Saturday, 27 August 2022

Albert Day Celebration

 St. Albert's College Ranchi (SAC) celebrated the College Day on 28th August 2022. 

The day began with the traditional 'Musical Rising' which gave momentum to the celebration. This was followed by concelebrated Holy Eucharist. Very Rev. Fr. Ajit Xess, the Provincial Superior of Ranchi Jesuits was the Main celebrant. He invited all to become fruitful in every sphere of life. 





After a heavy breakfast, there was a spirit-filled traditional football match between Philosophers and Theologians in which the Seniors defeated the Benjaminites by four goals. 



The last part of the celebration was colourful cultural programme in the evening. Fr. Ajay Kumar Xalxo, the Rector welcomed the gathering. His excellency, Bishop Felix Toppo S.J., the Archbishop of Ranchi was the chief guest.

Various programmes coloured the occasion. Assami Bihu Dance, Marriage proposal and Dance of Santali Culture, Nepali Dance, Naming Ceremony and Dace in Oraon Culture, South Indian Lungi Dance, Munda Cultural Dance, Dance-Drama of the theme "St. Francis the Architect of Laudato Si" and finally the "Jesus the Miracle of Life" break dance were feast to the eyes. 

During the programme the Chief Guest, Archbishop Felix Toppo launched the new book penned by Dr. Fr. Raju Felix Crasta, entitled "Avibhāgabhedābheda in the Vijnānāmrtabhāsyam of Vijnānabhiksu: A Thread that Unites Divergent Aspect of Reality". Fr. Crasta gave a brief summary of the book and then the bishop released the book and gave the first copies to Fr. Ajit Xess, the Provincial of Ranchi Jesuits and Fr. Ajay Xalxo, the Rector of SAC. The Archbishop in his message congratulated the author for the great work. He then appreciated the good work of the staff and students. 

There programme was followed by delicious Dinner and Dance.













संत अल्बर्टस कॉलेज राँची में वार्षिक महोत्सव धूमधाम से मनाया गया। यह  उत्सव कॉलेज के संरक्षक संत, लुबेन के संत अल्बर्ट महान के सम्मान में अगस्त माह के अंतिम सप्ताह में हर वर्ष  मनाया जाता है।  इस अवसर पर धार्मिक, सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रम  एवं फुटबॉल मैच का आयोजन किया गया। समारोह में विद्यार्थी, स्टाफ  सहित कई अतिथि एवं गणमान्य शामिल हुए।


समारोह के प्रथम चरण, धार्मिक अनुष्ठान मिस्सा पूजा से संपन्न हुआ,  जिसका शुरुआत ब्रदरों के प्रवेश नृत्य एवं ब्रदर पीटर टोप्पो के स्वागत संबोधन से किया गया। आज के मुख्य अनुष्ठाता राँची प्रोविंश के प्रोविंशियल फादर अजित कुमार  खेस्स एस.जे. थे। उन्होंने प्रवचन में सभों को फलप्रद बनने  के लिये आह्वान किया। फलप्रद बनने के लिये अपने गुणों का निखार एवं सतत प्रयास करना आवश्यक है। मानवीय गुणों एवं अध्यतिमकता से निरंतर सम्पन्न होते रहना तथा उन्हें परहित में समर्पित करना चाहिए। मिस्सापुरान्त संत अल्बर्ट  के प्रतिमा पर  फादर अजित  द्वारा माल्यार्पण किया गया।

 

कार्यक्रम के अगले भाग में दर्शनशास्त्र तथा ईसशास्त्र टीम के बीच फुटबॉल मैच खेला गया। इस रोमांचकारी मैच में ईसशास्त्र टीम ने 0 के मुकाबले 4 गोल से विजयी रही।

 

