SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

The Journey of Faith

During my first apostolic work as a deacon, I was sent to a parish in the West Khasi Hills. This parish was located in the hinterland and I was informed that there was no power supply and mobile telecommunication service (network) there. I was used to regular power supply and I imagined how I could neither charge my mobile phone nor have access to the internet for few months. Worst still, then, I was not used to spending a long period of time outside my home or formation house. I wondered how comfortable I would be in a strange environment especially among people of a different culture and dialect. Within the apostolate, I discovered that the grace of God was always at my disposal and it enabled me enjoy the circumstances under which I worked. Perhaps, you may have had a similar experience leaving your home for a strange land either as a result of marriage or educational pursuit or in search of greener pasture. We know there are always lots of anxieties involved in leaving a familiar place for an unfamiliar place.

In the first reading (Gen. 12:1-4), Abram may have experienced such anxieties when he was called by God to abandon his fatherland, kinsmen, patrimony and the homeliness of his environment for an unknown destination and mission. He quickly abandoned those things and followed the voice of God for a journey to an unknown land. In that unknown land he would begin a new way of life. In his decision to obey the voice of God even when he did not understand the will of God, we see a manifestation of his unwavering faith in God. This story of Abram represents our journey of faith; a journey from the known to the unknown. The journey of faith is a conscious effort to grow in holiness so as to be deeply united with God. This journey is not a human initiative. God alone initiates this journey and like Abram, He is calling us to abandon our comfort zones and those things we are attached to, to embrace a new way of living. He wants us to detach from inferior realities that we may be attached to superior realities.

Within this period of lent, the voice of God still re-echoes in the voice of the Church inviting us to undertake the journey of faith. This journey of faith involves abandoning our sinful and old ways of life for a new beginning. It includes giving up some of those things that are precious to us that we may be more devoted to the things of God. The journey of faith is a journey towards a life of virtue, prayer, penance and charity. It is a journey towards perfection and it embraces sacrifices and suffering. It is a journey in which we have to let go of certain things. As Abram let go of his landed property and patrimony, we also have to let go of our pride, selfishness, arrogance, debauchery and other sinful actions. As we let go of these things, God prepares a better place for us. Faith in God demands our separation from sin and occasions of sin. This period of lent is a very good opportunity to effect this separation from sin. A life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving will avail us of the necessary graces to make a sincere separation from sin.

Unlike Abraham who undertook the journey of faith ignorant of the destination, we Christians are also not ignorant of our destination. Ours is a journey towards glory. The Gospel reading (Mt. 17:1-9) confirms this in the story of the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus. We may recall that before the transfiguration, Jesus had told his disciples the necessity of undertaking a journey of faith which will culminate in his suffering and death. They saw his death as the death of hope and Peter confronted him. But Jesus rebuked him and after some days took him together with James and John to the mountain where he was transfigured. His transfiguration thus became a foretaste of what we shall experience when we arrive at the end of our journey of faith in heaven. This story is meant to keep us focused on our journey of faith. Since we have an idea of what awaits us at the end of the journey, we can then be more focused on our journey with the hope that at the end, we shall also be like him who was transfigured on the mount.

Beloved brethren, though there may be lots of temptations and distractions on this journey, let us try to be focused. The transfiguration narrative enlightens our vision, strengthens our courage, solidifies our faith and increases our hope. With hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel, St Paul in the second reading (2 Timothy 1:8-10) also advices us to accept in good faith the hardship that the gospel entails. Our journey of faith would expose us to several difficulties but the joy is that Jesus has won for us an everlasting life we shall inherit at the end of our journey. Therefore, through the Good News we have shared together, may God grant us the grace to remain focused on our journey especially within this Lenten season. Happy Sunday. God loves you.

Should we celebrate IWD every year?

March 8 has been celebrated as International Women’s Day since 1975, when the United Nations designated it as such in order to honor “women’s advancement” and to ensure that the “equality” that they had worked so hard for and achieved would be maintained in all aspects of life. Advancing equal rights meant that young girls could avoid child marriages and enjoy equal access to education, women could plan their families, and pregnant women would not be in danger of losing their jobs.

It is believed that the labor strikes waged by female textile workers in 1857 and 1908 to protest poor working conditions in New York City started the movement, followed in 1909 by 30,000 shirtwaist workers who stopped work for 13 weeks for better pay and working conditions. The arrested strikers were provided bail money by the World Trade Union League.

On Feb. 28, 1910, the 2nd International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. Clara Zetkins (a woman leader of the German Socialist Democratic Party) suggested that a particular day each year be designated to press for demands. Her suggestion was approved by 100 women from 17 countries. 

