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Living every moment joyfully

Errol Fernandes, SJ, a Scripture Scholar and Retreat Guide, looks at Annotation 23 of the Spiritual Exercises in a new way.

Another way of looking at Annotation 23

By Errol Fernandes, SJ

Some scholars of Ignatian spirituality believe that the content of Annotation 23 -which is the last Annotation in the Spiritual Exercise of St. Ignatius – titled “The Principle and Foundation”, contains enough material for reflection and meditation for the whole retreat. They think that it contains almost all the points made in the other parts of the Spiritual Exercises. I agree with this view.

On deeper reflection on the content of Annotation 23, I have found that all of it is contained in the catechism we learn during our initiation into Christianity. As a matter of fact, this catechism could also be the imitation to any other faith tradition. In this catechism, there are two questions and responses as follows:

1. Who made you? God made me.

2. Why did God make me? To love God, to serve God and to be happy with God forever.

In the book of Genesis, we read about the creation of the heavens and the earth and of life on the earth. We are also told that humans are created in the “image and likeness of God” (Gen 1:26-28). This means that as humans we were created for eternity. It is in this context that we can understand what Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience”. There was to be no limit or end to life. Sin – symbolised by selfishness – was the reason why life ended. Because of sin, humans would now have an end.

Thus, to be made means that each of us has come at a moment in time and will have to go at a moment in time. The date of birth on a variety of documents that we possess indicated the date, month and year when we were born and so came into this world. Nobody knows when we will be called back. Therefore this moment is all that I have and all that is given to me. Since I do not know when our lives will end, I will live every moment of every day as it were my last moment. I will have no regrets about the past, but I will learn from it. I have no obsession about the future, although I will plan for it.

The Jesuit saint John Berchmans’s motto was: “Age quod agis.” It roughly means “Do what you are doing.” It can be paraphrased as “live in the present moment.” If we live this present moment as we ought to, we will be able to look back at the “past” with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. It will also mean that the “future” will naturally have been planned. In the conclusion to the parable of the shrewd steward (Lk 16:1-7), Jesus makes exactly this point. The steward is shrewd because he acts in the present. In this, he prepares for his “future”, but by acting in the Now. This leads Jesus to state the following in conclusion, “For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own than are the children of light” (Lk 16:8). It is an invitation and exhortation to live in the now.

It is a good practice to do some ‘spring-cleaning’ once every few months and give away that which we do not need to others who might need them. This will be a freeing experience and also lead to a sense of detachment.

Since we do not know when our life on earth will come to an end, we must be circumspect in our accumulation of things. The way to do this is to not convert our wants into our needs. Even a cursory reflection will reveal that we need very little to live fully and be happy. We often convert our wants/cravings/longings (James 4:1-3) into our needs. We then get obsessed with acquiring those “wants” and so stop living in the now.

To be “made” means that I cannot be in two places at the same time. It also means that I cannot be at two times in the same place. The present moment is never intolerable. What is intolerable is to have our body in a particular place and our minds in another.

We were created for a triple purpose. To love God means to glory in my selfhood. It means to thank God for who I am. It means that I will never compare myself with anyone. I do not need to be better than anyone. I do not need to feel lesser than anyone. I am who I am. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16) where the owner of the vineyard pays first those who were hired last, the reason for the consternation on the part of those who were hired first was because they compared themselves to others. To be sure, the owner was not being unfair because he paid everyone what he had promised them. However, when those who were hired first witnessed that those who worked only one hour were being paid the amount that the owner had agreed to pay them, they assumed they would be paid more. They did do, because they compared themselves with others and because of their cravings, they desired for more.

If we stop comparing ourselves with others and realize the glory that is within us, we will love ourselves, others and God.

