Fr Cardozo says his latest book ‘All I Have Is You’ elucidates the interconnectedness of human existence, which is intricately woven together, resembling a network of roots and the stem that completes the tree
VANCOUVER
Nearly two years after the publication of his first book ‘All I Have Is I’, a Goan priest based at a parish in Vancouver-Canada released his second book in the trilogy of books.
Fr Cannio Cardozo released his book ‘All I Have Is You’ at an event in the St Edmund Parish in North Vancouver, BC, on March 2 at 11.45 am, following a Memorial Mass for Fr Cardozo’s late father, Nicolau S Cardozo.
Fr. Mario Fernandes, a councillor, formally took centre stage to present and release the book.
Fr Cardozo expressed his heartfelt gratitude to God Almighty for the inspiration and guidance throughout the writing journey. He extended his sincere thanks to Rev. Fr Silvestre D’Souza, Provincial Superior of the Karnataka-Goa Province, for graciously contributing the foreword to the book, and to Fr Alexander Braganza, Provincial delegate, Fr Jerald D’Souza, and Fr Steny Mascarenhas for their constant encouragement.
Finally, he thanked Fr John Pinto, Fr Victor Fernandes, and Fr Vincent D’Souza for their presence and support at the event.
Fr Cardozo emphasised that his latest book ‘All I Have Is You’ elucidates the interconnectedness of human existence, which is intricately woven together, resembling a network of roots and the stem that completes the tree.
“Both “You” and “I” achieve the completion of humanity in a similar manner. ‘All I Have Is You’ highlights the interdependent relationship between “You” and “I”,” said Fr Cardozo.
GOAN IDENTITY, PRIESTHOOD
Speaking to The Goan shortly after the launch of his first book ‘All I Have Is I’, Fr Cardozo admitted that he had never considered priesthood and writing, while he was growing up in his native village of Camurlim-Salcete.
“My dwelling nestles between the hills of Camurlim-Salcete. I hiked the hillocks and swam in the ponds in my younger days. In my teenage years, the soccer ball and cricket bat never let me focus on my future.”
“Till then I thought, to become a priest, and a writer was not my cup of tea. It was the privilege of the smart cookies. But when I kept my first step in the Carmelite seminary, there was an inner renewal in me,” says Fr Cardozo.
“The inexplicable transformation from an extremely shy kid to a confident priest is what confirms my vocation as God’s gift of love to me.”
Fr Cardozo admits that as he journeyed towards the Lord’s altar, he gradually became more aware of the Lord’s mysterious hand in his successes and failures.
“The priestly formation has its share of crisis: but those moments let me spend more time in personal prayer, which made me realise that unless I fall in love with God, I could never truly be His priest.”
FrCardozo said the Psalm 18:1, “I love you, Lord; my strength”, became the theme of his priestly ordination in 2014 and the motto of his life.
In the initial years, he assisted the young minds as a ‘Vocation Promoter’ and ‘Youth Director before a sudden transformation in his ministry.
“It all happened because I was transferred from the ocean to a pond, from a large Parish with a strength of 25,000 faithful at St Joseph in Mira Road-Mumbai to a Parish comprising 800 parishioners at St Edmund in North Vancouver, Canada.”
“I considered it a blessing in disguise as it provided me with ample of time. I believe that an idle mind is the workshop of the devil. Sometimes, we do not know what to do when we have plenty of time. I took it as an opportunity to improve my language skills.”
Fr Cardozo admitted that he initially had no intention of writing a book.
“Other than small articles here and there, I had never written extensively. To make the best use of my time, I penned down my thoughts and, to my surprise, that turned into my debut in the writer’s world.”
