Washing the Feet, an Eucharistic Mandate to Serve: An Insight for the Maundy Thursday

Washing the feet of our guests is not uncommon for any North Indians, irrespective of their religion. This is a common picture among the tribals of Chotanagpur. In the tribal culture, which I am familiar with (though I am an outsider), if the house owner’s wife comes out with a towel, soap, oil and water to wash the feet of their guests necessarily imply that they (the guests whose feet they will be washing) are very special (VVIP). He/she is an intimate guest or considered “our person.” Probably, this culture had to do with the kind of geographical setup, transport and distance covered. 

The life in Palestine at the time of Jesus was not different either. The popular means of transport was the feet. People walked a long distance on rough and dusty roads. Travellers often arrived their destination with sore and aching feet. As a sign of hospitality, the host would see to it that the guests were given a warm foot bath and massage as a way of relieving their aches and pains. This was usually done by the house servants or slaves.

This service of bathing and soothing the tired feet were also provided in the rest houses or inns found at strategic locations along the major roads and highways. Travellers worn out along the way could go into these rest houses and have food and foot bath. Their energy thus restored, would then be able to continue and complete their long journey. That is how such rest houses along the way got the name “restaurant(s)” – they restored strength of the tired and exhausted travellers on the way. The disciples would have understood Jesus’ washing their feet in the light of this cultural background. And for us, it is a pointer to the Eucharist we celebrate.

Understood in the light of the washing of feet, the Eucharist is a place of restoration for people on the way. The life of a Christian in the world is a pilgrimage, a long and hard journey. Along the way, we get tired and worn out and are tempted to give up and turn back. But Jesus has provided us with the Eucharist as a place where we can go in to bathe our aching feet and to be refreshed in body and soul for the journey that is still ahead. When we give communion to a sick person we call it viaticum which means “provisions for the journey.” The Eucharist is always a viaticum: in the Eucharist, we derive strength to continue our upward journey, a journey towards God.

I remember an incident that took place during my Diaconate ministry in a parish. There was a bedridden elderly man in a house. The Parish priest used to take Holy Communion every Tuesday. Once I accompanied the Parish Priest to that place. The elderly man said, “Father why do you take trouble in bringing Communion every week? I will not get healed, that I know. My days are soon to be over. When I need, I will send a word to you.” Then the Parish Priest replied, “I know, that this small piece of bread will not heal you nor will make you rise from your bed and walk again. But my coming to you taking Jesus, and in the name of Jesus and talking to you will surely relieve your loneliness, tension and mental worries. I can read this from your face. If this happens, even if you say ‘no,’ I will come.”

In the incident occurred at the table of the Last Supper, Peter was uncomfortable having Jesus washing his feet. Peter, who was somewhat of an activist, would have preferred to see himself doing the washing, washing the feet of Jesus and even of the other disciples. Sometimes it is harder to remain passive and allow someone else to bathe us than it is to bathe someone else, as every toddler can tell you. But having our feet washed and washing the feet of others are two sides of the same coin. We must proudly call it the Christian life.

The first and most essential part is to let the Lord wash us. As Jesus said to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me” (John 13:8). First, the Lord washes us clean so that we belong to the Lord. Only then are we qualified and empowered to wash the feet of our sisters and brothers in the Lord. When this truth dawned on Peter, he overcame his reluctance and cried out, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” (v. 9). For this to happen all that the Lord needs from us is simply for us to be there, to present ourselves to him and to let him wash us.

The other side of the coin, which is equally important is that after our feet have been washed by the Lord, we must go and wash the feet of others. After Jesus had washed his disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:12-15). This is actually a mandate (mandatum in Latin) for every Christian. Washing other's feet is to serve others in humility, care, respect, love. It is being hospitable and doing charitable work.

Pope Francis washing feet of the inmates of Rebibia prison in 2015

Jesus establishes a close link between his washing the disciples’ feet and the disciples washing the feet of others. If the Eucharist is the place where the Lord washes our feet, our daily life is the place where we ought to wash the feet of others. Eucharist leads to life and life leads to Eucharist. True Eucharistic piety must lead to the service of others. Jesus who broke the bread of the Eucharist also washed the feet of his disciples. We must follow his example both at the altar of the Eucharist and at the altar of life.

