Let us be a ray of hope

 

PIME VIDYA BHAVAN







“Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all mankind” -Mk. 16:15


“Let us be a ray of hope”

Editorial desk…………………








Bro. Chandra Sekhar Nayak

2nd year philosophy

 

Greetings and best wishes from PIME VIDYA BHAVAN Community Pune!

Dear friends, for the PIME VANI issue of 2022-2023 we have taken the theme “Let us be a ray of hope”. It focuses on different themes like the pandemic, which is rampant around the globe, war, natural calamities etc. We reflected on how we can be a ray of hope to the people who are in despair and how we can stand for the people who are in need.

Pope Francis says: “Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope.”

 I thank God for his showers of blessings in bringing out this issue. I express my heartfelt gratitude to Rev. Fr. Jyothi Manohar, the Rector of PVB, for his constant support and guidance by encouraging us with his ideas as well as selecting the theme for this issue. Rev. Fr. Rajeswar Nayak, the Vice Rector of PVB, has been the source of encouragement all throughout. I thank Rev. Fr. Johnson Kuppayil MST, the Spiritual Director of PVB, for his support and words of encouragement. My sincere thanks to all those who contributed different write-ups for this issue. I thank the PIME VANI group members for their collaboration and help to publish this issue. I wish all of you an enriching reading.

 

A Fountain of Hope


Fr. Pavan PIME

 (Missionary in Japan)

 

         I think that the greatest lessons of life come from simple people and humble situations. The people who are around us, the people whom we meet every day, the people with whom we talk on phone or send messages etc. These are the people with their goodness and weaknesses like everybody. These are the people, who don’t intend to teach us a lesson. They don’t even rationalize all that they do but they simply live and brighten the lives of those around them with their words and simple gestures. I would like to share with you the story of a person in whom I have seen a fountain of hope.  I have come to know the person (Megumi san - not her real name) a few months back. She being a teacher was asked to help two boys with the school. In the beginning she started giving them tuitions. As the days passed on, she has gained their trust and the children have started to talk openly. From their conversations, she understood that the children have many problems at home. They were not sent school; instead, they have just attended some private classes. As a result, they have almost no friends of their age. And for most of their time, they were confined to their own house. Besides that, they were treated badly by their father. The behavior of the father made the children think that a Christian is not a good person: he or she goes to the mass but behaves so selfishly and violently.  It seems that one of the children told “I don’t want to be a Christian and I don’t find meaning in going to the mass”. Megumi san did not give them any explanations about the beauty of being a Christian. Instead, she understood that the children miss the affection of the parents. And she felt that they are in need to be accompanied by her. Besides helping them with the tuitions, she spends time with them. For example, taking them to a restaurant to have a meal together or to taking them for a walk. And once a week, she invites them to her house to do their homework. She felt that the children need to have friends of their age. So       she convinced them to enter a normal school in order to make friends. She took the initiative and has prepared the documents for entering the school. Not just that, she calls them often to know their ‘how about’. In short, her presence has become a fountain of fresh tides of life and encouragement. The children, who have not thought of going to school, have decided to go because of her. Whenever they have hard moments in the family, they know that they have a person to call to and share. What Megumi san is doing are the simple things like having a meal together or listening to them. I think that these simple gestures make the children feel loved. We know that when we feel that we are loved, we have a reason to live for. This is what we call hope. In my opinion, Megumi san is a fountain of hope for the children. The way she lives reminds me that being a fountain of Hope is made of simple gestures in our day to day life. She, without any catechesis, has taught me that being a Christian is a gift, and that Christian life is not ideology but a concrete way of life where others with a face and a name come to fetch a bit of life and a ray of Hope from us.

 


MY JOURNEY WITH CHILDREN

Bro. Koppula Naveen

Year of spirituality

 

“That they may have life in its fullness” (Jn: 10; 10) and “it is not enough to love the young but they must know that they are loved” (Don Bosco).

These words stood motivational for me while I was with the children at BOSCO, Bangalore. BOSCO accompanies the young at risk, reaches out to the deprived, marginalized, vulnerable children or youth .It journeys and integrates them from margins to mainstream society so that they may become responsible citizens.