उत्सव के अंतिम चरण में   सांस्कृतिक  कार्यकर्म सम्पन्न हुआ। इस समारोह के मुख्यातिथि कॉलेज के  चांसलर रांची महाधर्मप्रान्त  के महाधर्माध्यक्ष  फेलिक्स टोप्पो थे। इस दौरान भारतीय दर्शन शास्त्र के प्राध्यापक फादर राजू फेलिक्स क्रस्ता की  पुस्तक 'विज्ञानभिक्षु कृत  विज्ञानमृतभाष्यम में अभिभाग भेद अभेद' का विमोचनसमारोह के मुख्य अतिथि के द्वारा किया गया कार्यक्रम की शुरूआत कॉलेज में अध्ययनरत धर्मबहनों के मंगलाचरण नृत्य से हुआ। तत्पश्चात कॉलेज के रेक्टर फादर अजय कुमार खलखो ने उपस्थित अतिथियो का अपने  संबोधन द्वारा अभिनदंन किया। इस रंगारंग कार्यक्रम में छोटानागपुर के विभिन्न आदिवासी नृत्य सहित, असामिस, नेपाली एवं दक्षिण भारतीय नृत्य  प्रस्तुत की गयी। इस अवसर पर पर्यावरण संबंधी एकांकी का भी मंचन किया गया। कार्यक्रम का  संचालन ब्रदर सेल्बेरियुस तिर्की ने किया। कार्यक्रम को सफल बनाने में कॉलेज के रेक्टर, स्टाफ एवं विद्यार्थियों का अहम योगदान रहा। ब्रदर शिशिर सुमन तिर्की के आभार प्रदर्शन कॉलेज गीत गायन के साथ समारोह समाप्त हुआ।









For the glimpses of Dances click the  below link

Wednesday, 26 October 2016

Becoming a Nation: Processes and Prospects - 41st Annual Research Seminar of the ACPI at Ranchi

41st Annual Research Seminar of the Association of Christian Philosophers of India (ACPI) on the theme “Becoming a Nation: Processes and Prospects” was held from 20th to 23rd October, 2016 at St. Albert’s College, Ranchi, Jharkhand.



Inaugural  Function
The Annual Seminar started by invoking the Almighty through a meaningful Prayer Dance by the students of St. Anne’s High School, Ranchi. This was followed by lighting the lamp by the Chief Guests, dignitaries and Organizers of the event. Fr. Deepak Valerian Tauro, the Rector of St. Albert’s College welcomed the august gathering. Dr. Kieth D’Souza, the President of ACPI welcomed and read the annual report. Most. Rev. Felix Toppo S.J., the Vice-Chancellor of SAC, was the chief guest who gave the inaugural address. This was followed by the release of the latest ACPI book, “Philosophizing the Body”, edited by Prof. Dr. Nishant A. Irudayadason. To begin with the release, the editor introduced the book and thanked all who extended the support and authors. The Chief Guest released the book and gave away the first copy of the book to the Dignitaries in the dais. Prof. Dr. Alexius Ekka S.J., the Director of XISS, delivered the Keynote address. The keynote was entitled, “Becoming a Nation: Processes and Prospects”. In the end, Prof. Dr. Annie Kunnath proposed the Vote of Thanks.

The dignitaries present for the inaugural functions were: Prof. Dr. Johnson Puthenpurackal, OFM Cap., the founding father of ACPI, Dr. A. Pushparajan, Most Rev. Lawrence Pius, the Bishop of Dharmapuri Diocese, Most. Rev. Vincent Aind, the Bishop of Bagdogra, Most Rev. Sr. Linda Mary Vaughan, the Superior General of DSA Congregation, Sr. Kavia SRA, the Provincial of SRA Congregation and many more people.

