September 2015

human activity. Jerry Dickson highlights these issues as
hespeaks ontheprophesy of our times(Pg 3 ).
Our memories form an important dimension of
our lives. They decide who we are. We cherish the
memories of life changing experiences, as John
Fernandes shares how we remember to forget and forget
to remember (Pg 12). Read also Fr Prem Kumar's
experiences (Pg 17). We need to constantly get back to
memories that uplift us. Even our Lord Jesus, when he
calmed the storm pointedly asked his disciples, “Where
is your faith?” (Matthew 8:26)
Later, during the Last Supper,
Jesus took a loaf of bread and
said “Do this in remembrance of
m e ” . ( L u k e 2 2 : 1 9 ) .
Remembrance and faith go
together. Reflecting on
spirituality, Jaya Singh asks
w h e t h e r w e h a v e l o s t
spontaneity in our spirituality
(Pg 11)
As a last word, I would
like to remember an interesting
thing that I heard about senior Jesuit who passed away
recently in Bangalore. In his advanced age he found it
difficult to remember even the most necessary things.
Somehow the veteran never forgot about the Eucharist.
Everyday after recreation (Jesuits coming together after
supper) he would unfailingly ask “When is the Mass
tomorrow?” I think remembering and forgetting involves
both – choice and helplessness (asAbraham shares in his
article, Pg 6). Sometimes we are helpless as to what we
remember and forget. But wherever we have the choice
to remember and forget, let us make the choice with
wisdom,discretionandagreatdegreeofmagnanimity.
nd
Praveenis a 2 yearphilosopher atJDV,Pune.
he greenery here at De Nobili College is a
blessing to all who enter the premises. For those
Tentering the campus, especially after a ride
through the rough traffic of Pune, the atmosphere can be
very soothing. The experience of living here at DNC is
unforgettabletoallwho havecrossed itsportals.
All of us feel the urge to remember. I can't help
but notice how clicking photographs has become so
essential in every social and public occasions. In fact the
social media thrives on the profile pictures, selfies,
groupies (and what not) posted
in the pages– all done in a bid
to remember. Bosco's painting
(Cover page) brings out the
role of one of humankind's
greatest gifts, our eyes, in
rememberingandforgetting.
Remembering and
forgetting, put together, is the
way to be human. When we
fail to remember and forget,
we lose the dynamism of
living. Remembering and forgetting is not restricted to
the mindspace alone. Our bodies too remember and
forget. We remember and forget individually and
collectively as brought out by Williams in his article (Pg
10).
Remembering (gain) and forgetting (loss) are
both essential for a normal living. A question is asked as
to why Israel's Dead Sea is dead? Dead Sea is landlocked.
It only takes in water and never loses any. In contrast is
the River of Jordan that flows continually and it is an
important river of Israel. Life is like that – we need to lose
and gain to stay alive. Speaking about rivers, here in
Pune, the sight of Mula-Mutha river is indeed painful.
We fail to remember that its awfully dark water was once
upon atimeaclearspring ofcrystal,untamperedby
EditorialEditorial
Praveen Martis, SJ
September 2015September 201502

n the Old Testament the prophets prophesied to the
rulers of Judah and Israel to return to the path of
Irighteousness, justice, love, humility and urged
them to trust in the Lord, otherwise disaster will fall on
them.The pre-exilic Hebrew prophets likeAmos, Hosea,
Isaiah etc., warned the people but they did not listen and
whatbefellthemwas thefallof IsraelandJudah.
Then it was the fall of Israel and Judah. Now we
are facing the fall of the world and humanity. The way
world is moving ahead with the use of natural resources
and our dependency on
technology threatens the
existence of all living beings on
the earth including human
beings. We are the caretakers of
the earth but 'the Earth, our
home, is beginning to look more
and more like an immense pile
of filth' says the Encylical,
Laudato si. This is the prophesy
of our time by the Prophet of our
time,Pope Francis.
Goal: Like Pope Paul VI in his encyclical Ecclesiam
suam (1964), Pope Francis also wants to enter into a
dialogue. The former wanted to dialogue with people of
other religions. The later wants 'a dialogue with all
peopleaboutour commonhome.'(Ls3)
Global Warming and Climate Change: The Pope
mentions about global warming and the constant
increase of extreme weather, rising sea level which are
affecting the earth and her people. He calls for humanity
“to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle,
production and consumption in order to combat this
warming or at least the human causes which produce or
aggravateit.”(Ls23)
Everything is interconnected: Pope Francis offers a
systematicapproachtotheissue ofglobalwarmingand
climate change by showing how “inseparable the bond is
between concern for nature, justice for the poor,
commitment to society and interior peace” (Ls 10). One
of the problems of global warming is human's insatiable
greed, 'the profit culture' in modern terminology. He says
“Profit cannot be the sole criterion” for our decision. (Ls
187)
Over Population and Abortion: The problem is not
because of over-population but because “of extreme and
selective consumerism on the part of some” (Ls 50) and
inability and incapacity to share
with others especially by the
developed countries. Pope
Francis' stand on abortion
reiterates the teaching of the
Church “if personal and social
sensitivity towards the
acceptance of the new life is lost,
then other forms of acceptance
that are valuable for society also
witheraway.”(Ls120)
The prophesies of the pre-exile prophets were not
taken seriously by Hebrews, which resulted in the fall
and exile of Israel and Judah.Are we ready to respond to
the prophecy of Pope Francis seriously or are we waiting
forthedisastertofallon our motherearth?
rd
(Jerry isa3 yeartheologianatJDV,Pune)
Prophecy of Our Time: Laudato SiProphecy of Our Time: Laudato Si
Jerry Dickson, SJ
For A Lot More...For A Lot More...
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Video Talk on Philosophizing
-Johnson Puthenparackal OFM
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Article

