Sathish Paul sdb

            Nothing is easier in all the world than attaining forgiveness from God. This is the biggest truth that we got to believe. God is more eager to give forgiveness than we to receive it. Many refuse to believe this. They constantly brood over how miserable and wretched they have been, wishing they had never sinned, wishing they had always kept a clean sheet.             For Jesus, even though to sin is the greatest evil, to be a sinner is a value. Hate sin with all your heart and avoid it. But if you have sinned and repented, then you have reasons to rejoice, because there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Lk. 15:7) Who can understand this kind of madness? That’s the crazy God we have.             Then we may ask: Why not sin deliberate...

          Have you noticed that no where in the New Testament (Bible) does Jesus explicitly tell us that in order to receive forgiveness for our sins, we must be sorry? Whereas we have made such a fuss about contrition. So many are worried whether they have sufficient contrition or not, whether their contrition was perfect or imperfect, and such questions which are irrelevant as far as forgiveness is concerned.             Jesus did not demand these things. What he explicitly and insistently demanded was this: He said, “If you want forgiveness from my heavenly Father, then you must forgive your brother/sister.”(Mt.6:14) There’s another thing that Jesus demanded of us if we would have the sins forgiven: Love. As simple as that.             Come to me and say you love me and your sins will be forgiven. Observe that scene with a sinful wom...

            Today a vast number of Christians are full of fear of God. We are still trapped within a religion of rules (law) which Jesus abolished twenty centuries ago. He preached a God who was love itself and a liberation from the burden of the law. Sometimes our dealings with God are characterized by one big round of duties. This is the fear that brought and still brings many Catholics to mass on Sundays. I sometimes get an irrational feeling that if there were no commandments. I would be a saint. I’d feel so free and liberated – and I know I would keep every commandment spontaneously. One day a seminarian found himself saying to this God whom he was serving with all his heart and soul, “God, I really hate you. You are a kill-joy. I just cannot enjoy life while you are around, You won’t allow me to be as I am, You won’t leave me free.” Here, with whom lies the problem. The problem is certainly not with God but with us. ...

“If you want to be remembered forever, write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about.” I can say that mom will be cherished forever because what she has been and done are worth writing about. It has been my long time desire to put my pen to paper about the extraordinary personality of my mother to whom I owe my existence. So here comes a treatise from a simple son about his splendid mother. Growth of the Giant Heart             Born in a simple family of two daughters, she grew with virtue and responsibility. God fashioned her unique character with much gifts and talents. Her younger days were filled with artistic adventure and other creative capabilities. Her tender heart knew no deceit and despair. The way she went about with all her human qualities made people around her feel so good and warm. Caring for others, being responsible and sincere, taking lot of initiatives etc. were her typical traits....

Today we live in a post modern world, where our society is slowly losing sight of the eternal truth. People, especially youngsters are losing the consciousness of sin. Good virtues are hardly excercised by the current generation. The same thing which was considered as a mortal sin some years ago has today become a lifestyle. How can that be justified? Now let us limit our views only to the area of chastity. Today the human sphere has been torn asunder by a climate of lust and inpurity. What is and who is the reason for all of this.  Even for religious men and women chastity is running on a crisis. In fact every hour about 750 people all around the world commits a crime or a sin against the virtue of chastity. It’s shocking to realise that our world is taking it’s shape of another Sodom and Gammorah. What is the solution for all of this? Is a chaste life not possible in this techonological world?       Dear friends it is possible. Let us go back to the ...

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is simple. TEACH HIM He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. SHUN HIM He who knows, but knows not that he knows, is asleep. WAKE UP HIM UP He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise. FOLLOW HIM The awareness of our knowing is very essential in life. What are we doing when we are knowing? Why is doing that knowing? What do we know when we do that? These are the questions we consider when we learn Philosophy of Knowing.

The structure of any knowing can be ordered as experience, understanding and judgment. Experience would be our empirical consciousness, understanding would be our intellectual consciousness, Judgment would be our reflective consciousness. So through this structure we arrive at an insight. Now what is insight, it is a supervening act of understanding. We begin with experience, pass on to understand and then led to make a judgment which can be affirmative or negative. This act is called “Self appropriation” An insight is emerged first by asking a question and limiting that question and considering the clue, and finally we arrive at an insight. Now to scrutinize the correctness of an insight, we have to come to a point where there is no further relevant questions.

Philosophers have often claimed that “to know is to be.”  The knower becomes what he claims to know. Naturally, this is not to be understood in a physical sense, but in the sense of intentionality. Man cannot claim to know a particular reality unless he is one with it. Any claim to the contrary revives the problem of the bridge. Thus, knowledge leads to the progressive enlargement of the knower. My knowledge increase the frontiers of my personhood. Because man knows, he is a microcosm. What are stars, galaxies, black holes?... There is no need to travel to the frontiers of the universe to find out. Ask the competent knower; he’s got it all on his fingertips!

“Objectivity is the fruit of authentic subjectivity,” said Bernard Lonergan. How true it is!!! Because in life there is nothing objective. There is no such a thing called objectivity per se. Every idea or concept has a subjective touch. I cannot see or judge this world from an Archimedean standpoint. There is always a conceptual-linguistic framework involved. Each individual looks at the reality with his/her own perspective or stance. My understanding of the world may be far different from another person’s understanding of the world. So how then to arrive at objectivity. The ideal answer for this would be the famous dictum of the Canadian Jesuit philosopher, Bernard Lonergan: “Objectivity is the fruit of authentic subjectivity.”

A devout follower of Socrates asked him the best way to acquire knowledge. Socrates responded by leading him to a river and plunged him beneath the surface. The man struggled to free himself, but Socrates kept his head submerged. Finally, after much effort, the man was able to break loose and emerge from the water. Socrates then asked, “When you thought you were drowning, what one thing did you want most of all?” Still gasping for breath, the man exclaimed, “I wanted air!” The philosopher wisely commented, “When you want knowledge as much as you wanted air, then you will get it!” The same is true with our DESIRE TO KNOW. Our desire to know makes life interesting and authentic.

Go and tell how much the Lord has done to you - Mk. 5:19 Some how this person of Jesus attracted me and I started falling in love with Him. In my school days I was in a semi depressed state; and it was after a unique encounter with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament change started taking place. Was I healed and happy over night; No it took a period of time for me to realize that I am specially loved by God Don’t ask me how I felt? It’s like trying to explain the taste of a chocolate without giving you to chew it. It was indeed an inexplicable experience. Did I change completely; No! My personal traits, attitudes, habits, approach to life etc. Remained the same. But grace accompanied them (Where sin abounded, Grace abounded all the more) My heart and my mind started to long for a mystical relationship with God. Felt that life is a short opportunity to love God (Openness to transcendence) Personal prayer, ...