Paper Presentations
Thursday, 20 October
7.00 am           Breakfast
08.30 am         Registration
09.00 am         Inaugural Function
Prayer Dance: St. Anne’s School children
Lighting of the Lamp
Welcome Address: Fr. Deepak Tauro, Rector, St.Albert’s College, Ranchi
Welcome and Annual Report: Dr. Keith D’Souza, SJ (ACPI President)
Inaugural Address (Chief Guest): Most Rev. Felix Toppo, SJ, Vice-Chancellor of SAC
Dr. Nishant Irudayadason (Ed.) introduces the latest ACPI book: Philosophizing the Body
Book Release by Chief Guest
           Keynote Address: Dr. Alexius Ekka, SJ, Director of XISS (introduced by Dr.Selva Raj)
           Questions and Interaction
Vote of Thanks: Dr. Annie Kunnath
10.30 am         Coffee Break
11.00am    Papers 1& 2:  “Imagining A Nation: Postcolonial Perspectives” Nishant A. Irudayadason & “Shared, Shifting Sovereign Spaces: Towards A Solidarity of Pluralistic Patriotism” Keith D’Souza [Moderated by Varghese Manimala]
12.30 pm         Lunch
03.15 pm         Papers 3 & 4: “Whose Nation? Whose State?: Subaltern Readings into Constitutional Trajectories" Jose D. Maliekal & “The Dialectics between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles” Peter Ladis [Moderated by Michael Rosario]
04.35 pm         Tea Break and Free Time
06.00 pm         Book Release Function: Festschrift for Prof. A. Pushparajan
                        Welcome Song
                        Welcome Address by Dr. Suman Ekka, President of the Faculty of Theology
                        Address by Dr. Keith D’Souza, SJ (ACPI President)
                        Address by His Eminence Telesphore P. Cardinal Toppo
Introducing the Festschrift: Dr. Johnson Puthenpurackal, OFMCap.
Felicitation by Most Rev. Lawrence Pius, Bishop of Dharmapuri, TN
Release of book by Cardinal Toppo
Address by Prof. Dr. A. Pushparajan
Vote of Thanks: Fr. Raphael Toppo, IMS
07.30 pm         Dinner
08.15 pm         Gathering for Self-Introduction

Friday, 21 October
06.30 am         Holy Mass: Presided by Most Rev. Telesphore Bilung, SVD (Aux. Bp., Ranchi)
07.15 am         Breakfast
08.45 am         Papers 5 & 6:“The Role of Soft Power and Hard Power in Nation Building” Francis Arackal & “Terrorism, Fundamentalism and Nationalism” Jose Pennaparambil [Moderated by Joe Andrew]
10.05am          Coffee Break
10.30 am         Papers 7 & 8: “The Role of Intellectuals and the Right to Dissent” Noel D’Costa
& “Hannah Arendt: The Political Function of Thinking” Gayatri Mendanha [Moderated by Joe Tony Previnth]
12.00 noon      Paper 9: “Science: Not To Silence “Silence” - Reflections on the Role of Science in Building a Holistic Nation” Stephen Jayard [Moderated by Pratap Chandra Misal]
12.40 pm         Lunch
03.15 pm     Papers 10 & 11: “Being an Indian Christian” Victor Ferrao & “Reinventing Indigenous Symbols and Metaphors within the Indian Tradition” Vianney Maria Joseph [Moderated by Sebastian Alackapally]
04.35pm          Tea break and Free Time
06.15 pm         Cultural Programme
07.30 pm         Dinner
08.15 pm         Business Session – I, followed by Executive Committee Meeting

