The Source, Summit and Heart of Catholic Life

 Fr Anthony Charanghat

The most important and memorable words of Jesus for Catholics is when He said,  "Take and eat, This is my Body"… "Take and drink, This is my Blood." These words have shaped the life and spirituality of billions of believers who have firm faith in the teaching that the  Eucharist is the source, summit and the very heart of Catholic life.

The feast of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, is a feast that is over seven centuries old, and a feast that is very Catholic.  The gift that Jesus gave to the Church on the night before He died was not only parables or His blessings, but  above all, the gift of His very own Self under the form of bread and wine, transformed into His own Body and Blood.

In the Eucharist, we have Jesus Himself, Body and Blood, soul and divinity, not symbolically, but made present to those who receive it at all times. When we receive Holy Communion, we have a personal intimate contact with Jesus, more than was possible to anybody during His earthly life. When the Eucharist is celebrated at Mass and the Blessed Sacrament exposed, the faithful can pray, adore and worship Him in the Church. Holy Communion can also be taken to the sick and the aged wherever they are.

Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a place of unity to draw His followers to Him and to each other. It is, therefore, an odd thing that the Eucharist, the Mass, has been a place of contention and debate for many years. Maybe it is a sign of how central the Mass is to our Catholic spirituality that we are so sensitive to any changes that are introduced. We are sensitive about it because we care about it.

The Temporariness and Unpredictability of Life

Fr Cedric Prakash SJ

It is a tragedy of immense proportion! One of the worst in the history of civil aviation in India! An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (AI-171), from Ahmedabad to London, crashed shortly after take-off. The flight departed at 1:38 p.m. from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday, June 12. The failure to achieve lift and thrust happened at a very low altitude of 825 feet, resulting in a crash – just 33 seconds after take-off! The plane had 242 people on board - 230 passengers, 10 cabin crew members and two pilots. Videos show the plane struggling to gain altitude before it began losing lift (upward force that allows an aircraft to stay airborne) and crashed, exploding in a ball of fire. The devastating crash claimed 241 out of the 242 on board!

No one, at this juncture, seems to know the actual cause of this terrible accident! There are, of course, surmises, assumptions, opinions ad nauseam; mainstream and social media are full of them. One thing, however, on which there is widespread unanimity is that it was undoubtedly a technical/mechanical problem that caused the crash.

Experts say that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is a model that had an immaculate safety record. There are, however, opinions which differ; and major flaws in the Dreamliner have been pointed out in the past. All this, for the moment, is a matter of conjecture. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Air India officials will have to release more authentic details (as investigations progress); only then will a clearer and more accurate picture be revealed.

Pope Francis and the Sacred Heart Devotion

Dr Fio Mascarenhas SJ D.MIN

In his obituary of our late Pope, Austen Ivereigh declares that among Pope Francis' greatest writings ("his spiritual jewel") was his document on the Sacred Heart of Jesus (October 2024), and that in many ways, Dilexit Nos remains the key to Francis and his pontificate: "He was the Pope of the heart, seeking to put the heart at the Church's way of relating within itself, and to the world: When you read in Dilexit Nos about the heart as the place where you know deeply, the place beyond reason, where the Spirit speaks to us, the affectus as St Ignatius calls it, you understand that Francis was calling the Church – and humanity – to that place, and to see the world from there."

So let us, modern Catholics, profitably revise some key points of our late Pope Francis' document, "He loved us." It was a call from the Pope's heart to today's Catholics to renew their own devotion to the Sacred Heart. Perhaps a later devotion ("Divine Mercy") has become more popular now, but notice a very important difference! While St Faustina kept the symbol of the Heart of Jesus and its rays, her new revelations changed the previous focus of the Sacred Heart's call for DISCIPLES (to take up "Jesus' yoke or burden" and thereby to "receive divine refreshment") to a new focus on "SINNERS always in need of MERCY."

The two Devotions seem similar, but they are in fact quite different! Let us re-examine the Scriptural foundations of the original Sacred Heart Devotion:

"Jesus proclaimed, "If any one thirsts, let him/her come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Now this Jesus said about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were to receive; for as yet, the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified…" (John 7:37-39).

Judicial Corruption

Aloysius Aguiar

Five years after my appointment as a Judge of the Bombay City Civil and Sessions Court, Greater Bombay, I was designated Special Judge for trying cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Cases involving corruption by Public Servants in the service of the Central Government were investigated by the CBI; and those against State Government Servants by the State Anti-Corruption Bureau for which there is another Special Court.

