110 February 2014

2 10 February 20142 10 February 2014

Model Bank's Relocated Borivli Branch InauguratedThe fastest growing bank of Catho-lics in Mumbai is on progressivepath under the dynamic Chairmanof Mr. Albert W. D'Souza. Its relo-cated new Borivali branch is blessedand inaugurated on 12 January 2014by Rev. Fr. Barthol Baretto, ParishPriest of Our Lady of ImmaculateConception Church, IC Colony. Thebranch is now relocated at 4th CrossRoad, I.C. Colony.

Local MLA Vinod Gonsalkargraced the occasion as a Chief

Guest.John D'Silva - Former Chairman, Albert W. D'Souza - Chairman, William Sequeira - Vice-Chairman, Fr. William

Palkam, Bro. Vijai Kumar Pereira - Principal St. Francis de Assisi High School, Gen. Manager - Francis Vaz, Asst. Gen.Manager - William D'Souza, other directors of the Bank were present. A large number of Share holders, account holdersand well-wishers were also present on the occasion.

—Rons Bantwal

Can Indian Bishops become aam aadmi shepherds imitating Pope Francis?

The new full form of AAP is: AamAadmi Pope. He in fact was the first toherald the dawn of an aam aadmi cul-ture in Vatican and among the high andmighty world leaders. How? Wasn’t hethe first to put his foot down and tell all in their face: “Carnivaltime is over” to sweep out the VVIP, Imperial, pompousculture from the Catholic Church starting with Vatican?

Now the mind boggling challenge hurled at over 200Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) which begaintheir biennial week-long sitting in Palai, Kerala on Feb. 5this simply this: Become Aaam Aadmi Pastors like Francis orat least hatch out a bunch of aam aadmi pastoral chicks, ala Pope Francis, to replace the royal, imperial, feudalistic,aristocratic, even autocratic, other worldly life style of the

Indian Hierarchy totally out of touch with ground realities ofthe real aam aadmi in India today and modern internetworld.

Will their week long sitting succeed to give at least anAam Aadmi face lift and the much needed structural changeto the Indian Episcopal conference? Pappa Francis hasbeen always talking of a “poor church for the poor”. Ourbishops surely can do this instantly and at little cost. How?Just imitate the new Political outfit called Aam Aadmi Party

by Dr. James Kottoor,former editor of The New Leader

(Chennai) Catholic weekly.

(Contd.. on p. 9)

310 February 2014

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‘Thought for the week’Success means having the courage, the determination,and the will to become the person you believe you weremeant to be.

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Cover : Want To Be Like The Pope?(Read on pg. 3)

Want To Be Like The Pope?Try Being Nice

With the sometimes rabid exception of people at the ultra-traditionalistfringe of Catholicism who sputter at seeing him being respectfultoward non-Catholics and acting “undignified,” Catholics are very

pleased with Pope Francis. More notable, though, is the wild adulation hedraws from those outside the Church, even more adulation, it appears, thanhe draws from Catholics.

Pope Francis has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Aninternational men’s magazine declared him best dressed, more for what hedoes not wear than for what he does.

The youth music channel MTV named him its man of the year, partneringhim with a 17-year-old singer from New Zealand who was their woman of theyear. The rock music magazine Rolling Stone featured him on its cover. Amagazine focused on the interests of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexualor transgendered put the pope on its cover, as have many other unlikelypublications around the world. Personally, I like the cartoon on the Christmasissue of The New Yorker showing Pope Francis making a snow angel. A graffitiartist in Rome has portrayed him as a superhero. I was recently at dinner witha mixed group of Catholics and Jews; the Jews spoke of the pope even moreadmiringly than we Catholics did.

The comparatively quiet satisfaction that Catholics have with PopeFrancis is easy to understand. What he says and does is not very different fromwhat we are used to seeing in our own priests.

Most of us priests have administered baptisms where the star of the showwas more interested in being fed than in being initiated as a Christian. Mostof us, unless the architecture makes it impossible, have had small childrenescape their parents to join us at the altar. (I’ve asked them to "mind my chair"for me while I’m away from it, something they willingly do till they get bored,climb down and return to the pews.) Most of us have given a sympathetichearing to people in pain and "bent the rules" on their behalf.

To put it simply, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a.k.a. Pope Francis, is a normalCatholic, and therefore a normal priest. And it is his normalcy that surprisesand attracts people.

With the exception of Pope John XXIII, Catholics have not seen popes as

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(Contd.. on p. 9)

Contentspg. 2 - Can Indian Bishops ...pg. 3 - Want To Be Like The Pope?...pg 4 - Is Everybody Mad?pg. 5 - Views on Newspg. 6 - HUM AAP ke Hai Kaun?pg. 7 - Reader's Viewspg 8 - Yesterday, Today and To-

morrowpg 9 - Love At Christmaspg 10 - Are We Afraid Of Criticism?pg 14 - 7 Ways Salaried Individuals

Can Save Taxespg 16 - 7 Social Evilspg 17 - Arabic Calligraphypg 18 - Our Lady of Lourdespg 19 - Inspirationpg 20 - Matrimonialspg 22 - His Light Will Rise In

Darkness

4 10 February 2014

When our children were smallthey enjoyed regaling visitors to our home with this

little story: There were four friendsnamed SOMEBODY, NOBODY, MADand EVERYBODY. One day Somebodykilled Nobody, so Mad went to thePolice and said “Somebody killed No-body”! The infuriated policemanshouted, “Are you mad?”, to which thecomplainant replied, “Yes, I’m Mad”. ABUSYBODY crime reporter at the po-lice station got a juicy headline for thenext day’s paper, “Somebody killedNobody – What Madness”. While thisdrama played out Everybody got side-lined. This story, which I have slightlyembellished now, always drew wildguffaws.

But now I find that this story is nolaughing matter. I somehow find amessage in everything I see, hear orexperience; even if it is just a joke or amovie scene. So I find this children’sjoke pregnant with meaning for us ra-tional adults. Let us examine the pro-ponents in this little drama.

NOBODY: He was killed. Who washe? He was the aam aadmi (before apolitical party appropriated the term),the garib janta, the awaam, the name-less suffering, and toiling masses ofIndia. Who killed him, or rather who isexploiting him? Who is the Somebodythat killed Nobody?

SOMEBODY: Somebody is a per-son with a distinct identity that differen-tiates him from anybody or everybodyelse. Somebody comprises all thosewho pursue identity politics, or vested

interests. Unfortunately, our country hasbeen flooded with identity politics,based on caste, creed, or ethnicity.Today a majority of the States of theIndian Union are ruled, or greatly influ-enced, by Somebody. Among themwe may count the BJP, SP, BSP, NC,BJD, RJD, JDU, TMC, DMK, AIDMK,TDP, TRS, AGP, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena,MNS, Gorkha and Bodo fronts, andseveral smaller parties in the NorthEast. To this list we may also add theclass-based Left Front. Among thosewith vested interests we may count theindustrialists, media barons and theNaxalites; and fundamentalists like theRSS and the Indian Mujahideen. Smallwonder then that Nobody has beenmurdered, if not physically, then atleastfiguratively. It is this balkanization ofthought that leads to the fragmentationof society. Who is complaining? Madis. Who is Mad?

MAD: I am Mad, figuratively, andsometimes literally. I do not necessar-ily mean myself when say “I”. Here the“I” stands for those Indians who are

true patriots, who love their country,devoid of personal or vested interests.Such persons do not wish to associatewith identity politics. They want inclu-sion, not exclusion. Of late Rahul Babahas been talking about “inclusivegrowth”. We will come to him later. Atthis point I will re-assert that Somebodyis indeed the killer of Nobody. Nowwhat should Mad do? Is it enough tocomplain to the Police? It is alwayseasier to complain, crib and criticize. Itis not always easy to undertake con-structive action for nation building. Sowhat should Mad do? We will comeback to that, but first let us identify thePolice.

POLICE: This may seem obvious,but it is not just the cops. Here the termincludes all the law makers (Legisla-ture), law enforcers (Executive) andlaw interpreters (Judiciary). The Legis-lature has often been paralyzed, theExecutive is largely corrupt and insen-sitive to the suffering masses, and theJudiciary is so bogged down with thependency of cases that indeed justicedelayed becomes justice denied. Yet,Mad people should never give up hope.There are good people everywhere,even in the three wings of Govt. Weneed to identify and encourage them.Just as one bad apple can spoil all thefruit in the basket, so can one intrave-nous injection bring healing to an en-tire body. Busybody may not alwaystake note of the good things, becausethey don’t make news.