ot only the power to remember, but it's very
opposite, the power to forget, is also necessary
Ncondition for our existence”, says Sholem
Asch.
Forgetting is an art just like remembering.
Remembering things or events alone cannot make a
person happy. In order to lead a happy life one must learn
both, to remember and to forget his or her memories,
because each one is mostly made up of his or her own
memories. If someone is happy today, it is because of his
or her choice to remember and forget the happenings in
his or herlife.
Why do we remember or
forget? We usually tend to remember
the persons who are very much dear
to us and forget those who go very far
from our hearts. Though we listen to
many talks and speeches, we
remember only those talks and
speeches which touched our hearts
and the rest we forget forever. In other
words, nobody forgets what is very
important to them and nobody
remembers what is not essential to
them. This is what I learnt from my friend Ajay, who
taughtmetheartofrememberingandforgetting.
I vividly remember the fine Sunday morning
when I met Mr. Ajay in Tata- Allepey Express. He was
sitting beside me. His face was full of scars, yet it was
very blissful.An interesting face I have ever seen. He was
very friendly with everyone in the compartment.As I was
sitting beside him, he spoke to me for a long time during
which he briefed me about his life history. He said, “I am
the only son in my family. I have got all the possible
things in the world to enjoy.At the age of twenty four I got
married. We all had a happy life. But, one day while
going to Rameshwaram, our vehicle met with an accident
and all of them died leaving me behind. I
escaped with some major injuries in my body.” “Then,
how are you able to be happy?” I asked. He said, “I am
learning to forget the pain of losing someone dear to me,
and remembering mostly the happy moments that I spent
with them. That remembrance enables me to lead a happy
life.”
Ajay is a kind of person who accepts life with its
sharp edges and its smooth surfaces, its squalor and its
beauty, and chooses only those pleasant moments that he
spent with his beloved ones and strives to forget his
dismay forever. His dynamic approach towards life helps
me to live a happy life. Whenever I
am lonely or sad, I remember some
happy moments in my life or do the
things which make me happy and at
once I am alright. It is nothing but our
choice to remember and to forget. Not
just to lead a happy life, but to do
great things in life, we must learn to
remember and forget things. For
instance, St Ignatius had forgotten the
experience that he had in Manresa,
we may not have got the treasure
called 'The Spiritual Exercises'. And,
if he had remained with the memory of his dream girl, our
Societywould neverhavegotexistence.
Without remembering there is no forgetting and
without forgetting there is no remembering. Both have to
intermingle in life. Otherwise our life becomes
meaningless.The very act of remembering may be one of
the reasons why we forget. We forget things or events
because we remember something else which is more
important than them. Similarly, we remember things or
events because we forget something which is of no use to
us. This is what I learnt from others and this is what made
metobe,whatIamtoday.
st
(Pravin is a 1 year philosophy student at JDV, Pune)
A Dynamic which Made MeA Dynamic which Made Me
R. PravinJose,SJ
Article

Womb to tomb, we have a lot of personal
experiences. And these experiences are developed and
transformed into our personal stories. The narrative
therapy mainly focuses on understanding these stories
and to realize how important they can be rewritten and
reshapedtoleadhealthyandmeaningfullives.
Narrative therapy doesn't condemn or corner the
person. Rather it empowers him/her by reframing their
stories.To give an example, when I was a kid, I watched a
fictional movie, in which a dog was eating humans. Then
on, I believed, that all dogs in the world would eat
humans. I wouldn't even dare to go close to a puppy. Here
I can be empowered by reframing the story. I must be
explained the nature of a dog or about fictional movies.
Here by “reframing”, I mean to say that we have to look
at the story with a different perspective, which would
helpus reshapeourlives.
This therapy can be used not only for individuals
but also for families, communities and even for the larger
society. In the larger level, the therapists first objectify
the problems from the communities. They then put them
into a socio-cultural context. Later they look for an
alternative story. In other words they make the
community to rewrite the story for the betterment of the
community.
As every coin has two sides, narrative therapy
also has its own advantages and disadvantages. This
therapy can also be used for negative ends. We can
reframe the story in order to impose negative ideas about
persons, a family, a community (Dalit), a nation
(Pakistan) and so on. But we shall use it for good
purposes inordertoliveapeacefulandhealthylife.
nd
(John Paul is a 2 year Philosophy student at JDV,
Pune)
n this stressful and competitive world, many would
love to embrace Narrative therapy as an ideal option
Ito heal their wounds of the past as well as the
present. I think, many turn towards it, because of its non-
blaming approach. Due to the way it functions, it has
becomewidespreadwithinashort spanof time.
Narrative Therapy was initially developed in
1970s and 80s by Michael White and David Epston. It is
said that, initially, it was created mainly for the prisoners
who had committed a lot of crimes and had many
grudges, scars and pain in their lives. Later this method
was used for ordinary people who constantly faced many
problems in their lives due to their past. While many
psychological therapies tend to transform the person and
their behaviours, narrative therapy transforms the effects
oftheproblemsofthepersons fortheirhealthyfuture.
Narrative therapy is a collaborative form of
therapy. The therapy actually involves the victims to
participate actively in it. It allows the individuals to seek
for themselves the solution for their own problems. It
centres the person as the expert in his/her own life. It
distances the person from the issues or the problems and
encourages the person to believe in his/her competencies
and skills to minimize the problem. It gives a lot of
strength to the persons to deal with their own problems
objectively.
Narrative TherapyNarrative Therapy
John Paul, SJ
05 September 2015September 2015
Article