The Priesthood

Today we thank Jesus for giving us the Eucharist and the priesthood. Both the Eucharist and the Priesthood “were born” during the Last Supper. The two sacraments of this day – the Eucharist and the Holy Orders – are closely linked to each other. Without the Priesthood there cannot be Eucharist.

Pope John Paul II in his Letter to the Priests for Holy Thursday 2004, says that the priesthood is born during the Last Supper, “At the Last Supper we were born as priests…” (§1) Then he continues to write about the connection between the priesthood and the Eucharist, saying that priests were born from the Eucharist, “We were born from the Eucharist. If we can truly say that the whole Church lives from the Eucharist…we can say the same thing about the ministerial priesthood: it is born, lives, works and bears fruit “de Eucharistia.” There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist” (§2).

Priests involved in many different activities. No matter what type of work a priest is engaged in, the highpoint of the priestly ministry is celebrating the Eucharist. It is the most important moment of the day for a priest. And so the Pope writes, “The ordained ministry…enables the priest to act in persona Christi and culminates at the moment when he consecrates the bread and wine, repeating the actions and words of Jesus during the Last Supper” (§2).

Before this extraordinary reality, we find ourselves amazed and overwhelmed, so deep is the humility by which God “stoops” in order to unite himself with a human! If we feel moved before the Christmas crib when we contemplate the Incarnation of the Word, what must we feel before the altar where, by the poor hands of the priest, Christ makes his Sacrifice present in time? We can only fall to our knees and silently adore this supreme mystery of faith (§2).

The Pope reminds us of the importance to pray for vocations so that priests may never be lacking to the Church. This reminds us of the huge sacrifices that some people down through the history of the Church have made to protect priests during times when they were endangered by anti-Catholic laws.

Today’s Reality of Priests

Yes, and indeed a vehement Yes, that many priests are involved in scams, dishonesty, travesty, and what not! This does not nullify the honest, god-fearing and simple priests like St. John Maria Vianney. There are many more such priests with their prophetic zeal working amidst us. It is because of these true servants of Christ, the Catholic Church is bubbling with life today. I am proud of it.

Priests are not fallen from the sky nor are they formed overnight in a seminary. They are born in our families. They are weak as any human being is. They are broken in many places. But I must say, it is not the formation that is received in the seminaries make a person ‘the best priest,’ rather it is the formation received at the younger days at home that make a person ‘the best priest.’ It is the timely correction of father and mother, their love and their initial catechism that form a person who they will be in the future. If anyone asks a priest about their formation, no doubt, they will give their first credit to their parents and family members. As a priest, I can boldly say that it is the formation I received from my parents is what I carry in my priestly ministry even today. My seminary formation was only a confirmation of my family formation. The formation received at home gets deepened, branches out, and become a huge tree in the seminary. But it yields fruit, again, amidst his greater family, the world where he is sent. Had not the formation of parents, a priest is a half-baked one.

However, not all apples are sweet in a basket. There may be one or two insipid or sour. Just because one is not sweet enough, let us not throw it away. Our mothers know it well, how to re-use the leftover rice of the previous night. This is the beauty. Priests need the help of such mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters in making them delicious. I beg earnestly from you, ‘love your priests, help them, guide them, teach them, direct them, love them.’

Often, priests are misunderstood and become a subject of talk for the people. A famous anonymous quote goes like this:

A priest is always wrong because:

If he begins his mass on time, his watch is advanced;

If he begins a minute later, he keeps people waiting

If he preaches too long, he makes people get bored;

If his homily is too short, he is unprepared.

If he owns a car, he is luxurious;

If he does not own one, he does not go with the times.

If he goes out to visit families, he is always out:

If he does not, he has no time for them.

If he asks for donations, he is a moneymaker;

If he does not do it, he is too proud and lazy.

If he takes time in the confessional, he is too slow;

If he makes it too fast, he has no time for his penitents.

If he renovates the church, he throws away money;

If he does not do it, he allows everything to rot away.

If he is with the youth, he forgets the old.

If he is seen with women, he is a playboy;

If he goes with men, he is not normal;

If he is young, he has no experience;

If he is old, he should retire.

As long as he lives, there are always people who are better than him. But the reality is this, “If the priest dies….there is nobody to take his place!” Our entire life is a period of formation. We too need ongoing formation. When we fail, kindly correct us, but don’t punish us with third-degree torture because we are for you only. If you don’t own us as your sons, brothers and companions, then who will?

