SOME MORE PICS FROM NHA PROGRAM - 2ND OCTOBER 2008

SYLVIE THANKS...

SHEPHERD GIFTS...

IRWIN ROCKS...

ROCKY SINGS...

AN UNIQUE CELEBRATION OF GANDHI JAYANTI IN DON BOSCO PARISH NASHIK

The parishioners of Don Bosco Nashik decided to celebrate Gandhi Jayanti in a unique way. In paying tribute to the Father of the Nation, one often forgets the living grandfathers and grandmothers and so a trip to the Nirmala Home for the Aged (which is home to many of the seniormost members of our parish) seemed in order. At 4:30 pm about 60 parishioners – young and not so young gathered at the portals of Nirmala Home and were warmly welcomed by the inmates who were all spruced and ready. The program began with a prayer and then followed an evening of fun and games.

To set the ball rolling the boarders of Maria Vihar presented a Kohli dance. They had the audience clapping and swaying to the music as they gracefully presented a part of the folklore of the Mumbai coast.

Then followed some enthusiastic singing of old time favorites, a dance by Irwin to the tune of a Hindi hit song, some exquisite trumpeting from Bosco Monsoratte and a game of housie. There were also songs from Jim Reeves, Mohd. Rafi, others in Konkani and Marathi, a game of housie and some delicious snacks. It was hard to tell how quickly the time passed and it was soon the moment to bid one another goodbye.

Myrtle Paul, one of the inmates, noted that it had been an uplifting experience for all present – the seniors, the children, the youth and the grown-ups. An evening spent bringing back old memories and enjoying fellowship seemed a fitting way to pay tribute to Bapu.

A BUDDING ARTIST IN THE FAMILY

This is a picture of a painting done by my niece Kruti Ann Buch on 3rd September 2008.

SOME PICTURES

A picture is worth a thousand words....so here are some recent ones to make up for the lack of words in the blog...

My mum and dad at the mass on 21 September 2008...

We had a nice dinner and some good singing - mandoline, guitar and Italian songs from yesteryears...

CARE-FRONTATION: A VIRTUE FOR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY LIVING

(Homily for 23rd Sunday of the Year A)

Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20

(These thoughts were proposed and found useful by some who listened on 7th September 2008)

Today we have a Eucharistic celebration that is not going to allow us to return home untouched. The gospel has an important message for all of us on reconciliation. And this reconciliation will be made possible by CARE-FRONTATION = a word coined to describe an interaction in which there is a confrontation that arises from care. Let us spend some time unpacking this idea.

We live in a world which prides itself on individualism. You do your thing and I'll do mine....and you bloody well better not interfere with my thing. So we tolerate and leave things unsaid often leaving situations to get worse.

But Jesus is challenging us to take responsibility not only for our own lives but also for the lives of others. As Ezekiel reminds the people in the first reading - we are called to be sentries and watchmen. We cannot afford to sleep on our watch since we can place the entire community in danger.

A story is told of a young girl with polio who had to undergo extensive physiotherapy that often left her in excruciating pain. So she protests one day to her dad. "Dad don't you love me just the way I am - unconditionally?" And her dad replies: "Darling I love you - I love you too much to allow you to remain the way you are!" Now that is true unconditional love. To love the other into being a better person. At the root of our challenging others who err is LOVE. We do not correct to prove a point or to gloat over a person who is inferior to us. We reach out in love to someone we care about. St. Paul reiterates this in the second reading when he tells us that the summary of the law is love. When we truly love then our care-frontation becomes possible.

