संत लोरेंस का पर्व 10 अगस्त

आज काथलिक कलीसिया रोम के संत लोरेंस का पर्व मनाती है. संत लोरेंस रोम के उपयाजक थे. 258 ईस्वी के अगस्त महीने के प्रारम्भ में रोम के शासक वलेरियन ने यह आज्ञा निकाली कि “सभी धर्माध्यक्षों, पुरोहितों और उपयाजकों को तुरंत मौत के घाट उतार दिया जाये.” जिसका परिणाम यह हुआ कि उस समय के संत पापा सिक्स्तुस द्वितीय को 6 अगस्त को मार दिया गया. लोरेंस के साथी भी मारे गये. उसको बड़ा दुःख हुआ कि मरने वालों में उसका नाम नहीं था. उसने संत पापा से वादा किया बहुत जल्द ही वो भी उनके पीछे हो लेंगे. और कहते हैं कि 10 अगस्त को लोरेंस को भी आग में भूनकर मार दिया गया. रोम में चौथी सदी से संत लोरेंस का बहुत आदर किया जाता है. उनका धर्मोत्साह बहुत सराहनीय है. जब रोम के प्रीफेक्ट ने कलीसिया की सम्पति का हिसाब माँगा तो लोरेंस ने सारी संपत्ति बेचकर गरीबों और लाचारों में बाँट दी और उन्हें लेकर रोम पहुँच गये, और बोले “यही है कलीसिया की संपत्ति.” ऐसे थे संत लोरेंस. आइये हम उन सभी लोगों के लिये दुआ करें जिनका नाम लोरेंस है.

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All That Matters: Love, Life and Heart...

 Also in the "Weekend" issue of Free Press, Indore (12.02.2012)

Have you ever reflected on the relationship between heart, love and life? What is their importance to each other if any? They are inseparable three vital realities of human life and existence. One cannot exist without the other two. If there is no heart, you have neither love nor life because both love and life spring and come from heart. If you have no love, the life and heart are meaningless and a human being is as good a walking corpse. Even if you do wonders, perform great miracles and change the whole world but if you have no love within, it is all in vain. And furthermore, if you have no life, the heart and love cannot exist. Thus these three things, Love, heart and life are three angles of same triangle. If one of them is missing, the other two also disappear or lose their purpose.

            All these three have God as their ultimate source of existence, because it is God who gives life, and it is God’s love that dwells within and fills our hearts and the whole world. The most important among these three is love, because it is the binding force for the other two. You have life because your heart beats and your heart beats because it has love within. It is because of love that the world moves. It is love that changes and renews the face of the earth; that makes human life beautiful.

The very creation of the universe is the outcome and fruit of God’s love. In the Holy Bible we read when God had created everything and saw it, He liked it and said, “Everything is good.” Liking something is synonymous to loving something. So when we say God likes us that means and implies that God loves us and the whole creation. Everything is filled with God’s love; the whole creation exists in God’s love. It is because of this basic nature that creatures express their love for one another. We, human beings, are rational beings hence able to express our love in more creative ways than other creatures of lesser rational nature.

The highest expression of love of one human being towards others is even to trade it with life. Since love, heart and life are all equal hence one thing can be given for the other. There can be no greater expression of love than to go to the extent of giving one’s life for the other. This is what Jesus taught and did. He, being God himself, died for human beings that are just one dimension of His beautiful creation. Jesus is the True expression of God’s unconditional and unreserved love for human beings. It is through giving our life for others that we get life.

The dwelling place of love, the heart starts beating even before a human being takes a proper shape in the womb. And even before the heart starts beating, it is the love between a man and woman in marital context that gives existence to another new life. Sex in the marital context is the highest expression of love by the spouses towards each other. And children born out of this union are the fruits of that mutual love of the man and woman. When a new human being is born it is love that fosters his/her life in a healthy manner. Without love a human being cannot grow as a proper human being.

Today love is the most misunderstood and misused concept. Love is most often confused with many other similar feelings such as liking, lust, infatuation etc. When one likes something or somebody, s/he calls it love, and claim that ‘I love it’ or ‘I love him/her.’ When one wants to possess something or somebody and always be around them, it is not love it is lust. To understand what TRUE LOVE is, one must read Bible. It is the touching Love Story of God and the World. It says and shows what true love is. Just to give a short passage about love from Bible: it says, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way (it is not selfish); it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love never ends; love never fails (1Cor. 13:4-7).”

जो मेरा अनुसरण करना चाहता है...

 जो मेरा अनुसरण करना चाहता है...

