Exam

Even the Gods won’t be able to withhold their laughter on entering an examination hall. It looks like a perfect marketplace where all are busy doing their own thing. The question paper is like the vegetable vendor who tells the customer the price of the product (marks). The students pay more (write more) for the ones which has more marks and vice versa.

                However not all are busy, some being very poor or moderately poor are unable to buy (write answers). In real life, when we find it difficult to cope up, we seek the help of others; as also in exams when some struggle for the answers they seek the help of others in their own ways. The pen and the knowledge the student have acts as the currency for him/ her.

The teacher may be called the owner of the whole market place or in certain situations the policeperson. The teacher like police swiftly takes rounds to see that fair trade is taking place. The teacher also gives extra lifelines in the form of supplements to those who ask for it. When the teacher finds something illegal taking place, he/ she immediately takes the responsible persons into custody.

                At the end of the exam all are happy that they have bought good vegetables (written well in the exam). Sometimes the class is left in a mess and hence the peon comes in to clean up and put order in the class. The peon may be called as the cleaner of the marketplace. At the end of the day after all sales have taken place those in charge of clearing the place, come and clear up all the mess that the vegetable vendors have made.

                God plays the role of the Almighty who lovingly looks upon us. He knows our situation, our needs, and our crisis and so on. He is empathetic towards and sends people to help us when we are in need.

I

I got 90%, how much did you get? I got 88%. Ah! That means I’m above you, I secured more marks than you. Imagine my dear friends how the person who said ‘I got 88%’ must be feeling. When family members and neighbors will come for a chat together, this person will not feel like showing his face because he hasn’t got the highest possible marks. S/he feels that it is better to stay in the room than come outside and be the butt of the joke.

                In today’s world, media is bombarding us with a consumeristic culture; cosmetics indirectly tell us that what we have is not the best, fashionable accessories tell us that we do not look complete and so on. Bigger is better and ideas of the like enter in to human mind as they browse through T.V. channels, surf the internet or flip through the newspapers.

                We are not only human beings but also spiritual beings. We have come from God and have to return to Him. We mustn’t clutter our lives with unnecessary extras but be satisfied with bare essentials. Jesus in the Bible while speaking of human worth says, “Look at the birds of the air and lilies of the fields, they neither sow nor do they reap, yet their Heavenly Father takes care of them. Aren’t you (human) worth much more than the birds and the lilies? Why worry about tomorrow when the worries of today are sufficient enough for the day?”

                God accepts us as we are, He loves us as we are and tells us to start from where we are. I’m sure that even God would agree to this, that the best competitor you can have is yourself. You have to perform better than what you did the previous time. One needs to compete with oneself and grow better and better day by day. Positive self-competition is the best competition.

Family

                 Parents play a vital role in our life. They have taken care of us right from the moment we were in the womb. They loved us so much that they were willing to undergo any amount of pain and suffering so as to see us grow happily. All our dads like Superman have slogged hard at their various work fields and have been good breadwinners for the family.

                On the other hand our moms like Cat woman have been protecting us from all kinds of evil and vices. They have helped our growth process and have always been there by our side both in good and in bad times. Our parents are the springboard through whom we reach God. Most of our knowledge about God comes from our practical experience with our parents.

                When we are small we love and listen to our parents. We do as they ask; their smallest wish becomes a command for us. However as we grow, we start disagreeing with our parents, we begin to disobey, back answer and also disrespect them. We feel suppressed by what our parents say and feel that our private space is being violated. The result is that there is disharmony, disunity and disturbance in the family.

                However as we grow further on in years, we realize that what our parents did at that moment in time was correct. Most of our family problems and breakdown occur due to the communication gap in the family. In some families communication itself doesn’t exist and hence all problems begin.

                We need to get back to the basics of family life like going together for a family dinner, outing or even a simple heart to heart dialogue. Speaking and letting out emotions in a way helps the person himself/ herself and also communicates what a person is going through.

Death

The death of anyone is a cause of grief to at least one or more people in the world. Death comes like unknown thief in the middle of something and takes away the life of a person. Death has always been and still continues to be a mystery. No one knows the day or hour but the only thing we know is that death is a reality which doesn’t spare anyone. Jesus quoted in the Scripture says, “Be prepared for you know not the day or the hour.” He is urging us to be alive, active and prepared because no one on this Earth knows or can predict when one/ other is going to die.

