Life 

Once in a group meet a boy catches a  fly and asks his companions whether it is alive or dead. A wise friend of his answered it depends on you- if I say it is alive you would kill it and if I said that it is dead you would set him free. Life is a beautiful gift that God has given to each one of us. How we use it depends on us. 

Deforestation

Forests are large areas where plants and trees grow naturally. These plants and trees provide food and shelter to numerous animals. Trees help in fertilizing the soil, control the wind and necessary for humans. Yet we humans are clear forests for our own selfish reasons. For eg. to obtain land for housing and agriculture, trees cut and used as wood etc. this cutting down of trees is called deforestation. Planting of trees is called afforestation. Deforestation and afforestation should go hand in hand to save the environment.

Friendship

Friendship is a relation that is common in our day to day lives. We value our friendship, interact with them, enjoy, make fun, and even quarrel and share our lives with them. Friendship is essential between individuals who have something in common .to the ancient philia, i.e. friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves. But modern people are so over familiar with friendship they seldom treat it as a human love. Though we claim that having friend is common and even important other hold that friendship is least natural and least necessary. We know that without Eros none of us would have been begotten and without affection none of us would have been reared , but we can live and breed without friendship.

Conference be Fr. Vice provincial

The vice provincial of the Mumbai province, Rev. Fr. Savio Silvera gave a conference on the encyclical ‘Laudato si’ on 23rd September 2015. The community of Divyadaan, the community from Capuchin ashram and the sisters of SHTC were present for this conference. Fr. Savio summarized the encyclical for us and also brought out current issues that we as Indians are facing. Through his conference we were called to be more caring towards our nature.   

Oratory football tournament

On 20^th September 2015, the communities on Divyadaan and STI organized an oratory football tournament for the boys of under 5 ft. from the poor areas. Due to rain there was confusion whether to have this tournament or not. Finally the decision was taken and the tournament went on smoothly. Jagtapwadi emerged as winners of this tournament.

War

War is a period of armed conflict between different nations and groups. It occurs but to various reason and differences in opinions among groups; corporation; jealousy and hatred. We live in a world filled with discord, dispersion, hatred, violence and war. Facing these painful situations can we hope for peace? It is a fact of history and of life that violence and war always seem to have be with us. When animals rather to maintain territorial and sexual status is understood, but when a human being kills another having consciousness and language is shameful. Peace on the other hand is freedom from war. There is calmness, understanding joy and love when there is peace.

Run jump play but do not sin.

Don Bosco wanted his each and every boy to be happy. With this slogan of his he emphasized on enjoying but not sinning. Many have this false notion that to enjoy and sin goes hand in hand. But enjoying requires a different attitude after all. Firstly we need to be in peace with ourselves and also have concern for out brothers and sisters in need.  

St. Francis de Sales

We as human beings in order to impress others put on a ‘mask’ and many a time forget who ourselves are. “Let us be what we are and be that well, in order to bring honor to the Master Craftsman whose handiwork we are.”  are the words of St. Francis de Sales who Don Bosco took as the patron on the Salesian society.

We are called to do the ordinary passionately well. This implies that whatever we do we must do it in the best way possible. Half-heartedness is a sign of laziness. Therefore we must strive to be the best. The world is filled with competition. Are we part of it? Yes as our spirituality we have to guide and assist youngsters and if we are not committed then we will not be doing justice to our vocation.

All in life is to be done through LOVE and nothing through force. We cannot be forced to love; it is something that happens naturally. Thus if we have love for our youngsters we will be able to do great wonders in their lives. As the quote goes “The measure of our love is to love without measure.” Our love for the youngsters needs to be so immense that they take our inspiration.

Don Bosco considered the earthly life as a road to holiness which leads to personal happiness. One finds joy and peace as long he doesn’t go astray. He travels on that way given by the church and his world includes GOD, Christ, Mary, the saints the Pope and his brothers in faith.

Salesian spirituality is a broad term. all what is written cannot summarize the whole of it but in a way does justice to the topic. As Salesian youngsters is our priority and God is our source of help. If we are open to the Grace of God we can do marvels in the lives of the youngsters for whom we are called.