Saturday, 22 October
06.30 am         Holy Mass: Presided by Most Rev. Vincent Aind (Bp. of Bagdogra)
07.15 am         Breakfast
08.45am          Papers 12 & 13: “The ‘Hind-Swaraj’ that Became the ‘Indian Republic’: An Analysis of the Growth of Gandhian Ideas on our Nationhood” A. Pushparajan & The Constitution as the Bedrock of a Republic” Bp. Lawrence Pius [Moderated by Johnson Puthenpurackal]
10.05 am         Coffee Break
10.30 am     Papers 14 & 15: “Sri Aurobindo: From Politics to Poetics in Post-Modern India” Kamaladevi Kunkolienkar & “Indian “Masters of Suspicion” (Periyar, Ambedkar, Narayana Guru, etc.)” James Ponniah [Moderated by Joseph Thathews]
12.00 noon     Paper 16: “Nation as an Evolution in Space and Time: An Analysis based on Hegelian Philosophy” Gregory Mathew Malayil [Moderated byJames Purathail]
12. 40 pm        Lunch
03.15 pm       Papers 17 & 18: “Ushering In A New Dawn: Making Poverty History In India” Ashley Miranda & “Winners and Losers in the Development Game” Anthony Dias [Moderated by Jojo Varakukalayil]
04.35pm          Tea & Free Time
06.10 pm      Papers 19 & 20: “Politics Governing the Reservation Policy” S. Sekar Sebastian &“Multiculturalism and Recognition in the context of nation building: Western Questions and the Indian Experience” Dolreich Pereira [Moderated by Harry Immanuel]
07.30 pm         Dinner
08.15 pm         Business Session – II (Finalizing next year’s theme, subthemes, place and date)

Sunday, 23 October
06.30 am         Holy Mass
07.30 am         Breakfast
08.45 am         Papers 21 & 22:Subaltern Space within the Fabric of Indian Society” James Daniel Chellappa & “Remembering and Forgetting in Becoming a Nation” Annie Kunnath
                        [Moderated by Henry Crasta]
10.05               Coffee Break
10.30 am         Students’ Forum [Moderated by Raju Felix Crasta]
11.30 am         Finalizing the ACPI 2016 Seminar Statement
12.15 pm         Concluding Session
Presenting Accounts: Dr. Sekar Sebastin

01.00 pm         Lunch


Final Statement
ACPI STATEMENT 2016
We, the Association of Christian Philosophers of India (ACPI), met at St. Albert’s College, Ranchi, for our 41st Annual Research Seminar from 20th to 23rd October, 2016. The theme we chose was, “Becoming a Nation: Processes and Prospects.” There were 92 participants in attendance.

1. Our Context
  • India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, having a Constitution which safeguards the fundamental rights of its citizens.
  • India’s tradition of plurality and diplomacy, its scientific advancement and tremendous natural and human resources are signs of its immense potentiality.
  • India’s variegated religious and spiritual traditions and its multi-cultural richness enhance the uniqueness of the process of becoming a nation. We are invited to affirm human dignity and equality in spite of cultural and religious differences.
  • However, at present, there are unenlightened and dysfunctional attempts made to challenge and subvert many of the above-mentioned strengths and assets of Indian socio-political reality.

2. Seminar Insights and Deliberations
  • There persists a colonial hangover resulting in religious polarization and politicization, the assertion of cultural supremacy, the homogenizing approach of certain people with vested interests, and the emergence of developmental projects which lack ecological sensitivity, traditional wisdom and popular acceptance.
  • Current developments seem to lead to a narrow understanding of nationalism, with fundamentalist and anti-secular overtones foregrounded by the politicized use of the media, resulting in unreflective mob violence and terrorist activities.
  • While dissent is an integral part of democracy, what we are witnessing is the suppression of dissenting voices of intellectuals and the masses.
  • Numerous challenges to the integrity of the Constitution via anti-democratic and anti-minority policies have emerged, resulting in cultural and economic exclusion which will have severe repercussions on various subaltern communities.