oral ethics tell us to choose certain values to
do what is right. It also promotes self
Minterest because it pursues his/ her plans in
order to become a better person. We remember certain
happenings or episodes easily in life.At the same time we
do fail to recall some incidents and occurrences which
are irrelevant in life. But I am sure that there are certain
traumas like genocide, mass killings, kandhamal,
Hiroshima, etc. that occurred in the lives of many. These
alarming experiences are always recalled and they do
haunt us. Such episodes rarely go off from our minds.
They are imprinted in an individual's mind. Thus
rememberingandforgettingplaysavitalroleinourlife.
I remember very clearly, after completing class
12th, I happened to visit a friend of mine in a village
called Pachwara in Jharkhand. The whole area is covered
with coal, forests, fertile fields and beautiful mountains
and meadows. The streams run down from mountains
which nurture nature. Gradually the government came to
know about the rich natural resources (coal) in Pachwara.
The government snatched the land from the tribals.
People from those villages were evacuated or pushed out.
They became homeless and disheartened. They were not
certain about their next day's food. In the name of
development, the government started a coal mining
industry which caused suffering to the tribals of
Pachwara and surrounding villages. The government
rewriteshistoryaboutdevelopments.
But then what about the poor tribals? What about
their children's education and future?What stories would
they tell their own grandchildren? The government had
shattered their dreams, hopes and future. There was
havoc everywhere. The forests and trees had been
uprooted and cleared off; the fountains too were
destroyed. The atmosphere was polluted by the coal
mining industry. There was neither greenery nor pure air
to breath. There was no certainty in their life. Green
fieldswereturnedintobarrenland.Riversandstreams
became waterless and fountainless. The suffering of
nature as well as of the people continued to increase day
by day.
After six years when I revisited the same villages
again, I saw radical changes. I could not make out
whether there were villages that once existed in that
locality.There was no sign of a village but a coal industry.
I was shocked and distressed to see the pathetic state of
the people. People had no stories to tell others. Their
chapter on life had been closed by development. I am
sure that people will never forget these events of life
because of the fake development that has ruined their
lives. The villages have disappeared from the present
scenario and the government has rewritten a story about
development. Now nobody knows where these people
are heading towards. Others tell me which stories I have
to remember and which ones I should forget. They also
tellthestory of developmentwhichis so alientous.
nd
(Abraham is a 2 year philosophy student at JDV,
Pune)
Development Dictates My StoriesDevelopment Dictates My Stories
Abraham Marandi, SJ
Justice to nature is not
nature worship,
but
justice to the poor
Analysis

notice of his parents. They were dead against his
decision. That day evening he called his mom and his
sister to serve him food. Being angry with his decision,
they replied, “Hereafter never speak to us.” But his
grandmother was very supportive and served him food.
From then on he never spoke even a word to his family
because he was convinced of his ambition.
As he was working in the paddy fields, he
remembered and reflected on Kannan's words. He
decided to contribute something for the farmers of the
state. Firstly, he wanted to pursue knowledge in
agriculture. He bought a number of books related to
agriculture. He read all the books. He worked hard to
discover the paddy seeds which provide good profit. In
the seven years, he faced hundred failures. Taking them
as a challenge, he worked with vitality and zeal. Finally
he had a ray of hope. Convincing Kannan, he cultivated
the seeds discovered in his field. They gave more profit
than what he expected. Kannan was very happy. Eugene
wanted all the farmers of the state to benefit. The seeds
were experimented in the State GovernmentAgricultural
Centre. He got the approval of distributing them to the
whole state.All the farmers bought the seeds and earned a
good profit. Considering his profound contribution to the
farmers, the government made him the head of the
Farmer'sAssociationCentreinthestate.
All this, Eugene was sharing in the alumni
association meeting of St. Joseph College, Trichy.At the
end of his sharing, he asked a question to the students,
“Who dares to become a farmer?” They remained silent
for a moment. Nobody but David dared. The students
around him were laughing at him. He loudly said, “What
I said, I would mean it.” Eugene was reminded of his
response, and congratulated him. As he stepped down
fromthestage,therewas acallfromhis mom.
nd
(Richard is a 2 year philosophy student at JDV,
Pune)
s Eugene and his friends were going to school
along the paddy fields, Eugene stopped his
Acycle and went to ease himself. He saw a
farmer of his village named Kannan who was spraying
pesticide on the paddy saplings. He asked Kannan how
the work was going on. Kannan replied that he had
worked hard with hardly any profit. He bought paddy
seeds from companies with the notion of getting good
profit but it proved futile. Meanwhile his friends called
him to join them. Saying bye to Kannan, Eugene left the
place. He was deeply thinking about the words of
Kannan.
In moral class the teacher, Leela, asked the
students about their ambition. Everybody said their
ambitions were to become professors, doctors, engineers
etc. Eugene's turn came. He said that he would become a
farmer. The whole class laughed at him including his
friends. He got angry and said, “What I said, I would
mean it”, and he left the class. His friends came and
pacifiedhim.Days passed...
The twelfth public exam came near. They studied
hard and scored high marks. Eugene scored higher than
all the other students. They were very happy and wanted
to have a small celebration in Eugene's house. They
arranged and invited the parish priest of Pathalapettai for
the celebration. Many people gathered and appreciated
Eugene and his friends. After the celebration, the parish
priest called five of them and assured each of them a seat
at St. Joseph College, Trichy, according to their interest.
But, for Eugene, though he was interested in agricultural
work, he was compelled by his parents to take physics as
hehadscoredthehighestmarksinphysics.
College days started. One day, Eugene sat under a
tree and thought of his life for some time. He felt that he
was not doing justice to his field of interest. He decided
not to go for physics classes but to work in the paddy
fields and he did so. Somehow this matter came to the
Who Dares?Who Dares?
Y. John Richard, SJ
Short Story