Preventive system: based on reason, religion, tender love
Salesian education offers to society and to the Church good Christians as well as honest citizens.
This educational project is called "the preventive system", which attempts to prevent rather than to repress, and is based on the famous triad: reason, religion, affection.
These three words show that education is a task founded on sound reason, on the grace of Baptism, and above all, on the good, transparent heart of the educator.

Salesian Spirituality

Don Bosco through the inspiration of God centred his spirituality to youthful dynamism. Through this his intention was to seek souls and to serve God alone. His model was Christ who had gratitude towards the Father, predilection for the young, zeal in preaching and healing and above all the heart of a good shepherd. As we work for the young we experience the presence of God continuously. Everything we do is because of God’s love thus we become contemplative in action.

As Salesians we have four strong pillars to lean on and they are:

First pillar: devotion to Mary Help of Christians

For Don Bosco, Mary Help of Christians was an ever-present Mother who helped her children daily, rescuing and leading them to Jesus. "Be devoted to Mary Help of Christians", he would habitually say, "and you will see what miracles are!”

Don Bosco had a firm Marian devotion and he saw Mary as the powerful Helper who defends the Church and the Pope from every kind of danger. This is why in the Salesian tradition the daily recitation of the Rosary is not only an element of Marian devotion, but above all the contemplation of Jesus in the mysteries of his saving Incarnation.

Second pillar: devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist

The second pillar of Don Bosco's spirituality was devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist, which he saw as the heart of every Salesian house. He used to remind young people: "If you want many graces, pay many visits to Jesus in the Sacrament; if you want few graces, pay him few".

Don Bosco was a saint through by the Eucharist. He was so passionate about the Eucharist that he communicated his passion to the young people. He carefully prepared for communion with the Lord through the sacrament of Reconciliation. For Don Bosco, Confession and the Eucharist were the two sacraments that inculcated in young people the Christian virtues and holiness

Third pillar: educational system based on joy, hope

The third pillar of Don Bosco's spirituality was his educational system of joy and hope. Dominic Savio, who once said to Don Bosco: "I am the cloth, you are the tailor; make me into a beautiful garment for the Lord!” He had fully grasped the attention of his young companions when he suggested: "Let's make holiness consist in being very cheerful!”

Salesian holiness is the fruit of pedagogy of joy based on Christian hope in the eternal joy of paradise. Hope, which the Holy Father has insistently asked the European Churches to recover, was for Don Bosco the virtue that inspired him to undertake few of the adventures assignments, such as the construction of the Church of Our Lady Help of Christians in Turin and of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Rome, and the foundation of two religious congregations with barely a penny in his pocket, overcoming unspeakable trials. He placed full trust in the Lord's provident presence in the history of the Church and in his own life.

He often used to say that the saints, while taking the final judgment seriously, lived in supreme joy because they trusted in the goodness of a Father who has infinite good things in store for his faithful servants.

Fourth pillar: devotion to Church and Vicar of Christ

Don Bosco's fourth and last pillar is his devotion to the Church, to her Pastors and especially to the Holy Father. His love for the Pope was extraordinary and is an integral part of the Salesian formation and apostolate.

The Salesian mingles with Christians who speaks lovingly of the Church, almost as though she were to be their own mother. They are aware that they have received the life of the Holy Spirit in and through the Church. They may well know her limitations, her wrinkles and even her scandals, but attach little importance to them. Instead, they duly evaluate the advantages of her presence for each person and for humanity by the experience of God expressed by the holiness she offers as an example, the wisdom that comes from the Word of God, the love that unites and inspires solidarity beyond the boundaries of nations and continents, the sense of life she offers, the values she defends and the prospects of eternal life that she unfolds. The Salesian family loves and admires the Church of Jesus Christ.