BUSYBODY: Yes, Busybody is themedia, busy about other peoples’ busi-

Is Everybody Mad?

BY CHHOTEBHAI

(Contd.. on p. 6)

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510 February 2014

Why Grudge The VIPCulture?

There are reports that all the Mem-bers of Parliament, who are alreadybeing treated like Maharajas by ourown Air India, should also be treatedlikewise by other domestic airlineswhich operate in India. TV channelshave been telecasting and holdingdebates on why the ‘Lal-Batti’ cultureshould be extended instead of curtail-ing it, in line with the directive of theapex court.

What MPs are possibly lookingfor, is privileges which are not availableto the cattle class. No standing inqueues, access to Business classlounges, right to be escorted, right todelay the flight or right to reach theairport at the 11th hour etc. There arereports that one Congress MP is be-hind the move having missed his flighthad to spend a night in Mumbai at hisown expense. He is not used to paying– only getting free. It is up to the airlinesconcerned to agree or not to agree.They are free to reject such a proposaland tell the authorities that this is sim-ply not possible. They may have to doit at the cost of the ordinary passen-gers. Today the MPs are demandingsuch privileges. Few months down theline the Legislators will make such ademand not forgetting our City Fa-thers.

These facilities, even if the airlinesagree, do not affect the public exche-quer because the expenditure will beborne by the airlines concerned. Hencethe industry which is under severe fi-nancial stress can surely make a col-lective decision not to adhere to suchridiculous demands. Even if they doaccept the proposal they should notdemand their own pound of flesh andask for certain concessions from thegovernment.

The elected representatives whenthey come for votes promise service tothe people. But in the process theyserve themselves. In August 2010 theygave themselves a hefty 300+ % hikein salary from 16000 to 50000 rupees.Add to this other allowances such asconstituency allowance, daily allow-ance, stationery allowance etc whichworks out to about another 80000making a fat total of Rs 1,30,000 per

month. They get free housing in primeareas [which most of them refuse tovacate], furnishing etc. Then there arefree air tickets, rail tickets etc. Free elec-tricity and free water is available to them.Interest free to buy a car is also ex-tended. Sometimes we wonder, whatare they really pay for. Even those jun-kets in the name of study tours abroadtake care of their vacations.

Incidentally, nowhere in theworld the elected representativesdecide on their own salaries becauseof the conflict of interest but that doesnot apply to our chaps. In Switzerlandthe MPs do not get any salary. Theyare usually working somewhere andthe concerned Corporates give paidleave to them to attend Parliamentsessions. By the way, how many ofour leaders will agree to accept suchan arrangement.

*****

Governance RedefinedHaving unexpectedly come to

power in Delhi, the AAP is not reconciledto the fact that they are no longer agroup of freelance activists not boundby any protocol. As activists, you havethe freedom of engaging in dharnas, sit-ins, defiance of prohibitory orders or anyother variation of protests that go underthe broad term of ‘right to protest’. Ofcourse you have all the rights but youare expected to look at your duties aswell. Freedom is never one sided. It is acoin with two sides.

This must be the first time in Indianhistory that a serving Chief Minister saton a dharna despite promulgation ofSection 144, just to back his own Minis-ter who went berserk with his intemper-ate language ordering the Police to dothings without procedural formalities. Iwonder how a Law Minister can giveorders to the Police Official, which is nothis domain. Did he think that as LawMinister he had unfettered rights to dic-tate terms to everybody around? Washe trying to impress his followers whohad collected in large numbers and mayhave encouraged him to exceed hisbrief?

It gives an impression that power isgoing to the heads of the newly crowned

Ministers. They have started talkinglike seasoned politicians. As activiststhey did not care for the law and wentabout their agitations without beingchallenged. Then there was restraintbecause of the presence of AnnaHazare. If he was not leading the pro-tests then, the likes of Kejrival wouldhave been packed in police vans andpossibly locked up. They are now try-ing to extend that approach even asMinisters. This is setting a new kind ofdefiance.

When a party is in power, thecadres of that party are not given a freehand to protest and create hurdles inthe administration. They can indulge insymbolic protests within the broad pa-rameters of the law. But here we have aparty whose Chief Minister leads theprotests creating hurdles in the prepa-ration of Republic Day celebrations. Heeven went on to say that he does notbelieve in such celebrations. Ultimately,he had to eat humble pie and abruptlycall off the agitation and also hoist thenational flag. Anna Hazare, at the heightof Lok Pal agitation a little before Inde-pendence Day was gracious enoughto say that he will vacate the groundsand allow the celebrations to go on.

The very fact that all politicalparties and intellectuals [who hadbacked them all the way] in one voicecondemned the defiance and arro-gance of Arvind Kejrival should senda strong message. If that was notenough, the subtle message of thePresident of India should make himsit and reflect on his definition ofgovernance. He went to caution po-litical parties [ready AAP] not to makepromises which cannot be fulfilledfurther reminding that the State isnot a charitable trust. The countryhas been ruled on democratic linessince independence and the wholeworld has applauded it. Let not thelikes of Kejrival sully the nation’simage.

VIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWSVIEWS on NEWS

by Marshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall SequeiraMarshall Sequeira

6 10 February 2014

ness; chasing ambulances, juicy soundbites and TRPs. One may also add thesocial media to the list of busybodies.I have many friends in the print media,and also enjoy reading what otherswrite; particularly the edit page of theHindustan Times, to which I subscribe.But the so-called debates on TV turnme off, because they seem to be ma-nipulated by the anchors, who conve-niently cut off what they don’t wantaired. I am also not on FB or Twitterbecause most of the content is frivo-lous, for which I don’t have the time. Inall this where is Everybody?

EVERYBODY: Etymologically theword means “all”. Who is the all-em-bracing Everybody in the political life ofthe nation? Has he been sidelined orreduced to a mute spectator? Who canlay claim to representing all and sun-dry? There are two claimants, the grandold party (the Congress), and the newkid on the block (AAP). AAP has infactcleverly hijacked the Congress’ punchline “Congress ka haath, aam aadmi kesaath”. With sadness and disappoint-ment I must say that the current leader-ship of the Congress is digging its owngrave. It has many achievements to itscredit, but it has not been able to get itsmessage across to the people. Fromthe time Pranabh Mukherjee was kickedupstairs into Rashtrapati Bhawan twoyears ago, the Congress has floun-dered. It has hobbled from one politicalcrisis or logjam to another. The silenceof the triumvirate – Manmohan, Soniaand Rahul Baba, has been deafening.They have lost the plot and their grip onthe nation’s psyche. If this trend contin-ues then Everybody will be increas-ingly sidelined, and Somebody willsurely continue to murder Nobody.

What of Arvind Kejriwal (AK as-sault rifle) and his AAP? He raised greathopes, which, like the fresh morningdew, cannot withstand the emergenceof the sun – the harsh media glare, andpeople’s scary expectations. Enoughhas been written about AAP, so I do nothave much more to add. There are justa couple of things that a Mad personlike me would like to say to AK.

Wearing a Gandhi topi does not aGandhian make. Gandhiji was notdriven by an obsessive hatred for the

British (the other). He led by personalexample, soul power and a love for all(even his opponents). He was trulyeverybody’s man. Gandhiji was strong,but humble, a quality not seen in AK.Gandhiji suspended the popular swarajagitation after the violence at ChauriChaura. A true leader must have thesagacity and magnanimity to knowwhere to draw the line. Even NelsonMandela, who suffered years of solitaryconfinement, talked of reconciliation,not confrontation. In 1977 the JanataParty had a far greater mandate thanwhat AAP has today, but they squan-dered it in a witch-hunting campaignagainst Indira Gandhi. AK needs tolearn the lessons of history, if at all hereally aspires to don the mantle of Ev-erybody. Otherwise, in due course, hetoo will fade into history. He needs toremember the adage “Pride comesbefore the fall”.

WHAT NEXT? We Mad peopleneed to remember that eternal vigi-lance is the price of freedom. Withgreat sadness I say today that no partyin India has Everybody’s interest inmind, and therefore not competent tolead the country. Should I then pressthe NOTA button during the forthcom-ing parliamentary elections? Heavenforbid. This time around I think that theMad people should rise above partyloyalty, caste, creed, class and com-munity to elect good persons, whohave a proven track record of honesty,diligence and community service. Votefor them, even if they end up losing. Novote is ever wasted. It is always a sourceof encouragement, even to the loser.

It is also not enough to just go andget inked on voting day. Every Madperson who loves his country mustactively engage in civic, social andpolitical affairs, and espouse justcauses. The Mad people (paagalaadmi) must also amplify their effortsand beliefs through a supportive me-dia.