प्रभु येसु ने उनका अनुसरण करने वालों के लिए एक शर्त रखी है कि, “जो मेरा अनुसरण करना चाहता है, वह अपना क्रूस उठाकर मेरे पीछे हो ले.” सभी ख्रीस्तीयों ने अपने बपतिस्मा द्वारा प्रभु येसु के इस आह्वान को स्वीकार किया है. हमारी इस स्वीकृति के द्वारा हम उस अनंत पुरुस्कार के सहभागी बन जाते हैं जिसका वादा प्रभु येसु ने हमसे किया है, और वह वादा है स्वर्ग में हमारे लिए अनंत जीवन. इसके सम्बन्ध में संत योहन हमें याद दिलाते हैं कि “ईश्वर ने संसार को इतना प्यार किया कि उसने उसके लिए अपने एकलौते पुत्र को अर्पित कर दिया, जिससे जो उसमें विश्वास करता है, उसका सर्वनाश न हो बल्कि अनंत जीवन प्राप्त करे, (योहन 3:16).” और हमने अपने बपतिस्मा द्वारा ईश्वर के उसी एकलौते पुत्र में अपने विश्वास की घोषणा की है. प्रभु येसु में अपने बपतिस्मा द्वारा हमें नया जीवन मिला है. संत पौलुस हमसे कहते हैं कि बपतिस्मा द्वारा हमें नवजीवन मिला है और हमारा पुराना जीवन मसीह के साथ क्रूस पर चढ़ाया जा चुका है. (देखें रोमियों के नाम पत्र 6:4-14)

इस भूमिका को याद रखते हुए यदि हमें आधुनिक युग में प्रभु येसु के सच्चे अनुयायी बनना है तो कड़ी चुनौतियों का सामना करना पडेगा. आजकल चारों ओर ऐसी परिस्थितियाँ हैं जो हमारे लिए सच्चा ख्रीस्तीय जीवन जीने के लिए अनेकों बाधाएं उत्पन्न करती हैं. यदि हम चाहे टेलिविज़न चालू करें, या फिर कोई भी समाचार पत्र या पत्रिका उठाकर पढ़ें, हर तरफ ऐसी खबरें भरी पड़ीं हैं जो मानव जीवन की नैतिकता के पतन की ओर इंगित करती हैं. इतने सारे अपराध, उपभोक्तावादी सोच, नई-नई विचारधाराएँ जो आसानी से आनन्दमय जीवन का भरोसा दिलाती हैं, सुबह से लेकर शाम तक हमें ऐसी परिस्थितियों का सामना करना पड़ता है जो जाने-अनजाने में हमारे समक्ष प्रभु येसु का अनुसरण करने में बाधाएं पैदा कर देती हैं. हममें पवित्र आत्मा निवास है और ईश्वर का वही आत्मा हमारा ईश्वरीय जीवन जीने में उचित मार्गदर्शन करता है. लेकिन यदि बार-बार हम उसकी प्रेरणा को अनसुना कर देंगे तो धीरे-धीर हमारी अंतरात्मा पवित्र आत्मा की प्रेरणा के प्रति उदासीन हो जायेगी, और हम पाप के चंगुल में फंसते जायेंगे, और हमें इस बात का तनिक भी आभास नहीं होगा कि हम ईश्वर से कितनी दूर चले गए हैं.

कहा जाता है कि यदि एक मेंढक को उबलते पानी में डालो तो वह थोडा भी तापमान अधिक होने पर मर जाता है, लेकिन यदि उसे समान्य तापमान वाले पानी में डालो और धीरे-धीरे उस पानी को गरम करो तो वह बहुत देर तक उस गरम पानी को सह सकता है. हम जब पानी के अंदर होते हैं तो हमें उसका नुकसानदायक तापमान महसूस नहीं होता लेकिन अगर कोई बाहर से उसे छुए तो बता सकता है कि हम कितने ठन्डे या गरम पानी में हैं. उसी प्रकार जब हम अपने चारों ओर पापमय वातावरण पाते हैं तो हमें अपनी आध्यात्मिक हानि का आभास नहीं होता. लेकिन यदि कोई हमसे बेहतर आध्यात्मिक जीवन जीने वाला व्यक्ति है तो वह हमारी कमजोरी हमें बता सकता है.

कई बार हम अपने अंदर तथा अपने चारों ओर व्याप्त पाप को नहीं पहचान पाते. हम बहुत सारे छोटे-छोटे पापों को नज़रंदाज़ कर देते हैं. पूर्व संत पिता धन्य योहन पौलुस द्वितीय ने एक बार कहा था कि आज की पीढ़ी का सबसे बड़ा पाप खुद पाप को पहचानने में उदासीन होना ही है. इस दुनिया में ऐसा कौन व्यक्ति है जिसने पाप नहीं किया, हम सब पापी हैं. फिर हम इस बात के प्रति क्यों उदासीन हो जाते हैं? माता कलीसिया हमें चालीसा काल के रूप में ऐसा समय प्रदान करती है कि जब हम अपने जीवन की अंधी दौड़ में कुछ पल रुककर सोचें कि क्या मैं बपतिस्मा में मिले उसी नवजीवन को जी रहा हूँ या इस संसार का जीवन जी रहा हूँ? क्या मैं बपतिस्मा द्वारा प्रभु येसु के अनुसरण करने के निमंत्रण को भूल गया हूँ और अपना क्रूस रास्ते में ही छोड़ दिया है? ख्रीस्तीय जीवन चुनौती भरा जीवन है, क्रूस ढोने का जीवन है. चालीसा काल हमें अपने दयालु पिता की ओर वापस मुड़ने का निमंत्रण देता है. ईश्वर हम सबको ऎसी कृपा दे कि हम अपने स्वर्गीय पिता के दयालु प्रेम को पहचान कर अपने पापों से विमुख होकर सारे ह्रदय से उसकी ओर लौटें.