Yes, I left my mother, so that you become my mother

I left my father so that you become my father

I left my brother so that you become my brother

I left my sister so that you become my sister

I left my relative so that you become my relative

I left my friends so that you become my friend

I left my everything so that you become my everything

Now, accept me the way I am, mould me, guide me, love me, strengthen me, forgive me

Be with me in my loneliness, worries, tensions and problems

I count on your being with me in all my good and bad times.

Fr. Raju Felix Crasta

St. Albert's College, Ranchi

GURU DEVO BHAVAḤ: THE TEACHER IS GOD INDEED

A famous s̕loka on the salutation of the teacher goes like this: “Gurur Brahmā Gurur Vis̕ṇu, Gurur Devo Mahes̕waraḥ, Gurur Sākṣāt pararbrahmā, Tasmai S̕rī Gurave Namaḥ.” This means: Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vis̕ṇu, Guru is S̕iva, Guru is Supreme Brahman Itself, Unto that Guru I prostate. Kabir Das speaks of the greatness of guru in his poem, “Guru Gobind dono khaḍe, kāke lago pāñy?’ Balihāri guru āpne Gobind diyo batāy.” This means: Guru and God both are here to whom should I first bow? All glory to the guru who bestowed the path. The greatness of a teacher can be thus spoken loudly. However, these glorious stanzas will be futile, if the student does not live that greatness in one’s life. It is the guru who teaches the way, shows the way and gives the way. Living the path of Guru is a real gurudakṣiṇā, a student can offer to the teacher. 

Giving gurudakṣiṇā doesn’t mean that a student should cut one’s thumb like Ekalavya. I remember five-fold characteristics upon cultivating in one’s life, a student can offer gurudakṣiṇa to the teacher. It goes like this: “kāgaceṣṭa, bakodhyānam, s̕vānanidrā tathaiva ca; alpāhāri, gṛhatyāgi, vidyārthi pañca lakṣaṇam." This literally means: The perseverance of a crow, Contemplation of a crane, sleep of a dog, limited food and abandoning house are five-fold characteristics of a student. This obviously needs some explanation. 

Kāgaceṣ̕ṭa literally means the perseverance of a crow. Here we need to remember the story of the ‘crow and pitcher’. The crow in the story thinks and makes a deliberate effort to drop pebbles into the pitcher in order to quench its thirst. In other words, the student should do repeated efforts to achieve the success. At the time of high school and college results, several organizations come up with counselling centres to assist the students (and even to the parents) to overcome the fear of failure. The fear of failure is so much that even the government has changed the marking system in the matriculation exam. There is nothing called ‘shame’ if one fails in one’s exam. When Thomas Alva Edison failed several times, he only said, “I haven’t failed. I’ve found 10000 ways that don’t work.” Therefore, the student should realize that ‘failure is the stepping stone to success.’ Add to this, God has created each one differently. One may be good in one field, while the other is best in another field. Realizing one’s weaknesses and working hard to overcome them is the beginning of success. 

Bakodhyāna means the contemplation of a crane. Often in the streams, rivers and ponds, we see cranes standing in one-pointed devotion and concentration (ekāgracitta) waiting eagerly to catch a fish. The slightest disturbance in the concentration will fail in attaining the purpose. The study is nothing but ‘one-pointed devotion’ (ekāgra-bhakti). It is likely to get disturbed in the modern technological world. The electronic gadgets, technological innovations, socializing websites, vehicular pollution create a ruckus atmosphere for the student. But a student should learn to ‘bracket out’ these disturbances and have an ekāgra dhyāna in one’s business. 

The third characteristic is the sleep of a dog (s̕vānanidrā). One of the biggest challenges for a thief to enter a house is the wakeful state of the dog. At times it seems to us that dog is sleeping. But, the slightest sound, a pin-drop sound would be enough for a dog to bark and alert the owner. A student needs to be like this. At every time and moment, we are bombarded by a plethora of information. A responsible student should get awakened from one’s slumber, pick up the issues from here and begin to develop new skills. One can remember Archimedes’ famous dictum, “Eureka”–“I have found it.” Opportunities and ideas do not come every time. At a certain time, they appear and soon disappear. An alert student identifies them, picks them up and runs away shouting “Eureka, Eureka.” 

