Football Joy

Football is the first thing that comes to our mind when we think of Brazil. Football is the most popular game in Brazil. Every corner of the street you see children playing football by placing their flip-flops as the goal post. This is the passion of Brazil. If I am not mistaken Brazil has won five times the world cup. Apart from the national football team, there are clubs that keep people busy.

I had a scary encounter with a group of football fans who were completely drunk and were blocking the road in celebration of their club’s win. I was driving to a place and suddenly I encounter this huge group of young men on the road. They asked me stop the car, which I had to. Then they spread the flag of their club over my car. At this point I was helpless inside the car. They were all over the car, taking photos and celebrating. Though I was a little scared I kept my calm. After 5 minutes or so, they cleared the way for me go my way, which I did but it was a hard task since they were all over the place. This is really an unpleasant experience for me but for the fans it is a celebration. I liked the part when one of the fans to me that he was sorry as I was leaving that group.

As I was making my way to my destiny, another fan shoved a firecracker under a bus, which was just in front of my car. I thought the bus would catch fire, but the driver of the bus drove off because confronting the group will be too dangerous. This is another incident that I experienced within the time of 20 minutes. Is this the way to celebrate the joy of winning football?

Another experience I would like to share; the following day I was jogging on the main street of my area. I was concentrating on my jogging, and all of a sudden a fan of football decided to throw a fire cracket under a truck, which was just behind me. The sound of the firecracker really penetrated my eardrums and scared me to death. Is this the way to celebrate the joy of winning football?

These are the three unpleasant experiences that I witnessed in two days time. I not too big fan of football, but I do enjoy the game. I am not fanatic about football, for that matter any sport, but I do play to relax myself. I am not against anyone playing football, we need to play, we need to support our club, we need to part of a team, we need to celebrate the victory of our team, But how do we celebrate it, by harming others and by disturbing the public. Anyone would agree with me that is not the way to show our joy by becoming a public nuisance.

Our joy should not a pain for others, and then there is no meaning for our joy and celebration. But our joy should be a joy of other too. It is important that one celebrates one’s joyful moment with others but should be in a peaceful and soothing way, which eventually make that person to share with you. If on the contrary if it become a pain for others, the joy has no meaning in it. May be it is just a momentary show off kind of joy, that does not last very long. We got to choose the joy that lasts long and impacts others around us.

Canção de Despedida

Gostaria de cantar, esse canção pra você

Uma canção de saudade, não fácil pra cantar

Palavras não me saem, ficam no fundo de mim

Vocês estão acolhedores, pessoas de bondade

Não me esqueci hoje, sua abraços para mim

É hora de partir, hora de tristeza

Vou guardar todos vocês, em minha coração

Não me esqueci hoje, seu amor para mim

Vocês merecemos, o amor de Deus Pai

Lembranças nunca esquecerei, estarei orado por ti

Deus abençoe vocês, demais hoje e sempre

(photo: Jerri Dias, at Rio Acima, MG, Brazil)

Facebook Personality

"I am not good enough" "I am tired" "I am in bed" "depressed" these are the posts came across on my friends Facebook wall. Every human person needs a platform to shore and express one's feelings and sentiments. In the classic age people had several opportunities to express their thoughts both personal and general. They had platforms like a market square, newspapers, cafeterias etc. That more of in the context of physical presence whilst expression of one's ideas and feelings. It was always one on one. It was largely because of the lack of development in technology. They had to be physically present to express their feelings and sentiments; of course they had post mails.

The Facebook account have crossed than a billion mark today, and India is the second after the USA to have largest number of Facebook accounts. Facebook has made access easier through an email account to which their account will be linked to. Let me not discuss the technicalities of Facebook but rather concentrate on Facebook as platform to express one’s feelings and thus lose or gain a personality.

When I meet young people today, conversation ends with asking for Facebook friendship; worse still Facebook itself suggests friends who you might have met for a second or seen from distance because that friend is hooked to your friends friend. Therefore, it’s all about friendship. Initially, when I knew nothing about Facebook, I used to post about my goings; where I am and where I am going and so on. This by and large made my friends to know where exactly I am.

Someone told me that Facebook had given that person a personality, which anteriorly he did not have. What does this mean? I was trying to unpack the statement, ‘Facebook had given personality back’. It is true, probably the person was posting his depressing life on the wall, and in return person’s friends replied and liked to his post and encouraged him to start a new. Or probably person feels that Facebook is a kind of online psychotherapy. Is it true? Facebook has its advantages and disadvantages. I don’t have to elaborate this, since we hear about it in the media.

Privacy is sacred for a person; meaning to say, every one of us needs privacy, whether it’s physical or psychological. I think the Facebook has revolutionized the concept of privacy, in regards to one’s life. When one expresses his feelings on the Facebook, he loses his privacy obviously, but in return the person might feel free and relieved. This has reduced the work of going to the psychologist! Therefore everyone know everyone, everyone knows everyone’s privacy, no more private. One becomes a public figure. I am not judging here, whether it is good or not, rather want to reflect with you all.

The Facebook has reduced a physical contact with each other, since we don’t have to be present physically to converse or express. One can sit in Brazil and express his feelings to one who in Australia in a matter of seconds and another person in India can complement or like the conversation or feelings expressed. Does human person needs a physical contact in life? Most of us would say, YES, we need a physical touch of another person to express one’s love towards the other. Every human being needs warmth in the form of a hug or a mere handshake or an eye contact. This is significant for us because we are social animals.

The Facebook elevates human personality or depreciates human personality? This is the crucial question for me. If it does, well cheers to you but if it doesn’t then we are missing a slither in our lives. 