I enjoyed my Regency at BOSCO YUVAKENDRA with children, youth and learned many lessons for my life.   Children come from different realities and most of them have bad experience at home like fight among parents, addiction, poverty of parents and scolding at home. Thus they don’t like to stay at home. They come to Bangalore to work and earn. BOSCO rescues them to give care and education. When they come to BOSCO initially, if you ask them what you want to do, many say that they are more interested in work than studies. After staying a few months in BOSCO, their opinions change.

I strongly believe that continuous support, care, love and follow up of every child will bring changes in them. I assisted many children in this process of transformation of their lives which gave me a lot of joy and satisfaction. 

There was a boy who was 14 years old when we brought him from the railway station. The first few weeks, he was so calm and told me that he didn’t want to stay with us. Then gradually we conscientized him. I used to talk to him, giving him some duties and asking him to read the newspaper for everybody. I used to engage him with these kinds of small

responsibilities. In course of time, I became his friend and he used to share about his life, feeling, desire and dream to become a cricket player and pursue secondary higher education (10th class). In the following year, he was enrolled in the school and then his world was filled with books, sports, fun and a lot of possibilities. Before his life was not like this, there was no school, no sports and no dreams but now he even started to love his family members. There are many boys like this in that place.

My daily job is to go in line with the children’s movements. I enjoyed the company of each and every child in that Centre. I loved them a lot and they also loved me. I learned that to work with the children is not an easy job; it requires lots of patience and availability. I enjoyed teamwork which taught me to collaborate, share and work with the staff members and volunteers.

 


BE A RAY OF HOPE TO OTHERS

Bro. M. Kishore

Year of spirituality

 

       Our hope is veritably precious because it helps us to face our trials, and it gives meaning to our lives. It is not wishful thinking that things may work out, but a confident expectation that things will work out. Through hope we can see the light despite the darkness in our lives. We know very well, that occasionally, our life can get extremely dark to the point of despair. We may have our dark moments in our lives when we dealt with depression and could not see the light due to pandemic effect, war between countries, boarder issues and financial crunch. However, through different means, God gives us strength to persist and the hope to believe things will get better in our lives. And it’s because of our hope that we do not lose heart and have confidence in him that we will see the goodness of the Lord.

Hope can help us manage stress and anxiety and cope with adversity. It contributes to our well-being and happiness and motivates positive action. Hopeful people believe they can influence their goals, that their efforts can have a positive impact.

If we can be full of hope then we can be rays of hope to others. St Paul says: “According to what a person has, not according to what he does not have” (2 Co 8:12). We can only give what we have got.  If we have got hope within us, we can give it to others.  This overflow of hope can touch others’ lives and bring them to a place of wholeness and hope.  We need to make sure that hope is alive and vibrant within our own hearts.  Each of us is called to be a man of hope, bringing hope to those around us.

If we learn how to give people hope, we can give them life. We live in hard times. This is the 21st century. Even though we have the boon of the technology, life is not getting simple. The Coronavirus ravaged the world from 2019 to 2023 and the world would take years to recover from it. It is important in these times to learn how we can become rays of hope for others. If we can give hope to others, we give them life because hope is all that we need to safeguard, and carry on.

People undergo various struggles where they may feel that they are in a hopeless situation. We can help people to find hope and become a beacon of life for them. Hope is a powerful thing. It inspires us to do the seemingly impossible things and helps us to withstand during difficult times.  Hope can come in numerous shapes and forms. It may subsist through our kindness, flexibility, helping nature, tolerance and prayer.

We are aware that corona virus, war, natural calamities and other violations caused many deaths in the world. How can we give hope to those who have lost their loved ones? This is quite hard. We do not know what to say to someone who has just lost a loved one, and is overwhelmed with grief. Nobody really teaches us how to handle such grief.  However, in order to give hope to someone who has lost a loved one is to spend time with them and tell them that they are not abandoned. We may not even have to say it, because our physical presence itself would convey it for them. We must be there with them, and help them to cope with the loss, with as much time and affection we can give. We must give them encouragement and tell them that they can come back to their normal life.