That there was corruption in the lower Judiciary, though not rampant, was well known. The Chief Justice of India, Shri S.P. Bharucha, after his appointment sometime in 2001, made a statement pegging corruption in the lower Judiciary at about 20%. I suppose the Bombay High Court, looking at my track record, recommended my appointment as the CBI Special Judge for trying cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Prior to that, I had been assigned the trial of the high-profile case against an Aircraft Technician for attempting to sabotage the aircraft V.T.D.P.M. while being serviced for carrying the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, on a foreign trip. The case was investigated and being prosecuted by the CBI. After examining the evidence in great detail, I acquitted the accused. In appeal, the Bombay High Court upheld my judgment and order.

Pilgrims of Hope: New Parish Priests Share their Dreams for the Church

Sr Belji K.J., SCN

At a time when the Church is called to renew her presence as a community of hope, dialogue, and mission, the role of a Parish Priest becomes both sacred and vital. As the Archdiocese of Bombay welcomes a new generation of clergy as Parish Priests, their voices reflect not only personal conviction, but also a broader call to lead the faithful with compassion in today's complex world.

Newly appointed to their pastoral assignments as freshly minted Parish Priests, Fr Baptist Viegas, Fr Robin Fargose and Fr Melroy Mendonca each share a spiritual vision aimed at fostering vibrant, prayerful, and inter-generational communities. In an interview with The Examiner, they discuss their aspirations on various aspects of pastoral life, offering insight into the Church's evolving mission. Making the jump from assistant priest to Parish Priest is, no doubt, an exciting journey filled with hope and promise.

 Planting Seeds of Hope

Fr Robin Fargose, who has now taken charge at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Church, Manori, embraces his appointment with joy and deep gratitude. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" he proclaims, quoting from 2 Corinthians. He envisions a parish alive in missionary mode, where every person, especially the youth and children, feel spiritually connected and engaged. Outreach, social justice, and vibrant liturgies are not afterthoughts, but expressions of hearts on fire with God's compassion, he says.

Nagpur Oranges and a Missed Train

Gemma M. D'Cunha

The year was 1976. The summer holidays had begun. We were posted in Calcutta and planned to come to Bombay, where our relatives lived. Those were the days when air travel was uncommon, and most people travelled by train. With bags packed and an air of excitement, we arrived at Howrah station to board the train – Ivan and myself, our three children - Sumer (8), Sanjay (5) and Mary Jo (3), and our maid, Milagres. We were in the first class compartment.

At about 6 p.m., the train arrived at Nagpur Station, the city that is known for its excellent oranges. I suggested to Ivan to go and buy two baskets to give to our relatives. "They would be so excited to receive them," I told him. Ivan said that he was not so good at buying oranges, and I would surely grumble about his selection of fruit. He suggested that I should accompany him. So both of us got out of the compartment, telling the children not to leave their places. "We will be back soon," we assured them, as we rushed to get the oranges. At that moment, the Station Master announced that the train would remain on the platform for an extra 15 minutes, because of a small derailment ahead.

The oranges that were being sold on the platform were not very good. We went from vendor to vendor, but they were just not up to the mark. An elderly gentleman, who seemed to know the place well, suggested, "Why don't you go just outside the station? You will get the very best... and much cheaper." So Ivan and I trooped out of the station, with Ivan confidently exclaiming that we had more than enough time. The elderly gentleman was correct.

We're Better Together

Ninette D'Souza

How best we learn has been a hot topic of discussion for decades, and will continue to be. When the students I tutor asked what their Valedictory function would encompass, I reflected on a few essential and crucial aspects of Education.

"Education is not preparation for life; Education is life itself." These prophetic words of John Dewey resonate with me. 'Holistic Education' – a term bandied around frequently, necessitates a paradigm shift in understanding that Education today is not meant to advise, but to enlighten, not meant to push problems aside, because they are not related to our syllabi, but to work towards a solution, and to realise that every naughty child is a story untold. The field of Education is being swept by a new wave of awakening in the teaching-learning process. The onus is now on the learner, and the teacher is looked upon as a 'Facilitator'. Our classrooms are increasingly becoming learning laboratories, and Educators are called to move beyond traditional roles, and become what I would term as social scientists, or maybe even researchers. "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education," opined John F. Kennedy.

In this age of high-end technology and student-friendly Education, the most critical factor in any classroom continues to be the teacher. In a world where young lives vacillate between conflicting values, this truth assumes greater proportions. The education imparted to Generation Alpha must reflect a power inherent in them - a power not gifted through nepotism, but one which arises from other-centred, consistent ideologies, allowing them to grow up with a no-nonsense attitude, combined with a warm, affectionate heart.