Over the years I have tried to prac-tice what I preach, and will continue todo so out of love for my country. Madloves Everybody, and will not allowSomebody to again murder Nobody.JAI HIND!

* The writer is the Convenor of the KanpurNagrik Manch. His views are personal

Infant JesusChurch, Dombivili

Celebrates ItsAnnual Feast Day

The ‘Infant Jesus Church’ atDombivili-Thakurli celebrated its an-nual feast Mass on Sunday, Febru-ary 2, 2014.

Just before the Mass at 8.30a.m., the statue of the Infant Jesuswas carried in a palanquin andtaken in a procession around theChurch. People, both young andold took part in this procession inlarge numbers. There was burstingof crackers and singing of hymnsin various languages. Bishop JohnRodrigues was the main celebrantfor this feast day Mass.

After the Mass, there was afamily get-together in the Churchcompound. Each of the 13 zoneswere asked to perform in its ownlanguage. Zone W 7 won the firstprize. The second and third prizeswere awarded to zones E 5 and W6. There were also games, a Biblequiz contest and other entertain-ment programmes for all the pa-rishioners. The delicious foodserved at noon was enjoyed by all.The programme ended at 6.00 p.m.

We thank Fr Peter D'Cunha,the Parish Priest and Fr Jefferey,the Assistant Parish Priest for mak-ing this celebration a grand suc-cess.

— Jubel D’Cruz, Dombivili

(Contd.. from p. 4)

JACK OF ALL STALLReliable House forReligious Goods

Gloria Church Bldg.,263, Dr. Ambedkar Rd.,

Byculla, Mumbai - 400027Tel.: 23725963, 23749358

Estd: 1951 Prop. B. D'Souza

710 February 2014

by Irwin AlmeidaAll one needed to do was just sit

back, relax in air-conditioned comfort,and enjoy an evening of entertainingperformances on Tuesday, January 28,at the St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra.That’s how it was at the fund-raisingMusical Concert, in aid of NavjeetProjects for the underprivileged, pro-duced by Felix Flor, while the ebullientcompere, Shahriyar Atai took youthrough the evening starting from theword Skit and kept you in stitches withhis down-to-earth humour while someof the best medical specialists wentthrough their procedures -- vocal andinstrumental renditions of ever-popu-lar numbers.

Both GPs and MDs of Bandra’s“Health is Harmony” Holy Family Hos-pital gave of their best for a deservingcause, the Navjeet Community Cen-tre. Founded in 1978, by the Ursulinesof Mary Immaculate Sisters, Navjeethas partnered with the local commu-nity and other bodies. Navjeet Com-munity Health Care Centre worksuntiringly in the slums of Bandra andthe nearby suburbs not only in healthcare but also in fields like education,empowerment of women, and incomegenerating projects. Over the years,Navjeet’s community developmentprogrammes have changed the lives ofdisadvantaged urban and rural com-

munities.Sr. Bindhu, Director of Navjeet,

thanked Felix Flor for producing theconcert year after year, getting the per-formers together and also for having anappreciative and responsive audience.She welcomed the Chief Guest, Ms.Janet D’Souza and thanked the spon-sors, Earnest John Group of Compa-nies.

The musical featured Ella Atai, Riyaand Simran Duggal, Frederica Flor,Edward Mendes, Niyati MelodyMirajkar, James Miranda, Kashiff andMihika Miranda, Marie Paul, TaraSutaria, the groups – Relative Harmonyand Victory Chorus Line, Doctor’s Mu-sical OPD conducted by Dr. NikhilCunha and others.

The musical concert had as itsChief Guest, Ms. Janet D’Souza, ViceChairperson, Maharashtra StateMinorites Commission, who, in heraddress, appreciated the noble work ofour priests and nuns which she hadwitnessed in the course of her visits tovarious districts. She therefore assuredthe multi-speciality Holy Family Hospi-tal and its social outreach, Navjeet Com-munity Centre of assistance and guid-ance in their efforts.

An enjoyable evening concludedwith all the performers on stage led byFelix Flor aptly singing “We’ll meetagain….”

Fund-Raiser Musical For Navjeet

LaughterLaughterLaughterLaughterLaughter

"If I sold my house and my car,had a big garage sale andgave all my money to thechurch, would I get intoHeaven?' a man asked thechildren in his Sunday Schoolclass.

"No!" the children all answered."If I cleaned the church every day,

mowed the yard, and kept ev-erything neat and tidy, would Iget into Heaven?"

Again, the answer was, 'No!""Well," the man continued, "then

how can I get into Heaven?"A five-year-old boy shouted out,

"You gotta be dead!"

Court asks Christians to wait one year to file for divorcetre, which was a respondent before theKerala court, did not challenge the saidjudgment.

During the hearing, counsel for theArchdiocese of Bangalore said that thedissolution of a Christian marriage by di-vorce by mutual consent or by decree ofcourt is not at all recognized by the RomanCatholic Church (RCC).

"But realizing that a 'marriage' couldbe brought about with underlying defectsor shortcomings or other disqualification,the RCC has procedure for annulment ofmarriage. Annulment by church is theonly way of termination of marriage recog-nized by the RCC," he said.

The PIL was filed by Shivakumar,who challenged the norm under Section10A of the Divorce act prescribing a two-year period prior to filling of petition for

divorce by Christians.The petitioner contended that a two-

year separation period is arbitrary as theSpecial Marriages Act, the Hindu Mar-riage Act and the Parsi Marriage Act havea one-year separation period clause.

The Kerala high court had said: "Hav-ing considered all the relevant circum-stances, we are of the opinion that thestipulation of a higher period of two yearsof mandatory minimum separate residencefor those to whom the Divorce Act applies,in contra-distinction to those similarlyplaced to whom Sec 13B of the HinduMarriage Act, Sec 32B of the Parsi Mar-riage and Divorce Act and Sec 28 of theSpecial Marriage Act would apply, offendsthe mandate of equality and right to lifeunder Arts14 and 21 of the Constitution."

Bangalore: The separation period re-quired for a Christian couple to file a peti-tion for dissolution of marriage by mutualconsent will be one year, the Karnatakahigh court ruled on Monday.

The court disposed of public interestlitigation relating to Section 10A (1) of theDivorce Act, 1869, (applicable to Chris-tians) in the light of a 2010 verdict of adivision bench of the Kerala high court.

The Kerala court had read down the'two years' separation period in Section 10A to 'one year' so as to bring the same inconformity with Section 13B of the HinduMarriage Act, Section 32B of the ParsiMarriage and Divorce Act and Section 28of the Special Marriage Act.

A division bench headed by ChiefJustice DH Waghela noted that the Keralacourt judgment has become the law ofland in the light of an apex court judgmentwhich says that any verdict of a high courtholds good for the entire country unlessthe same is challenged in the apex court.

The bench also noted that the Cen-

8 10 February 2014

January 30th in 1948, MahatmaGandhi, the Father of our nationwas assassinated. As a nation,

we were shocked: how could this das-tardly act be done on anyone, andparticularly to Gandhi who gave of hisbest to the country and its people? Hisassassin Nathuram Godse was an RSSman. The core ideology of the RSS hasalways been a fascist one; with noplace for the minorities in their schemeof things or for the pluralism whichreflects the character of the Indian na-tion. Rightly enough, the then HomeMinister of India, Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel held the RSS and its affiliate, theHindu Mahasabha, responsible for themurder of Gandhi. On February 4th,1948, Patel had the courage to ban theRSS naming it as an anti-national orga-nization because of its dangerous ac-tivities which fomented divisiveness,hate and violence in different parts ofthe country.

Today: sixty-six years later, theRSS (the many bans on it, having beenlifted) and their affiliates, are well andalive. They continue with impunity andimmunity with their agenda of hate andviolence. To top it all, they have de-cided that their protégé Narendra Modiwill be the Prime Ministerial candidateof the BJP for the forthcoming NationalElections 2014. That Modi presidedover the killing of his own citizens (inwhat is known as the Gujarat Carnageof 2002) is beyond a shade of doubt;that he embodies the RSS ideology tothe core, is without debate. So apartfrom the many problems the country isplagued with at this moment, India hasalso to deal with a person who con-stantly lies and who has virtually de-stroyed freedom of religion, speechand expression, in his obsession togain power. And this, when he rulesover the State which gave birth to Ma-hatma Gandhi!