If we want to give people hope, offer emotional support, if financial support is not possible. All of us can give some emotional support. When we perceive good about ourselves, we can achieve anything we want. Always be kind to give people hope. To be kind is to be considerate of how others feel and behave in a manner that makes them feel better about themselves. For example, when we see a beggar, we can be kind in giving them some food or money. Likewise, if we want to give people hope, we must be kind towards them. Just by the virtue of being kind, you would be able to find ways to help them feel better.

Pope Francis speaks about the impact of the pandemic on the world and the Church. Institutions were closed and freedom was restricted. However, he expressed confidence that the pandemic will be overcome and life will return to normal. He also rightly mentioned of our attitudes in crucial scenario in his letter to the Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization;  “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given to us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and a far-sighted vision,”

In order to be a ray of hope to others, as pastors of the Church, we must have Christ experience and become the kind of person who is full of hope for the future.  We should not let others to give up hope. In these ways we can be sources of inspiration to all who are shattered in life. I hope we will succeed to be rays of hope to others as true witnesses of Christ.

 

Hope against Hope

Bro. Asish Kumar

2nd year  philosophy

  “Hope is like the glittering ray of the sun that annihilates all darkness” – S. Ignacimuthu

The word “HOPE” is always associated with something optimistic and positive. Deep within the heart of each individual there is a hope implanted by God to look for a better future. Hope enables a person to be optimistic. Hope motivates the person to look for light in the darkness, consolation for the distressed, strength to the weak, life to the lifeless. A hopeful person will always see a light at the end of the tunnel. When everything seems to be out of hand, when all the doors are closed, the hopeful person sees new ways even in the darkest hour of life. A hopeful person not only looks for his own good but becomes a ray of hope for others who are in distress and troubles.    

Each one can become a ray of hope for the other in his/her own way. When the tribal people in Jharkhand were unjustly treated by the authorities, when their land was unfairly grabbed and their houses were demolished, they became lifeless and hopeless. They found neither hope and nor way to fight for their rights and land. In those crucial times, Fr. Stan Swamy became a ray of hope for the tribal people who are unjustly treated by the government. Fr. Stan Swamy became a voice to the voiceless, a hope to the hopeless. Until his death he fought for the rights of the tribal people.  St. Maximilian Kolbe was another person who became a ray of hope for the other in the Nazi camp. When the family man was called for his execution in the concentration camp, that person was worried about his family. But St. Maximilian Kolbe, who was in the same camp, came to sacrifice his life on behalf of the family man in the concentration camp. What motivated and moved both St. Maximilian Kolbe and Fr. Stan Swamy even to sacrifice their lives for others is to give hope to the hopeless.

              The minorities are so vulnerable and always attacked and abused in India. Christians being one of the minorities in India are always persecuted. In recent times, Christian Adivasi in Chhattisgarh were attacked by saying they are involved in conversion of Hindus to Christians. The churches were demolished; the faithful were attacked with sticks and rods. There are many missionaries who are unjustly arrested and condemned based on false accusations. Though there is risk and violence against missionaries, they never give up their missionary work because they always see a light in the darkness. As the shepherd never leaves his flock so the missionaries never abandon the flock entrusted to him/her by God. What inspired all missionaries to continue their work, even in the fiercest persecution and violence is their hope and trust in God who promised that I will be with you till the end of the earth. 

How can I become a ray of hope for the other in the seminary? As Bl. Paolo Manna says “live the mission here and now”. I need not wait for my priestly ordination or mission place to begin my work but here and now you and I can become a missionary or a ray of hope for the others in the best possible way. Support the one who is finding difficulties in academics, a word of consolation to the one who is feeling low and weak, a word of appreciation to the one who had done something good boosts his confidence level further. These are the areas where I can become a ray of hope for others.

