Posted on 12/20/2015 2:13:33 PM PST by marshmallow
For five years, Omar Fernandes worked as a member of the ground staff at the Mumbai airport. The end of each day was marked by coffee and conversations with colleagues.
"Most of the men I worked with were in their 40s and 50s," says the 30-year-old. "They would talk about how miserable they were at work, how they were struggling to provide for their families. It seemed like such a hard life."
These conversations began to crystallise his resolve to become a priest. It's something he'd been thinking about for four years already. "I was 24 when I got my first promotion at work," he says, "and I felt nothing. It didn't seem to mean anything beyond more money and more participation in a meaningless rat race."
Fernandes spoke to his parish priest about this, and the priest suggested he try social work to give meaning to his life.
Fernandes, a graduate in psychology and a former state-level footballer, began volunteering at orphanages and a lepers' home run by the church.
"We would pray together, and the kind of solace that the combination of material help and spiritual guidance gave them - and me - was amazing," he says. "I remember thinking to myself, 'Okay, this makes sense. This is the life I was meant to lead'."
At 28, he told his family that he was joining a seminary. His family and friends were surprised, mainly because he had never seemed overtly religious.
But across the country, the combination of corporate ennui and a search for meaning is driving urban youngsters to the Church. In many cases, these young men had grown up - and been raised - with a very different vision of their future, one with the regular trappings of job, ambition, family and wealth.
"While a religious.....
(Excerpt) Read more at hindustantimes.com ...
This is a good thing. Many East Indians are very intelligent, hard working and family or community oriented. What I don’t get from the article, or what I may have overlooked, is why are these young men choosing to devote their lives to the Christian faith vs the Hindu or Budhism of their ancestors?
My guess is those two faiths do not put a great importance on spreading their influence through good deeds, community services or public acts. As long as they speak understandable english and wish to live as Americans, I say, bring it on.
There is a dearth of American born men who wish to become a priest. I, for one am in favor of allowing women to also accept the collar. Women can be as loyal, as sincere, as devout, as astute in their faith as men can. The woman’s expression of faith will, of course be perceived as different. That’s okay. I think, eventually, it will occur.
Catholic ping!
Not enough jobs in the call centers?
I’m putting a seminarian in India through school with CNEWA. Previously, I sponsored a seminarian in Ethiopian (now-Father Negasi Yohannes, a great young man), and two religious Sisters in India.
There is a long tradition of Christianity in India. Most of the Catholics are of the Syro-Malabar or Syro-Malankara rites, although some, especially in cities, are Roman Rite.
Awesome!
Seminary formation is a long process, but it’s really interesting to have a long-distance view on their formation. I kept in touch with Father Negasi for quite a while after his ordination, but he kept moving around Ethiopia and I lost email contact.
Roman Catholics are a minority of Ethiopian Christians, but they do a lot of good works.
Thanks. Until now, I knew nothing about these other groups joined in the Christian faith.
NYer has a chart of the non-Roman Catholic Churches which is extremely interesting. The earliest Christian communities in India are very persuasively dated to the first century mission of the Apostle Thomas, who was martyred in India. They long predate Islam in India.
Christians are kind of concentrated in the coastal areas of the southern half of India. Kerala State, for example, is about 50% Christian, including more than one Catholic Rite, Eastern Orthodox, and (for lack of a better term) non-Catholic, non-Orthodox congregations, some very ancient.
that was pretty funny :)
Interesting and much more than I knew previously. Still, when a Roman rite Indian Catholic pops up over here the question is usually “Are you from Goa?”.
There were Catholics in India for a long time, evagelized by St. Thomas the Apostle.
There are many Thomases in India, named after him. Most come from south India.
When we worked for ARAMCO we got to know several Catholic Indians. Saudis hired people "of the Book," which would be Christians, Muslims...and even a Jew or two, always an AMERICAN Jew. I met one American Jewess there. She was NOT working for ARAMCO but was working in a hospital near the Red Sea.
Hindus were never hired because they were not "of the Book."
That’s probably the most likely thing, but given the urbanization and internal mobility of India, Roman-rite churches are turning up elsewhere.
We had a priest of Indian ethnicity from Sri Lanka at our parish in Oklahoma City for a while. Very nice young man, although his accent was tough even for me (I’m good with foreign Englishes). I sometimes wonder what Catholics from India or Africa make of places like Oklahoma!
Now that's funny!
No to priestesses!
These are Goanese or other traditionally Catholic groups in India - yes, there are such. Note his name - Fernandes - thats Portuguese in origin, from Goa and a few other places. India has some of everything.
Priests from India is nothing new. It was one spot where there were more vocations than churches. We had a few come to the Philippines when I was a kid, because we always had the opposite situation there.
Awesome! I didn’t realize you could do that.
http://www.cnewa.org/donations.aspx?ID=1370&sitecode=HQ&pageno=1
This seems to be their “Sponsor a Seminarian or Sister” link. They’re very accommodating. After sponsoring a child and two Sisters in India, I asked for someone from somewhere else, and got the seminarian in Ethiopia. On the site, it looks like you can choose a country/region.
“I’m putting a seminarian in India through school with CNEWA. Previously, I sponsored a seminarian in Ethiopian (now-Father Negasi Yohannes, a great young man), and two religious Sisters in India.”
Tax-chick, you rock!
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