Today: is ‘MARTYR’S DAY’ in In-

dia. We hang our heads down in shamewhen we remember the many otherlives that have been lost all over thecountry because of hate and divisive-ness - in Gujarat, in Orissa, in Bihar, inU.P, in Assam and in so many otherparts of the country. It is also a day onwhich Catholics in the country observea ‘DAY OF PEACE’. The message byPope Francis for this celebration isentitled ‘Fraternity, the Foundation andPathway to Peace’; an unequivocalchallenge for all of us to ensure frater-nity in order to build a just society anda solid and lasting peace.

Tomorrow: Mahatma Gandhi re-minds us that an eye for an eye willmake the whole world blind, so weneed to have eyes and a heart for thefuture, a vision for a new tomorrow.Pope Francis in his Peace Day mes-

sage reminds us that “the many situa-tions of inequality, poverty and injus-tice, are signs not only of a profoundlack of fraternity, but also of the ab-sence of a culture of solidarity, Newideologies, characterized by rampantindividualism, egocentrism and mate-rialistic consumerism, weaken socialbonds, fuelling that “throw away” men-tality which leads to contempt for, andthe abandonment of, the weakest andthose considered “useless”. In thisway human coexistence increasinglytends to resemble a mere do ut deswhich is both pragmatic and selfish.”And above all “Fraternity needs to bediscovered, loved, experienced, pro-claimed and witnessed too. But onlylove bestowed as a gift from God, en-ables us to accept and fully experiencefraternity”.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow:in more ways than one, January 30th isa day on which we need to look back,do a reality check on what is happen-ing today and above all give ourselvesa firm agenda of deep hope for a newtomorrow.

Let’s make a start now!

(* Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is the Directorof PRASHANT, the Ahmedabad basedJesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justiceand Peace.)

Yesterday, Today andTomorrow BY FR. CEDRIC PRAKASH

SJ

HOW TO HANDLEMISTAKES

Never mind all the mistakesyou did in the past. Whatever mistakes you have

done, you have learnt some les-sons from them. There is no pointin regretting this moment for thelast moment which is already gone.Resolve right now. 'The moment Iam innocent, I am pure, I am part ofthe light, I am love', and think whatyou can do in the next moment.

So, you have to pull yourselfup again and again, to see (keepyour attention on) the future. De-pression is always thinking aboutthe past and then fearing the fu-ture.

Spiritual knowledge is thatwhich gives you the strength forthe future, 'Nothing to worry, onlythe best can happen to me be-cause my heart clean, and my mindis clear'.

910 February 2014

their priests: "The pope is the pope,and Father So-and-So is my priest."People accepted the difference,whether they were happy with it or not.Some lay folk and even some priestswanted priests to act more like popesthan pastors. And, too many priestshave been willing to oblige.

Now, we are seeing a pope wholooks more and more like what mostCatholics expect from a priest. Andthey like it. That is encouraging forthose priests who strive to be goodshepherds, companions and healersto the People of God.

But, what are we to make of thewild enthusiasm that Pope Francis hasaroused among those outside theChurch?

Clearly, the world is starved fornormalcy and simple decency in ourpublic figures, whether they be politi-cians, financial leaders, entertainers,sports stars or even religious leaders.We have come to expect scandal, cor-ruption, egoism, selfishness, abuse ofpower, betrayal, manipulation, self-righ-teous hypocrisy, greed, pettiness, vio-lence and a host of other less-than-inspiring characteristics.

That a man in a position of worldleadership can attract so much atten-tion and affection by simply being adecent human being is a sad commen-tary on our world.

And yet, the response of peopleto Pope Francis is a hopeful sign. We

are fed up with the sort of men andwomen who usually get into the head-lines and on the magazine covers.

Yet people have not given up hopethat there might be men and womenaround who can take a stand againstso much that the world considers "nor-mal," not through confrontation, but bysimply being sincerely interested inpeople and their good. The world stilllooks for goodness, for kindness andfor common sense.

In other words, the world wantnormalcy.

That presents a challenge and anopportunity for Christians. Incarnatingthe Incarnation, living as a disciple ofChrist, is the most normal thing a hu-man being can do, because Jesus isthe norm for humanity. For someonebaptized into union with Christ, livingotherwise presumably takes extra ef-fort.

Pope Francis is showing how en-thusiastically the world responds to aloving, caring, forgiving, friendly andgood-natured believer.

One out of every three people inthe world is a Christian, and half ofthose are Catholic. How might the worldrespond, how different would the newsof the world be, if all of us simply actednormal?

The world is waiting, ready andeven looking forward to finding out.

Father William Grimm MM ispublisher of ucanews.com

(Contd.. from p. 3)

Want To Be Like The Pope?

(AAP) even if it may look humiliating forthose expected to be role models insociety. Bowing to truth wherever youfind it, is not humiliating, but ennobling.Simply declare and proclaim at thevery out set:

“We the Catholic Bishops of Indiarenounce and reject for good the VVIP,flashy, flamboyant culture starting withour addiction to a soothing royal, impe-rial, godly but outdated honorific titlesand appellations like: Your Eminence,Your Grace, Your Highness, Your Ex-cellency, Monsignor, Most Rev. VeryRev. Rt. Rev and Rev for the just or-dained – all wrong and blasphemous— and the all too costly life style inpalaces and moving around in poshcars – even imported bulletproof onesreportedly – and all sorts of dressingup and make up for public display likethe newly weds, in silk and satin, goldand silver and matching head gearsreminiscent of princes of a deadbygone era, and the company of acoterie of “yes- men” when in publicspace,” never alone, also for securityreasons perhaps.

Can Indian Bishopsbecome aam aadmishepherds imitating

Pope Francis?(Contd.. from p. 2)

(To be contd...)

Konkani Literary Award – “Yuvakiran 2013”

The young talent RoshanMelky Sequeira has beenchosen for the

“Yuvakiran-2013” award. Thisaward was instituted during 2011by Samanvaya, Mangalore andis sponsored by non-resident In-dians Mr & Mrs John A. Karkalapresently living in the U.S.A., whohold Konkani culture very closeto their heart. It includes a cita-tion, a memento, shawl and acash prize. Joel Noronha of Siddakatteand Darrel Jeevan D’souza of

Vamanjoor had wonthis award in 2011 and2012 respectively.Roshan Sequeira with

his pen name RoshuBajpe, hails from Bajpeand has been chosenfor this award in recog-nition of his contribu-tion to the cause ofkonkani language andliterature. He has been

writing from the young age of 16. He

has a number of innovative articles tohis credit along with a few short storiesand poems. He has won prizes inRakanno literary competitions regularlyand also in Sevak competition. Pres-ently, Roshan is employed at M.C.C.Bank, Bajpe.

“Yuvakiran 2013” will be con-ferred on him on 16th February, 2014 at3.00 p.m. at Mai De Dues Churchground, Puttur.

— Dr Ronald CutinhaDirector, Samanvaya

Roshan Melky Sequeira

10 10 February 2014

Hey Oliver! Orlem’s Got Talent!By Ladislaus L D’Souza

One of the finest authors on the English literaryfirmament was undoubtedly Charles Dickens and hisfinest and, indeed, thought-provoking novel equally un-doubtedly was OLIVER TWIST. Producing such a storyon stage is no mean task to which, of course, Our Lady ofLourdes, Orlem, proved itself equal! Orlem has alwaysbeen a happening place ever since Father Hugh Fonsecaof happy memory [to whom the youth of Good Shepherd’s,Four Bungalows, so aptly paid homage in the souvenir]brought the celebration of its patronal feast—and theNovena preceding it—out of the confines of the churchinto the open, making the parish one of the 10 modelparishes of the time. Oh yeah! Orlem’s got talent! Butnever before was that talent so creatively on display as inits performance of OLIVER TWIST!

The mammoth production staged by Anthony Coelho(Director) and Lancelot Lewis (Asstt Director) and theirteam which numbered not in tens and twenties buthundreds on the 17, 18 and 19 January 2014 was the fruitof a two months-long exercise that saw the young andnot-so-young alike go the whole hog to give the parish amusical it would remember for long!

The story of Oliver Twist is an enigma in that itchallenges our stereotypical way of looking at things, viz.with absurd passivity. “Please Sir, I want more!” was ashocking statement to make at a time when Oliver and hisfellow orphans lived on a meagre ration of food whilethose doling out the measly meal seemed too well-fed tocare for the hunger pangs of the havenots. This was wellbrought out by the Ferrao boys as Oliver and ThomsonAndrews as Mr Bumble, everybody else from Fagin toNancy and from Brownlow to Mrs Bumble forthcoming inbringing the issue of child labour into prominence even atthe cost of having the audience learn that ‘the Law is anAss’!