3. Proposals stemming from the Seminar
  • The process of “becoming a nation” invites us to celebrate differences, to recognize and accept one another, to affirm cultural liberty and plurality, and to appreciate a mutually fecund co-emergence grounded by an ethics of compassionate care.
  • We affirm socio-political thinking that is in line with the constitution, which employs democratic and rational approaches, and results in constructive activism.
  • We support an egalitarian momentum which ushers in the welfare of all, especially that of the voiceless, trusting in their capabilities for empowerment and freedom.
  • We will attempt to adopt methods of sustainable development which recognizes the mutuality of science and religion, and is aimed at integral and holistic growth.
  • We will combine religious and moral education and enlightenment with relevant social activism.
  • We will cultivate a spirit of pluralistic patriotism rather than chauvinistic nationalism.
  • As Indian Christians, we will celebrate and share overlapping socio-cultural spaces with our fellow country men and women at the macro and micro levels.
  • Our interrelationships and collaboration with diverse communities will be aimed at fostering a spirit of inter-becoming.
One of the salient features of the seminar was the Media coverage. Through Fr. Raju Felix Crasta ACPI received a wide coverage. Frs. Selvaraj and Sijo Kollannur were the local secretaries. The wholehearted cooperation of the brothers and staff made the programme a grand success. 



Pictures of ACPI Ranchi
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_8FbLAFwzH-Q19xRWtpQVdPaWc?usp=sharing


Fr. Raju Felix Crasta
Blog Master

Sunday, 10 July 2016

JESUS, THE FACE OF THE MERCIFUL FATHER

© This is a  summary of the Schola Brevis by Dr.Fr. Antony Samy, the Professor of Scripture at St. Albert’s College Ranchi, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Academic Year 2016-17, Delivered on July, 2016 at SAC Auditorium, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

JESUS, THE FACE OF THE MERCIFUL FATHER

INTRODUCTION
Dr. Varghese Kurien’s (1921-2012) compassionate approach: An employee stealthily drinks milk ... Rule: every employee be given half a litre of milk to drink while she/he is at work. He displays his heavenly Father’s face of mercy” (A. Thottakara, W & W 49, 2016, 1).
Since Pope Francis’ election, his simple message of mercy, service, and renewal has spread to every corner of the world. His Apostolic Bull (Misericordiae Vultus [MV], “The Face of Mercy”) opens with these words “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy,” identifying the core of “the mystery of the Christian faith.” Mercy is a concrete reality through which God reveals his love as father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child. It has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth. Mercy is a person (Heb 1:1-2; Jn 1:14,18).
A person’s face conveys a lot: their facial expressions; their mood, their responses, their attitudes and their demeanour. In other words, a face is an outward expression of an internal reality; it’s what makes the invisible, visible. As Pope Francis points out, “In Jesus Christ, this mercy culminates in so great an act as to hold back nothing to save us, not even death on a cross.”

1. CONTEXT FOR THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY[1]
Digitalized and dissipated world, consciously and consistently seeking after varied ‘M’s: Money, Modernity, Mobility, Manufacture, Management, Multiplicity, even Manipulation. In this scenario, Mercy is mercilessly dismissed and conveniently ‘thrown away’ (J. Rosario, NL 10). The Year of Mercy is apt and appropriate for our turbulent and terror-stricken world, inviting us to adopt a compassionate and merciful approach.
Pope Francis called this particular Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy to direct our attention and actions on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s actions in our lives ... a time when the witness of believers might grow stronger and more effective (MV 3; K. Poovathumkudy, “MV & the Pastoral,” 5).
Further, he adduces the reason for the Jubilee because it is the favourable time for mercy:
It is the favourable time to heal wounds, … a time to offer everyone, the way of forgiveness and reconciliation. May the Mother of God open our eyes to comprehend the task to which we have been called; and obtain for us the grace to experience this Jubilee of Mercy as faithful and fruitful witnesses of Christ.[2]
The joy to rediscover and render fruitful the mercy of God, with which we are all called to give consolation to every man and woman of our time.
Pope John XXIII: “Now the Church wishes to use the Medicine of Mercy” (MV No. 4; J. Rosario, NL, 10).