बी. जोंसन मरिया,

Merry Christmas

The True Message of Christmas

             (Also in Weekend Issue [25.12.2011] of Free Press, Indore)

            Christmas is the commemoration of the Birth of Christ that took place more than two thousand years ago. December 25 has been celebrated, as the birthday of Jesus Christ, and birthday, whose ever it may be, is always a matter of great joy, we start the preparations for Christmas around thirty days before the actual day. There is lot of decoration done, we clean and decorate our houses, send greeting cards to our near and dear ones, prepare a crib and off course, participate with full devotion in the liturgical celebrations. Often on Christmas day we invite our friends and relatives for a sumptuous meal to share our joy. This is what we normally perceive what the Christmas is, but is that all, the Christmas is about?

            Christmas is not just an event of celebration, something celebrated outwardly. It’s a great event not only in the life every Christian but in the history of salvation of whole humanity. It’s not only the commemoration of the birth of Jesus in a manger at Bethlehem, but it’s an event that marks coming down of God Himself to meet humanity, to live among best of His creation, the human beings, so that they give up their evil ways, turn to God and be saved. It is an event when God’s love towards humanity crossed all boundaries. The “Days of Advent” are given to us not just for decorating our houses, but also to decorate our hearts and prepare ourselves internally as well as spiritually. God’s decision to dwell among humanity is an invitation for all of us to turn towards God. God loved the world so much that He gave His only son (Jesus Christ) to save all human beings, and to teach us to love one another. Now it is our turn to do our part.

            Is there any religion that teaches that loving one another is sin and harmful hence should not be practiced? Has God ever asked a person to do something that is impossible for him/her? The only true message of Christmas is this: God loves us unconditionally, so much so that He sent His Son Jesus Christ, who died as an innocent victim on the cross for the sins of whole humanity. In return, God does not want from us anything extra-ordinary but only that, we should love Him and one another sincerely. Ultimately, God would want that the whole humanity, whom He has fashioned out of His Eternal love and creativity, live in peace and harmony. That’s why he came down as “Prince of Peace.”

            Today, the world is facing lots of challenges. Peace seems a rare commodity; peace within individuals, peace with the nature etc. There is lot of turmoil and disturbance in the world. People, instead of loving one another, are bent on to shedding the blood of one another in the name of caste and creed, for selfish motives. The other person has become just an object to satisfy one’s desires. Will the god of any religion want that this world should be flooded with one another’s blood? Will God, whom we call by whatever name want, that human beings should not love one another? The real Christmas or any festival for that matter will be meaningful only when we realize that God loves us unconditionally and so we also should love one another. So let’s try to understand the real meaning of Christ’s coming into this world (Christmas) that is, God being born not in a manger but in the hearts of whole humanity. Let us turn to God, love Him, and love one another.

                                                                        - B. Johnson Maria

50 years of NITSC

              The North India Theology Students’ Conference (NITSC) had originally a small beginning. In the early fifties, the three colleges namely Leonard Theological College (Jabalpur), Serampore College (Serampore) and Bishop’s college (Calcutta) joined together at annual conferences. They used to host the conferences in rotation. Five student representatives accompanied by staff guide from each college attended the conference held for three days. In a response to a suggestion from then acting principal of Bishop’s College, NITSC in 1967 invited St. Mary’s College, Kurseong (now Vidyajyoti College, Delhi) to be its member. With two students from St. Mary’s college, NITSC acquired an ecumenical flavor. Since then NITSC has been growing from strength to strength. Many theological colleges of different denominations, offering B.th of B.D. degrees or their equivalents have been enrolled as members of NITSC.

            It was during the 36^th NITSC (1997) in Leonard Theological College in Jabalpur, that the conference felt the need to develop its vision further. It was at this conference that the members decided on the apt motto of “UNITE SHARE TRANSFORM” and also selected the emblem for the same. At this conference its Constitution was also drafted adding a clearer sense of purpose and administration to the NITSC.

            The conference has continued through the years to be the occasion that facilitates ecumenical fellowship, worship and theologizing in order to develop deeper understanding and newer practical strategies for life and ministry of the Church today. This has been carried on through the process of presentation of seminar papers on topics and issues decided by the conference as necessitating study and reflection for the benefit of Christianity for the future. The annual conferences are organized by the President, General Secretary and staff advisor of the hosting college and it is conducted with the help of the committees drawn out from among the delegates of the various colleges represented.

God is always near...

There may be many times when you feel God is far from you... when God seems to desert you...

Don't worry... ask others... Perhaps He is close to them... they can bring Him closer to you.

The point is when you waver in faith... look at others faith... that will enhance your faith too...

God never forsakes us...

We may feel sometimes so...

But our feelings are not always indication to right path...

 

God is always near!!