Service implies work, surely, but it goes beyond the action to the attitude we take to our “work”. The German mystic Meister Eckhart summarised this well when he said “You should bother less about what you ought to do and think more about what you ought to be. Because if your being were good, your works would shine forth brightly”. Thus, the focus ought to be our being/attitude/heart/inner being more than the action.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience”.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus makes a telling point in his instructions on how service must be rendered. “So, you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Lk 17:10). The meaning of this is that we must have no expectations of any kind of reward or congratulations for the service that we do. We must consider the privilege of rendering the service as reward in and of itself. This is reiterated when Jesus sends his disciples on Mission and exhorts them thus, “You received without paying, give without pay”. (Mt 10:8)

I am meant to be happy at all times and in every place. In the Gospel of Mark, 10:23, Jesus says to his disciples, after the rich man had rejected his offer to give his possessions away, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the Kingdom of God!” He repeats this in 10:24, because his disciples are amazed that he could say such a thing. The point that Jesus is making in these verses is that possessions take hold of us in such a manner that we are not able to realize their temporary nature. The verses may be translated thus, “How hard it will be for those whom riches have to enter the Kingdom of God!” In other words, he is referring to those who are possessed by their riches, those who are controlled by their riches, those whom their riches will not allow to be free.

We could summarise the “Principle and Foundation” and the early catechism as follows: To be created/made means that because we do not know when the Lord will call us, we live this moment as if it was our last.

To love God means to thank God for the gift of who I am and to glory in my selfhood.

To serve God means to do what I do and see the reward of my action in the action itself.

To be happy with God means that I need nothing from without to make me happy. I have ALL that I need within myself.

Errol Fernandes, SJ (BOM) serves as the Superior and Chaplain at the Shrine of the Infant Jesus, Nashik Road, Maharashtra. He can be reached at errolsj@gmail.com.

Pope Francis: A discerning Jesuit sent into a divided world

This article is a heartfelt tribute from a Jesuit to beloved Pope Francis, who remained a Jesuit till the end.

By Shailendra Boora, SJ

The life and leadership of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit Pope, were shaped by Ignatian spirituality and steeped in the missionary ethos of the Society of Jesus. He did not merely bring a Jesuit résumé to the papacy – he brought a Jesuit soul.

His very name reflected that. In the conclave, when a fellow cardinal urged him to “remember the poor,” he responded with spiritual freedom – a hallmark of the Ignatian Exercises – and chose “Francis,” not as a departure from his Jesuit identity, but as its most radical expression. The values of St Francis of Assisi – poverty, humility, peace, and care for creation – echoed Ignatius’s call to indifference, mission to the margins, and finding God in all things.

Francis’s papacy bore all the hallmarks of his formation: discernment over certainty, mercy over judgment, humility over prestige. In an age of spectacle and cynicism, he bore witness to a leadership grounded not in controlling and issuing decrees – but in listening and dialoguing.

The Grace of Downward Mobility

From the moment he declined the golden mozzetta and stepped onto the balcony and bowed asking for prayers, it was clear that Pope Francis would exercise a different kind of authority. He chose to live at the Domus Sanctae Marthae rather than the Apostolic Palace, wore plain cassocks, travelled in a modest car, and eschewed papal pageantry. These were not mere gestures, but expressions of inward detachment that allows one to choose what better serves the mission.

His simplicity was the result of sticking to what really matters: availability to the Spirit, attentiveness to the poor, and integrity in public life. It shaped his approach to Vatican reform. He demanded transparency, accountability, and justice within the Church. In a world that equates power with pomp, Francis modelled a counter-witness: leadership rooted in presence, not prestige. His Jesuit formation gave him the grace of indifference – not apathy, but freedom from the illusions of status and success.

His simplicity was the result of sticking to what really matters: availability to the Spirit, attentiveness to the poor, and integrity in public life.

He did not just speak of humility – he chose it daily. And in doing so, he reminded the Church that spiritual authority does not originate in the position someone holds but his genuineness – not in palaces but in proximity to the margins. His life was the response to the question at the heart of Jesuit formation: what does it mean to lead from below, for the greater glory of God?

A Voice for Our Common Home

In 2015, Pope Francis released Laudato Si’, an encyclical that startled the world with its moral clarity. It was not simply a document on ecology, but the heartfelt cry of a prophet. With the voice of a pastor and the urgency of a discerner, Francis insisted that the environmental crisis had to do with how we understand ourselves, one another, and creation. “The cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor,” he wrote, are not two different crises, but one.

This vision echoes the heart of Ignatian spirituality – finding God in all things and responding adequately after discernment. Laudato Si’ revealed how ecological destruction is inseparable from economic injustice, spiritual fragmentation, and cultural arrogance. Francis called for ecological conversion – a turning toward integral ecology, where justice, sustainability, and contemplation are woven together.