Hitches and glitches there seem to have beenaplenty, leading to vacant seats caused by the notion thatall tickets were sold out! But that did nothing to compro-mise the quality of talent on display on the part of the total-Orlemite cast those three long nights (though the samecannot be said about the snack boxes on sale!). Awe-some acting, singing and choreography brought out thenuances of the theatrics involved in the presentation.However, the most amazing aspect of the overall perfor-mance was obviously the least apparent and that was thetwo choirs that so ably supported the entire do: the AdultChoir conducted by Maxim Wen and the Kiddies Choirconducted by Maria Rodricks, delightful balancing andperfect synchronization the highlight of their joint act! Asfor the ‘sound’, what clarity!!

Kudos to Father Daniel Fernandes, the indefati-gable overall coordinator of the programme and to theParish Priest, the young and ebullient Gilbert de Lima, butfor whose full backing OLIVER TWIST would least likelyhave happened! Would that the production were pre-sented in other parts of the diocese, too!

21st All-religion Prayer &Get-together

The brain-child of Sr. Dr. Pauline Chakkalakal, DSP which wasstarted in 1992 soon after the riots, completed 21 years on the 23rdof January this year. What began as an All-Religion Prayer & Get-Together with only 100 people, now sees a crowd of over 500+attendees.

The event beautifully displays unity in diversity, not only inthe programme but also in the organisation of it. With BombayUrban Industrial League for Development (BUILD), Bandra as wellas Bandra Hindu Association working together with the Daughtersof St. Paul for 21 harmonious years to come up with innovativethemes and presentations for the Get-Together year after year.

This year’s theme was “Youth for Change”. The programmewhich was held at Duruelo Convent High School, Bandra, com-menced with the lamp being lit by representatives from variousreligions. This was followed by a beautiful prayer dance to invokeGod’s blessings by the students of Dr Bhanuben Nanavati PharmaSchool, Vile Parle.

Educationists, youth, students, parents and eminent per-sonalities were present for the occassion. The chief guest Dr. A CVanjani, Principal of Smt. M.M.K. College of Commerce & Eco-nomics, Bandra was felicitated by Mr. Ajit Manyal, Secretary of theBandra Hindu Association.

Sr. Dr. Pauline Chakkalakal explained that the sole purposeof having this All-Religion Prayer and Get-Together was to cel-ebrate unity in diversity, not uniformity. She said that it served asa platform to foster sisterhood & brotherhood between peoplefrom different religions, languages, cultures and walks of life. Todisplay this, during the short prayer service, verses from theBhagavad Gita, the Bible and the Quran were read and reflectedon.

Since this year’s theme was Youth for Change, a few of theguests were asked to share their wisdom with the youth. Thecommon thread between all the pearls of wisdom given by, MrsSaba Patel, Principal, Anjuman-I-Islam GHS & Jr. College, Rev.George Daniel, General Secretary, BUILD, Ms Delnaz Jalnawalla,Ms Manya from the Brahma Kumaris and Dr A. C. Vanjani, was thatthe youth must bring about a change. The youth should beadvocates of positivity, harmony, justice and peace. Rev. GeorgeDaniel said, “Old people dream dreams, but young people havevisions”.

— Nolencia Dharmai, Bandra, Mumbai

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1510 February 2014

2014 : At the end of every financial year,many tax payers frantically make in-vestments to minimize taxes, withoutadequate knowledge of the variousavailable options. The Income Tax Actoffers many more incentives and allow-ances, apart from the popular 80C,which could reduce tax liability sub-stantially for the salaried individuals.Here are seven smart tips to help yousave more and reduce taxes.

1. Salary RestructuringRestructuring your salary may not

always be possible. But if your com-pany permits, or if you are on goodterms with your HR department, re-structuring a few components couldreduce your tax liability.

Opt for food coupons instead oflunch allowances, as they are exemptfrom tax up to Rs. 50 per meal

Include medical allowance, trans-port allowance, education allowance,uniform expenses (if any), and tele-phone expenses as part of salary. Pro-duce bills of actual expenses incurredfor these allowances to reduce tax

Opt for the company car insteadof using your own car, to reduce highprerequisite taxation.

2. Utilizing Section 80CSection 80C offers a maximum

deduction of up to Rs. 1,00,000. Utilizethis section to the fullest by investing inany of the available investment op-tions. A few of the options are as fol-lows:

Public Provident FundLife Insurance PremiumNational Savings CertificateEquity Linked Savings Scheme5 year fixed deposits with banks andpost office

Tuition fees paid for children's educa-tion, up to a maximum of 2 children

3. Options beyond 80CIf you have exhausted your limit

of Rs. 1,00,000 under section 80C,

here are a few more options:

Section 80D - Deduction of Rs. 15,000for medical insurance of self, spouseand dependent children and Rs.20,000 for medical insurance of par-ents above 65 years

Section 80G- Donations to specifiedfunds or charitable institutions.

4. House Rent AllowanceAre you paying rent, yet not re-

ceiving any HRA from your company?The least of the following could beclaimed under Section 80GG:

25 per cent of the total income orRs. 2,000 per month orExcess of rent paid over 10 per centof total income

This deduction will however not beallowed, if you, your spouse or minorchild owns a residential accommoda-tion in the location where you reside orperform office duties.

If HRA forms part of your salary, thenthe minimum of the following three isavailable as exemption:

The actual HRA received from youremployer

The actual rent paid by you for thehouse, minus 10 per cent of yoursalary (this includes basic dearnessallowance, if any)

50 per cent of your basic salary (for ametro) or 40 per cent of your basicsalary (for non-metro).

5. Tax Saving from Home LoansUse your home loan efficiently to

save more tax. The principal compo-nent of your loan, is included underSection 80C, offering a deduction up toRs. 1,00,000. The interest portion of-fers a deduction up to Rs. 1,50,000separately under Section 24.

6. Leave Travel AllowanceUse your Leave Travel Allowance

for your holidays, which is availabletwice in a block of four years. In caseyou have been unable to claim thebenefit in a particular four- year block,you could now carry forward one jour-ney to the succeeding block and claimit in the first calendar year of that block.Thus, you may be eligible for threeexemptions in that block.

7. Tax on BonusA bonus from your employer is

fully taxable in the year in which youreceive it. However request your em-ployer for the following:

If you anticipate tax rates to be re-duced or slabs to be modified in thesubsequent year, see if you couldpush the bonus payment to the sub-sequent yearProduce your tax investment detailswell before, to prevent your employerfrom deducting tax on bonus beforehanding it over

A Final WordKeep in mind the below points,

to avoid the hassles of last minute taxplanning.

Give your employer details of loansand tax saving investments before-hand, to prevent any excess deduc-tion

Check the Form 16 received at theend of each year from your em-ployer thoroughly

It is important to start your tax plan-ning well before 31st March, and tofile your returns before the 31st ofJuly each year

- Source : NDTV Profit

7 Ways Salaried Individuals Can Save Taxes

16 10 February 2014

Subscriptions forThe Secular Citizen

Renewal as well as New, can be sentthrough Bank Fund Transfer to any oneof the following banks:

Bank: HDFC BankBranch : CST - Mumbai VTAccount Name: The Secular CitizenAccount No. 03552000006744ISFC code: HDFC0000355orBank: Citizen Credit Co-op Bank Ltd.,Branch : Colaba, MumbaiAccount Name: The Secular CitizenAccount No. 000000000000489ISFC code: CCBL0209003

Please inform us through email:secular@vsnl.com or through phone:22693578 after transferring the same.

Great people may come and gobut trusted people, have lasting legacies, for they leave an

indelible impression on the mind.Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wasone such person. He not only pio-neered a freedom struggle based onhis firm belief in Satyagraha, but alsoproclaimed a moral vision, guided byhis love and concern for humanity. Heenvisaged a society that did not hidebehind a façade of moral hypocrisy,rather one that backed truth and har-

Buddha said, “It is a man’s own mindthat lures him to evil ways”.