 

God as the ray of hope

Bro. Raghu Pagadam

year of Regency

      My Regency is in BOSCO YUVAKENDRA with the Salesians of Don Bosco. Yuvakendra is one of the 10 centres of Bosco, Bangalore. This is really a pleasant place to stay and live in. I would also say the best place to work for the children and youth.

I would like to thank PVB community and PIME VANI group for giving me this opportunity to write my regency experience.

YUVAKENDRA is located in the city of Bangalore close to the KSR station.  It is clearly said in the name itself YUVA-KENDRA a place where youth stay, a place where there is lot of energy and enthusiasm, fun and risk as well. Most of the children here are referred by CWC (Child Welfare committee) and they are street children and abandoned. Each one has had bitter experiences in their life.  I am here to be with the children and to facilitate their basic necessities.

To be with them means to open our eyes and ears too. These boys are naughty and fragile. They are very vulnerable to bad habits and exploitations. Motivating them needs a lot of patience. There are lots of memories to share but I would like to mention one incident.

One of our boys had an appointment at night with a doctor. I woke the night warden and the boy up and sent them to hospital around 11:30 p.m. I sat in front of the boy’s dormitory until 12:30 and I left for bed. When I slept, one boy rang me up and said five boys jumped out from toilets and ran away. Immediately, I came down to see. To my surprise many boys were in a queue to the toilets to jump out. I locked the toilets and I informed the in-charge priest on what had happened. Fortunately, the night warden was back at the same time. We alerted the railway station, bus stand with their photos and names to search for these boys and we went about searching for them. It was almost 3:30 a.m. We were hopeless and helpless and we got a call from the railway station and they said they got one boy, with that hope we continued to do so for the rest of four and it was 4.30 a.m. We had found them on the main road walking hand in hand happily and without any fear. We took them back to the house. I was reminded of the prodigal son story.  At present out of those five boys, two are doing SSLC privately; God gives hope we have to continue with that to do the wonders in our lives as well as in others’ lives.

I am also part of the Railway Child Line in KSR railway station as a volunteer.  On the 2nd and 4th platforms we have rescue booths. Whomever we rescue, we will bring them here for counseling and further procedures. Mostly we get the cases of child labor, run away, orphans and elope. I also had opportunities to counsel some of the boys, in which I felt that their emotions and feelings were to be balanced.

We always need someone who can put us into the right track. If I am doing all these things the main person behind is Rev. Fr. C V George SDB, who is always there to suggest and advise me whenever I am in need of.

Finally, I would say that each day brings me new roles and responsibilities. It may be a caretaker for a needy one, a teacher to the boys, and an elder brother for the challenging boys, a comrade for the boys to make fun. All these are helping me to grow in the virtue of patience and molding me as a calm person. All throughout my stay at Yuvakendra, I experienced God’s abundance of love and presence in all my undertakings. Now I strongly believe that God is always present in us, we just need to recognize him. When I felt weak, tired and hopeless at times due to different problems, he always showed a new way to hope for and go ahead in my duties. He became hope for the hopeless and strength for the weak. May this hope enkindle in us that we may become rays of hope for others.

 

Fr. George the  General Economer

Visited our community


We bid farewell to Fr. John



 

Fr. Lourdh Xavier arrived at PVB community to teach Vatican council II to     the batch of spirituality

 

Fr .Raffelle Mananthi and Fr. Paulo Nicelli came to our community to take class for the batch of spirituality

 

We celebrated the pongal in our community

 


We conducted the way of the cross in the campus



Snaps from picnic in Mysore

 



A Hope grounded in Reality

Bro. Vinay Kumar

Year of spirituality

 

           Every experience makes one grow in one's life. Each person has different experiences in his life. Experiences give memories which can be good or bad. They build up relationships between people. They help us to know beautiful things like culture, tradition, and religion.

