Unseen Gifts in Life

 The gift of God is a sheer “loop of grace”, which S/he offers, the gift of being with.  Clinging to that gift, makes to lose it. We have received so as a gift, therefore we are asked to give in the same measure, in order to have them multiplied. Giving away that which one is receiving.

 We are destined for God who is love. The earthly human hunger for what will satisfy - wealth, pleasure, power, honour, domination— will only make us feel empty all the more.

 What you receive as gift, you should give as gift. As one Priest Psychologist writes about the most precious gifts:

 “Some of life’s most precious gifts are the things you cannot see.

The values that fulfil your life are things you cannot speak.

The realities that sustain your being are not the things you have but things you hope for.

With something to believe in and someone you can love there is nothing you cannot hope and dare.”                                                                                                                               (Fr. Peter Lourdes SDB)

 The gift that we love and cherish most, is what moves our heart, and what moves our heart to give away those gifts, is what moves our lives to a greater height.

 Gift is meant to be better, and makes it so, someone. The only true gift to another is love. It is shared so that we together be God-like (Mt. 5:48).  Shared-gift with those who cry, those that are hungry and have thirst of justice, and those persecuted unjustly (e.g. Ukranians in war attacked by Russia) makes one to live further with open arms, ready to embrace. It helps one to accept oneself and the other as one is, with all the limits because the gift is one of self-offering out of love for each other.

 Life itself is a gift of God to us and our life goal is our gift to God and others. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (James 1:17). The best gifts aren’t always the most expensive (although they can be!), but they are usually the most thoughtful: something made by a loved one, or something that reminds you of a special friend or occasion. The worst gifts are strange or inappropriate. They’re usually things from people who don’t know you very well, or things that haven’t had much thought put into them (or, at least, very odd thoughts!).

 A gift is something given freely. It shows appreciation and love of the giver. It brings immense joy when given freely. We all have received multiple gifts from God, but the greatest gift of God to us is our own life. Christ’s sacrificial love for all is the lesson we learn in gifting the self in its wholeness, to others. Gift is a sign of love, always a part of oneself. What do we do with the gift? We appreciate the gift of life by living it fully and joyfully. Shared gifts give meaning to life. As a purposeful  life has a goal, and objective to achieve something, its status is fulfilled through mutual development of one's potentialities (physical-intellectual-spiritual), e.g. Mahatma Gandhi   gave up his career for the freedom  of  his  country; Martin Luther King  fought  to  abolish discrimination against the blacks in America; Nelson  Mandela locked  up  in  jail   for  his efforts to bring about equality in South Africa. They worked for others.  That’s the way it should be: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others” (1 Peter 4:10).

 The hidden gifts are to be used for God, because God endowed you with that talent. However simple the unseen gifts be, they are meant to be used for others. True, that the measure of the unseen gifts are unique to each individual. God expects us to profit with those individual gifts. We are stewards of His gifts and need to be accountable for them. God as an investor, has entrusted us with those gifts, with an expectation of a return. The world needs us with those gifts, however unseen. We are all members of the universal cosmic consciousness (God) and we need each other. The gifts with their complementary nature serve to benefit mankind collectively. Someone needs what the other is gifted with. This becomes a rewarding experience, garnering happiness and fulfilment. An eternal joy awaits all those who choose to use their unseen gifts for God.

 No one is irreplaceable before God. It is therefore, a duty to utilize the gifts to fulfil God’s will. Besides, no gift is insignificant before God. God reckons with what He gives us. We, with the hidden gifts, are beautiful in God’s hands.

 The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23). We find contentment in God when we feel so hidden in life with such God’s gifts that are often unseen.

The truth is that we begin to find out and discover the love of God manifested in those God-given gifts, while exploring the spiritual richness of being hidden in Christ. We all long to be seen and heard. Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed and unappreciated.

God intended so. Only God knows us, and understands the value of the unseen gifts in our lives. When we are hidden in God, we give ourselves to others in freedom, and get into deeper relationship with God. Given all of ourselves to God, can we live out the way God created us to be. God is in the secret places of our lives that no one else witnesses. And it is in realizing myself through a goal, and giving myself in service, contributing to human progress, in relation to the society and nation, to make this world a better place to live in that I can make my life truly meaningful.  It costs to serve, to be sharers of all that we have. Am I ready for it: take up the challenge to participate fully with all the unseen gifts of life?