he saying, “If we do not have temple in our heart
we will not have our heart in the temple”, is as
Ttrue of the church as it is of any place of
worship. But one could ask, what exactly is a Church? Is
it a material structure or is it something more than that?
Certainly the meaning of Church cannot be restricted to
the material building but rather it is the people -the
people of God.The Church is the People of God, Body of
Christ, and theTempleof the Holy Spirit (CCC 781-810).
Buthow didthisChurchcometobe?
The early Christians experienced the
resurrection of Jesus Christ and this experience was so
intense that they could not but proclaim it with the
strength of the Holy Spirit. The
Apostles and disciples recalled the
life: teaching, parables, sayings,
etc., and death and resurrection of
Jesus and proclaimed it through
oral communication. The
fulfilment of Jesus' words opened
their eyes of faith.As we read in the
Acts of theApostles the message of
Jesus and the risen Jesus himself
was proclaimed to every nuke and
corner of the world. Paul's
missionary journeys and
establishment of Churches at different places made it
easy to spread the message about the risen Jesus.
Eventually whatever they could recall and remember
was collected,editedandexpandedaccordingly.
The initial growth of the Church was marked
with severe persecutions. This time of tribulation and
hardship strengthened most of the believers and helped
them to bear witness to the risen Christ. They always
believed that their suffering would come to an end and
their faith will not go in vain. But ever since Constantine
accepted Christianity as the state religion in the
beginning of the fourth century, a number of things have
changed in the life and functioning of the Church. The
Church too was subjected to royal, secular and material
influences of that age. This influence has often tended
towards forgetting the basic and primary mission of the
Church. It is therefore the duty and obligation of every
Christian to remember the true calling of the Church and
never wait for persecutions to bear witness and proclaim
Christ to the world. Thus remembering the corner stone
and primary vision can help us to live a life worthy of our
Christiancalling.
Church:ForgottenorRemembered?
The forgotten Church could be the deviation that
the people of God take in the course of living the
remembered Church. The Church
as an institution is part of a
structure. It has its way of
governing and functioning. At the
same time this Church is the body of
Christ (1cor 12:27) which has
individual members. What is
remembered is the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus, culminating
in resurrection, then the Church is
the presence of Christ himself. In
the process of living as members of
this body of Christ, the Church is brought into existence.
It is possible that the allurements of the world are so
strong that the primary goal of living as members of one
body of Christ is compromised. It is the forgotten aspect
of the true Church that we need to rebuild by “re-
membering”everyoneintotheChurch.
ForOurContextToday
Today we see division among and in the
churches. The purpose of Jesus in becoming human was
to redeem, sanctify and divinize the world. It was to
communicate God's love to people and establish the
(Cont’d on next pg.)
Remembered or Forgotten ChurchRemembered or Forgotten Church
Wilson Bennis, SJ
Article

Meenakshi Amman in Madurai, Venkadachalapathi in
Thirupathi, Saranath temple, Ayappa temple in
Sabarimalai, etc. Same is true with the mosques too.
There is something that manifests itself in different
forms. I would like to call that as the Supreme divine
power instead of God.( Personally I am comfortable with
this expression). The divine doesn't see merits of the
devotee but grants the blessing to the rich and poor, saint
andsinner.
Since it is the same divine in
different forms, there is no
possibility for it to say that one of
me is the greatest of all.We, humans
who say that we follow the divine
contradict its teachings and values.
Such violence and riots leads to
many forms of injustice in the world
indicating that we are wrong. It is
not right to blame supreme divine
for everything, giving reasons. It is
WE who created religions and it is
WE who fight in the name of religions and God. Wake up
world. It is time to forget the religion and remember only
theSupremedivine.Thatis theneedof thehour.
st
(Bosco is a 1 year philosophy student at JDV, Pune)
emembering and forgetting are the two
essential characteristics of our brain system.
RHowever we may try, it always remembers
certain things which we want to forget and it forgets
something which we want to keep in our memories. I feel
that it is very apt to call it 'mystery'. When I look at the
present religious sphere of the world, it is necessary to
forgetsomethingandremembercertainthings.
The world has been facing very bitter
experiences in the name of God and
His medium called religion As it
has been recorded in the holy books
of different religions there were
fights and wars in the name of
religion and God – Muslims and
Christians called as crusades,
Christians and Protestants, Sivaites
and Vishnavites (internal clash in
Hinduism), Hindus and Jains,
Christians and Hindus, etc. Though
we try to forget these awful
experiences we are constantly reminded of them when
we look at the daily newspapers, as the quote goes
'history repeatsitself'.
Who is the sole reason for these awful events?
God, religion, human beings or something else. Some
blame God that it is the Supreme God who wills it; some
say this is the call given to them by God.At the same time
there are a quite a few in different religions who say that
every religion preaches love and peace in different ways.
Still many fail to see it. It is very necessary for all of us to
examineourselveson this.
We witness miracles in all the religions.There are
many Hindus, Muslims, and people of other religions
who visit churches like Vailankanni in Tamil Nadu,
St.Lourds in France, St. Francis Xavier's church in Goa,
etc. Similarly people go to Hindu temples like
.
Remembering (God) and Forgetting (Religion)Remembering (God) and Forgetting (Religion)
J. Amal Bosco, SJ
(Cont’d from pg.8)
Kingdom of God that Jesus became incarnate among us.
May be we have long forgotten this and given space to
human limitations to divide us. Like the early Christians
we need to have our heart in the Church, in the
resurrection of Jesus and in the faith of redemption. Then
we can say 'For where your treasure is, there your heart
alsowillbe' (Lk12:34).
rd
(Wilson is a 3 year theology student at JDV, Pune)
Remembered or Forgotten ChurchRemembered or Forgotten Church
Article