The fourth characteristic is the alpāhāra, eating limited food. Often it is said, that students should eat good and enough food. It is the time to eat. I do not wish to contradict this, rather I affirm that sufficient nutritious food is essential at the time of studentship. But what is meant by alpāhāra is, that one should be careful about the diet one takes in. Today, in society overeating, obesity and cholesterol problems are increasing which causes lethargy and slothfulness. On the other hand, alpāhāra can also mean the quality of ‘concern for others.’ It means we eat more than what we actually need. Our saving and not wasting food can alleviate the hunger of someone in society. This ditto applies to the financial position of the student as well. If every student thinks that ‘keeping what is actually needed for oneself is that one is entitled to have and keeping what is not needed for oneself is greed, and therefore, the surplus needs to be distributed to others,’ then the world would have been different by now. 

The fifth characteristic is gṛhatyāga, the sacrifice of the house. Originally this meant for the gurukula system where the student would leave one’s home and make the teacher’s home as one’s second home. The word kula in gurukula means, the ‘extended family’ or ‘domain.’ However, in the present system, it could mean a ‘hostel life.’ But the meaning I prefer goes beyond this. Gṛhatyāga could mean the ‘freedom from bondage and boundaries of home.’ There is a ready-made atmosphere or spoon-feeding inclination in every home. Students at times beep upon the success of their parents. However, a passionate student should stand on one’s own feet without building one’s life on their parent’s success, making the best use of the education received and thus be ‘self-confident’ to face the world. This would be the real gṛhatyāga. 

Another important aspect to be pointed out here is the seriousness of one’s ‘studentship.’ It is an important period, a divine call. Therefore, I call it a ‘vocation to be a student.’ If one realizes this divine element in the studentship, one would be really a ‘serious student’ like ‘Arjuna’ for Droṇācārya. If not, the student will become a ‘spoiled brat’ running to the parties, flirting with opposite-sex friends, boozing, taking pleasure in erotic gadgets, becoming a slave to narcotics, goondaism and the like behaviour. This not only diverts their studies but also defames their real home and parents. In the Bhagavadgīta Kṛs̕ṇa says, “s̕raddhāvāml labhate jñānam tatparaḥ samyatendriayaḥ; jñānam labdhvā parām s̕āntim acireṇā’dhigacchati” (Gīta 4:39). It means, “The one who has faith and devotion and has mastery over the senses, gains the knowledge. Having gained this, one at once attains the supreme peace.” One who has control of one’s senses can really attain wisdom and achieve the goal in life. 

To summarize what has been said - perseverance, concentration, hard-work, alertness, concern for others, sharing attitude, self-confidence, etc., are the divine qualities make student, an ideal student. It is these qualities, a guru is interested in. Having known that the s̕iṣya has inculcated these in one’s life, the teacher's life becomes meaningful (sārthaka). This is the real gurudakṣiṇā.

Some quotable quotes 

• “We need no spiritual masters, we need spiritually evoked souls, who don’t teach and preach.” Jalaluddin Rumi
• “First of all stop calling yourself a benighted soul and after that, stop calling me a guru. I’m not a guru and no one’s my follower.” Jiddu Krishnamurti
• “Make no one your guru and you’ll never be disenchanted or duped.” An Uzbeki saying
• Make your own idol carved out of your inner Self and genuflect before that. Why should you have the encumbrances of god, shrines and scriptures? The truly realized are never interested in becoming gurus.” Sumit Paul in The Speaking Tree
• “To be a spiritual master is to be doomed.” Rene Descartes
• “Guru is forever a disciple.” Ramana Maharshi
• “A real spiritual master has an aura and you immediately recognize him with that sparkling glow. He doesn’t have to blow his own trumpet.” Fariduddin Attar, a Persian poet
• “A real master has no followers, no home, no property and no social accessories. His own life is a lesson in spirituality. He’s a living enlightenment.” Jean Paul Sartre
• "Guru is forever a disciple." Ramana Maharshi

Fr. Raju Felix Crasta

The Feminine Face of Discipleship

 

Human being whether male of female, is essentially divine. Often God is understood as male because of patriarchal nature of the society, and forget the feminine aspect, which is equally important than the former. In Christian literature also God is portrayed in the feminine qualities such as generative, sacrificial, loving, compassionate, tender, nurturing, service minded, dedicated and so on. These are also the explicit qualities of the balanced person. Jesus is no doubt a balanced person in all the aspects, who respected and upheld the human dignity at his time in the male dominated society. These are also the qualities Jesus imposes on the person who would like to be called his ‘Disciple’.