The gospel of today helps define this process of Care-frontation. It lays down steps for the journey and we will just highlight three of them.
1. True care-frontation begins as an encounter in love between two persons. When I see my brother or sister stray I am not called to publicise their failing or mistake. I need to go to them in a loving encounter - in private and bring to their attention the change that may be necessary for them to become better and more loving persons. The goal is to make them better - the motivation is love. So there is no room for blame and accusation. How often we lower the dignity of the other person by bringing their faults to light in public before people who respect them and thus belittling them. Needless to say this has the opposite effect of hardening positions and closing people from change and adaptability to rigidness and stubborness.
2. This care-frontation precludes gossip, rumour mongering and back biting. I have no right to tell others and to spread tales that I have not had the courage in the first place to share with the person concerned. How much harm we do when we do spread this evil spirit born often from half-truths that are presented as absolutely incontrovertible proof. We would do well to recall an incident from the life of Philip Neri. A woman once went to him for confession, accusing herself of badmouthing people. The saint absolved her but gave her a strange penance. He told her to go home, get a hen and come back, plucking the bird’s feathers as she walked along the street. When she had returned to him he said: “Now go back home and, as you go, pick up each feather that you plucked on the way.” The woman told him that it would be impossible since the wind had almost certainly blown them away in the meantime. But St. Philip was prepared: “You see,” he said, “just as it is impossible to pick up the feathers once the wind has scattered them, it is likewise impossible to gather gossip and calumnies back up once they have come out of our mouth.”
3. If a simple dialogue in private has not yielded fruit or brought about the desired change then we need to get the help of others to solve the problem. We need to get those who have some abililty to help and mediate and bring about reconciliation. But our brother or sister is always due respect and the intervention is once again always to be moved by LOVE. This makes the third key issue in Care-frontation.

So as we go into a new week let us ask the Lord for this ability to CARE-FRONT others. Care-frontation is moved by love and seeks the good of the other. It moves from personal private dialogue in which we point out to the other the error of his or her ways. It avoids all gossip and slander. When dialogue fails it seeks to bring about change and reconciliation by recourse to significant people who can help make things better. Let us go out to enjoy a week of CARE-FRONTING others.

ON VIANNEY SUNDAY - STRAY THOUGHTS...

(I have found this little poem so true and have cited it many times...if it brings a chuckle to your lips enjoy it...and spare a thought the next time you want to 'bad mouth' your priests...Happy Vianney Sunday to all - priests and flock!!!)

A PRIEST IS ALWAYS WRONG BECAUSE...

If he begins his mass on time, his watch is advanced;
If he begins a minute later, he keeps people waiting
If he preaches too long, he makes people get bored;
If his homily is too short, he is unprepared.
If he owns a car, he is luxurious;
If he does not own one, he does not go with the times.
If he goes out to visit families, he is always out:
If he does not, he has no time for them.
If he asks for donations, he is a moneymaker;
If he does not do it, he is too proud and lazy.
If he takes time in the confessional, he is too slow;
If he makes it too fast, he has no time for his penitents.
If he renovates the church, he throws away money;
If he does not do it, he allows everything to rot away.
If he is with the youth, he forgets the old.
If he is seen with women, he is a playboy;
If he goes with men, he is not normal;
If he is young, he has no experience;
If he is old, he should retire.
As long as he lives, there are always people who are better than him;

BUT IF THE PRIEST DIES....THERE IS NOBODY TO TAKE HIS PLACE!

AIDS 2008 - XVII INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE (MEXICO) – 5

GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH GOALS THWARTED BY HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, GENDER INEQUALITY AND STIGMA

(Condensed from the official press release of AIDS 2008)

9 August 2008 - As the XVII International AIDS Conference drew to a close yesterday, HIV experts from around the globe highlighted the dramatic negative impact that stigma and the denial of human rights, including gender inequality, continue to have on the effectiveness of HIV treatment and prevention scale up. Fear of violence and discrimination prevent many people living with or at risk for HIV from seeking testing and treatment.

“The voices of those who bear the brunt of this pandemic have been loud and clear in Mexico City this week,” said Pedro Cahn, International Co-Chair of AIDS 2008. “If the world does not heed the call to ensure the human rights and dignity of every person affected by HIV, we will not achieve our goal of universal access.” “Those most at risk, including injection drug users, men who have sex with men and sex workers, as well as women and youth, must never be seen simply as patients or prevention targets,” said Dr. Luís Soto Ramírez, Local Co-Chair of AIDS 2008. “Their experiences and contributions are central to the development and implementation of effective programmes.”