Modern Priest

It made me reflect, when an Anglican priest told me that he is doing a job; he has to apply seeing the classified on the newspaper for a vacancy in a parish. He is paid for his service in the parish by the diocese. This is not to compare Anglican and Catholic priesthood but just to reflect with you, what it means to be a priest? Most often, we come across priests as lecturers, professors, canons, doctors, singers, musicians, artists and so on. Is it important to have a profession or be man of God or may be both?

One of the persons told me that he does want to see a priest who is less qualified than him to preach to him from the alter. Now the questions about qualification are an issue for some modern priests. It is significant to have qualified priests in our society today, in order to bring about the kingdom of God in an effective and creative way. Our society needs priest of quality and all-rounders to an equitable dialogue with the most advanced world.

Pope Francis addressing the Catechists told that catechists is not a work but to be a catechist. I think this suits my line of argument too, priesthood not a job or a profession rather it is being a priest. Being a priest involved a deeper understanding of oneself and God. An inner depth of one’s knowledge about God and a deep experience of God through prayer and way of life, will suffice my argument pro priests. As St. Ignatius said, give me only your love and grace that is enough for me; true we have grow in love and grace of God and the rest will fall in life.

Sometimes priest might have a temptation to think about their predecessors, that they have become famous, that I also must become famous. Thus follows every craze to be one. Why do I become famous? Pope Francis says, not to hail his name rather hail and recite Jesus’ name. This is the greatness of a person. One who is last will be first in the kingdom of God and one who is first will be last. There is remote temptation of craving for degrees and titles, thus going to any extreme to get them. Priest’s life must not revolve around these worldly attraction and momentary greatness. Rather is in doing simple things like St. John Mary Vienne, we can glorify God.

You are a priest forever, it is in becoming priest that we are recognised by the people of God. It requires a certain amount of dedication to prayer and a constant touch with the people. A priest draws his inspiration from the Eucharist he celebrates and the church prayer that he recites every day. If this is true rest will fall in line; like being a teacher, professor, physician, artist and so on. A mediocre priest will find it hard in the long run to be able to work for the kingdom of God. A priest craving for attention and prestige sooner or later will drift along the current; however, there is always a danger be in the limelight. Soon people forget the sacraments and adore the priest because of his constant popularity and his work. This is exactly working against the will of God, where one seeks to be in the limelight whilst the centre focus, Jesus and his church are side lined. This is just alarming and scandalous to the people of God.

Priests somehow have to watch and guard against this temptation of being workaholic to such an extent, forget that one is priest forever. Craving for power, prestige and popularity can be an obstacle for the greater glory of God. Being a priest means, being a man of prayer and man in constant touch with the people of God.  

It really hurts...!

Whatsoever you do to the least of my brother that you do unto me. This is my first impression whenever I did prison ministry. After being a small help at Wandsworth prison, I had an opportunity explore prison apostolate in Brazil. I was rather reluctant despite my positive disposition of prison ministry because of the formalities that the prison system follows here in Brazil. But with slight luck and encourage d by my Jesuit brothers I ventured into one of the Brazilian prisons.

This prison is one among seven other prisons in the area of Belo Horizonte. I could go to prison for mass only two times in seven months. This means only two masses in seven months. This is the tragedy of Catholic faith in a Catholic country. The first time I went, it was rather penetrating into a war zone area because I had go through 4 times security check which quite contrary to London where I used enjoy going in singing hallelujah without any security checks. It was almost a strip check. But this time slightly better, I was pleased to see a huge cabin in which we go to stand and a scanner films you this then projected on a computer screen before a grim faced officer. This is a new technology, which has reduced 4 persons job into one. After all this I was not allowed to carry anything except an alb and a stole, which is fair enough. My only concern was the rays from the scanner would affect me anyway there we are.

Inside now, we could entertain only about 20 prisoners for mass but we were asked to celebrate mass in a large quadrangle facing the cells. There were about 14 cells on two floors and each cells contained about 8 to 10 prisoners. This looked it was over crowded. The cells are meant for about 4 and the rest have sleep on the floor with a thin mat. This shows the contrast between dear Wandsworth prison and Brazil.

I had a great blessing of saying mass for them. My voice was not able to overshadow the noise that was rocketing from the cells because we were out of microphones. I was able to shout with top of my voice so that people in the cells could hear me. But I would assure that this mass was one of my best masses because I felt a strong and hovering presence of God in that quadrangle. The prisoners were attentive and overly religious with their heads bowed down and hands folded in a great reverence to the Eucharist. This showed me that God loves everyone irrespective of who we are. The Eucharist was really a chance to pour their hearts out to the Lord. They were so joyful to sing the songs they knew and the rest clapping to the beats of the song. The communion was distributed with utter reverence. The prisoners in the cells weren't able to come therefore we had to pass the communion through the rails of the cell. This again showed me their respect and homage to the Holy Communion. It was a moving experience for me. This experience has made me to think that God is present particularly in the lowly and rejected and condemned by the society.

Most of them have a rough background thus they are forced into wrongdoing, which has ended them to the prison. Some of them had some horrific stories to share but had to interrupt since I had time constraints. I could spend whole day listening to only two people. They need someone to listen that they are forced into drugs and their family has no one to care for. This might sound routine story for us who have been working and listening to the prisoners but it is not routine to them at all. It is a profound and deep experience for them when they open up their hearts. Most of them feel that they are erred and want to rectify and none of them would like to go back to the same old trade. This is important for as they feel sorry for their wrongs and none would like to go back.

Most of them have families and kids, some of them even many women and many children to care for. Some of them are far away from them and cannot afford to visit them in the prison. Poverty has led their families to withdraw from every social activity in the society. This is a huge problem and challenge for us who are right in the society. How can we love and treat these shattered families and restore faith once more. This is a big question for me as well. I am trying to understand why do we lock up a prisoner and take them around like an animal in chains?