March 19, 1911, was named International Women’s Day (IWD); it was marked for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The date (March 19) was chosen because on March 19,1848, the Prussian king promised many reforms, like the right to vote. A million men and women attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s right to work, vote, and be trained for public office, and an end to discrimination. The Russian revolutionary and feminist Alexandra Kollontai helped organize the meeting in Germany in small towns and villages with 30,000 street cleaners.

On March 25, 1911, the “Triangle Fire” in New York claimed the lives of 140 working women, mostly Italian and Jewish immigrants, and drew attention to the dire working conditions and lack of labor legislation in the United States. Subsequent IWD events focused on addressing these problems.

In 1913 on the eve of World War I , a campaign for peace was made. Russian women observed the first IWD on the last Friday of February in that year. IWD was moved to March 8,1914, and was marked by rallies to end the war and to express women’s solidarity. On the last Sunday of February 1917, Russian women went on strike for bread and peace in response to the death of 1 million Russian soldiers in the war. After four days, the czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional government granted women the right to vote. The women’s strike was on Feb. 28 in the Julian calendar in Russia, but on March 8 in the Gregorian calendar!

In the year 2000, IWD became an official holiday in 26 countries; in three countries—China, Madagascar, and Nepal—the official holiday was for women only. There are now more women in the boardroom, role models in all aspects of life, female astronauts, prime ministers, presidents. Women now have real choices. In this millennium, there have been significant changes and shifts in attitude in society and in women themselves about women’s equality and emancipation.

According to the WEF founder, “to develop the gender dimension is not just a question of equality, it is the entry card to succeed and prosper.” (Inquirer, 10/29,12)

Younger women nowadays feel that all the battles have been won for women. Is this the truth? The World Bank Report 2012, “Toward Gender Equality in East Asia and the Pacific,” shows that there is still gender inequality. Women in general receive lower wages than men, and they work in smaller firms, in informal sectors, and in lower-paid occupations. Only about 30 percent of medium-sized enterprises are managed by women; only 20 percent of large enterprises have female managers.

Should we celebrate IWD every year? Definitely, yes! An annual celebration reminds all of us that there is still a lot to do to achieve women’s equity, emancipation and empowerment. We will only rest when the “quality of life and liberty [becomes] similar for human beings irrespective of [their] sex identity” (Shoma Chatterjee 1988).

                                                                      By Corazon Yabes Almirante, MD, MSc, PhD

WHOSE MEGHALAYA IS IT ANYWAY?

After returning from a foreign country I have observed that Meghalaya is ‘a society that has lost its conscience’. Critics may disagree with me but to support my observation let me cite few examples. Conscience as the dictionary defines it is ‘a person’s moral sense of right and wrong which acts as a guide to one’s behaviour.’ Further, if taken from the Christian perspective of conscience, ‘It’s a voice calling people to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil.’ For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths (CCC1776). Based on these two definitions quoted above let me put forward a few points for discussion and appropriate action.

Conscience for Cleanliness: In the past few months, I visited about ten to fifteen tourist spots in Meghalaya particularly in the Khasi-Jaintia region. To my utter disgust, the places are filthy and with no maintenance whatsoever. Plastics and wrappers, bottles, cigar butts, orange peels are strewn all over the place. In some places there are dustbins but no one cares to use them. We might say that’s not the Meghalayan but the tourists who dirty the place. True, but if the places are kept clean and tourist guides do their jobs sincerely this could be solved. Forget the tourist spots for a moment, look at our roads, streets, footpaths and lanes. The tourists don’t come there, but our roads, streets, footpaths and lanes are no different from a garbage dump. We clean our homes and throw the dirt in the streets, rivers etc.. This shows that we have lost our conscience for cleanliness. The worse scenario I observed a day or two ago was a mother telling her daughter to throw the rubbish collected from their home into the street that leads to my home. What conscience formation will take place in her children, your children or our children? So, whose Meghalaya are we living in?

Conscience for one’s duty: Probably the only state in the country that preaches Christianity but practices just the opposite is Meghalaya. God’s Word ‘if anyone will not work, neither let him eat’ (2 Thess 3:10) has become outdated for our Christians here. We have lost our sense of duty. Our Christian politicians, our Christian leaders, Church workers, and the different Christian NGOs are the last to put that part of ‘God’s Word’ into practice. Let us take few examples. Why do the majority of government employees not do their duty? You doubt me? Install CCTV cameras in all their work places and review them. Ministers, politicians and underlings in the bureaucracy work the least – they have lost the sense of duty and obligation as leaders. Priests and pastors too put some other interests before their duties.

