Fransinomics: A Papal Economic Boom

Jesus was not only concerned about spiritual growth of persons but also growth of the whole person, i.e. body and soul. For example, Jesus not only taught the crowds on the meadows but he also fed them with bread and fish. Jesus also speaks about buying and selling in the parable of the kingdom of God. He explains that a person goes beyond to buy the precious stones; the person sells off and buys the precious stone. Jesus never neglected the tax collectors despite the taboo in the then society against them. In fact, Jesus embraced and called them to be his disciples. Jesus very often spoke about money, like lost coin, master giving denarii to the servants (talents). Hence it is clear that Jesus had a special concern for economics and its impact in the lives of the people.

Recent visit of the Pope to Korea showed a tremendous increase of faith among the people of God. One priest exclaimed,  “pope visit is like a injection for our faith, he has created ripples in our faith.” It is a clear sign of boom in the faith of the people. Pope Francis touched the hearts of the people of Korea. It was really a blessing for the Church in Korea during and after the visit of the Holy Father.

Holy Father’s visit has created a ‘Francis Factor’ in Korea and impacted in the rise of tourism in the country and the places where the Pope set his foot. The theme for the tour of the Pope, “Healing Tour” has really effected in bringing about a cultural and relaxing time for the people of Korea. It is a boost to the Korean tourism.

How has the visit of the Holy Father affected the economy of Korea? This is what I am interested in. According to the Lastampa online magazine, the Pope’s visit has given an economic push to the country in most possible ways. I am intrigued to cast my imagination to the expenditure and returns of the visit of the Pope. I don’t have data handy to explain, what is the incurred expenditure to the Korea Church and the Korean government for the recently concluded Papal visit to the country. It is noteworthy to think that when a well-known person like Pope Francis visits, expenditure must be quite high, like his security, tour to different parts of the country, pilgrims expenditure so on. Hence, it is a big money enterprise.

Pope’s visit also can impact on the returns of the country as it happened in Korea. During the visit of the Pope the Korean economy increased in its profits. Hence generating more income to the companies in Korea. According to the Hyundai Research Institute in Seoul, the economic impact of the Pope’s presence can be estimated to an increase of internal expenditure of 500 billion won (around 491 million US dollars). It is a significantly positive sign for Korean economy, that risks drying up: there has been a moderate increment in the internal consumers demand – that the government has been trying to incentivise for months – since over one million people and 100 thousands tourists have travelled and paid to attend various events on the programme. The Chosun Ilbo, the biggest Korean newspaper, confirms that the Papal visit has generated a “mini-boom” for hotels, restaurants, shops, transports and local markets.

The Korean sponsors are also rejoicing: the products that the Pope used have all experienced a rise in sales and an undeniable impact on corporate image. An example, above all, is Kia Motors: its model of city car called “Anima”, that Francis used to travel around Korea, has registered a 62,5% rise in sales in the month of August alone. The same goes for Seoksu mineral water, made by the famous beverage company Hite Jinro, that talks about profits above their investments (Lastampa online).

I am inclined to think that Papal visit can bring a great economic profits to the nation. Especially present Pope with his increasing popularity can create opportunities to the big and small investors. Aforementioned profits by the big companies can generate more job opportunities to the people because of the demand being high (everyone would like say that they are using a brand of car that is used by the Pope). Not to mention the rise in the profits of the small investors, like the street vendors on the site of the tour. Hence, everyone is satisfied in spirit and body. Everyone is benefitted both spiritually and temporally. What are we waiting for, let us invite the Pope to our countries!

Ice Bucket Challenge: Equality Factor

Have you been challenged with ice bucket?

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple Inc. accepting ice bucket challenge 

One of my friends enquired whether I have been challenged to ice bucket? Until then, I had not idea what is ice bucket challenge which was apparently going viral online. I was intrigued at this recent online campaign of celebrities pouring a bucket of ice water on themselves and screaming at the cold-water shower. It is an interesting concept but most of the people have misunderstood the significance of this newly invented challenge. According to my friend I would have been doing it challenging someone online. Now I am not too much fanatic about the new online campaigns despite its popularity among the people. I was supposed to have doing it because I am a priest and it is an opportunity to humble myself and showcase my equality with the ordinary people of the land.