The 7 social evils : a) Wealth with-out work - Simply put means gettingsomething for nothing. It advocates-Don’t work, just manipulate people andthings. A notable example being, makemoney without paying your taxes andyet reap the benefits of citizenship. b)Pleasure without conscience - Thechief query of the immature, greedyand selfish is, “What’s in it for me? Willthis make me happy?” Learning to liveselflessly, to be sensitive and consider-ate is a challenge today; otherwise thereis no sense of social responsibility inour pleasure seeking activities. c)Knowledge without character - Littleknowledge is dangerous definitely, butonly focusing on academic excellencewithout character development, is asdangerous if not worse. Our educationshould empower our children to be-come persons of substance - the needof the hour. d) Commerce withoutmorality – In his book Moral Sentiment,economist Adam Smith has shared theimportance of service and contributionto society. If we allow business to oper-ate with no moral foundation, we wouldonly be setting ourselves up for animmoral society. e) Science withouthumanity – If Science becomes all tech-nique and technology it will quicklydegenerate into a battle of man againsthumanity. If there is no sound under-standing of the human purpose forwhich a said technology is striving, wewill end up victims of our own technoc-racy. f) Worship without sacrifice – If

we claim to profess a religion withoutany sacrifice then we are only involvedwith the social façade of religion andthe piety of religious practices. Impor-tant in religion is learning to put our-selves in the other’s shoes, walking theextra mile for another, all of which in-volves sacrificing our own pride, preju-dices and ego. g) Politics without prin-ciples - If life is governed without prin-ciples there is nothing to depend upon.Focusing only on one’s personality iscreating an image that will sell well insociety. Like our politicians who spendastonishingly large sums of money tocreate superficial images ,in order towin votes and gain office.

In his book, ‘Principle CentredLeadership’, Dr. Stephen Covey haselucidated the works of Gandhi and hasrealistically laid open the meaning ofthe 7 social evils for anyone who caresto listen and learn. Hence I have spo-ken of them in minimalistic terms. Iwould rather try and use this forum tosource out a reason for the escalationof these evils and look at a way forward.

The indecipherable AlbertEinstein, often referred to as a ‘madscientist’ shared these words of wis-dom, “The world is a dangerous placeto live in not because of the people whoare evil but because of the people whodon’t do anything about it”. How oftenhave we taken the easy way out andblamed society for everything that hasgone wrong. But wait a minute. Are youand me not society? So if we want tomake it a better place we need to changeourselves first. We need to eschew allforms of evil and its associated signs.Winston Churchill has rightly pointedout, “Except for the word ‘Change’ allother things in this world are subject tochange, an inseparable part of life andif we fail to change ourselves and re-main stubbornly in the past we will notbe a part of the future”. It would havegreatly pained Gandhi to see a vastmajority of his country men and womenrefusing to change, clinging stubbornlyinstead to meaningless rituals, customs,traditions and beliefs, that bring only

7 Social Evils7 Social Evils7 Social Evils7 Social Evils7 Social Evils

Ninette D'Souza

mony.Gandhi was a visionary who real-

ized that, the freedom that would beachieved at a great price, would need aconscientious society to carry it for-ward. Misguided modes of conduct, hefearlessly condemned as ‘deadly evils’because they would destroy us, heclaimed. On the 64th death anniversaryof Gandhi I wish to share, the 7 socialevils spoken about by Gandhi, as wayback as in 1925, but which remain valu-able even today, for the paradox of ourtimes is while we have made forays intospace, we have also let the malaise ofevil dictate our very lives. As the wise

1710 February 2014

pain and tragedy to themselves andtheir families. It is this very lack ofchange, that has created these evilswhich are not only an abomination toour culture, but are also proving to bestumbling blocks in India’s strides to-wards rapid growth on the global chart.

I am convinced by Kahlil Gibranwho says, “To be able to look backupon one’s life in satisfaction is to livetwice.” As a teacher I work daily withyoung hearts and minds I can make ormar. I choose to challenge my studentsto be the change they want to see. Imotivate them to implement new ideasand set high ideals for themselves andothers, build upon their inherent talentsand capabilities to create a positiveenvironment of growth and respect,exude a trust that cuts across all barri-ers and become proud pioneers of aturn around in the mindset by workingconsistently and with conviction. Am Iencouraging them to emulate Gandhi?Of course! While there always will beone and only one M.K. Gandhi where isthe harm in Gen Y propagating‘Gandhigiri’? If Munnabhai could use itto bring about a change in reel life, whycan our children not use it to bringabout change in real life?

For the 64th death anniversary ofGandhi, I have a wish— that there existsa society where everyone has the sameopportunities, where equality and un-derstanding become an everyday ex-perience. Am I asking for the impos-sible???? I do not know, but I takecourage in the words of the Mahatmahimself who said, “When I despair, Iremember all through history, the waysof truth and love have always won.There have been tyrants and murder-ers and for a time they can seem invin-cible but in the end they always fall.Think of it –always”. Yes, friends theamount of good in one warm heartedperson is enough to go over all the coldhearted people in the world. Jai Hind.

Mrs. Ninette D’Souza,Canossa High School, Mahim.

This piece won the first prize at the interschool compendium of competitions on theoccasion of Gandhi Jayanti, conducted by theGandhi Smarak Society at Mani Bhavan inSept 2013. I have edited it to suit his deathanniversary.

Arabic Calligraphy

A very ancient form of calligraphy, itis a form of writing in which Calligra-phers produce eleborate designsusing Arabic script.

Few religions prohibits theworship of images. As a result, non-figurative art forms such as calligra-phy have a high degree of impor-tance in such culture. Arabic is thelanguage of the Qur'an, giving Ara-bic calligraphy a special status

Over the long and varied his-tory of Arabic calligraphy, a numberof different styles developed in dif-ferent regions. For example, the earlyKufic style is highly linear, with sharpangles and straight lines. A latercalligraphic style, the Nash or Naskhscript, is much more fluid.

Writings in Arabic calligraphyappear in a wide variety of contexts.Calligraphic designs are commonin books, particularly sacred texts,but they also occur on pottery, coin-age and other objects. Inscriptionsin Arabic calligraphy are an impor-tant part of the decoration of manymosques. These inscriptions arecombined with geometric decora-tion to create a visually striking ef-fect. In some mosques, the pas-sage from the Qur'an chosen for the

inscription relates to the part of themosque it adorns.

One unusual type of Arabiccalligraphy is the calligram. In acalligram, the calligrapher uses thewords of the inscription to create apicture. The picture is often relatedto the text of the inscription, creat-ing a visual pun. Calligrams are aform of popular calligraphy and donot usually appear in mosques orother high-status contexts.

18 10 February 2014

Situated in the foothills of the great Pyrenees,In a cave at Mssabielle,Near Lourdes in France,In the year 1858,Between II February and 16 July,Our lady appeared 18 times,To a 14 year old girl,Named Marie Bernadette Soubirous.

This has become,One of the world's most pilgrimage centres,On account of its innumerable miracles,Of physical and spiritual healing,A Basilica was built on the rock,Above the grotto,In accordance with Our Lady's request,To St. Bernadette.And when this proved too small,The 'Rosary Church' was added to itIn 1901.

In 1907 Pope Pius X extended to the Universal Church,

The observance of this day's Feast,With its special office and Mass,Devout pilgrims thronged to the shrine,From the very beginning,The first of national pilgrimages,Arrived in 1872.It was a French one,Consisting of 25,000 pilgrims,It is now estimated,That about a million pilgrims,Visit Lourdes each year.

The physical cures began within,A few days of the first apparition,And have continued ever since.These miracles are not confined to believers,But to prayer offered,By some faithful Catholic relative or other,

The wheel chair and helpless stretcher cases,Which arrive in special 'invalid trains' and buses,Are lovingly handledBy volunteer men and women nurses,Who at all times and everywhere,Keep reciting the Rosary aloud.

The most touching sight and time however,When most miraculous cures,Seem to take place,Is the daily procession,Of the Blessed Sacrament,When the Eucharistic Presence,Carried by a visiting Prelate,Into the great Rosary Square,In front of the Basilica,Goes through seriously affected invalids.Blessing each one individually.

At this time the voice of invocateurs,And thousands of pilgrims in chorus,Cry out, 'Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me!Please Lord, that I may see!Lord, that I may hear!Lord, that I may walk!This moving spectacle,Ends with General Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament,From the Basilica steps.The miracles of Our Lady at Lourdes,Lead the Church to declare,Her feast day,A day of 'Healing' in modern times.

Our Lady Of LourdesFeast Day-February II

World day of sickDeclared as day of physical and spiritual healing.

—Ella Almeida

1910 February 2014

InspirInspirInspirInspirInspiration!ation!ation!ation!ation!

Garlic and onions are very similar andcome from the allium family, with theirbenefits to the human body numerous.