2. THE TERM “MERCY”

Mercy is a concept integral to an understanding of God’s dealings with humankind. Hebrew and Greek terms behind “mercy”: The chief Hebrew term is hesed [dsx], “steadfast love, loving-kindness, faithful love, covenant love” -hesed expressed in “faithfulness” (emunah, hnwma), “mercy” (raham , ~jr) and “graciousness” (hanan, !nx). In the LXX and the NT: the term is most often eleos (e[leo~) in one form or another.[3] Raham, hesed, and hanan are interrelated, referring to the one gracious, forgiving, loving God who is forever faithful in reaching out to His people in their need: “God is merciful (raham; ~xr) and gracious (hanan, !nx), slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (hesed, dsx) and faithfulness” (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; Ps 103:8; Ps 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). Based in a covenantal relationship, hesed is a steadfast, rock-solid faithfulness that endures to eternity:[4]
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love (hesed, e[leo~) for you will not be shaken” (Is 54:10).
eleo~ (eleos, mercy):[5] kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them
The Latin Misericordiae (“mercy”): means to have a heart for the miserable.
In Hindi, mercy means n;k (daya); d#.kk (karuna); Ñik (kripa).[6]
In English, the expressions such as “to be merciful,” “to have mercy on,” or “to show mercy toward.” God’s love is unconditional (hesed, “tender mercy”) and eternal which is visible, par excellence, in the Incarnation.[7]

3. THE MERCIFUL AND COMPASSIONATE CHARACTER OF GOD
In the OT: mercy or compassion, constitutes a fundamental attribute of the divine character (Exod 32-34). God showed Moses His divine glory (Exod 33:19) and then proclaimed His divine name in Exod 34:6-7: “… ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful (raham; ~xr) and gracious (hanan, !nx), slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (hesed, dsx) and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...’.” These two verses contain one of the central classic expositions on the attributes of God in the Bible: V6 contains five attributes: merciful, gracious, slow to anger, full of steadfast love, and faithfulness and v7 describes how these attributes are manifest in God’s dealings with His people, specifically, “forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”[8] The first thing God had determined to reveal to us about His name (or character) was that He is merciful. He is compassionate. The Creator of heaven and earth is merciful. The One who called Abraham and delivered Israel from Egypt is compassionate.
This particular attribute of merciful God is central to the movement of covenantal history as portrayed in the OT (Ps 78:38; 86:15; 103:7-14), providing motivation for true and genuine repentance (Joel 2:12-13; 2 Chron 30:9). God’s mercy is not limited to Israel only but it extends to all creation. “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he had made” (Ps 145:9). The biblical testimony resists a conception of God’s mercy that is narrowly focused. Rather, it is a ever-present force that shapes all of reality, a pervasive impetus for hope.
In the NT: Mercy belongs to God (2 Cor 1:3; Jas 5:11) and this resource of mercy is inexhaustible (Eph 2:4). God’s mercy is displayed in the ministry of Christ. Everything in Jesus’ life speaks of mercy:
Ø  Jesus answered the disciples (of John), “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them” (Lk 7:22).
Salvation rests on God’s mercy as executed in and through the Christ-event. When Christians speak of mercy, they advocate gentleness, compassion, generosity, and understanding but it is first and foremost a description of God’s nature. The call to become merciful (Mt 5:7) is an invitation to a more non-judgmental way of looking at others/ourselves. It is to “be merciful as your Father is merciful,” (Lk 6:36) i.e., to participate in the very way in which God loves his creatures. God’s mercy cannot be separated from His love, His grace, and His faithfulness. “God is love,” (1 Jn. 4:8) for this love has been made “visible and tangible in Jesus’ entire life.”[9] St Maximilian Kolbe said, “Hatred is not a creative force. Love alone creates. Suffering will not prevail over us, it will only melt us down and strengthen us.” The NT depicts the mercy of God in a much brighter light in the face of Jesus Christ. He was the ultimate manifestation of God’s mercy, the assurance of that mercy for believers, and the basis of their own mercy in their relationships with others.[10] Pope Francis says: “The heart of Jesus is the ultimate symbol of God’s Mercy: but it is not an imaginary symbol. It is a real symbol, which represents the centre, the source from which salvation for all humanity gushed forth.” It is a face that gives life that brings humanity back to life! The wonderful story of Jesus’ dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well (Jn 4) presents us with four principles regarding the divine mercy.