By now you would have guessed what is the significance of ice bucket challenge. It is a sign to show that everyone is equal and everyone has a same feeling, rich or poor. According to the Forbes magazine online, the leaders of the world to show that they are also humans with similar feelings like any others do ice bucket challenge. It is to show all are equal in our corporate world. These are people who lead some of the largest organizations in the world.  They’re always proper and “on-script”, yet for the few seconds as they cringe from the shock of the ice water, you can actually see their humbleness and vulnerability. For those few moments, you see them as equal, you see them as “human”; as much a part of the team as anyone else (Forbes Magazine online).

As it is mentioned in the Forbes Website, the corporate people showing empathy, compassion, service to the people below them ‘off-script’. Most often corporate world has been criticized because of the widening gap between rich and poor or perpetual inequality of distribution of wealth. It is said rich are getting richer and poor poorer. Therefore, this is an opportunity for the leaders and corporate people who employ people to treat them with love, compassion, empathy and care not just throwing a bucket of ice water on oneself. We are all passing through this world, hence whilst the short time here on earth, we are asked to play different roles as Shakespeare would say, this world is stage and we are actors on the stage. Whilst playing our role, let us try to act with everyone with one unison, hence making a beautiful drama of love, compassion, care and empathy.

I told my fried, it is not fair to throw ice water on myself in a tropical country like Guyana, where in fact I would feel wonderful not the shock of the ice water hence defeating its purpose. May be I must throw some hot one on myself. Let us continue to strive for unity of everyone irrespective of who we are. 

Bloodthirsty beasts in Iraq: who wants to help?

Image from the internet

It was appalling to watch some of the gruesome executions carried out by the ISIS in Northern Iraq in the last two or three weeks. The militants are on a rampage to terminate Yazidis and Christians. I was particularly disheartened by executions by beastly goons who fight in the name of Islam state. If I ask any of my Muslim friends, is it justifiable to kill Christians and Yazidis in order to create a pure Muslim state? I am sure they would tell me a negative response. Al Jazeera reported this week that ISIS has carried out about 700 executions in Iraq and most of the people executed are innocent civilians. Another report notified that many of the women from Sinjar were captured after killing their men. What is the fate of these women, it is suspected that they have been sold as slaves. I am not going to give a detailed report of what is happening in Mosul, Sinjar and other parts of Northern Iraq, but I want to draw our attention to the desperate cry for help of thousands of innocent people who are like lambs at the slaughterhouse.

I am inclined to think like the most victims in Iraq that America created this mess, so they have to clean it up. Well, do we really think America created this situation. I would like to sympathise with America for only one reason that they went to Iraq not to create mess but probably they wanted to get a clean chip on nuclear weapons of mass destruction so that our world is safe. Hence, they hunted the then leader of Iraq Saddam Hussein. This project was successful and whole world applauded the successful effort of America in capturing the leader. For America, I think the goal set was achieved but then they never imagined that they would be creating many beastly militants in Iraq. Probably America was too optimistic on allowing the local Iraqis to create their own system, which would ultimately bring peace and tranquillity to the nation.

One of the videos that were posted on YouTube, in fact a news report to show to the international community how Christians are suffering. One of the women bluntly says,  “America is the master of all nations, as it entered Iraq, its has responsibility to defend its Christians”. America, as usual big brother entered Iraq in order to over throw the power of Saddam but did America really succeed in bringing peace to the land. Of course not, instead they created more beastly people who are on a rampage to terminate the Christians and Yazidis. Thousands of people pleading the US to help the innocent Iraqi Christians by sending testimonies and asking American government to intervene. This is all good, because indeed America can send its powerful marines to destroy the stronghold of the ISIS militants, but I have issues with that, will America protect the Iraqis always?