The way from Mawsynram to Nonghyllam is a hell of a journey. But what caught my attention were two youth literally using their knives and stones to cut and damage the pipelines along the road that brings water to the villages around there. I stopped and asked them not to do it, but from the look on their faces I got the message – ‘don’t mess with us, mind your business.’ Such incidents are galore; you can’t deny not seeing them. Our youth and children in the future will be no different from the elders now. The sense of duty is dead in Meghalaya.

Conscience for morality: In one of my facebook posts I made observations about the way people dress and behave in society. My mentor literally told me to remove it. That’s true, I should not poke my nose at other peoples’ affairs but what has become of Meghalaya today? Rape cases are reported daily in our local newspapers. A close friend of mine who is in the AIDS control society told me that the rate of HIV in Meghalaya has risen and we are moving to a new class or category in HIV related scale (for more information contact NACO). Morality in the way we dress, eat and drink, lifestyle, gestures and language is quickly dying. The dignity of morality is buried under the cloak of, ‘Its my life, I live the way I want.’ Conscience for morality is dying and as long as we fail to differentiate the real from the reel brought about by media it will continue to die. No doubt we are good at imitating Phareng (Foreign) cultures – but our culture, which is so rich in morality, dignity and respect for all is foreign (Phareng) to ourselves. It is a sorry state of affairs. Parents are hurt if someone corrects their children for speaking bad words, so what morality is left to teach?

How many of you have gone to the JN Stadium to witness the SAG games or the football matches played there? If not, you are saved from the assault on your ears by the vulgar words uttered by spectators against referees or players. In another disgusting scene I saw young boys in a drunken state, shouting vulgar slogans in Khasi while spitting kwai (betel nut) all over the stadium. Woe to you if you dare say anything to these youngsters.

Conscience for intelligence: The literacy rate of Meghalaya is quite high at 72. 89% (2011 census). This means people in Meghalaya are very intelligent, wise and knowledge-filled. But then why is such knowledge, wisdom and intelligence not manifest in our day to day life. Why do we allow the other 27.11% to ruin Meghalaya? Let me give you few concrete examples. Wise people will definitely want development, then why do some of us oppose the railways? Why are things complicated for completion of the airport? Why do we hinder people from starting shopping malls or multiplexes. The list goes on. The forests are destroyed, the mining of coal is illicitly carried out, the rivers have dried up. The main rivers are filled with rubbish thrown from our houses. Why is the 72.89% being ruled over by the 27.11%?

The intelligence of any person is judged by his/her contribution for the good of society. These can be in the form of writing books, articles, inventing something, but always contributing towards the larger good. I see very little of these in Meghalaya. On the contrary I see people who take advantage of other people’s rights and dignity, and rob others of their existence. Then can we call ourselves wise and intelligent? No way! Ask a child, a youth or an adult how many books they read in a year except the textbooks prescribed in schools. The answer will shock you. The reading habit is dead in Meghalaya. If you don’t read then part of your brain becomes dead. If we don’t read, we can’t think and write. That’s the reason very few Khasi/Garo articles appear in our own newspapers and magazines. Parents are culpable for this – they prefer to buy toys or PC games or Xbox as gifts for their kids rather than some good books. Our conscience for intelligence is dying.

Conscience for corruption: Once upon a time, corruption was considered taboo in our society. We heard of our parents exhorting and practicing sincerity and honesty. They were the hallmarks of our society. Hence a corrupt person, a corrupt leader or member would be punished because through corruption that person brings the wrath of god on that society or family. I still hold firm to this truth. If Meghalaya with all its beauty is still one of the backward states in India it is due to the wrath of corruption at all levels. Beginning with our leaders who literally sit on thrones, the bureaucrats, the leaders, the Sengbha(pynsniew)lang down to the boy selling kwai in the roadside shop are guilty of corruption. Our conscience for the ugliness of corruption is dead and it will take time to resurrect in our state.

Conscience for time: Another dead conscience found in Meghalaya is the conscience of time. A friend of mine told me once; ‘we in Meghalaya have emulated all foreign (phareng) cultures except punctuality. I totally agree with her. We eat like Phareng, we dress like Phareng, we talk like Phareng, everything except respecting the dignity of TIME. In case some are not convinced they should check the different offices and work places. Time is money it is said. If so then Meghalaya will remain poor till its citizen’s conscience are awaken to respect the dignity of Time.

We can go on and on, and the list will be long. But what difference will it make when most of us do not even have time to read, think, reflect and act on what we have done and needs to be done. Many of us ask too much from the state but do nothing to contribute for the good of the state, the society or even our small locality. So, whose Meghalaya is it anyway?