A few months ago one of
my priest friends asked me to pray for his ailing father who is suffering from
Cancer. He is diagnosed from that sickness a couple of years ago. Back to back,
I had a sudden call from home. My dad was seriously ill due to severe breathing
problem and Asthma. When I went home another news was awaiting me. One of my childhood
friends who is now a priest, told me that he lost his father due to cancer a
couple of days ago and yet his grandfather who is 98 years old is still strong
and healthy.
These incidents do not
stop here. I started to think about priests and religious who have sacrificed
willingly to the service of God. How God is awarding them the sweetness of the
Cross. All the priests who are serving in the near and far away places have
some similar story to tell. One has his mother ailing, the other has his father
bedridden, the other suffering from unknown disease, one has lost his parent in
the early age, one is suffering himself due to some miserable accident and so
on and so forth.
This is not the only
case with priests. Ditto is found among the women religious too. Though at
times see ‘all is well’ there is something miserable underneath. One of my nun friends
told me that she is unable to pray and do her work when she thinks about her
parents. She wanted to be at home to take care of the parents. Another nun too
has a similar story to tell who has lost her both parents. Her only brother who
is the backbone of the family, is now seriously sick and has no one to take
care.
I was happy to see my
brother taking care of my bedridden father. Once he told me this, “if there is
a priest or a nun in any family, one of the family members will be seriously in
need of care and service especially the parents.” For me these are the
prophetic words and they are very much true. Only a deep religious person can
utter those words. By that service they raise their mind and heart to God. Their
sacrifice and service to the ailing person is itself a prayer and devotion to
the creator.
At times, the sickness,
loss of our parents, is a divine providence. They happen for the greater good. There
is nothing in the world happen without the knowledge God, so much so, a leaf
does not fall from the tree without a silent approval from the Creator. So too
with us, who have willingly sacrificed ourselves to the divine Call. Every action
of ours, every inch of suffering we undergo, every torment we face will not go
futile without having yielded its fruit. Everything happens for the good.
A young, professed
religious nun once came to me sobbing who had lost her mother in the near past asked
this question, “why did God take away my mother?” I told her, “God took away
your mother, so that you can be a good mother for the motherless thousands of
children. By losing your mother you are experiencing a tremendous pain. God is
allowing you to experience this. Much more is the pain of those children who
have not even seen their mother. You need to be a mother for them, a sister for
them, a teacher for them and a guide for them.” The same is true with the
sickness and other problems. A devout and selfless person will experience more crosses
and hurdles in one’s life directly or indirectly. This is a fact.
There is a greater
trauma in one’s life especially when one is far away from home. At times, I feel
very much this, “in spite of having worked selflessly for the Kingdom of God
for which God has called me, why is he allowing me to undergo such tension?”
When I hear that my dad is sick or my mom weeping over the phone telling me the
difficulties they are facing at home, I have no words to console them. I feel
emotional. Find difficult to answer. Even, I feel that my study of philosophy,
theology, MA or MPh or diplomas and degrees are useless badges. What have they
taught? Rut, rut and rut. Which words should I use to console them?
The only solace is the Word
of God. A deep conviction and faith in Christ. I assure them that their difficulties
will be blessed. They would see the bright sunlight one day. Everything will be
alright. As a priest, I remember them all, take all the sufferings put into the
Chalice and Paten at the Eucharistic table and say, “Blessed are you, Lord, God
of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth
has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed
are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to
offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual
drink.” I believe and is my conviction, that God takes care of the rest.
As a Vocation Promoter,
I find difficult to promote the young hearts. Often I hear from the young
people I meet, that many Promoters come and show them good pictures, assure bright
future, luxury life in religious life and thus recruit for their congregation
and they are able to get some candidates. Should I tell the reality or create a
false reality and convince them? Vocation is a Gift of God and so too are the
difficulties. The first thing when a person approaches me to become a priest or
a nun, I tell them is, “It is not easy. The grass in the other side is green. If
you are able to face the current you are most welcome.” During the course of
formation, some withstand the pressure and some succumb to it. When those who
feel that ‘this is not their way of life’ and go back, often their parents ask
the question, “What was wrong in the Seminary? Why did they send my son back?”
Who has to answer – the vocation promoter, the rector or the seminarian? This
kind of questioning is more common among the women than the men.
How often, we realize the
truth that a priest or a religious is suffering silently? Though they do not
shed their tears in front of others, always eager to help, seen smiling
24x7x365 days this is the reality one faces. Those who cannot read the hidden
lines, priest is, ‘always late, lazy, boring sermons, no depth, crazy, modern,
luxurious, unavailable….” No doubt, there are such ones but not all. If there
are sinners there are also saints. May the life of good of priests and
religious inspire all to take the challenges / difficulties of life and make
the life palatable and worth living.
Raju Felix Crasta
image source: http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/200H/i/2010/340/1/1/winter_song_by_kirahero-d34cy6m.jpg