Militants are something like the termites, one might think they have eliminated the termites by pesticiding them but next morning you will find more termites welling up from the ground. Can America really eliminate perpetrators and restore peace? Yes and No. Peace could be restored but it would be momentary. Hence my appeal to the US is this, if you go into Iraq now, which is a dire necessity as local people express, you got to make sure you are not creating another mess. In other words, you are not creating more termites, which will eventually come on rampage to destroy the innocent, and this time the strike will be heavier to bear. Hence, America must act without fail because of their ability to combat terrorism, but make sure you come out clean from Iraq. It is not wise to pull out from Iraq before you really uproot beastly termite hill. It is not an easy road to take but not an impossible. Let us hope that the intervention by America may be a successful and fruitful one. But having said this, I strongly feel that someone has to intervene and stop the slaughter of the innocent blood.

Loveless hatred

Oh Lord! You art thou creator divine

You’ve formed man in thy womb

An image so much like thou

I marvel at thou abundance of grace

We art so human so fragile

You spread your wings to scoop us

Thou warmth so enriching

My heart overwhelms with gratitude

Thou made me master of beasts and fishes

A dominion to care for your abode

In you every creature comforted

An abiding love penetrating my soul

Human freewill so divine you made

Thou didst not control our world

For thou children made free ever

A freedom that will last evermore

Alas! Humankind fall prey to violence

A violence to devour fellow humans

Dreadful is the thought of hatred

Soaked in blood is your abode

Lord! Love thy neighbour you said

Love is a distant dream

Hatred rules every human heart

Heart turned into a rugged rock

My Lord! I am drenched with tears

I’m chocked beneath spilled blood

Who can hear me weep

Wondrous Lord! Hear me cry

Prince of Peace bring peace into us

Let thy love be poured into our soul

Restore fallen humankind

We thy children worship thee

Ever after in thy kingdom

Sacred Love: Marriage as Sacrament

It is a joy for me to speak to the married couples, particularly the couples that share their joys and sorrows of their marital life. It was an absolute delight for me to meet about eight wonderful couple in the Catholic Media studio at Georgetown. I was the facilitator for the interviews on the questions proposed by the Holy Father on the Extraordinary Family Synod, which will take place in October 2014. The couples were delighted to share their own joy of being together for all that years they spent together. I will spill a few ideas shared by the couple along this article so that it will be handy for our discussions on Marriage as a Sacrament or Marriage as a Covenant. I am not expert in talking about marriage because it would be awkward if did without any pragmatic experience, however I shall rest my discussion on the Covenantal aspect of Marriage, because, many have raised their concern as Sacramental Marriage being in jeopardy.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church’s article 7 on Matrimony opens with a few beautiful phrases that would scatter some light on our understanding on Marriage as Sacrament. It writes, “The Matrimonial Covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a Sacrament.” This is an important paragraph from our Church document that talks beautifully about the Sacrament of Marriage. Based on this above statement let me try to identify some of the key areas that might allow us to concentrate on our theme, Covenantal Marriage.

Covenant: This is a key aspect of any marriage, a covenantal matrimony. One of the couples on the interview spoke about covenantal matrimony being in danger because of the lack of commitment between spouses. There is a steep decline in couples asking to be married in the Church, which is rather obvious since there a mediocre or barter-style of commitment in our world. It is a society of uncertainty in all spheres, hence “let’s try” relationship is on the rise. Our society today is marred by the several crises like economic, social etc. Our society is also going through a relationship crisis, in which relationship and commitments are separated. I know a young couple that has been living together for a long time. According to them marriage actually makes them more vulnerable to each other where they might need to be really committed blindly. Is this true to our young couples? Are you scared of being married before God?

God is the author of marriage. It is covenantal relationship and not a contract. In a contract we can walk our separate ways once the contract is over, it is not a business type relationship. When your business is over, you go your way and I go my way because both benefits, in whichever case it need not be true, one might lose the business. Covenantal relationship is unique to marriage, because of its sacredness and sanctifying effect. Two persons come together to become one body; they are no more two but one body. As some romantic expressions like ‘you are my heart, other half, my own’ would reveal that a spouses are united to be ONE. This covenantal union is blessed and intended by God.