4. FOUR LESSONS ON DIVINE MERCY FROM THE WOMAN AT THE WELL (Jn 4):[11]

First, God’s mercy is relentless: pious Jews of the first century diligently avoided Samaria - apostates and half-breeds. Yet Jesus moves right through Samaria - speaks to a woman in public (men simply didn’t do), someone known to be a sinner. Jesus embodies the love of God, which crosses barriers, mocks taboos, and overcomes all of the boundaries. God is filled with hesed (tender mercy) and delights in lifting up human beings: “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”
Second, the divine mercy is divinizing: The impression at times that God’s mercy serves a reparative or healing purpose alone, solely binds up the wounds of our sin and suffering. Jesus asks the woman at the well for a drink, thereby inviting her to generosity. When she hesitates, citing the customary taboos, Jesus says, “If you knew who was asking you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would give you living water.” But God, as St. John knew, is love. Therefore, to be filled with God is to be filled with love, which is to say, self-emptying. In a word, our being will increase in the measure that we give it away. This is the “water welling up to eternal life” that Jesus speaks of. God wants not merely to bind up our wounds; he wants to make us “partakers/partners of the divine nature.”
Third, the divine mercy is demanding: Understanding the proclamation of the divine mercy thus: the more we say about mercy, the less we should say about moral demand, and vice versa. But this is repugnant to the peculiar both/and logic of the Christian gospel. You can’t overstate the power of the divine mercy, and you can’t overstate the demand that it makes upon us. Jesus tells the woman that she comes daily to the well and gets thirsty again, but that he wants to give her the water that will permanently quench her thirst. Indeed, Jesus shows that the woman exhibits this obsessive, addictive quality of desire in regard to her relationships: when she says that she has no husband, Jesus bluntly states, “yes, you’ve had five, and the one you have now is not your husband.” This is not the voice of a wishy-washy relativist and cheap grace. Rather, it is the commanding voice of one who knows that extreme mercy awakens extreme demand.
Finally, the divine mercy is a summons to mission: The woman realizes who Jesus is and what he means. She puts down the water jar and goes into town to proclaim the Lord. The jar symbolizes the rhythm of concupiscent desire, her daily return to worldly goods in a vain attempt to assuage her spiritual hunger. How wonderful that, having met the source of living water, she is able to set aside her addictions to become herself a vehicle of healing for others. The very best definition of evangelization: one starving person telling another starving person where to find bread. Our words of proclamation will catch fire precisely in the measure that we have been liberated and transformed by Christ.
Mercy and compassion are rooted in the very character of God: His law commands it. Wisdom teaches it. The prophets enjoin it and the Psalms applaud it. The fullest expression of the mercy of God is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the compassion of God incarnate. The NT represents the arrival of its fullest expectation.[12]

5. POPE FRANCIS’ APPEAL
Pope Francis has been making mercy a hallmark of his papacy. His Episcopal motto in Latin, “Miserando atque eligendo” means “because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him” (MV no. 8). Pope Francis related his profound experience of mercy in his teenage years through the sacrament of Confession:
I had actually just gotten expelled from the public school system (because I foolishly had brought a Boy Scout knife to school) and only the Catholic school would take me in…a non-practicing Catholic, but my pastor invited me to serve Mass on the anniversary of his ordination…received Communion that morning I knew that everything was suddenly different-I was home… Although I was young, I knew what it was like to live apart from God and to have found him. This experience of mercy was reinforced by an eighth-grade project on the Divine Mercy devotion. We had to produce a short paper, but my mother purchased for me the entire Divine Mercy Diary of St. Faustina… age of fourteen, it was the first Catholic book I had ever read and it has fundamentally shaped my life.[13]
Pope Francis: mercy to be the very foundation of the Church’s life and her “credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love” (MV 10-11). The Church as a “community [that] has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy.” Mercy a key to evangelization and in the Church, especially in parishes and communities, “the mercy of the Father must be evident” and “everyone should find an oasis of mercy” (MV 12).

