Bp Thomas Dabre, Pune

No human being is perfect! We are all sinners as the Pope continually reminds us. In the Latin liturgy, the Holy Mass begins with “I confess to Almighty God.” It is an affirmation that I have my failures, which should not come as a surprise. We should not also ignore them. At the same time, we must have the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. We must give people a chance to change themselves and undergo renewal. This is the Christian approach.

I would say some amount of worldliness, corruption and the market is entering even into the religious life. We are living in the world, and that is why Jesus said, be in the world but not of the world. ‘Lead us not into temptation’ is a prayer our Lord has taught us. There are temptations in the world because of the market ideology, consumerism and sensate tourism.

But, sadly, something regrettable is happening to our asceticism as well as to our prayer life. Some way, asceticism is disappearing and prayer is receding from the clergy and the religious. We need more visible manifestations of commitment to prayer, contemplation and asceticism. There are a lot of retreat centres, conventions, and Charismatic movements that work well. But sometimes these are all just conducted programmes. It is the individuals who attend the programmes who matter. There must be a personal follow up, otherwise they just attend the retreat and get satisfied with that. They practise acts of prayer and acts of worship, but those cannot replace authentic holiness and sanctification, which should happen within their interiority. More than external aids, they need help for internal renewal.

In the Church as well as in the clergy and religious, a lot of importance is given to structures and ways of conducting schools, institutions, but they very often leave us feeling emptiness in the depths of our interiority. Education, health, social work and social reform activities are all integral to the mission of the Church. We have to carry out these activities. But all these should not be a burden on the individual. Individual’s concern is to be integrated with his or her personal spirituality, holiness, commitment, trusting in the Lord and watching over our priestly and religious spirit. That balance is not often maintained. So the people who are overburdened with work in our institutions are in the danger of their inner spirit drooping up, rendering their inside barren.

Just reading and reciting the bible will not suffice. We should assimilate, appropriate and personalise what we read and what we hear. Since it is not something created with the help of a computer, the bible is integral and it works in the soul and broadens our mind. The bible is continuously speaking about holiness. Desires, corruption and worldliness enter the most sacred of places, including enclosed retreat centres and strictly guarded holy places. God had placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was the holiest place, but the shrewd devil cheated the first human beings. From the fall, one can rise and regain what was lost. When one relies on oneself, in that self-satisfaction the devil works. He makes you remain spiritually idle and prompts you to think: Nothing will happen to me, I am fine and free.

I do not want to enter into cases and instances, but to all I appeal to be patient and try to understand situations and individuals. Understanding implies forgiveness. Our way in the Church is of confession. We are a people who repeatedly beat our breasts with guilt and ask Our Lord for forgiveness. I quote from St Augustine’s Confession: “Lord, Thou knowest. Have I not confessed against myself my transgressions unto Thee, and Thou, my God, hast forgiven the iniquity of my heart? I contend not in judgment with Thee, who art the truth; I fear to deceive myself; lest mine iniquity lie unto itself.”

Abp Albert D’Souza, Agra