Drugs in India

India too is caught in this circle of drug abuse, and the numbers of drug addicts are increasing day by day. According to a report as many as one million drug addicts are registered in India, and unofficially there are as many as five million.  Not only this, India is involved in producing drugs too. Drugs like Cannabis, heroin, and Indian-produced pharmaceutical drugs are the most frequently abused drugs in India. Cannabis products, often called charas, or ganja, are abused throughout the country because it has attained some amount of religious sanctity because of its association with some Hindu deities. The collapse of the old joint family system, absence of parental love and care in modern families where both parents are working, decline of old religious and moral values etc lead to a rise in the number of drug addicts who take drugs to escape hard realities of life. Drug use, misuse or abuse is also shows the personality of the individual and the addict's immediate environment. The processes of industrialization, urbanization and migration have led to loosening of the traditional methods of social control rendering an individual vulnerable to the stresses and strains of modern life.

DRUG ABUSE

More than 190 million people all over the world are involved in consuming drugs. Although it is illegal and has adverse effect on health a lot of people tend to fall in this trap. To know about this fact we need to know which categories of people are involved in consuming drugs. A large number of youth generally are involved. There are various reasons: - firstly there is peer pressure i.e. to be accepted in a group an individual needs to do what his/her peers are doing. Secondly many are frustrated, anxious, dejected and rejected. Hence to cope up with this they indulge in drugs. And there are few who try to do experiment on their lives. 

Development in humans

    

     Humans have grown in many areas yet no one is perfect. We see a lot of development has and is taking place in this world either because of their intellect, strength or wisdom. For many its natural to do something negative more fluently than something positive and that’s the reason for  lot of hatredness, selfishness, grumbling and other such vices that take place very often. 

Listen and hear

     There is a huge difference between hearing and listening. In hearing a person hears but is not totally involved in the conversation. It merely becomes an activity but in listening a person is interested and involved with the other person in what they are saying. The person speaking can realize whether one is hearing or listening. Thus we have to decide whether we want to hear or listen.

 CRY

     Child relief and you is a group which helps those children who are on street by giving them education, food, shelter and healthcare by contributing 7 Rs. every week. When I heard of this group I was really impressed by the amount of sacrifice they make in order to better the future of the poor children living on the streets. Their generosity really needs to be appreciated and many more followers can join this group which can help the group to reach out to many.

.Love of nature

     Pope Francis in his encyclical reminds us that our nature is beautiful. In recent years a lot of damages have been done towards to nature and if we continue in this way we and our future generations are the one’s who will be suffering. Technologies have increased. In one way it has improved the quality of living but on another side it has made man lonely with objects as their companion.

Consumerism

     Is buying things bad? If not what makes consumerism bad? As for me consumerism by itself is not bad. There is a difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’. Need is something that one is in need of like food and other accessories while want is to accumulate whatever one likes. Therefore want is something that makes consumerism bad. A person knows what s/he is in need of and should buy accordingly.

Status of Human

    

     ‘Every human is special and equal to every other human born on this planet. ’ Even if some humans claim to be superior than other’s, basing themselves on reasons like, rich-poor, black-white, strong-weak etc. still the fact remains that God created everyone equally. Adding to this God gave freedom to everyone. Now it is each ones personal responsibility how s/he wants to respond to this freedom.  

Visit of Fr. Ivo

    

     The councilor of formation Fr. Ivo Coelho came to Divyadaan on 3^rd of August 2015. He once was a member of this community. As a councilor of formation he met all the batches as well as the community as a whole and gave good insights. The provincials of   Mumbai and Konkan joined him later in that week for the oratorium. The community was   grateful for their visit.  

The musical play

     On 1^st and 2^nd of august 2015 we the community of Divyadaan had put up a musical play entitled ‘The Promised land’. Our journey for this venture began on 24^th of June when we first met to discuss about this play. From then on a lot of effort was put by everyone to make this play a successful one. While putting up this play we were constantly reminded that we are reliving the exodus experience. At the end we were all satisfied for putting up a good show and for touching the lives of many people through our play.

Don Bosco's Bicentenary digital quiz

  Don Bosco's Bicentenary digital quiz

On the historical and joyful occasion of the Bicentenary year of the Birth of St. Don Bosco (1815-2015), Navajeevan Bala Bhavan, Vijayawada organized an informative and a mind blowing 'Don Bosco Digital Quiz Competition' for the school going children below 10th class on 8th November 2014. 90 students from 30 schools participated in this quiz with full gusto and vigor. The live quiz, which was screened in two different languages simultaneously, grabbed the attention of the participants and the audience. 