In the society we see women subjugated in various aspects. They bear the torture, undergo pain and become subjects of harassment. There are also women, amidst all these problems, bear the pain and ‘stand up’ in the situation. Women are also the ‘masterminds’ to uproot the societal evils. A true disciple of Jesus needs to know and learn these qualities so that he can be ‘another Christ’ for himself and for others and thus to bring the good News of liberation to all.

This is a small effort made to know the qualities of a disciple. It is noteworthy to find out that these qualities are also the qualities every woman possesses specially the women disciples of Jesus. A synthetic approach is being made in the conclusion to inculcate these qualities in the ministry entrusted to us.

1 The Discipleship

1.1 The Qualities of Discipleship

The call for a discipleship involves several aspects. They include, God calls and we accept the call. Once we accept unconditionally, involves our fuller commitment to our ‘yes’ to Him. Finally once when we say unconditional ‘yes’, comes the test, ‘to be identified with the master’.

1.2 A Call to follow

            Whatever we are, wherever we are, God loves us unconditionally, because he wants ‘everyone to be saved’ (1 Tim 2:4) and he ‘doesn’t want any one to be ‘lost’. With this motive, Jesus calls us to follow him. It is a call first and foremost to save my soul and secondly to save souls of the other. His call is a gratuitous call.

1.3 ‘Follow’ – a complete Commitment

God the Father gave the relay baton of salvation to his Only Son Jesus. He won this race through His utmost sincerity and commitment and now the same baton is passed on to me. As a true disciple I must be a person of total commitment and sincerity. For Jesus himself said, “once you put the hand in the plough and look back is not worthy to be my disciple”.

I had a dream of becoming an Engineer but that dream was shattered by the call of Christ. In my following Christ, some time in the middle I was shattered by the attraction towards opposite sex, but I was not shattered. Instead, she by knowing my real intention encouraged me with support and courage.

1.4  The Joy of Discipleship

The story of the Tax collector in Mt. 9:9-17 is a model for Jesus’ gratuitous call of those ostensibly unworthy of discipleship. It is a radical grace enfleshed in the radical demand to follow, a demand which is immediately obeyed. Even though unworthy at the call, after receiving it, the person becomes worthy. The person is spiritually healed, in the very act of physical healing. The inner peace resulting from such grace is noteworthy.

Jesus shows mercy, which is the essence of his messianic mission. He came to call sinners, which imply the recipient’s unworthiness to be called. Jesus shows mercy to Mary Magdalene and latter she becomes the ardent lover and follower of Christ’s mission and thus a role model to be followed by many.

1.5 The Total Renunciation – A Self Denial

The sending of the Twelve among the lost sheep (Mt 10:5-15), incorporates the traditional missionary charge as a sense of reverence and testimony. The rejection of Jesus in his own people and land shows the stringent situation where one needs to work. One is forced to provide new leaders for the shepherdless sheep of Israel.

Missionary needs only basic food and lodging that must be provided as the right by the ones they serve. Wherever they go, are not to seek out better lodging later. The worth of the host is no doubt to be judged by the acceptance of both messenger (hospitality) and the message (faith). Both of them go together.

1.6 Persecution, the Identification with the Master

     The cost of discipleship is the persecution and persecution is the identification of the disciple with the Master. ‘The disciple is no superior to his master. If they’ve called the master the house of Beelzebub, what will they not say his house-hold?” (Mt. 9:34, 12:24).

During the persecution one must not be fearful for He says. “Fear not for I am with you” (Jer 1:7-8). Dispite imprisonment, the persecution cannot keep the Gospel message hidden. It will be out in the light.

