Click here to download - Jamshedpur Jesuits

Letters
Hugging in heaven
The ‘Tribute’ to Fr Vincent O’Keefe, SJ, in Sept ‘12 issue of
Jivan made me really think. The beauty of Christianity is that the
one-time persecutor, Saul, and the protomartyr, Stephen, are both
hugging each other in heaven. Similarly, in the final tally, they are all
on the plus side. I mean Blessed Pope John Paul II, Pedro Arrupe,
Paulo Dezza and the latest addition, Vincent O’Keefe
must alll be doing the same. Some small fries like
me are on the minus side of the tally. In those
days I thanked the Lord that the Pope did
not appoint a non-Jesuit as his personal
delegate to administer the Society. Paulo
Dezza was a highly respected person
not only by the Pope but also within
the Society. When we look back we
an see it as a blessing in disguise. The
greatness and the deep Ignatian spirit of
these outstanding confreres of ours shines
forth in their humble submission. And that
adds to our patrimony.
- T.V. John, SJ
Ahmedabad - 380 013
My Mamma my lifeline...
Since you asked us to share our mother stories (Jivan,
Sept ‘12), here is mine. I called my mother “Mamma” and all at
home called her so. She passed away a couple of years ago,
after a prolonged illness. But I believe she is still living in me, my
attitudes and my inner beliefs. I am solely and thoroughly formed
by my mother. She was a nurse by profession, but always was
on double duty, in her clinic and back home: cooking, washing,
dusting, decorating, ironing... We never had our dinner in the
evening without reciting the family rosary together kneeling down.
Sometimes, we were allowed to skip the litany of Our Lady. We
were woken up early in the mornings for the daily Eucharist in
the parish church close by. That’s how the seeds of my Jesuit
vocation were nurtured. Thank you mamma!
When I was about 8 years old, she delivered lovely twins,
my youngest brothers (Peter & Paul) at the Sassoon Hospital.
When I went to see her along with a relative, she took a boiled egg
and told me to eat it later but not to mention it to anyone else. It
is only today that I reveal this. Oh! She was a selfless and selfeffacing
person, always sparing a thought for others. Mamma,
please continue to inspire and pray for me.
- Robert Das, SJ
Kolhapur, Pune - 416 003
Uniformly damnable
Fr Felix Joseph seems to be upset about the “silent” nonresponse
to Fr Subash Anand’s comments on Kerala Christianty.
Should Fr Subhash have talked about his personal letter to his
friend “originally from Kerala” in the article published in Jivan?
And why should Fr Felix expect a response, as though Jivan
is a debating forum? As a matter of fact, Kerala’s social media,
including Catholic media, are full of Fr Subhash’s-type comments
and criticisms. Fr Subhash finds, not only “costly church buildings,
pompous liturgies, etc. etc.,” but also “devotions, shrines, novenas,
...mediators and patrons, etc. etc.” uniformly damnable, so that
nothing remains on which to build true faith. Where does criticism
end and cynicism begin?
- Joseph Kottukapally, SJ
Kozhikode - 670 032
What is Jihad?
Often people ask about ‘Jihad’ and
if it is an essential dimension of Islam?
Jihad means ‘struggle’ and does not
necessarily mean military fighting.
Some explain jihad as a struggle
against the corruption in the
heart of a human person as well as
corruption in the world. Shi’a Muslims
and some of the Islamist movements
consider Jihad as the sixth pillar of Islam.
Other pillars are: iman (faith), namaz
(prayer), roza (fasting), zakat (poor tax),
and haj (pilgrimage to Mecca). The holy Book
of Muslims, the Quran promises paradise for those
Muslims who engage in Jihad.The early jurisprudents viewed
the world in two distinctive parts: one, under Muslim rule (which
they called as house of Islam) and the other under non-Muslim
rule (which they termed as house of war). Jurists argued that
in order to transform the ‘house of war’ into ‘house of Islam’
Muslims have to practice Jihad.
On the practical side they suggested that whenever
unbelievers attacked Muslims or hindered the practice of the
Five Pillars Jihad must be practiced. In these cases Jihad is a
defensive war. However, according to the pre-modern Islamic
political thought an expansionistic view of Jihad was proposed.
According to this doctrine Jihad should be waged until the whole
world is brought under the Islamic rule. But this expansionist
agenda in terms of aggressive war against non-Muslims on a
permanent basis as demanded by the divine law was never put
into practice. Muslims today describe that Islam by its very nature
is a peaceful religion. Consequently they interpret Jihad in the
following way: ‘lesser Jihad’ as struggle against unbelievers and
‘greater Jihad’ as struggle against one’s own evil inclinations.
In contrast to these irenic attempts some Islamic ideologues
continue to call for an aggressive struggle against non-Muslims
so that an international order of peace would be established in
terms of Islamic principles.
Muslims need to ask themselves which way they choose
from these two radically different ways. Christians should
recognize the difference between these fundamentally two
different ways.
- Victor Edwin, SJ
Delhi - 110 054
Please note!
This Christmas Special Issue is dated
Nov-Dec ‘12. It is despatched in the second
week of November. The next issue of Jivan
will appear in Jan ‘13.
JIVAN: News and Views of Jesuits in India NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 29