ST. JOSEPH, THE EVERYDAY SAINT

ST. JOSEPH, THE EVERYDAY SAINT

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God. But for some thirty years that word was with Joseph. For to him was entrusted the task of being a protector, a Custodian and a Guardian of the Holiest of families that ever lived. That is the reason, he is someone we can turn to in all our domestic sorrows and joys. The Catholic Church knows that the carpenter of Nazareth can handle a lot of problems and has placed him as the patron of the universal church. He will never let a family down. We need to pray for his intercessions.

 “THE DREAMER” HELPS PARENTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT DON BOSCO

Don Bosco School, Panjim, staged a musical “The Dreamer” in an attempt to make the legend of Don Bosco better known to the students and parents. It was a united effort of the staff and the students that made the school concert a success “The play was staged to commemorate the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco who gave his talents and energy to help poor boys in his time.” said the Rector Fr. Savio Gomes. He further lauded the school management, teacher, students and parents for making “The Dreamer a success.”

HAS THE “FRANCIS EFFECT” GRIPPED YOU?

  Pope Francis recalled a popular proverb which says the best legacy for every person is to teach a child, plant a tree and write a book.. What legacy will we leave behind, the Pope asked? Have we brought life, wisdom, and planted a tree? Have we done so much good that people want us as a father or a Mother? Our legacy, he said, is the Christian witness we give to others, just as the saints boldly lived out the Gospel and have left us a path to follow in our own lives.

Gospel of today (12^th July)

     In today’s Gospel Jesus sends his disciples two by two with the following instructions: - take only a staff, no bread, no, haversack, no coppers. They had to proclaim repentance, cast out demons and cure the sick. As religious we too have the responsibility of proclaiming the Jesus through our actions. How sincere are we in doing this?

FR. JOHN BOSCO WRITES

WE DO NOT GO TO HEAVEN BY CARRIAGE

I must say that I am very happy with all of you, for the trouble you take to perform any kind of task, leaving nothing undone to further the greater glory of God in our communities and among those boys whom Divine Providence daily entrusts to our care, that we may lead them on the path of virtue and honor straight to heaven. Someone might say that the observance of our rules demands sacrifice! True, the observance of the rules is hard for one who does not keep them wholeheartedly, who is negligent. But for those who are persevering, who love the salvation of their souls, this observance becomes   a sweet yoke and a light burden. As our Savior says “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt.11.30)

The quote that I like

"The sun that gives sight to the eagle blinds the owl". This means everyone in this world is different. For one playing games would be fun but for other it may be boring. In the same way many people have likes for a thing that others may not like. This may lead to confusion and misunderstanding among people. The very realization that all are different will help us look at the world in a better way.

Don Bosco a true role model
     Don Bosco the father and founder of the Salesian society dedicated his whole life in the service of youth. His enthusiasm and hard work in whatever he did is realy appreciatetable. Till to date he continues to inspire many young people to follow his charism. Many youngters are indeed greatful to God for the gift of Don Bosco in this world and in their lives. For Don Bosco too, life was not easy but a bed of roses mixed with flowers and thorns. What inspires me is that even in his thoughest times he did not give up.   

Gospel Reflection

In today's Gospel we see the faith of the women who was suffering from hemorrhage. "If I only touch His clock I shall be clean", and indeed she was. Jesus wants us to have such faith in Him. Jesus then brings a dead girl back to life. Jairus had only come for help, but wen the news came that her daughter had died it seemed that he had given up. But Jesus is the one who said that he still wanted to come and see. In our lives too Jesus is the one who takes the first step. It depends whether we allow Him or not.

"Anger or Happiness"

"Make your anger so expensive that no one can buy it and make your happiness so cheap that every one can afford it for free". This quote will be of much worth only if people would begin to follow it. The message is clear, to avoid being angry and to be happy and cheerful always and not only this but also to share our happiness with others.