Touch of love

Touch of love

My little flower, dancing in the breeze

My sweetheart reflecting the Divine radiance

Life brought me closer to your loving presence

Let me be here with you for a while

I become helpless and cannot go forward

My eyes fixed on you, my being becomes one with you

Your smile releases me from the hard reality of life

You are born to dispel darkness from my soul

I love you as you are a beautiful being

You are rooted to the earth like a mother to the child

I fall into deep meditation in your presence

Songs of adoration and praises fill my heart

My heart longs for being with you till the end

Strong temptations to make you my own

Keeping you close to my heart I want to live

Still, be there my dear to touch many other hearts.

Joseph Shibin SJ

Daivathine Swantham Cletus - Malayalam Film Review

Daivathinte swantham Cletus

     What good can come out of Malayalam film industry?  What more can be expected from a person called megastar Mammooty? I started with these presuppositions.   But now I feel that Malayalam film industry still has a great future and Mammooty can contribute a lot still. Even in this era of the new generation currents, megastar is able to swim against the current and to make his mark.

     The skill of the actor is well manifested in the movie titled  ‘Daivathinte Swantham Cletus.’ It is not an attempt to make fun of the Christian tradition but to raise a few questions about understanding Jesus Christ in a new century. This is a different reading of the gospel. Many are aspiring to be Jesus but the selected one is a sinner, a sinner to the core. He rejects the offer in the beginning but ultimately he has to respond the the call. Of course, the call to be a another Jesus in this ever changing world is a challenge for us. We need to forget ourselves and to adopt a new system of values. Though the man is a sinner grace is still resisting to fade away from his face.

    Incompatibility between Jesus Christ and Cletus is becoming clear as we go ahead. The actor faces severe inner struggle to be a Jesus. It becomes difficult for him to meditate on Jesus and to be faithful to him. He has all the temptations to go back and to dwell in the darkness of the soul. But the ways of Divine are great. Cletus is the chosen one.  Cletus represents a believer in this century proclaiming the faith and meantime facing a difficult situation in being faithful to his set of beliefs. Many of the parables are interpreted in a different and new dimension. To be a Christ means to be one with the suffering, the oppressed and to remain where there is a greater need. 

     The darkness of the world cannot hide the light of being. This is the key insight given by the film, I think. As the film progresses, Cletus is identifying himself with his role as Christ which gives him a new turn in life.  The suffering at the cross makes Cletus a new man and he accepts his sinfulness. He receives the wounds as a punishment for all the evil he had done. Here a Judas appears with bowl of red wine for the master. Cletus is not really a sinner to the core. We can trace some element of goodness in him. Cletus was called from the depth of sinfulness and made new. The Son has come to redeem the lost.When others observe world with lust Cletus observes the drowning innocents and the tortured by the society.

       Lakshmi is a great influencing character of the film. She is not like the passive women in the contemporary society and films. She is a powerful character with moral integrity, determination and courage. The society tried to view her as another Mary Magdalene, a prostitute. A Still she changed the perspective of the society by becoming a good mother to her son and in responding courageously when she was torn apart by the destiny.

Cletus is God’s own with a compassionate heart..

Joseph Shibin

Darkness of soul

Lonely

In the midst of a crowd

Doors locked … safe

No one to disturb

Staying in between sacred places

Songs of adoration and praises

Dry leaves all around

Resisting to fly in the rhythm of breeze

Do not waste your time knocking

The door will not be opened

If the door is open

Light may enter and disturb my life

This loneliness is infinite

No drop of hope

The darkness of the world

Has reached even the light of being

Master of Beauty

I bow my head before you every moment,

The underlying principle of this cosmos.

I sing this song of adoration with amazement,

When I find you everywhere around me.

Oh! The master of beauty and celestial artist,

Great is your creative imagination.

I enjoy the beauty as an atomist,

Still mysterious is your creation.

Beauty is not mere combination of matter,

You created us with your loving touch.

The whole creation reflects your grandeur,

Matter craves for your gentle touch.

Oh! Master of beauty, ever active,

Present even in a blade of grass.

Teach me the lessons to be creative,

Even in the painful moments of darkness.

Open my eyes to see you everywhere,

And to discover you even in ugliness.

Impart thy loving touch to artists everywhere,

That they reveal beauty with gentleness.

Joseph Shibin SJ

Another Christ

Another Christ

Every moment is an invitation for me to be

Another Christ… in my life.

It appears to be very simple,

Yet I tried to be and still I am myself.

It is to open myself to others,

Accept them without any  judgment.

It is judging others,

I am judging myself.

He went about doing good,

To all people, rich and poor, healthy and the sick.

The cosmos was his dwelling place

And all around him was his brothers and sisters.

He asks me in my prayerful moments

 To go and do the same.

Still I cannot do what you want from me.

I am worried about myself.

I am asked to be a neighbor

To all the people and to the nature.

How can I be a neighbor?

When I spend all my time in the virtual world.

Now I pray that I may be challenged by you,

In each and every moment of my life.

That I may less become myself

And more become You, my Lord.

Josephs SJ

St. Ignatius in an ever changing world

The world where we live and preach the gospel is an ever changing world. Tastes and perspectives of the people are constantly changing.

The 21^st century is a period of revolution in the field of science, technology and communication. The developments in technology make our lives comfortable, our communications faster and learning and sharing better. People stay connected as a single family with social networking sites. With all of the technology advancing, we are declining as a civilization. we can no longer think for ourselves, but instead are a slave to our screens. Social media is making the population addicted to knowing about one another, while distracting themselves from the major issues that plague us.

Ignatian spirituality becomes relevant and practical in this given context of our lives. Ignatian insights are helpful for the humanity to establish a right relationship with the self, others, nature and God.

1.  A right relationship with the self – as the life becomes faster to meet so many deadlines it becomes so mechanical that the people are not able to be in touch with the self. As a result they are anxious about many things. The nature of Ignatian spirituality is such that it is helpful to each particular person in his or her own circumstances.

2.  A right relationship with others – The love and companionship of St. Ignatius was beyond national, ethnic and linguistic boundaries. A strong bond of companionship existed among the first companions. The concept of union of hearts and minds is relevant in the context of this century.

3.  A right relationship with nature – For st. Ignatius the nature was not an illusion. The mediations on nature led ignaius to a number of mystical experiences. Ignatius was able to experience the dynamic present of the divine in nature. According to the Jesuit poet Hopkins, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God”. These Ignatian insights will take the humanity to an attitude of respect towards nature.

4.  A right relationship with God – Ignatius says in the principle and foundation about the purpose of life, it is  to praise reverence and serve God our lord. The other things on the face of the earth are created for the human beings, to help them in the pursuit of the end for which they are created.”

The insight of indifference to the other things on earth will be helpful for us to direct our lives in the context of the ever changing world of technology and consumerism. We need to use the technology and the resources to the extent that they help us to reach God experience.

Therefore we need to be up-to-date and be aware of the language and jargons of the century of technology to reach out to the people. Jesuits are called mystics in market place. According to Jerome Nadal, “For us Jesuits, Contemplation is compassion.”

Now let us pray on this occasion that we may have the vision of St. Ignatius with a new mission that is relevant and practical in this 21st century.

Joseph Shibin SJ

DNC

Hi bye

Hi bye

He stood up and greeted me, Hi!

Moments of silence.

When I was about to leave.

He uttered, Bye.

Joseph Shibin

DNC