in a world where hardly any space for the other exists.We
can't blame anyone because we are programmed like that
in this modern age. Things like Scams, Economical
crisis, Terrorism, Communal violence are happening
around us every day but we remember them only when it
is necessary for someone's political benefit.
Unfortunately consumerism, upper class mentality and
comfortable life have forced us to forget the unnoticed
realitiesof everydaylife.
I n t h e p r e s e n t
scenario Government's
mistakes are covered up in
the name of growth. We
remember the past where
growth is stalled and so we
feel happy when someone
says that we are growing fast.
We forget the scams of the
p r e s e n t b e c a u s e w e
remember greater scams than
these of the past.We are not ready to voice out against the
oppression in different form because we remember what
happened to the activists and forget how we came up
against the oppressions. What is projected is
remembered and what is curtained is forgotten and this
seems to be very unhealthy for the society. We seriously
need to introspect ourselves why we forget certain things
and remember certain things which are not very much
connectedtoour lives.
There are some questions that need to be
answered: How do we obtain our ideas of the past? From
whom? Is there a pattern in the stories we have been told?
Are there other stories to be told? Why were they not
told? Ultimately do we have any understanding of our
past and present that has something to do with our life?
Or all that we remember and forget is for someone else's
good andgrowth?
nd
(Williamsis a 2 yearPhilosophystudent atJDV,Pune)
emembering and forgetting are considered to
be the two sides of a coin. Each of them
Rpresupposes the existence of the other.
Remembering everything is practically beyond
imagination of the human mind, which at times becomes
a great manipulative principle to make people forget
things that happen around. To remember everything
would mean that one would be in a state of total disorder,
likewise forgetting completely would generate an
equally undesirable confusion.
Remembering and forgetting
can be based on experiences of
individuals but they can also be
used strategically to give rise to
different interpretations or
stories of the past. Each
incident is remembered or
forgotten for some reasons and
to make it more accurate, each
incident is forced to be
remembered for some motives and forced to be forgotten
for some other motives. Politics hijacks people from the
reality and lands them somewhere in the state of
imagination. Many a time, knowingly or unknowingly
we tend to believe everything that happens around us and
fail utterly to look into the reality. Mythification of
realitymakesrealitiesunnoticed.
What is remembered and what is not have
something to do with who holds the power. Emergency
will be remembered in one rule and be forgotten in
another rule. Ram temple issue will be remembered at
some time and be forgotten at some other time. Hitler
once said, “to make the lie big, make it simple, keep
saying it, and eventually they will believe it”.This is very
much true in the political atmosphere of India. For the
ordinary middle class people who never want suffering,
pain, chaos in life, if we keep on saying that everything is
alright,theyareforcedtoforgetthereality.Weareliving
A Way to Hijack the Intelligentsia of a SocietyA Way to Hijack the of a SocietyIntelligentsia
Willams Charles, SJ
Analysis

he phrase 'Remembering and Forgetting' was
used by Paul Ricoeur in his book, “Memory,
THistory and Forgetting”. It is used broadly in
Psychology. This phrase has been used by many
philosophers beginning with Plato till the present day
with different words. Here I use it in a spiritual context
especially in the Christian context as 'Forgetting and
Remembering'. Why do I say this: Have we forgotten our
root of spirituality which was nurtured by our parents and
teachers? Has Christian Spirituality dried up in
comparison to the times of the apostles and early
Christian communities? Have
we been taken away by reason
and an analytical mind when it
comes to spiritual life? In
Greek mythology, Dionysius
was the God of a non-rational
way of thinking; Apollo was
the God of a reasoned and
orderly way of thinking. Using
these terminologies, do we use
spontaneous prayers rising
from our hearts (Dionysian) or well formulated prayers
withoutmuchfeelings(Apollonian)?
Yes, we are living in a world with diverse cultures
and faiths. We do question and critique other religions;
tremendous scientific inventions make us rely on human
abilities and challenge our faith and originality. Our
knowledge and understanding of God through reasoning
transforms our faith. Many Christians give importance
only to well-formulated prayers, short Eucharistic
service and even limited Church goings with less contact
with parents and teachers who gave us knowledge of
God. We are moving with an Apollonian thinking of a
well structured spiritual life which is formulated by our
availability, limitation of time and even objectifying
God. Do we pray and reflect on the gospel passage before
breaking the word of God or do we use ready-made
homilies? Since we have advanced technologies and
even ready-made reflections on the internet, we fail to
reflect and rely on God's providence for enlightenment.
Thesehaveledus toforgettheoriginalityof spirituallife.
We need to remember the moments that we have
spent with Christ our divine master. We have enjoyed
being in the company of Jesus as early Christians and
apostles. We cherished being with Christ enjoying his
love through creation, remained in wonder about the
goodness of God, being in the midst of God's saving help
in Israel, walking with Jesus beyond all boundaries,
being and spending time with
Jesus' passion and suffering.
Various incidents and people
strengthened our faith in
Christ and taught us to put
complete trust in Christ in
difficult situation.Though we
are being influenced by well
structured limited experience
of Christ, trusting in human
resources, ready-made online
sources, and money and critiques of religious
experiences, could we turn back and desire more of
Dionysian mode of experience? Can we remember our
original experience of Christ and Christian community
which we have forgotten or have been carried away while
growing? This will lead us to be a better Christian in this
challengingworld.
Remembering and Forgetting
A Spiritual View
Remembering and Forgetting
A Spiritual View
Jaya SinghT,SJ
Article
nd
(Jayasingh is a 2 year Philosopher at JDV, Pune)

never allow it to control my being; wherein I get two
choices either to keep pondering and never to do it or let it
go and learn from it. This has helped me grow as a calm
and serene person. What I learnt in the early stages of my
life is, “Why carry the baggage of others like a dust-bin
giving stench to those who meet you?” Instead be a rose,
giving the fragrance to others to remember you. Having
heard me saying this someone once asked me, “Have you
really forgotten those negative experiences or is it like
the lava getting stirred to burst like a volcano someday?”
I would say, “I'm grateful to God for sending an intimate
friend in my life to lend me a listening ear.” This close
sharing of feelings helped to let go of the negative
experiences, knowing that life moves on with ups and
downs, making it a tragic comedy to laugh at when we sit
and look back at life's events. D. H. Lawrence once said,
“There is no such thing as forgetting even in Death, as
Human consciousness is homogenous.”
I remember the words of my girl friend, “The first
love can't be forgotten even if one falls in love the second
time, for love happens only once.” Though very close to
me and now married, she could not forget me, until one
day, I confessed that I too had the same feeling towards
her. From that day onwards she began loving her husband
more than me, being
detached from her first
love. An anonymous
writer once said,
“Trying to forget
someone you love is like
trying to remember
someone you never knew.” What does it mean? It's a
mystery unsolved. Don't try solving it; you will only end
up, hurting yourself. The key to life is in our hands, what
we want to lock and unlock depends on us, therefore
remember to forget and forget to remember what you
wanttocherishthemost.
nd
(John is a 2 year theology student at JDV, Pune)
he day I can never forget. Everything in my
Jesuit life was moving smoothly until that day
Twhen I got the news of my elder brother's death.
It was a shock of my life. Everything seemed to come to
an end, as if the place I was standing on never existed
before. I was lost and didn't know what to do. Even when
I reached for the funeral, people were thunderstruck to
see me speechless; the tears from the eyes had run dry as I
knew I had to be strong to support my parents who had
lost everything they had.All their dreams and hopes were
shattered and life had ceased to exist. The one month that
I stayed, would make me to realize if I had made the right
decision in life to continue. Everyone who visited the
house to pay their respect and console my parents added
to the tension by asking questions like “What has your
younger son decided?”, “Is he going to continue or leave
to support you.” I was foolish, but God's grace was upon
me. I tried to forget this incident until one fine day while
praying, the words of Jesus, “Your brother is alive… Do
you believe this?” (Jn11: 23, 27) opened my eyes. He has
now got a new life, resurrected with Christ and is now
walking with me the extra mile, to give me strength to
support my vision and family too. This insight that he is
still alive has helped me forget the strong impact it had on
me and to move on in my consecrated life, rooted in
Christasmyfriend.
The theory I follow in my Jesuit way of life is
forgetting that which pains or hurts me. Whenever I do
comeacross such anexperience,Ibecomeawareofitand
Forgetting To Remember
Broken, Shattered, Still Going On…
Forgetting To Remember
Broken, Shattered, Still Going On…
John Fernandes, SJ
Experience

