can be admired as masterpieces in their own right. Perhaps it is the combination of cool breeze and lack of sunlight, but many of the cave paintings still retain their colour and lustre. And the brush work is so fine I needed to borrow a pair of binoculars at times to see the detail!

Like the vast majority of tourists there I was busy admiring the artwork when a Buddhist family from Bhutan (probably) came in and bowed to the massive figures of the Buddha. I was suddenly embarrassed to realise that I was standing on holy ground. This might be a cultural trip for me; for some it's a pilgrimage. How many times have I bemoaned the apparent lack of reverence of tourists in cathedrals in England? Who has the greater moral claim over historical sites of religious significance – governments representing the cultural interests of the general population, or adherents of those faiths? Personally, I have come to believe the true beauty or impact of a religious site can only be experienced when it is used in religious worship; it is then that dead hallways and sculptures come alive as spiritual spaces and icons. Wandering the caves of Ajantha, I tried to compose the scene as it must've looked like 15 centuries ago when Buddhism was at its peak in India; as thousands of pilgrims flocked to worship and pray even as construction work proceeded on new temples; as Buddhist monks spent their days meditating in Spartan cells in the caves; as the cave walls glittered with the brilliance of the latest techniques in mural painting and sculpture.

After lunch, we returned to Aurangabad, stopping on the way to enjoy two more sites – Bibi ka Maqbara (literally, “The Tomb of the Wife”; a scaled-down replica of the Taj Mahal built as a tomb for a local nobleman's wife) and the Panchakki (an aqueduct / water-mill system that is a fine feat of medieval engineering). Then supper, before retiring to bed after a very long and tiring, though illuminating, day.

De Nobili College: A First Look

2009-10-19T05:26:00.000+01:00

DNC, Pune

The chapel

Indian Jesus Mosaic / Tabernacle

DNC: First Impressions

2009-10-15T05:38:00.000+01:00

I arrive at DNC before dawn after a 30-hour train ride from Ernakulam (Kerala), a 1,400km journey. It is hard to make out anything beyond the silhouettes of trees on either side of the drive up to the house (and it's impossible at that hour and that state of wakefulness to accurately judge even the length of the drive!) and a dark, forbidding house that stretches away into the shadows on either side. Once inside, the corridors felt labyrinthine. I am shown the philosophers' chapel on the way to my room. Mass is in just half an hour, so I make my way there in the dark.

A single incandescent bulb (which may or may not pass current EU regulations) is lit in the chapel. A silent scholastic starts preparing the altar for Mass. Other silhouettes meditate silently seated on the floor in the lotus position. I have brought my copy of Morning & Evening Prayer (Collins: London, 1976) with me, but it's too dark to read. I take up a position off to the side of the chapel. Then the scholastics (both philosophers and theologians – since this is exam/holiday time) start streaming in. Communion hosts are dropped into a special paten of traditional Indian design for the offertory. Hymn books are passed out. At 7:40am, the Mass begins.

I remember reading somewhere that over 20% of the Indian population speaks English. At over 200 million people, that makes India second only to the United States as the largest English-speaking nation in the world. At DNC, the medium of communication is usually English (except when scholastics/priests meet in province groups.) The daily Mass, too, is in English. But it's Indian English – English in a distinctively Indian lilt and rhythm, idiom and connotation.

Hans-Georg Gadamer highlighted the importance of linguistic/cultural tradition in understanding and interpretation. Given the importance of philosophical hermeneutics at JDV, it's not surprising that the liturgy and normative liturgical spaces at DNC have been interpreted with great intelligence and sensitivity within an apparent pan-Indian tradition. A larger-than-life painting of the Risen Jesus in the lotus position under the wisdom tree adorns the sanctuary wall of the chapel. The readings are read from a pedestal similar to the ones used to support the holy books of other faiths. The altar is a low table behind which the priest-celebrant sits on the floor. I may yet reflect more on this as the days and weeks pass.

After Mass, a hurried breakfast in a great hall with the sounds of over 100 young philosophers trying to swallow down pancakes with coconut chutney, have a pleasant chat and revise their points for the exams – all at the same time.

I'm tired, so I return to my room for a nap.

Introduction

2009-10-14T14:54:00.000+01:00

Who am I?

I am an Indian-born Jesuit scholastic (i.e. student training for the priesthood) of the British Province. I entered the Jesuit British-Irish joint novitiate at Birmingham, England in September 2007 and made my first profession of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in September 2009. I am currently pursuing my studies in philosophy at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV), the Jesuit formation centre in Pune, India and a member of the De Nobili College (DNC) Jesuit formation community. For more details on Jesuit formation, please visit the British Jesuit Vocations website.

Who is this blog for?

This blog is primarily about my experience of Jesuit life, formation and studies at JDV/DNC. It is intended, in the first place, for family, friends and well-wishers who want to know how I'm getting on; but if you're someone interested in becoming a Jesuit or simply interested in Jesuit spirituality, life or formation today, I hope you will find these pages helpful.

Why is this blog called An Unworthy Knight?

Between 1521 and 1541, St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Society of Jesus (aka 'The Jesuits') gathered together his spiritual experience and his experience of aiding people in the spiritual life in a little manual called The Spiritual Exercises (SpEx). Intended for retreat directors directing spiritually committed people through a 30-day retreat, the SpEx is a collection of various “spiritual exercises” (analogical to physical or mental exercises) for the retreatant through four phases called 'Weeks'. In the 'Second Week', Ignatius asks the retreatant to consider the call of Christ to each one of us to participate in his mission of redeeming the world:

“... whoever wishes to come with me has to be content with the same food I eat,
and the drink, and the clothing which I wear, and so forth. So too each one must
labour with me during the day, and keep watch in the night, and so on, so that
later each may have a part with me in the victory, just as each has shared in
the toil.” (SpEx [93])

A response to such a call cannot be taken for granted:

… [Consider how] good subjects ought to respond to a king so generous and kind;
and how, consequently, if someone did not answer his call, he would be scorned
and upbraided by everyone and accounted as an unworthy knight. (SpEx [94])

All progress in the spiritual life, including and especially Jesuit formation, calls for a continuous renewal of one's commitment to answer the call of Christ no matter what the cost, trusting in the hope of Christ's eventual victory over darkness, injustice and sin. I hope that, as you read these pages, you will say a little prayer for me in my ongoing formation and spiritual growth as I will be doing likewise for you.