 

 

Post-Pandemic Pilgrim Families at Bandel Shrine

 Joseph and Mary found the Christ-child in the Temple and learned more deeply that He must be about His Father’s work. Hundreds of families irrespective of creed, caste and colour, have started visiting the Bandel Basilica, a Shrine of Our Lady of Happy Voyage and a Church dedicated to the Queen of the Holy Rosary, during the last month, to pray that their families experience a similar rediscovery of our Lord in the Temple, and of their call to pilgrimage.

 Devout faithful are flocking the Church since a month, much after the third phase of the Covid-19 pandemic ended, with the observance of a minimum lockdown protocol.  Some families have waited for too long now to wait to come here annually to pray to God through the intercession of Mary. On the first Sunday of Lent, many families visited this shrine, though they missed the solemn procession and the celebration of the Way of the Cross (held stayed for 3 years due to Covid-19), with the memorable event of Jesus meeting his Mother while carrying the Cross to Calvary – an emotional meeting of the devotees with the suffering Son, Jesus. This ritualistic practice has many personal and family-related expectations tied to it, which they believe to be realized by the grace of Jesus through Mary.  This Annual observance of the Meeting of Jesus with his Mother at the Station of the Cross, started many years ago is a moment of special grace for many. The atmosphere with such ritual practices popularize the people’s ‘pilgrimage’ to Bandel. Many such trips were made by the devoted families in the subsequent years with lots of faith and devotion.

 Besides, many devotees believe that the miraculous statue of OLB at this sacred location motivates them to come to this religious shrine to honour her. The pilgrimage by all sort of people is more than a devotional moment. People from all walks of life reach here amidst hot and humid weather to show their gratitude and feel one with the rest of the pilgrims. People journey long and reach the Shrine to celebrate their faith through the participation in the liturgical celebrations.  They bring along their relatives and acquaintances, and they all return with graces, blessings, peace and fulfilment, with the assurance that God, through the intercession of Mary, is going to take care of them all.  

 This “pilgrim families” not just visit the Bandel Basilica, but they certainly come with gratitude of all the graces they have received in the past. The pilgrimage to Bandel shape them as a families, as it was intended by God. They become aware that they are in effect on constant pilgrimage. And that on this life’s pilgrimage, they will have to live purposeful life. Certainly, they go back, promising to imitate the Holy Family, in being families on pilgrimage. Every family is to be a pilgrim community – with a clear destination, a journey to make, and with neighbours and companions on the way.

 

Coming to Bandel Church, as a destination, the families have a focus and purpose. These families who come with a purpose, go back happier and satisfied, for having fulfilled their life’s promise. They come with a reason. They’re not just a random group of families, wandering around in the campus and inside the Church. They are all brought together for a purpose. The families come from God and is meant to lead to Him through Mary.

Sometimes family life and behaviour expressed externally, do not fit the expectations from a pilgrim people, that we all want to see. Noisy movement, distracted devotions, photo and selfie mania, picnicking attitude,  and an outing attitude,  are just a few of the major distractions that can strain families from being fulfilled through such pilgrimage here, and make their ‘coming’ anything but peace on them, goodwill to the rest. Coming together of parents, children and relatives, effect positively their relationship with each other and influence even their understanding of faith in God. The pilgrimage made as a family often make them feel that life and relationships fall short of God’s expectation. People go back with the ideal worth working for and struggling toward in life for peace and harmony. Sometimes reconciliation and healing do happen here. Persons change, circumstances improve, and they find ways of working through the difficult times with prayer through Mary, and find the support of loving and caring other family members and friends. Coming to Bandel to thank God for the past blessings showered mercifully on the family do bring about changes that can be seen later. They reach out then to others within the extended family inviting others to make such pilgrimages to Bandel.

The Portuguese Church established in 1599 by the Augustinian monks has been under the care of the Salesians of Don Bosco since 1928. Today there are more than 4,000 Catholics in the parish with two communities of Salesians and four women religious congregations catering to the education of some 5,000 students both with English and Bengali medium education.