2. The Feminine Face of the Discipleship

2.1  Christ’s feminine face to follow

Christ is Son of God and Son of Man and yet He is both male and female. Isn’t this a paradox? Yes, it looks like a paradox. Carl Gustav Jung speaks of ‘self’ as ‘Androgyny’ which refers to the presence of both masculine and feminine qualities in an individual and the ability to realize both potentialities. Thus a human being is both masculine and feminine consisting of anima-animus, personal-shadow, body-mind and conscious-unconscious (Theories of personality by Barbara Engler). A balanced person knows to harmonize these qualities well in one’s life. All the qualities said earlier like mercy, sacrifice, self-denial, persecution, joy can be applied to a woman. She is an embodiment of all these characters. Jesus incorporated all these qualities in his public life, in his existential dealing with the reality, with both men and women.

2.2 The Feminine Qualities

2.2. 1 Courage

To follow someone breaking the boundaries of tradition and culture in the society amidst all the ups and downs needs courage and boldness. Some of the women have shown it like Martha, Mary Magdalene and Mother Mary herself (Mk 15:40-41, 16:1-7).

2.2.2 Self-Denial

‘If you want to follow Christ, leave everything, take up my Cross and follow me”. These words were very much true in the case of Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan woman etc. Once they knew Him, surrendered totally to Jesus. Samaritan woman goes a step ahead, ‘leaves everything’ and announces about Jesus in her village, Martha, forgets everything and chooses the right spot, ‘to listen’ at the feet of Jesus (Lk 10: 38-42).

2.2.3  Persecution

    Mother’s love to the child is unconditional. Likewise, Mother Mary loved her son unconditionally. From the conception till the death of Jesus, in all her sons’ good and tough situations, she was there to assist his son. As Simeon prophesized a ‘sword was piercing’ Mary’s heart at every moment of Christ’s hardship. This is nothing but the authentic example of true discipleship. Jesus moving with compassion for the trouble the women took, feels sorry for them and says at the way to Calvary, “Do not cry.”

2.2.4 Dignity of person

Society looks women down upon. This was true even to the time of Jesus. Knowing this reality, Jesus upheld the right of women. This is clear from the incident where Jesus raised the widow’s son to life (Lk 7:11-17), the story of Mary Magdalene (Lk 7:36-50), the healing of crippled woman on the Sabbath day Lk 13:10-17), woman searching for the lost coin which symbolize the search of lost humanity (Lk 15:8-10), and the widow demanding justice (Lk 18:10-18) etc.

2.2.5 Joy

‘Assurance’ of discipleship can be said to be fulfilled when the person receives inner peace. Because of the tremendous love and concern for the women and their dignity, Jesus blesses them and makes them as the first ‘Apostles’. It is none but the once sinner Mary Magdalene was sent as ‘apostle’ to proclaim good news to his brothers, and not the 12 who were always with him. It was when Mother Mary was present, the promised Holy Spirit descended upon them.

Thus Jesus had a balanced outlook of personality. By being male He had the characters of female. The qualities said to be feminine such as sensitivity, love, service, self sacrifice, or self-denial, hard work, tenderness, commitment were synonymous with his personality. Jesus demands these same qualities from His would be follower.

3. The Synthetic Approach to Follow Christ

The characters said to be feminine are also the characters needed to be a good disciple of Jesus. What Jesus did at His time in society is also demanded of today. Today’s society is mainly male dominated one, except for a few which see women as equal to men. But there is hardly any culture which see women as superior to man, they are always the weaker sex. Today the task given as St. Paul rightly pointed out is ‘to become another Christ.’ Therefore to become another Christ I need to inculcate a balanced personality within. I must have a balanced approach towards everyone.

3.1 Integration into the ministry

     If I go to people with my patriarchal personality, I will be a failure and if I go with the feminine personality I will be of no value. To keep the boat safe and keep going, I must first and foremost have a balanced approach.

There is always a growing tendency to get alienated from the opposite sex. My experience has taught me that ‘women can change’ the society more than the men. Therefore to bring a positive development in the society our main weapons are the women. Therefore to have a good rapport in the workplace, in the social sectors, I need to cultivate the qualities of love, service, sensitivity, joy, peace, perseverance, hard work, self-sacrifice etc which would enable me to be a better disciple of Jesus.

Discipleship is a deep experience or a deep relationship between the master and the disciple. A true disciple is one who follows the footprint of his master. A Christian discipleship is the ever-deeper growing life of faith in Christ or the experience of Christ, and its highest stage is to remain in faith and love with Christ. Thus a Christian disciple is the one who hears, follows, seeks, finds, comes, sees, and remains with him. The women disciples of Jesus in this sense were the true disciples. This fact challenges me to be an authentic person to like those women disciples.

