‘Living Life more abundantly through the Joy of Giving’
With the season of Advent underway, we are all geared to welcome the big day to commemorate the birth of our Lord. The ‘Christmas Season’ has its own influence as per the hemisphere, the location and the people.
Out here in Mangalore, we will be having Christmas sales, exchange of gifts, the weddings and social functions during the festive season. Let us pause for a while and ponder how we can make this Christmas Season ‘Living Life more abundantly through the Joy of Giving’, in just three simple and practical ways, viz.:
➢ Recycling our wardrobe. Perhaps when we buy a new shirt or dress, it is also time to part and give away some, so that the number in the wardrobe remains the same.
➢ We exchange Greeting Cards and present Gifts this season. Can we look at promoting ‘Made in Mangalore’ brands? We have various products made at the Cheshire Home, St Agnes Special School, St Joseph’s Rehabilitation Centre crafted by differently-abled persons. Let us promote their products as it will go a long way in making all concerned happy.
➢ Lastly, this festive season, as before, we attend lot of functions too. At the festive table, let us not waste food. Well, your host may have had the money to pay for it but the food resources belong to `Mother Earth’. We are accountable to the next generation, as man belongs to nature but nature does not belong to man. For more on this, I draw your attention to Dr. Anand and Dr. Geeta’s article titled “Turnover a new ‘leaf’ — stop food wastage” in the November 2014 issue of Mangalore.
On the CASK front, our engine has picked up momentum and in a month we ought to be steaming fully ahead. Our Eye Care Camp at Fr L.M. Pinto Health Centre, Badyar on 16th November 2014 was a satisfying and encouraging experience as detailed in the report elsewherein this issue. I am grateful to our Hon. Secretary Mario Saldanha for being the pillar of support in this venture.
Last month, yours truly appealed for providing clean drinking water to schools, under CASK `Swaach Bharat’ initiative. Delighted to inform that Drs Anand and Geeta Pereira have come forward to provide the first water purifier to St Raphael Higher Primary School, Thenka-Karanthoor, near Badyar, where 233 children study. Thank you, Drs Anand and Geeta Pereira for this Christmas Gift of Rs 25,000 to CASK and we sure will implement this scheme by coming New Year’s Day.
The CASK Centenary Souvenir will be in your hands soon. A lot of effort has been put in by Mr John Monteiro and Dr Derek Lobo in bringing out this treasure for the Mangalorean Catholic Community. For many of us actively involved with the CASK Centenary, it will be a fond memento of the CASK Centenary now on.
Your Governing Council has planned a CASK RE-UNION on 31st January 2015, at the Boat Club, Sultan Battery, Mangaluru 575006. Ms NayanaFernandes, our Vice President, is set to ensure that all members will have a happy and enjoyable evening. I look forward to meeting you at the RE-UNION.
Finally, if there is one prayer that I seek in 2015, it is ‘ WORLD PEACE’. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is leading the way with a constructive dialogue as demonstrated in a prayer service at one of Istanbul’s most important mosques recently. Quoting Pope Francis: ‘People of all faiths could not remain indifferent to the cries of the victims of the inhuman brutal war next door’.
Let us collectively meditate and pray for ‘world peace’ this Christmas season for, as Alfred Tennyson, English poet laureate (1809-1892) said: More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.
Wishing you and your families a holy, meaningful Christmas and a healthy, joyful, prosperous New Year 2015.
Jai Hind
John Prasad Menezes