Missionaries like St. Francis Xavier, St. John the Britto,
Robert De Nobili and others teach us through their lives
what to remember and what to forget. They came from
diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, but to make
their mission effective they forgot their own cultures,
languages and traditions and remembered our Indian
traditions, languages and cultures. They lived not like
foreigners but as Indians. As religious we may need to
forget our original cultures and adapt ourselves with the
localculturesandtraditions.
On the other hand the bitter and painful
experiences which are part of our lives can be productive
or destructive. When they are
assimilated negatively, (blaming
others or self, being guilty) they
will be buried with their own
pains, struggles and hardships.
Though difficult, hardships can
be taken positively. By being
optimistic we are forgiving
ourselves and others, and
reconcilingtothatevent.
Reconciliation and forgiveness are the solution
for the building of interpersonal, intercommunity and
international relationships. If I am in bad terms with my
beloved friend due to some misunderstanding or Hindus
are very arrogant with Muslims due to the past riots and
conflicts, or the relationship between India and Pakistan
is not good due to terrorist activities, at these conflicting
situations remembering them and continuing with them
will make the situations worse. At these very situations,
forgetting the events or ignoring them is not a wise
solution, rather reconciling with one another and
rewriting the old relation is the better solution.
Forgiveness, though difficult, can solve the whole
problem.
nd
(Nirmal is a 2 year philosophy student at JDV,
Pune)
,
emembering and forgetting are concerned with
the past memories and events. It is our human
Rtendency to remember or to forget. Some
people are more gifted with memory, who excel in their
studies. On the other hand, some forget the things easily.
However there are certain memories and events that go
so deep into our hearts and minds that we cannot forget
them. The formation of one's identity and sense of self-
esteem depends on remembering past events. The
memories generate self confidence and recognition of
one's own talents; on the other hand some past
experiences can lead to the destruction of one's own life.
It all depends on how we look at
our lives, to what kind of
memories we hold on to.There are
two ways to remember the past,
n a m e l y r e p e t i t i o n a n d
recollection. Repetition is
habitual, compulsive and
destructive. Here we keep on
remembering some of the sweet or
bitter memories; in other words
we live in the past. Such strong
memories haunt us and lead our lives towards gradual
destruction. Recollection is based on awareness and it is
constructive. Through recollection we recollect past
events, correct ourselves and make decisions to amend
ourselvesinthefuture.
The sweet memories of our life play a role in
building of relationships. In my own personal life when I
do a flashback, the love of my family members
penetrates my heart; their painstaking work and tireless
effort for the family motivates me to love them. Joyful
and selfless support of my friends is ever remarkable
which strengthens our friendship. As I see my Jesuit
vocation I am ever grateful to the Society for the
formation and the opportunities. Thus my remembering
enhances my love towards the Society of Jesus.
Religious need to go still beyond the memories.
,
The Need for Forgiveness in RelationshipsThe Need for Forgiveness in Relationships
Nirmal Minj, SJ
Article

are ready to die for their cause (right or wrong is a
different issue). The same line of argument could be
raised for soldiers or martyrs, whose national identity
d o m i n a t e s o t h e r
identities. I feel The
Pope is also calling us to
become aware of our
common identity, as
shepherds of the entire
cosmos and earth being
our common home. This
identity is normally forgotten. Trying to remember this
identity will require us to do the best for the promotion of
that identity which is possible only through doing
something for the cosmos. Why we haven't explored
enough into this identity as something which reveals our
interconnectedness?
Two of the responses, the encyclical is calling us
tomakeare
Ÿ Responses whichletthespiritof theencyclicallive.
Ÿ Tocherishourinterconnectedness.
nd
(Arun is a 2 year philosophy student at JDV, Pune)
ope Francis' recent encyclical, Laudato Si has
created a great hype in the world. It surely calls
for a cumulative response from differentPsections of people. I read online about an effort by the
Kolkata Jesuits to help people make solar lamps that
would give them access electricity in an environmental
friendly way. There might be many pioneering responses
frommanycommittedhumanbeingstothisclarioncall.
This being an encyclical by a much loved Pope,
all of us are interested to do something so that we may not
be left behind to respond. While I do appreciate this, it is
worth asking ourselves, whether our responses are
appropriate and well thought of, or they are just
responses for the sake of responding. So are we subtly
escaping from the truer response (an attitudinal change
and actions resulting from it) that the Pope wants to
evokeinus?
As part of my growth and formation in the
Society of Jesus, I have gone through many courses and
exciting programmes. At times, I used to be touched by
something in those sessions and used to follow it up with
great vigour for a short time. In most cases, I gave up
after the initial spark had died down. In contrast to this,
the Society of Jesus asks all novices to go through a
30day long retreat, where you are called for an intense
experience with God. I didn't have any great
extraordinary experience, but I can see a gradual change
in my attitudes and outlook, which is much more
permanent. These experiences have helped me to
understand a little better that a response based on
instincts may not be the best one, but one based on
transformation of the heart. Let our responses make alive
thespiritoftheencyclical.
The Pope also speaks of inter-connectedness.
Our identities are interconnected. We all have many
identities and one identity dominates. The dominating
identity may overpower other identities (which may be
good or bad).Thisalsocouldbethereasonwhy terrorists
Two thoughts based on Laudato SiTwo thoughts based on Laudato Si
Arun Philip Simon, SJ
14
RememberingFormation
As someone has rightly said, “It is
not what happens to you that determines
how far you go in life; it is what you do with
what happens to you”. In my journey of life
as a Jesuit scholastic, there have been many memories,
events, experiences that I cherish. While at the same time
there have been painful experiences too. I see them not as
setbacks but as a learning curve to help me in my
formation. Ultimately what matters is that one has a
certain sense of direction and the right attitude and spirit
tobetheperson onewantstobe.
Elvin Cardozo, SJ
Article