CONLUSION[14]
The Jubilee Year of Mercy: contemplate on the “Face of Mercy” to discover new depths of the Father’s love...anything invisible to be visible.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Lk 6:37-38).
St Paul further explains: “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work … He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us” (2 Cor 9:6-8, 10-11).
Pope Francis: we are now on a pilgrimage journey toward mercy. The words of Jesus above set forth the steps on our road to mercy. May our pilgrim steps toward mercy…be ever graced with the onward-leading hand of Christ, as we tread his example of giving and forgiving (MV 14-15).
God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden; can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ezek 37:1-14): be renewed by God’s mercy, be loved by Jesus. Let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.[15] Pope Francis exhorts us to live the corporal works of mercy and the spiritual works of mercy as the normal pattern in our daily lives, cautioning that “we will be judged on the basis of love” (MV 15).

Thank You



[1] Israel associates with the universal pardon, individual as well as communal reconciliation (Lev 25:8-13).
[2] Pope Francis, http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2015/documents/papa-francesco_20150411_ omelia-vespri-divina-misericordia.html, 15/06/2016.
[3] P. H. Towner, http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/mercy/, 12/04-2016; F Just, http://catholic-resources.org/ Bible/Mercy-Compassion.htm, 12/04/2016; H. Spieckermann, “God’s Steadfast Love Towards a New Conception of Old Testament Theology,” Biblica 81 (2000) 305-327.
[4] L. Hverberg, http://ourrabbijesus.com/2012/05/02/hesed-enduring-eternal-undeserved-love/, 20/06/2016; J. Polhill, “Mercy, Merciful,” Holman Bible Dictionary, http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/view.cgi? n=4234, 1991, 15/06/2016.

[5] Thayer and Smith, “Greek Lexicon entry for Eleos,” http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/ eleos.html, 1999, 15/06/2016.

[6] See http://dict.hinkhoj.com/mercy-meaning-in-hindi.words, 15/06/2016.
[7] R. Barron, http://www.wordonfire.org/resources/homily/hesed-all-the-way-through/4687/, 27/06/2016.
[8] M. Van Pelt, http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/old-testament-god-compassion-and-mercy/, 17/06/2016; MV no.6 states that “God is patient and merciful” and Ps 136 gives the refrain “For his mercy endures forever.”
[9] A. Rovati, https://millennialjournal.com/2015/04/20/mercy-is-a-person-reflections-on-the-papal-bull-misericordiae -vultus/, 20/04/2016.
[10] J. Polhill, “Mercy, Merciful,” Holman Bible Dictionary, http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/ view.cgi?n=4234, 1991, 15/06/16.
[11] R. Barron, http://www.wordonfire.org/resources/article/4-lessons-on-divine-mercy-from-the-woman-at-the-well/5185/, 20/06/2016.
[12] M. Van Pelt, http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/old-testament-god-compassion-and-mercy/, 17/06/2016.
[13] R. J. Staudt, http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/3796/the_measure_of_mercy_francis_and_the_ extraordinary _jubilee_year.aspx, 02/06/2016.

[14] MV no.14; M. Wood, “3 Steps Toward Mercy,” http://www.evangeliseaustralia.com/blog/3-steps-toward-mercy.html, 15/06/2016.

[15] Pope Francis, Easter Urbi et Orbi Message (March 31, 2013),” http://www.rcsocialjusticett.org/downloads/ parishlinkmay2015.pdf, 15/06/2016.