               I am glad to share my experience during the regency. After the completion of philosophical studies in JD, I was sent for my regency in Kashinagar parish which belongs to the diocese of Berhampur in Odisha. This is one of the oldest parishes in the diocese. It started in the year 1904. Though this parish belongs to Berhampur diocese, most of the people speak Telugu. I reached Kashinagar on 2nd June 2021. Rev. Fr. Ashok Kumar Nayak was my parish priest who is so simple and holy. He supported and guided me in many ways especially in parish activities. In this parish I was entrusted with the responsibility to take care of hostel children, teaching in the school, teaching spoken English for the parish children and youth. I was also in charge of youth committee. I used to give reflections on feast days, and Sundays. I also used to go for house blessings along with the sisters. It helped me to know more about the parish activities and families. Our visitings have helped the people to grow in Christian faith and inspired me to be more committed towards my missionary call.

I would like to share an incident which happened during my regency time and which made me strong in my vocation. In the month of September, the parish priest Fr. Ashok decided to give baptism and Holy Communion to the parish children. For that he asked me to take catechism classes for the children for three months from September to November. Then I started to talk classes on basic prayers and sacraments for the children every day for one hour in the morning and evening. I enjoyed teaching the children. They were very active in the classes. They used to come to church morning and evening and participate in the mass.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I learned many things while I was sharing and teaching about Christ. Now and then I used to conduct exams and games to make children to be very active in the classes. It was for me a blessing to be with these little children and enabled me to sustain a deep relationship with God.

Some of the Children were belonging to the Hindu back ground in the parish. Parish priest told children to get a letter from their parents. All those who want to receive baptism and Holy Communion should get no objection letter signed by the parents stating that they do not have any objection for their children accepting baptism in to the Catholic Church.  

In those days there was a festival of lord Ganesh which was celebrated by Hindu devotees. I came to know some of the children went to temple and participated in temple activities such as dancing and participating in rituals. Many of the children were absent for the classes because of this festival. I told the children, if they participate in festival activities those children were unworthy to receive the sacraments. I strictly told them not to go to temple and it is against God. The following day the ex-chairman of that village who is a Hindu came to me and warned me saying that I was converting their children and that he would give complaint to police. He went on showering abusive words. I tried my best to keep him calm but he was so angry. I did not speak anything to him. Unfortunatley, the parish priest was not there and I was alone. I was discouraged and disappointed. Later when parish priest arrived, I narrated to him all that had happened. However, he consoled me telling that these things were common here and not to worry and proceed with my work. Still, I was not convinced. I was disturbed, doubts arose in my mind. I was anxious and skepetical about fulfilling my responsiblities. Somehow, I tried to recuperate myself. I again started to take classes for the children. Frankly speaking, still, I was not at ease.

One day while I was praying in the church I happen to read the following verse “ BEHOLD , IAM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE’’ (Mt 28:20). After reading this verse I felt enormous calmness in my heart. I felt God was speaking to me through this verse. I was strengthened by those words and experienced peace of mind. I kept my complete HOPE in Jesus and I surrender everything to him. I continued with new energy from the next day onwards.

      On December 3rd, during the feast day of St. Francis Xavier, we gave baptism and holy communion to 35 children in the parish. It was a big celebration and it is the first time in the parish 35 children received the holy sacraments. The whole parishioners, parents and parish priest were so happy. Again on Easter day, we gave baptism and Holy Communion to another 30 children. It was a memorable day in my life because of God's grace and support I was able to do things properly. My hope in God never disappointed me. It gave me strength to face the challenges in my life and made me strong in my vocation.

  I am so grateful to almighty God who has given me good health and his blessings throughout my regency time. I thank my parish priest Fr. Ashok Kumar Nayak who guided me and took care of me like his own brother during my stay in Kashinagar. I am also thankful to Fr. John Berchman who was my previous Rector, for sending me to Odisha for pastoral experience. My special thanks to my beloved Fr. Jyothi Manohar, the Rector of PVB, for giving me this wonderful opportunity to share my regency experience. My sincere thanks to Missionaries of Mary Matrix (MMM) sisters for their love and support towards our PIME brothers.