Honest Partnership: In a Covenantal marriage, a man and woman choose to be together in an honest and free will. This honest and free will is not for the gallery but for themselves until death do them part. One of the spouses on the interview expressed that there is a barter-style relationship in which two people though married, seek for self-oriented benefits. One example being, today husband and wife have the ownership as individuals and not as together, hence a possessive language creeps into marriage. The lexes like, ‘this is mine, and that is yours’ which is a slight pointer that the couple is not fully secure with each other. In other words, the trust in each other is not a 100%. There has to be a selfless un-possessive language in which both share as ONE or everything in common. There must be a upright partnership with due respect for individual ownership. Hence, we have to move away from a business type partnership to selfless and honest relationship.

It is momentous that we have look up to the true role model couples that have been in commitment for the whole their life. Sometimes our role models are not necessarily inspiring when it comes to relationships. This glamorous world brings glamour but it also influences our way of life, may be negatively. Hence, we have to seek for the couple that have lived together honestly for a long time like one couple on my interview.

Marital Mission: Covenantal marriage not stagnant but it is mission oriented. It is a missionary covenantal marriage where two people come together to continue God’s noble mission of creation. “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). In fact God intended that a woman and man must come together to be His co-creators, hence the couple must be even more delighted because it is God’s own mission that they are called to do. It is not merely a mission but mission infolded with love; the fruit of marital love is children. Therefore, the covenantal marriage is for the good of the spouses and then that goodness leads to procreation. There is an element of selfless love for each other and ultimately for their children. That involves taking care of the offspring and guiding the children in the right path as God intends for every child. Hence, it is a noble mission given by God here on earth. For me, every new-born child reveals that God still loves us, God wants us to continue to be fruitful and multiply. Our couples undertake a wonderful and sacred mission of creation.

Christ in Matrimony: Christ is the author of the Sacrament of Matrimony; spouses themselves confer this Sacrament, in other words they administer this sacrament to each other in the name of the Trinity. It instils an efficacious grace into spouses because Christ has raised these two people to a sacramental relationship. Hence, through marriage Christ bestows graces on the spouses. Christ becomes the centre of marriage; as one of the couples told on my interview, there are three people in marriage, two spouses and Christ. In fact, I would put as, only two people: Christ and spouses. Hence, the covenantal marriage of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself is determined it: ‘what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder’ (Mt 19:6). Today marriages are on edge; it is because they have probably made Christ as an ‘Aspirin God’ who helps them whilst in trouble. I think Christ has to be in the middle of the matrimonial union: in prayer, in conversations, in sharing, in eating, in work, in entertainment etc. If Christ is in the centre of matrimony it cannot be any tetchy because Christ becomes the author of matrimonial union.

Conclusion: All the spouses on the interview on Family have one thing in common to remain faithful to each other through love. ‘The intimate union of marriage, as a mutual giving of two person, and the good of the children, demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them’ (Gaudium et spes 48). This fidelity is utterly based on love. I know a couple who is married and living together yet there is no love for each other, which means they live together just for the sake of it but in reality they have no love for each other. It would be a plus if the spouses remember their first love for each other and renew their marital vows every often; it will remind spouses that God has intended them to be united for whole life.  

I would like to relate the matrimonial love to the Trinitarian love. The Trinity is united in love and work in perfect harmony as depicted by the famous icon of Rembrandt. It the Trinitarian love that drives Son of God to come to human rescue. Therefore, the Trinity is in love with us all. The matrimonial love is unconditional, in which the spouses give to each other fully. It is this love that drives the spouses to bear fruits and take good care of that fruits. Hence, it is significant we concentrate on this kind of love than a mediocre or a barter-style of love. Let the love dominate the covenantal marriages.  

Photo: Erwin and Shaunet Thomson from Lethem.