Garlic contains high levels of allicin, a com-pound of sulfur that gives it the strong smell.Allicin is also a very strong antibiotic which helpsthe body in killing germs and curbing their abilityto reproduce. The antibacterial properties arewhat give this bulb the power to eliminate toxinsfrom the scalp, so ladies, take note. It also pro-motes circulation of the scalp, and these are bothkey for hair to grow. Oh, those who suffer fromscalp dryness can use garlic to good effect. Forbest effects, apply garlic directly to the scalp.

The same case can be said of close cousinthe onion and a 2002 study outlined the benefitsof onion to hair growth. The sample group in-volved 23 patients who applied onion juice twice

Eating Onions And Garlic WillHelp Your Hair Grow

a day, and 86.9% of these experienced hair regrowth after just six weeks. Thepositive effect of these two on hair regrowth has the high sulfur levels.

Ever since shewas a childJulene has

enjoyed painting,drawing, and otherarts and crafts andattempts to use herabilities as gifts toothers. She startedher design and me-dia companyEnvibrance Studiosin 2002 as a teen,minored in art in col-lege and wanted tofind a way to createoriginal art to share with others…

She had always liked cute andfeminine t-shirts, but often could notfind any with messages she liked orwith un-cluttered, pretty graphics thatcould be dressed up with cute layer-ing and accessories or dressed downfor casual occasions.

When visiting her mother’s home-land of Haiti after the earthquake shewas shocked at the standards of livingthere and wanted to give back in someway through product sales (a portionof Envibrance Dream Apparel saleswill go towards charitable causes, in-cluding helping people in Haiti). Shealso saw some of her cousins in Haitiwearing second-hand brand-name t-shirts with scary images of skulls and

My Dream Is To Inspiredecided tocreate posi-tive t-shirtsfor youth towear instead

While work-ing withyouth as amotivationals p e a k e r ,Julene oftensaw teensand tweensw e a r i n gshirts with

negative messages. She began creat-ing her own positive shirts to sell andwear at events, and to donate to specialyouth events and organizations

There are so many t-shirts outthere already but very few merge posi-tive messages with bold, artistic graph-ics.

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CYBER AWARENESS

What is cyber crime?

Cyber Crime is a criminal activitycommitted with the use of com-puting or Electrical Devices andInternet.

Such crimes are increasing rap-idly in Pune

School and College students arethe most common victims ofthese attacks.

Netcrime refers to criminal exploi-tation of the Internet.

Generally, however, it may bedivided into two categories:1. Crimes that target computers

directly;2. Crimes facilitated by computer

networks or devices, the pri-mary target of which is inde-pendent of the computer network or device.

Netcrime refers to criminal exploi-tation of the internet.

20 10 February 2014

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MUMBAI : Goan Roman CatholicBachelor, aged 37 years, Ht. 5’ 7”,Wt. 70 kgs, Wheatish Complexion,Edn. MBA., working as a Sr. Mo-bility Specialist International HR inDubai. Visiting Mumbai in Decem-ber. Contact immediately Email :terencedsilva1230@gmail.comOR 9869319466. (Regd. No.6005)

MUMBAI : RC Bachelor 39/5’8”,B.E., working in Senior positionreputed IT firm. Seeks alliancefrom R.C. spinster educated goodfamily background Pl. reply withphotograph and details tokeithcardozo@hotmail.com orcontact 9820338755 (Regd. No.5996)

MUMBAI : “I am a fun loving 38years Goan R.C. Ht. 5’ 8”, Wt. 80kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.B.Com., C.A., who believes in hav-ing a balance between work andpersonal life. Fond of music, trav-elling and the best way for me tounwind is through dance (LatinStyle). I am currently working fora reputed MNC for last 5 years.Though I drink socially and occa-sionally, smoking is a strict-no.Seeking alliance with a simple,god-fearing girl with a good familybackground. Eventually, I hope tosee myself not just as my partner’partner but my partner’s Best

Address your replies to :

Regd. No.ROYAL CHRISTIAN FAMILY,99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st

Floor, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001.

To Place Your MatrimonialAdvertisement Call:

2269 3578 OR 2265 4924

Friend forever!” Contact email :goansearch@yahoo.com OR9833761339 (Regd. No. 5994)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Bachelor, age 30 years,Ht. 5’ 9”, Wt. 72 kgs, WheatishComplexion, Edn. B.Com., MBA,LLB., working with I.T. Co., in HRLegal. Loving, caring, sober withgood manners seeks suitablematch. Mangalorean, simple work-ing in Mumbai / Navi Mumbai. Con-tact : 9820545508 OR email :francoroyal@rediffmail.com(Regd. No. 5943)

BANGALORE : MangaloreanCatholic parents based in Banga-lore, seek alliance for son 31/5’8”,slim, B.E. Bangalore, double Mas-ters USA, working in USA, fromGod fearing, good looking, slim,Mangalorean Catholic spinster,preferably IT professionalworking in USA, age below 29.Contact email :pgzmonteiro@yahoo.com OrMob.: 9845417838. (Regd. No.5940)

GOA : Goan Roman CatholicBachelor, aged 30 years, Ht. 5’ 9”,Wt. 73 kgs, Fair Complexion,Edn.B.B.A., working as aHR. Executive, working in Kuwait.Contact email :gretafern@gmail.com. OR9890656294 (Regd. No. 5936)

MUMBAI : Goan Roman CatholicBachelor, aged 39 years, Ht. 5’ 5”,

Wt. 80 kgs, Wheatish Complexion,Edn. MBA, H a v i n gown Business. Contact email :cmaneckji@gmail.com OR28928350 (Regd. No. 5931)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Bachelor, aged 34 years,Ht. 5’ 8”, Wt. 60 kgs, Fair Complex-ion, Edn. Diploma in Hotel Man-agement, working on the ship.Contact email : marshall-liberty007@yahoo.com OR9769775073 / 9819442577.(Regd. No. 5928)

POONA : Roman Catholic Bach-elor, aged 35 years, Ht. 5’ 5”, Wt.65 kgs, Fair Complexion, Edn.B.Sc., + Certified Fumigation Op-erator, Having own business.Seeks a fair good looking girl will-ing to settle in Poona. Contactemail :nelsoncarvalho@rediffmail.comOR 9096466322 / 8600528122(Regd. No. 6020)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean/TamilianRC Bachelor, aged 30 years, Ht.5’ 10”, Wt. 85 kgs, Fair Complex-ion, Edn. B.Com., + Post Gradu-ate 2nd year. Seeks a suitablegood looking, working girl below27 years,. Contact email :riya.anthony11@gmail.com OR8390022313 (Regd. No. 5898)

Members are requested toinform us when they are settled,so that publication of theirdetails can be discontinued.

2110 February 2014

MATRIMONIALSMUMBAI : Goan Roman CatholicSpinster, aged 25 years, Ht. 4’ 7”,Wt. 48 kgs, Fair Complexion, Edn.B.Sc., in H.Sc. Textile working asa Asst. Executive. Contact email :dmelloaurealia@gmail.com OR9819569874 (Regd. No. 6026)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 24 years,Ht. 5’ 6”, Wt. 58 kgs, WheatishComplexion, Edn. B.A., working fora Multinational Company. Contactemail : denverr89@gmail.com(Regd. No. 6025)

MUMBAI : Roman Catholic Divor-cee, aged 49 years. Ht. 5’ 7”, Wt.65 kgs, Wheatish Complexion,Edn. B.Sc., working as a Sr. Govt.Officer. Contact Email :reenaahuja2012@gmail.com OR9323552662 (Regd. No. 6023)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 28 years.Ht. 5’ 3”, Wt. 45 kgs, Fair Complex-ion, Edn. B.E. Computer, workingas a I.T. Consultant. Seeks an edu-cated Mangalorean boy from goodfamily background. Contact :8879179796 or Email :ajd19@yahoo.co.in (Regd. No.6018)

QATAR : R.C. Spinster, age 28,Ht. 5’ 6”, MBA, working in Qatar foran Oil Company along with herfamily, seeks alliance from tall, welleducated bachelors (working onship or abroad-Engineers), havingstrong catholic values. Please re-

Address your replies to :

Regd. No.ROYAL CHRISTIAN FAMILY,99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st

Floor, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001.Royal Christian Family

Helps In ChoosingThe Right Life-Partner

Serving Since 32 Years

spond to email:vanspereira25@gmail.com OR97466756066 (Regd. No. 5990)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 30 years,Ht. 5’ 4”, Wt. 63 kgs, Wheatish Com-plexion, Edn. MSc. Nursing, work-ing as a Nurse in Abudhabi - UAE.Seeks a well educatedMangalorean boy with good familyvalues. Contact email:janydz_1484@yahoo.com OR9930076741 (Regd. No. 5980)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 24 years,Ht. 5’ 4”, Wt. 51 kgs, Fair Complex-ion, Edn. B.Sc., PGD. Event Mgt.,working as Manager-client servic-ing, good looking. Seeks a RCbachelor below 30 years, Ht. above5’ 8”, Preferably working abroad.Contact email : olinda.r90gmail.comOR 9820340642 (Regd. No. 5979)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 30 years,Ht. 5’ 4”, Wt. 63 kgs, Wheatish Com-plexion, Edn. MSc. Nursing, work-ing as a Nurse in Abudhabi - UAE.Seeks a well educatedMangalorean boy with good familyvalues. Contact email:janydz_1484@yahoo.com OR9930076741 (Regd. No. 5980)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 24 years,Ht. 5’ 4”, Wt. 51 kgs, Fair Complex-ion, Edn. B.Sc., PGD. Event Mgt.,working as Manager-client servic-ing, good looking. Seeks a RCbachelor below 30 years, Ht. above5’ 8”, Preferably working abroad.Contact email : olinda.r90gmail.comOR 9820340642 (Regd. No. 5979)

Please renew your membershipat lease a month in advancebefore its expiration date.