 

Church as the Ray of hope

Bro. Chandra Sekhar Nayak

2nd year philosophy

 

        As members of the Christian Church, we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and we proclaim him the Lord and Saviour of the world. In Christ’s name and by his grace, we accept our mission of witness and service to all people. We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and earth, and in the covenant of love, which binds us to God and one another. Through baptism, we enter into newness of life and are made one with the whole people of God. In the communion of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ we are joined together in discipleship. At the table of the Lord, we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ. Within the universal Church, we receive the gifts of ministry and the light of Scriptures. In the bonds of Christian faith, we yield ourselves to God that we may serve the One whose Kingdom has no end. Blessings, glory, and honour are to God forever.

            We now belong to the Church and are united as people God in our faith in the Risen Lord. What expectations do we have of this fellowship? The Church is a community of believers. We will receive the grace of God through the Church. It is the place where we will receive renewal of our faith through the breaking of bread each Sunday and through worship. The members of this congregation will provide a caring community that will sustain us and help us to hold fast to ours. The Church will be present to sanctify the critical events of our community life. It will serve as the vehicle through which we can channel our witness and service to Christ. Finally, the Church will continue to deepen our faith through study. We, therefore, can expect much and we will receive much from the Church.

 


Is Death Good News or Bad News?

 

Bro. Arul Simson

Year of spirituality

 

Losing someone who is dear to us is always bad news. Upon hearing the demise of the dear ones some of us may even faint and fall.

 I was terribly embarrassed and disappointed when my parents departed me for their eternal reward. However, I was consoled and comforted by the words of St. Mother Teresa. Let me share an experience which I had during my spirituality year. We were sent for the charity experience to the Missionaries of Charity, Shanthi Dan which is run by the brothers in Borvelli, West Mumbai. I was inspired by one of the quotes of St. Mother Teresa: “Death is home with God”                        

I was given the responsibility to take care of the patients and inmates, who were lepers, handicapped, injured, crippled and mentally unsound. I was helping in cleaning their rooms and feeding them. Among them I met a person who has been ill for a long time. He has not been eating since two days. He was surviving with juice since he was unable to take solid food. After two days, when I went as usual to give bath to that person, I found him dead. The staff came to check and finally confirmed his death. In trauma, I touched his hand again and again. But the staff told me that he might have died around 2 to 3 am. So I prayed for him but his memories were lingering on my mind. I then remembered the words of St. Mother Teresa that the person is at peace in the house of God.

                  This event taught me to accept the reality of human life and to remember always that death is nothing but going back to the place where we all come from. It also gave me courage and strength to know that when our near and dear ones die they are at home with God.

                       

                                   

Skepticism & Hope


Bro. Kaandru.Yesu Raju

2nd year Philosophy.

 

      Can Skepticism and Hope fly together? In the midst of the current global crises, it is easy to feel pity,overwhelmed and powerless. From the Covid-19 pandemic to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the world may appear to be a dark and dangerous place for vulnerable human beings who are temporary dwellers on earth. However, as followers of Christ, we are called to be a “ray of hope” in these hard times. We are called to bring light to the darkness, as well as to be sources of comfort and strength to those who are struggling and suffering. We should be ready to spread hope and positivity for all. 

       I would like to pose a challenging question; can we really become rays of hope to others? St. Thomas Aquinas, a prominent theologian and philosopher of the Catholic Church says; “Where there is faith there should not be any doubt or skepticism about the presence and existence of God.” We experience, very often, that when difficulties knock on the doors of our comfort zones immediately, what comes to our mind is; Does God really exist?

       If he causes this suffering for me, we tend to encourage many negative vibes in the times of suffering, and end up in skepticism. If this is the case then there will be no room for hope. Therefore we should first feel and experience real hope within us, in our own lives and around us.

      Many PIME missionaries, who tackled serious situations and lived in dangerous places and they stood as “rays of hope” to many people, who were in desperation one among them is Blessed Paolo Manna. One of his famous quotes is; "To become a hope for others, we must first feel the need for someone to give us hope." In this statement, he emphasizes that in order to bring hope to others; we must first recognize and experience the hope that comes from our faith in God.

       This hope should be so powerful that it overflows from us and touches the lives of those who are around us. Blessed Paolo Manna also believed that the most effective way to bring hope to others is through our actions. He once said, "Hope is like a light that shines in the darkness. We need to carry that light to others by being an example of love, compassion, and generosity."