Some memories stay and some fade without adhere
Likeamistintheair,apparentandunclear.
Pinnedtothewallsof theheart
Makingtheirwaytohaltanddepart.
Clouds overthebluehorizon
Runningtodeforminthevastvision
Liketheleavesinthetreesanyway
Fallenandforgotten,as theydry.
Neverknown bytheirname
Leavesdieinsilentfame
Fruitsknown throughitstime
Evenwhenrottenanddead,stillretain.
Fruitsandleaves,cloudsandrain.
Momentsandinstances,Joyous andpain
Makeslifethewaytodestinygained
As thetwosides ofthecoin,joined.
found this article (published on July Issue) an
inspiring one. The author, James Keenan, SJ, has
Ienriched my understanding on how the 'voice' can
be used both constructively and destructively. Whatever
the nature of use, it gives 'identity' to the individual.
Much of our communication is through our voices. The
voice can be used to create positive feelings in others –
like happiness, acceptance, empathy, forgiveness, etc.,
andalsonegativefeelingslikesadness, rejection,hatred.
I agree with the writer that our voices should be
developed such that it captures human experience,
commitment, relationships and insight. For this to
happen, I feel that this voice should stand up strong
amidst many other voices. It must be amplified, boosted
to a higher frequency, in order to be loud and clear amidst
disturbance and conflicting noises. I mean, there should
be confidence and conviction in our voices. It has to be
the outcome of knowledge within & insight, and should
reflect God's wisdom. The voice might also be needed to
confrontandiftheneedarises,todefend.
For a voice to stand strong amidst many other
especially dissenting voices is not easy. Biblical history
tells us that the prophets in the Old Testament who raised
their voices pronouncing God's ways and judgments
were killed. Jesus the Christ who came to bring the
message of love, salvation, and abundant life was
crucified. The voice of St. John of the Cross echoed his
radical thinking for which he was imprisoned in his own
community. And St. Teresa of Avila fled from her
community as no one listened to her call to reform the
Order.
Thus, raising our voices for the cause of
righteousness and truth is a challenge. Are we ready for
this? Are we ready to make a difference through our
voices?
(Infant studies in the Jesuit Juniorate at Belgaum.)
Article Review on Theologizing - a Way of LifeArticle Review on Theologizing - a Way of Life
Infant Leonard, SJ
15
Sparks of
Earthly Stay
Ashish Kujur , SJ
Review
st
(Ashish is a 1 yearPhilosophy student atJDV,Pune.)

Our Experience of Exhibition
It was indeed a joyous moment for Ashish, Lijo
st
and me to be a part of the exhibition onAugust 21 , 2015.
The exhibition was held at Fr. Agnel Wellness Ashram,
Sainikwadi, Wadgaonsheri, Pune on 'Wellness Day'. The
theme of the day was “Wellness to Fullness” and the
exhibition in particular was based on the theme 'making
best out of waste'. Each stall was blessed by the presence
of eminent personalities including Shri Shripad Y. Naik,
a minister in the state. For us, the time of preparation,
which extended for a week, brought great excitement and
a sense of collaboration. For some of us, it was a moment
of venturing into a new area and learning something new.
We learnt to combine our ideas together, to create new
things. During the exhibition we were very happy to
explain our creativity out of waste materials to eager and
enthusiastic students and their parents. We would like to
acknowledge the great support and encouragement of the
entireDNC Community.
Jeevan Issac, SJ
he cyclical process of remembering and
forgetting goes on until the day when we can
Tneither remember nor forget anymore. As
Jesuits we remember well all our past glories and
achievements. The remarkable & brilliant theologian,
James Laynez, at the Council of Trent; the great number
of educational institutions established under the
watchful eyes of St. Francis Borgia, former Duke of
Gandia; the gentle & lovable St. Peter Canisius who
fought the protestant revolt in Germany and the list of
glories and achievements goes on and on. But while we
remember these glories, do we also remember and put
into practice the charism that these Jesuits lived and died
for?
May be our memory fails us when we arrive in
the present or may be we want to forget those charisms
which once distinguished us as frontier men or as
soldiersofGod?
Preaching the gospel to the lay men & women
who are sheep of the true shepherd, giving the Spiritual
Exercises, instructing children and uneducated adults in
the catholic faith, etc. are the charisms which brought the
Society of Jesus into being. It's time we bring back to
memory all those charisms and begin living them in our
daily lives as men of the magis. Remember, we need
excellence and not mediocrity. We only need to
remember those things from which we can derive
strength to fight the injustice and evils of the current
times and forget all other things that lead us into darkness
andfillour heartswithfear.
The option lies wide open, if we want to
remember only the past glories, and forget every other
sacrifice that our Jesuit brothers made or remember both
the past glories and our charisms, and move forward as
truesoldiersofChristunderthebannerof thecross.
st
(Savio is a 1 year philosophy student at JDV, Pune)
Jesuits: Past Glories or Present day CharismsJesuits: Past Glories or Present day Charisms
16
Savio Fernandes, SJ
Article

