At the beginning of the Lenten season this year, I distributed Lenten Boxes to all the families in our parish of Aldona, with an invite to make little sacrifices so that at Easter we could help in lighting a lamp of comfort and hope in the homes of those who lost their bread earners during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The response from parishioners was indeed overwhelming. With their generous contribution, we could reach out to families shattered by the loss of their loved ones as well as to those in dire straits and struggling to make ends meet, irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
The spontaneous gesture of magnanimity and big-heartedness to provide succour and relief to needy and distressed families is worth mentioning for the simple reason that the compassionate face of humanity shone in all its luminosity when our parishioners shared in the pains and struggles of brothers and sisters, all children of Mother Earth, what we call our common home.
The story of Easter is the story of the triumph of good over evil, love over hate, hope over despair, light over darkness and life over death.
Christianity has the best definition in Jesus: Giving. Jesus Christ died and rose again to retrieve us from the pit of self-destruction we had fallen due to sin and to restore us to the dignity of the free children of God. And He accomplished this mission by undergoing the ignominy and agony of passion and suffering, ultimately emerging victorious over sin, death and the forces of evil.
Jesus’ entire life was focused on giving life and restoring dignity to people, especially those abandoned, ostracised, dehumanised and those excluded from the mainstream of society. The broken-hearted, the disillusioned, those whose dreams seemed to have been shattered and those on the verge of despair have found new hope, desire and vision to move ahead in life following their enlivening experience with the Author of Life.
The Church and all of its members, down the ages to this day, have strived to reflect the image of compassion, concern and care that shone luminously in the face of her Lord and Master. Through her many institutions and bodies, the Church in India has been rendering yeoman service in uplifting the poor, the marginalised, the downtrodden, the abandoned and the exploited, showing them their self-worth and providing them the necessary tools and means to stand on their own feet with pride and dignity.
The Church has creditably taken various initiatives and steps towards nation-building, especially in the areas of education, healthcare and social welfare. The Church has been so-called and seen as a “field-hospital” where the suffering flesh of Christ in the bruised, battered and broken brethren is touched and the soothing balm of comfort, care and consolation is selflessly offered.
Despite being at the forefront of transcending all kinds of barriers and rendering untold and unsung services to humankind, the followers of Christ consistently have had to face threats, intimidation, hostility, false insinuations and even discrimination by forces that are driven by selfish interests and partisan placement of religion, creed, caste, gender, ethnicity, nation, etc over humanity.
Amidst the encircling gloom, the Church continues to be a beacon light of service and hope to society and the world at large, excluding no one and working hand-in-hand with all to build edifices of humanity and harmony with the bricks of love, respect, compassion, kindness and forgiveness.
The two-year-long worldwide pandemic has made us realise that we cannot live in isolation, or rather with an ego-driven false sense of security. It has revived the sense that we are all in the same boat, and only in sharing the pains and struggles of each other will we be able to steer our boat to the harbour of fulfilment and success.
The Church continues to enliven the hope of the least, the lost and the forsaken while transforming lives with the service of compassion received from Jesus Christ who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”.
The gesture of benevolence and humaneness by the Aldona parishioners to help build the lives of those families broken by the loss of their breadwinners is a small yet noble initiative in the vast ocean of service to humanity that is journeying together in its brokenness and woundedness. And we shall endeavour to walk in the footsteps of the One who died and rose again, journeying with and learning from Him to give and to die that humanity may live, and live in hope. And this love story continues…
[The writer is parish priest at St Thomas Church, Aldona]
The spontaneous gesture of magnanimity and big-heartedness to provide succour and relief to needy and distressed families is worth mentioning for the simple reason that the compassionate face of humanity shone in all its luminosity when our parishioners shared in the pains and struggles of brothers and sisters, all children of Mother Earth, what we call our common home.
The story of Easter is the story of the triumph of good over evil, love over hate, hope over despair, light over darkness and life over death.
Christianity has the best definition in Jesus: Giving. Jesus Christ died and rose again to retrieve us from the pit of self-destruction we had fallen due to sin and to restore us to the dignity of the free children of God. And He accomplished this mission by undergoing the ignominy and agony of passion and suffering, ultimately emerging victorious over sin, death and the forces of evil.
Jesus’ entire life was focused on giving life and restoring dignity to people, especially those abandoned, ostracised, dehumanised and those excluded from the mainstream of society. The broken-hearted, the disillusioned, those whose dreams seemed to have been shattered and those on the verge of despair have found new hope, desire and vision to move ahead in life following their enlivening experience with the Author of Life.
The Church and all of its members, down the ages to this day, have strived to reflect the image of compassion, concern and care that shone luminously in the face of her Lord and Master. Through her many institutions and bodies, the Church in India has been rendering yeoman service in uplifting the poor, the marginalised, the downtrodden, the abandoned and the exploited, showing them their self-worth and providing them the necessary tools and means to stand on their own feet with pride and dignity.
The Church has creditably taken various initiatives and steps towards nation-building, especially in the areas of education, healthcare and social welfare. The Church has been so-called and seen as a “field-hospital” where the suffering flesh of Christ in the bruised, battered and broken brethren is touched and the soothing balm of comfort, care and consolation is selflessly offered.
Despite being at the forefront of transcending all kinds of barriers and rendering untold and unsung services to humankind, the followers of Christ consistently have had to face threats, intimidation, hostility, false insinuations and even discrimination by forces that are driven by selfish interests and partisan placement of religion, creed, caste, gender, ethnicity, nation, etc over humanity.
Amidst the encircling gloom, the Church continues to be a beacon light of service and hope to society and the world at large, excluding no one and working hand-in-hand with all to build edifices of humanity and harmony with the bricks of love, respect, compassion, kindness and forgiveness.
The two-year-long worldwide pandemic has made us realise that we cannot live in isolation, or rather with an ego-driven false sense of security. It has revived the sense that we are all in the same boat, and only in sharing the pains and struggles of each other will we be able to steer our boat to the harbour of fulfilment and success.
The Church continues to enliven the hope of the least, the lost and the forsaken while transforming lives with the service of compassion received from Jesus Christ who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”.
The gesture of benevolence and humaneness by the Aldona parishioners to help build the lives of those families broken by the loss of their breadwinners is a small yet noble initiative in the vast ocean of service to humanity that is journeying together in its brokenness and woundedness. And we shall endeavour to walk in the footsteps of the One who died and rose again, journeying with and learning from Him to give and to die that humanity may live, and live in hope. And this love story continues…
[The writer is parish priest at St Thomas Church, Aldona]