       In other words, our actions should reflect the hope and love that we have in our hearts, and through our actions, we can inspire others to find hope and strength in their own lives. What does Christianity reveal for becoming a ray of hope to others? One of the important principles of Christian philosophy is the idea of love. Jesus taught that we should love one another as ourselves, and it includes showing love and compassion to those who are suffering. In the times of tragedy and adversity, we can be a ray of hope by reaching out to those who are hurt, listening to their stories, and offering whatever support we can. This might mean volunteering our time or resources to help with relief efforts, or simply being there to offer a kind word or a listening ear.

       Another important aspect of Christian philosophy is the concept of faith. Faith is the belief that God is with us always, even in the darkest times. As followers of Christ, we can be a ray of hope by sharing this faith with others, and helping them to find strength and comfort. This might mean praying with someone who is struggling, or sharing stories of hope and resilience from our own lives. By sharing our faith, we can help others to see that they are not alone, and that there is always a way forward.

       Finally, the idea of service is a central tenet of Christian philosophy. Jesus taught that we should serve others, putting their needs before our own. In the face of the current crises, we can be a “ray of hope” by serving those who are in need. This might mean donating money or resources to organizations that are working to provide relief, or volunteering our time to help in any way we can. By serving others, we can help to ease their suffering and bring a sense of hope and positivity to their lives.

      In conclusion, what I would say is, we should build our faith strongly which can be shaken neither by pandemic, nor war nor calamities.  We can become true followers of Christ, who have the responsibility to be “ray of hope” in the face of the current crises. By embodying the principles of love, faith, and service, we can bring light to the darkness, comfort to the afflicted, and hope to those who are struggling. Let us all strive to be“rays of hope” in the world, spreading positivity and light wherever we go.

 

RAY OF HOPE

Bro. Varaprasad

Year of Regency

 

      I am well pleased to share my experience. I am doing my regency in DON BOSCO INSTITUTIONS, CHITRADURGA, and KARNATAKA. In this institution, there are pre-primary schools, three schools (Kannada medium, English medium, ICSE.) and PU College for intermediate. Here my work is to assist and take care of hostel boys. There are more than 130 children. We have a small community with 8 priests and 3 brothers along with me. I had beautiful experiences with these boys even though I did not know how a hostel life would be. I felt that to look after these boys I must be active and energetic which I have been continuously maintaining. To be a part of this mission you need to have a grip on the local language (Kannada) and control over all emotions especially anger and learn to be patient etc. Unfortunately I did not have these qualities. But I am accustomed to being patient in all necessary situations. In certain moments I was responsible for the mistakes of naughty boys, and then I realized that I am not only responsible for my duties but also for each young boy’s work. When I understood each individual's background, I came to know how I should move with young stars. I am here not only to punish for their wrong doings, but I have to be kind enough to pamper them. I realized that with punishment alone, we can’t keep them in control. Sometimes we need to pamper them; we need to be kind towards them. Then only they will be at ease with us.

      They need our spiritual guidance in all areas: sports, cultural activities, and personal growth. In some moments I was too tired to maintain things because of busy schedule. But somehow I managed thanks to the ray of hope that God provided me to make it possible. Besides being in charge of the hostel I also had good experience with the students as their teacher. Till now I was a student where I was just listening. But now I know the hard work that a teacher takes up to teach. It was a privilege to be a teacher. It was indeed a great time to discern my missionary vocation. Being alone always makes me think about myself. Questions started taking rounds in my mind: How was my life?  How is my life now? How will be my life? I have good guides always to guide me and correct me in all the ways. From the beginning of my regency till now, whatever I do or experience its starting point is a ray of hope. With the same hope I am continuing my journey towards priesthood. In this regency being with young stars and knowing their lifestyles help me to trust in a ray of hope at any situation. When we remain with a ray of hope, we will have the confidence that God is with us. I am now more confident that he has called me to do his will.  