3. What is the upper most feeling when you see
theepisodeofcaptivity?
I have mixed feeling – sad, happy, and grateful.
Sad because of the unjust inhuman treatment I underwent
in spite of working for their own
people. I feel sad for the common
people too, because they are still so
much in bondage of violence and
bloodshed.
At the same time I am happy
because I have come to experience the
love that people, family, Jesuits,
friends,haveforme.
But above all I feel grateful
because I had a glimpse of the
suffering which our Lord went
through. Now to some extent I
understand what it means to suffer
unjustly. I understand the mystery of Christ's death and
resurrection in a deeper way. I feel the whole episode has
broughtmoremeaningtomylife.
4. How did you spend your time in captivity?
I am really grateful to be a Jesuit, because for a
Jesuit it is easy to be in captivity (Laughs!!). The Society
has given wonderful life sustaining tools in the form of
spiritual exercises, examen, etc. In fact, I did the
spiritual exercises three times in nine months.Yes, on the
one side, I was suffering as I was chained, tied to the cot,
and didn't know what would happen next moment. But at
the same time, the spiritual exercises, offering mass,
examination of consciousness, awareness exercises kept
meingood disposition.
I am also grateful to the Taliban giving me a
radio, because through that I was listening to the Vatican
Radio and Pope Francis. His words and homilies lifted
myspiritandkeptmeconnectedwithallofyou.
1. What motivated you to work with the JRS?
What keeps you going?
It was both accidental and providential. Though I
was involved with the refugees in Tamil Nadu right from
novitiate and scholastic days, the
decision to work in JRS came during
my tertianship in Sri Lanka while I was
working with the tsunami affected
people and Fr. P.S. Amal, the then
Regional Director of JRS, came and
spoke to me. Working with refugees
means being part of those people who
are worst affected by economic
sanctions, political turmoil, war, etc.
Today there are more people who are
becoming refugees than in the past.
The call of Jesus is precisely to stand
with the lowly and deprived, to be the
voiceof thevoiceless.
2. One of the primary objectives of JRS is
bringing about reconciliation. In this regard
how do you, as JRS member work on the
dynamicofforgettingand forgivingdialectic?
The refugees too should remember their past
correctly, accept it, work to empower themselves. We
can never achieve true freedom and dignity through
vengeance and violence. This can only be done through
forgivingdespitenotbeingableforgeteverything.
It is a very good question. There is in every
refugee something that he/she finds it difficult to forget
much more to forgive. But it is wrong to make the
refugees forget the real past. I remember what
Ambedkar said, “Make the slaves aware that they are
made slaves and they would wake up and find freedom”
It is therefore, our duty to remind them of their glorious
history and sad past. This can be done only through
education.
Remembering the days of captivity…Remembering the days of captivity…
Interview with Fr. Prem Kumar, SJInterview with Fr. Prem Kumar, SJ

it difficult to reach. This is our charism. Of course we
have to be prudent, read the signs of the times, but fear
should never hinder Jesuits to take the less travelled path.
That'snotwhatJesuits are…
8.Any messagetoourscholastics?
I see our scholastics have great potential. They
are gems of great prize. My message to them is to have a
have an insight into the reality, be critical, don't naively
follow the mob, make your life purposeful. I also see
many scholastics want to get settled in institutions,
though it is not bad, but to have such desire is not good.
Remember there are people who really need you. There
are people who are more deserving. Keep them as your
centre; keep Christ as your centre. Always work as a
team,you candomuchmorethanas anindividual.
(Fr. Alexis Prem Kumar SJ, a Jesuit from Madurai
nd
Province, was abducted by Taliban on 2 June 2014 in
rd
Heart Afghanistan and released on 23 February, 2015
HeispresentlytheAssistantDirectorofJRS,SouthAsia)
5. You are a man of great optimism. But were
their times of great despair? How did you
handle such situation?
When one is constantly chained, beaten and
bound, when one's basic human dignity is crushed, and
when one sees that the sheep and birds were freer than
one is, one experiences intense moments of despair.
There was times when I have wept bitterly, pleaded with
God to take my life away. It was at these moments that
prayer helped me, sometimes I felt that the rocks, sheep,
treeswerespeakingtomeandboostingmeup.
6.What has this experiencethought you forlife?
There are so many! But one insight comes to my
mind now. As I said earlier there were moments when I
wanted to die because the suffering was too much. But I
thought, if my Jesus' life gave life to all and so his death
then why should I die here in captivity without any use to
anyone? If my death is going to bring peace and
reconciliation to Afghan then I am ready die, but if not
why should I choose death. I feel our life should bring life
to others andso too our death. Only then our death is
meaningful. Thisgavemethereasontolive.
7. Should the episode of captivity hinder Jesuits
towork inthefrontiers?
Even though I wish no one should go through
what I went through, these experiences should not daunt
or dishearten the Jesuits
but in fact ignite them
for greater commitment
and zeal to build the
kingdom. As Jesuits we
are men of the frontiers.
We have a great legacy
of Jesuits who have
gone to places where
others don't go and find
18
Dual Dynamics in Formation
Human beings should be thankful to
the Almighty God for the gift of Forgetting
and Remembering. I don't think that we will
remember everything because the passage
of time will efface many of the old
memories and new faces, situations and places which
enter into our frame of life. However, one beautiful fact
about memories is that even the bitterest reminiscences
can become the sweetest memories in the future. Let us
carve the cheerful memories in the rock and scribble the
destructive memories in the sands on the seashore so that
the beautiful memories will never die and the destructive
memorieswillbeerasedby surfs.
Robin Jose, CST
Remembering the days of captivity…Remembering the days of captivity…
Interview with Fr. Prem Kumar, SJInterview with Fr. Prem Kumar, SJ

September 2015

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