                I have written so much in the first paragraph because it is the main climax of the dream I had. On the night before I went to bed, during the night talk Fr. Robert announced that one of my companions would receive an injection on one of the nerves connected to his stomach. I received it as normal news that came to us during the night talks that were given.

                It was a normal night and I had no disturbance or any other problems as such. However in my dream I heard a voice saying, “Your friend is dead.” I was really shocked. I couldn’t see what was going on in my dream because everything appeared to be black. I could feel the inner turmoil and confusion over the death of my friend. However when I awoke and saw that my friend was still there I felt relaxed. I don’t know the significance and meaning of this dream, neither do I know why this dream came to me that night. Maybe the meaning and its deeper understanding may come later on in life.

                The important things to learn or to take note of are that:

                Death is a reality

                No one knows the day or the hour. 

Friend

It’s a matter of great concern when you come across a person who says that he doesn’t have friends. There could only be two possible reasons why the person doesn’t have friends. Either s/he must have despised others or must be hated by others. It’s a matter of great pride to have a wonderful bunch of good friends who know you, care for you and chip in when you are in need. It is said that ‘Friends are the cheer to ones heart.

                Dreams in some way or the other have a connection with our daily lives. Hence we see why Sigmund Freud giving so much importance to dreams in his Psychoanalytical theory. In my dream I saw a friend of mine who came back the seminary after having completed his apostolate. In reality it has just been 3 weeks or so since he has gone. However in the dream, both of us were overjoyed at the sight of each other, we started talking about our own experiences in our own places that we were.

                The important lesson that I drew from this dream is that friends are the ones who are always dear to us. No matter where they are from, where they go or what they do, we cherish these people as good friends. Nowadays with the rise of social media one may claim to have many friends/ followers on Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and so on. However not all friends are true friends. A friend is not one who says, ‘Hi whatsup!’ and finishes his talk with you, but the one who feels one with you or empathizes with you when you’re in trouble or grief.

                A friend in need is a friend indeed!  

Transfiguration

The experience of the Transfiguration was given to the disciples with the purpose of strengthening their faith in God’s kingdom and His glory. In that event of the Transfiguration, Jesus takes three of His apostles - Peter, James and John on top of a high mountain to pray. That mountain is referred to as Mount Tabor as per traditions. Mount Tabor is also recognized as the Mount of Transfiguration. The Church of the Transfiguration is a Fransciscan Church which is located on Mount Tabor which is situated in Israel. A few Christians alongwith Origen have identified Mount Tabor as the place where the Transfiguration took place.

                Whittaker drew a connection between Moses’ view of the promised land and Jesus’ words on coming down from the mountain: “You will say to this mountain (i.e. of Transfiguration), ‘Move from here to there,’ (i.e. the promised land) and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” On the mountaintop Jesus is seen to be transfigured, His face shone like the bright sun and His clothes like dazzling white. After this the prophets Moses and Elijah are seen next to Jesus conversing with Him. The climax of this scene is when Jesus is called “Son” by a voice from above, which is taken to be the voice of God the Father, like in the Baptism of Jesus.

                The event of the Transfiguration is of great significance because it is the point where human nature meets God with Jesus acting as a connecting point or in other words the bridge between heaven and earth. This event reinforces the teaching of Jesus that God is “not the God of the dead, but of the living”. Thomas Aquinas considered the Transfiguration “the great miracle”. Saint Irenaeus wrote: “The glory of God is a live human being and truly human alive is the vision of God.” Bishop Athanasius of Sinai said: “It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here forever. What greater happiness or higher honour could we have than to be with God, and to be made like Him and to live in His light?”

                This feast was made a universal feast in the Western Church on August 6^th by Callistus III in honour of the lifting of the Siege of Belgrade, 1456. Transfiguration is regarded as a major feast, which is counted among the 12 great feasts in the Byzantine rite. Many Christian denominations celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration. In the Syriac Orthodox, Indian Orthodox, Revised Julian Calendars within Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches, the Feast of the Orthodox is kept on 6^th August.