 

 

We had the mass on the terrace.


A snap from birth day celebration.



Fr. Lourd Xavier celebrated the mass in our community

 


We had a friendly basketball match with the holy cross brothers

 

 

We conducted the blood donation camp on  honor of St.Alberico crescitelli

 

Fr. Rajeswar Nayak  celebrated the mass on the feast of St.Alberico crescitelli  in our community



Snaps from the community day

 



 


                                  We had the apostolate day in our community

 


We had the gratitude day in our community

 

From the achieves of the year

(June 2022 to March 2023)

June 2022

5th                  The batch of Spirituality arrived at PVB community.

6th                  The batch of Philosophers started academic year.

8th                 The batch of Spirituality began their classes.

8th to 11th      Fr. Gratian Carlo gave Psycho-spiritual sessions.

11th               Fr. Manohar, the new rector arrived at PVB community.

15th              We bid farewell to Fr. John.

28th              Fr. Ravi thanayya the regional superior visited PVB community on the occasion      of the feast day of Sts.Peter and Paul.  

29th             we celebrated the seminary feast of Sts. Peter and Paul feast.

 Fr. Bakthinath arrived at PVB community to take classes for the batch of spirituality.

July

8th              We celebrated the ordination day of Fr. Manohar (The Rector)

9th             We had recollection preached by Fr. Bakthinath

19th            Fr. Suresh Gorrimuchu and Fr. Mikkili Anand visited our community.

22nd          We had Community meeting.

24th           Fr.Sleeva, Fr.Prasanth and Br.Amar visited our community.

30th          We celebrated the feast day of the institute.

August

1st             Fr. Paulo Nicelli arrived at our seminary to take classes for the batch of spirituality.

13th          We had recollection preached by Fr. Nicelli.

15th          We celebrated the Independence Day and the feast of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

28th         Fr. Vijay Marineni visited our community.

September

6th          Fr. Allesandro arrived at PVB community to take classes for the batch of spirituality.

9th          Fr. Rajeshwar Nayak, the vice rector arrived at PVB community.

10th       We had Recollection preached by Fr. Allesandro.

16th       Fr. George visited our community.

18th      Fr. Lourdh Xavier arrived at PVB community to teach Vatican council II to the batch of spirituality.

24th     We celebrated the feast of Bl. John Mazzuconi.

30th    The batch of Spirituality left for charity experience to Mumbai.

October

16th to 30th    We had retreat, picnic and community days.

November

1st to 20th     The batch of spirituality left for ashram experience to Mysore.

December

3rd                We celebrated the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of India.

17th              We had a penitential service held in our community in preparation for the Christmas.

21st                Philosopher left for Christmas vacation.

 January 2023

14th            Monthly recollection by Fr. Anand (Viz Diocese)

15th           We had supper in SVD

16th          We celebration   Pongal/ Sankranty in our community

20th         Fr. Henry took the Seminar on Human being in post era.

22nd       We celebrated the Chines New Year in our community.

23rd        Fr. Rector went to visit final year degree students in PIME Valarpirai, Trichy.

26th       We attended the Mass at JD.

30th       We Painted the Basket Ball court.

31st       We had a community gathering.

February

2nd       We had the Mass on the terrace.

3rd       We had friendly Basket Ball match with Holy Cross brothers.

8th       We had missionary sharing by Fr. Luca.

11th     We had Recollection preached by Fr. Sumanth.

17th     We conducted the Blood camp on the honor of St. Alberico Crisitely.

18th    We celebrated the Feast of St. Alberico Crisitely.

26th    We celebrated apostate day on the honor Br. Golamari Shyam.

24th    We had Veneration of the Cross in our community.

March

5th      We celebrated Gratitude day.

22nd   Retreat for initial promise candidates

26th   Initial promise in Eluru.

27th   Thanksgiving Eucharist

28th Summer Vacation begins.

 


We had missionary sharing by Fr. Prasanth

 

 

Fr. Robort visited our community

 


We had the retreat preached by Fr. Bernard

 

  

A snap from Christmas celebration

 



 

 





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