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 32 years,Ht. 5’ 5”, Wt. 57 kgs, WheatishComplexion, Edn. MBA, working asMarketing Manager in Bangalore,Contact email :richardathanasius@gmail.com OR9980555027 (Regd. No. 5973)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 28 years,Ht. 5’ 5”, Wheatish Complexion,Edn. MBA, well settled. Seeks aboy below 33 years. Contact email:c_dsouza2007@yahoo.com OR9920384736 (Regd. No. 5972)

MUMBAI : Anglo Indian RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 34 years,Ht. 5’, Wt. 53 kgs, Wheatish Com-plexion, Edn. Graduate, working asa Web Designer in MUSCAT.Seeks a well settled bachelor. Con-tact email :newimage23@yahoo.com /parsjudy@gmail.com OR 00968-95852514 / 9820300874 (Regd.No. 5971)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Spinster, aged 25 years,Ht. 5’ 3”, Wt. 60 kgs, WheatishComplexion, Edn. B.Com., workingas a Sales Co-ordinator. Contactemail : avonquadros@ymail.comOR 9969741361 (Regd. No. 5970)

22 10 February 2014

We credit the rich inheritance of ourFaith to Holy Mother

the Church. She has pre-served, propagated and pro-tected the Laws of God withthe Laws of the Church; di-vinely destined to be the bea-con to guide souls in this life.The Spirit of God, however, decides onwhom to send with His light.

God spoke to prophet Isaiah, “ Iwill give you as a light to the nations, thatmy salvation may reach to the end of theearth.” (Is.49:3). The Christian faith willalways carry this torch in Jesus’ name.

There is no drawback to the Lord’scontrol of his mission-ministry when heappoints His chosen one. In the tangledweb of man’s interpretation to knowGod’s will; nothing can bear fruit unlessHe so reveals it. “You are the salt of theearth; but if salt has lost its taste…. It isno longer good for anything, but isthrown out and trampled under foot.”(Mat.5:13). When God’s light is not on aperson; the man is lost in darkness,unable to make logical deductions re-gardless of how intelligent.

St. Paul’s faith rested on God’spower. Proclaiming Christ crucified, Paulwrote in his First letter to the Corinthians,“ So that your faith might rest not onhuman wisdom but on the power ofGod.” (1Cor.2:5). Paul believed in thecredibility of Jesus. He launched a self-imposed campaign (after being ap-pointed by God) to be a light to thenations. He carried the torch of the newChristian faith from Antioch to Paphos inCyprus (AD 48-49). A year later fromJerusalem to Athens (AD 50-54). In thesame year from Joppa to Corinth (AD54-58).

Your light can rise in the dark. It willbe starkly shown in exact configura-tions, while the rage to live, standingalone at the harbor of storm and wind –the light will shine on you to take thecognitive leap. This, is pure epiphany.You will change from competitor to con-fessor, proclaiming Christ. And yet, there

are those men and womenwho in linguistic and ethnicdiversity misinterpret theLord’s light. In the Gospel ofJohn, chapter 3, verse 19 it iswritten : “ this is the judg-ment, that the light has comeinto the world, and peopleloved darkness rather than

light because their deeds were evil.”John was an insurance salesman

in his early thirties. He rose in the task hewas given and was made executive-salesman within a year. Within threeyears of hard labor John was able to findhis life-partner, build a home and be-come a father of twin daughters. Some-how, for John, it was not a satisfied life.Something was not there. At this stagehe felt like a ship adrift. Suddenly, onhearing a Sunday sermon proclaimingChrist crucified changed his routine life.

In the darkness of his soul theLord’s light broke through. John took ona personal mission to help the helpless,to protect women from violence, to shel-ter the homeless and the old, while stillholding his insurance work. To thosewho received his aid, John spoke tothem of the faith and how love is able toconquer through Christ.

Then, one afternoon, his wife readout to him a verse she had come acrossreading the Bible. “If you offer your foodto the hungry, and satisfy the needs ofthe afflicted, then your light shall rise inthe darkness and your gloom be like thenoonday.” (Is.58:10). John was graciousand humble. He was proud of the Churchfor preserving the faith in Scripture,prayers, rituals, devotions and laws. Itwas inevitably God’s mission-ministry;His light given to a dark world.

The great, insurmountable rewardwhen in darkness is to receive His light.“His life is the light that shines throughthe darkness – and the darkness cannever extinguish it.”(Jn.1:5/LNT.) Thisis a quotidian truth. Thus we meet withChrist every day of our life, readily reach-ing out to save souls.

•

His Light Will RiseIn Darkness

RosaryWhoever shall re

cite the Rosarydevoutly, apply-

ing himself to the consid-eration of its Sacred Mys-teries shall never be con-quered by misfortune. Godwill not chastise him in Hisjustice, he shall not perish by an unpro-vided death; if he be just, he shallremain in the grace of God, and be-come worthy of eternal life.

Benefits of the Rosary

1. It gradually gives us a perfect knowl-edge of Jesus Christ.

2. It purifies our souls, washing awaysin.

3. It gives us victory over all our en-emies.

4. It makes it easy for us to practicevirtue.

5. It sets us on fire with love of Our Lord.6. It enriches us with graces and merits.7. It supplies us with what is needed to

pay all our debts to God and to ourfellow men; and finally, it obtains allkinds of graces for us from AlmightyGod.

Blessing of the Rosary

1. Sinners are forgiven.2. Souls that thirst are refreshed.3. Those who are fettered have their

bonds broken.4. Those who weep find happiness5. Those who are tempted find peace.6. The poor find help.7. Religious are reformed.8. Those who are ignorant are in-

structed.9. The living learn to overcome pride.10. The dead (the Holy Souls) have

their pains eased by suffrages.

Do you know?The rosary is a powerful weapon

that helps fight the evils around us.

— Jubel D’Cruz

BY MELVYN BROWN

2310 February 2014 2310 February 2014

Royal Christian Familyinvites

BACHELORS & SPINSTERSfor their forthcomingGET-TOGETHER

A grand gathering to get acquainted with boys and girls ofmatching age group who are in search of a suitable Life-Partnerof their choice with an ultimate view to matrimony.

Gain much required important information concerning marriage

HighlightsK Participants bio-data circulated at least 15 days in advance among

participants.K Many choices for a Boy or Girl in his/her own age groupK Marriage counselling and guidance by experts in the field.K Cordial atmosphereK Free and independent way of choice + Volunteers to assistK A well planned introduction session.K Boys-Girls of matching standard, status and education.K Games and other activities to get to know with each other.K Participants include good boys and girlsK Each Get-together is limited to around 100 boys and 100 girlsK Boys and girls from all over Mumbai and from other locationsK Get-togethers will be held on Sundays or Holidays

Places are limited !Book Your Seat Early !!

Royal Christian Family99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st Floor,Near GPO., Fort, Mumbai 400001Tel.: 022 - 22693578, 22654924

Email: secular@vsnl.com,secular@sezariworld.com

24 10 February 2014

Published on every Monday & Posted on Monday & Tuesday of every weekPosted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai - 400001.RNI No. 56987/92 Registered No. MH/MR/South-139/2012-14

24 10 February 2014

Printed and Published by Lawrence Coelho at The Secular Citizen, 99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st Floor, Harihar Nivas, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. Tel.: 2269 3578, 2265 4924Printers: The Secular Citizen, Fort, Mumbai 400001. Editor : Philip Myaboo