Raju Felix Crasta

ST. JOHN Mary VIANNEY: A BRIDGE BUILDER

St. John Mary Vianney, the saint of Ars, is a man of God, a man of prayer and a man for others. There are now a plethora of tasks, activities and movements in which priests are expected to immerse themselves. But the challenges and demands made on priests today should not frighten or confuse them. The new emphasis and requisites only tend to integrate priests with their people, whereas the older theologies highlighted their separateness. They have not only to celebrate the sacred mysteries but also try in their life to epitomise the Word they preach and the sacrifice they make present. To bring about such metamorphosis in priestly life, it demands a profound and radical self-giving. Here St. John Mary Vianney comes to our rescue.

St. Vianney, a heroic model and a persuasive teacher of the practice of piety, virtue and penance, is seen always as a model for priests. Pope John XXIII in his Encyclical, Sacerdotii Nostri Primordia says, Vianney is “wonderful in his pastoral zeal, in his devotion to prayer and in the ardor of his penance to the honors of the saints of heaven, now, one hundred years after his death, offers him with maternal joy to all the clergy as an outstanding model of priestly asceticism, of piety, especially in the form of devotion to the Eucharist, and, finally, of pastoral zeal.” Therefore, he is a model of clerics. “a priest who was outstanding in a unique way in voluntary affliction of his body; his only motives were the love of God and the desire for the salvation of the souls of his neighbors, and this led him to abstain almost completely from food and from sleep, to carry out the harshest kinds of penances, and to deny himself with great strength of soul.” Pope further says that it is very difficult in present scenario to be like him. This task brings us challenge before us.

Over enthusiastic biographers held that Ars was a den of iniquity and a cesspool of immorality. But it may not have been so notoriously immoral. However, to the average citizens, God was not important and the church played no active role in their lives. On the eve of Vianney’s departure for Ars, Fr. Courbon, the Vicar General told him, “There is no love of God in that parish. Go and put some love into it.” And he did just that by his prayer and penance. His bargain with God was, “Grant me the conversion of my parish. I consent to suffer whatever you want for the rest of my life.” Like a true prophet he called his people to repentance; through him, the spirit of penance spread through the land like fire over dry stubble. He was there up to fifteen hours a day reconciling sinners. He penetrated the impenetrable hearts, converted the most corrupted souls, won favour with God and man through his self-giving and simplicity of life, too simple a life, in fact, to express in human words. For instance, his daily meal consisted of a bowl of boiled potatoes and he rested only for 3 hours.

It is sometimes said that we are living in the age of “the lonely crowd” in “concrete jungles,” an age in which the separation and gulf among the hearts and minds of people often find tragic expressions. As an ambassador of Christ the priest must appeal to all people to be reconciled with God and with one another. To those who are lost in the loneliness and isolation of sin he must effectively speak Christ’s word of forgiveness. A priest is a man who builds bridges (pontifex) and breaks down barriers. In fact, the priest himself must be a bridge i.e., a genuine living link between God and people through prayer and selfless service. “Oh! How great is the Priesthood! It can be properly understood only in Heaven... if one were to understand it on this earth one would die, not of fright but of love!” (Pope Benedict XVI in his General Audience on 4th August 2009).

St. Vianney’s very life is a reminder that the aim of all revolution must be reconciliation. If like their patron, priests make the Eucharist the centre of their life and allow it to mold and shape them, they too can attain the power of total giving of self which is needed to live up to the image and profile of a pastoral priest. Then every priest can become a real pontifex, who brings reconciliation in the world. Thus, the simple, gentle and pacific Vianney becomes a challenging Vianney for all priests.

“Dear St. John Vianney, because of your love of God you showed great charity towards your neighbour. You could not preach on the Love of God without burning tears of love. During your last years, it seemed as though you could not talk about anything else or live for anything else, but for love. You sacrificed yourself to your neighbour by consoling, absolving and sanctifying them to the limits of your strength. Your charity inspires me to greater love of God, a love which is shown more by acts than by words. Help me to love my neighbour generously as Christ loves them. St John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests. Amen.” 

Fr. Raju Felix Crasta