Tuberculosis is closely linked with the death of people living with HIV. At least one-third of the 33 million people living with HIV worldwide are co-infected with TB, and these individuals have up to a 15% risk of developing active TB every year. Dr. Chakaya Jeremiah (Kenya) gave an overview of the challenges presented by the dual epidemics of HIV and TB. He noted good progress being made to decrease the burden of HIV in TB patients through HIV testing of TB patients and the initiation of preventive therapy for HIV-positive TB patients. Jeremiah also profiled the emerging threats of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB, both a consequence of sub-optimal TB control and inadequate infection control practices in health care settings.

In his plenary remarks, Bruno Spire (France) identified reducing stigma, combating prevention fatigue, and diversifying HIV testing as key steps to prevent sexual transmission of HIV in concentrated epidemics. Spire proposed a “triple therapy” strategy to combat stigma and discrimination rooted in evidence of stigma’s negative impact on HIV risk reduction. The strategy includes fighting for better acceptance of PLHIV, improving laws and policies to protect those most vulnerable to infection, and implementing prevention programs that incorporate community mobilization and peer support. He cited examples of efforts in India, Chile and France as important examples of this successful strategy. He pointed to data showing that access to antiretroviral therapy and perceived good health have a positive impact on consistent risk reduction among PLHIV. Spire also emphasized the importance of a variety of HIV testing approaches as well as increased access to voluntary counseling and testing, particularly in community settings. In addition to facilitating earlier access to care, learning one’s HIV status enables earlier adoption of safer behaviors.

According to Edwin Cameron (South Africa) the enactment of laws that criminalize transmission of or exposure to HIV has become so widespread that they have become a crisis in efforts to deal rationally and effectively with HIV. Citing examples from locations as diverse as the US, Sierra Leone and Singapore, Cameron highlighted the irrational nature of these laws and their ineffectiveness in achieving their purported goal. They radically increase HIV stigma and become barriers to testing and treatment. Prosecutions often single out already vulnerable groups such as sex workers, MSM and others exposing them to ostracism and further stigma. Cameron stated that one of the outcomes of AIDS 2008 should be a major international pushback against such misguided criminal laws and prosecutions.

Citing violence against women as both a cause and consequence of HIV infection, Zonibel Woods (Canada) highlighted the fear of violence from partners as a reason that some women do not seek treatment for HIV. Woods declared that providing access to treatment must be linked with ensuring a woman’s right to live free from violence. Scaling up HIV treatment and working against stigma and discrimination must go hand in hand. The legal and policy environment to address violence against women must be strengthened along with the commitments to enforce, monitor and evaluate such policies. The three priorities Woods outlined were confronting gender-based violence, ensuring women’s right to sexual and reproductive health, and investing in women’s organizations so that women can participate effectively in decisions that affect their lives. She emphasized that success in gender transformative programs depends on the engagement of women’s organizations in setting in-country priorities, and the inclusion of experts in gender equality and women’s empowerment on review panels.

Conference Closes With Calls to Action
At the Closing Session, delegates heard summary remarks from AIDS 2008 Co-Chairs, Dr. Pedro Cahn and Dr. Luis Soto Ramirez, as well as from community representatives. Incoming IAS President, Dr. Julio Montaner, gave an inaugural address. At the end, Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and Co-Chair Luis Soto Ramírez officially transferred the International AIDS Conference glass globe from Mexico City to Vienna, Austria, the host of AIDS 2010. Representatives from Vienna were happy to accept the challenge of hosting the next major gathering two years hence.

With more than 24,000 participants from over 190 countries, AIDS 2008 was the second largest in the history of the International AIDS Conference, and the first to be held in Latin America. The conference theme, Universal Action Now, emphasized the need for continued urgency in the worldwide response to HIV/AIDS, and for action on the part of all stakeholders.