His invitation to live more simply, to stand with the vulnerable, and to challenge systems that place profit above people was deeply Ignatian. For many, Catholics or not, the encyclical became a spiritual map – a guide for rethinking how we consume, relate, and believe. Through Laudato Si’, Pope Francis gave voice to a central question of the Spiritual Exercises: What more can we do – for God, his creation and his people?

Walking with the Excluded

Pope Francis warned consistently against the ‘globalization of indifference’ – a world numbed to the suffering of the marginalized. His stand was a conscious expression of the Jesuit mission: to go to the margins, accompany the wounded, and confront systems that discard human lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as companies and even governments prioritised markets over people, Francis proposed a universal basic income.

The World Meeting of Popular Movements, launched in 2014, embodied this vision. “Land, Housing, Labour” became a spiritual rallying cry. Francis affirmed the dignity of casual workers, migrants, and farmers by demanding these as rights – not as acts of charity. This was finding God in all places, especially where the world refuses to look.

His care extended to those long excluded from the Church: LGBTQ+ persons, prisoners, the addicts, the homeless. His gestures – washing the feet of refugees, blessing the disfigured, embracing the condemned – were not symbolic. They were acts of a contemplative in action, one who has attained love through contemplation.

Listening to Indigenous Wisdom

Whenever Pope Francis interacted with indigenous communities, he readily apologized, because he had discerned. This was a deeply Ignatian posture – one shaped by the Examen, by humility, and by a belief that God could speak through the voices that history has silenced.

He summoned us to rediscover God in those places we had once refused to even look at.

In 2015 in Bolivia he acknowledged the sin of colonization. “Many grave sins were committed in the name of God”, he said and sought forgiveness. At the Amazon Synod in 2019, he placed indigenous voices at the centre of the Church’s discernment, naming climate collapse, extractive violence, and cultural erasure as spiritual wounds. He summoned us to rediscover God in those places we had once refused to even look at.

Welcoming the Stranger

As the refugee crisis intensified in 2015, Pope Francis stood virtually alone among world leaders in calling not to build walls, but to welcome the migrants and refugees. “May every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary in Europe take in one refugee family” was his fervent plea.

This hospitality flowed from his Jesuit identity, a tradition that calls for universal availability, readiness to go anywhere, serve the least, and find God in the stranger. When Francis visited the island of Lesbos in 2016, he didn’t just offer sympathy – he brought to Rome twelve Syrian Muslim refugees aboard the papal plane. He reminded the world that we need to welcome all those who seek refuge. To turn away from the displaced, he insisted, is to turn away from Christ.

Dialogue as a Spiritual Mission

Pope Francis approached interfaith dialogue not as diplomacy, but as a spiritual mission. For him, dialogue was a sacred act – a way of listening to God’s voice in unfamiliar places. With interior freedom, he entered places sacred to other faiths and secular spaces not to defend or promote the Church, but to build trust, fraternity, and peace.

In 2019, he signed the Document on Human Fraternity with Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi, declaring, “God does not want religions to fight each other.” It was a bold act of bridge-building, rooted in the Jesuit conviction that truth and grace are not the monopoly of one tradition. His 2021 meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Iraq, and the Istiqlal Joint Declaration with Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar in Jakarta (2024), reflected his belief that the only way to peace was dialogue.

He found common ground even with non-believers,. Early in his papacy, he wrote to La Repubblica, affirming conscience – not dogma – as the first guide to truth. In a fractured world, Francis’s actions demonstrated that faith does not fear differences, and that God is already present everywhere, waiting to be recognized.

Cry against War and Weapons

For Pope Francis peace was not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice, mercy, and human dignity. Early in his papacy, he denounced the global arms industry, calling its profiteers “merchants of death.” His moral clarity sharpened during moments of global crisis. He called the war in Ukraine “cruel and senseless,” and in response to the violence in Gaza and Israel, pleaded for humanitarian corridors, ceasefires, and diplomacy grounded in dignity. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he went beyond his predecessors, declaring that even the possession of nuclear weapons is morally indefensible.

These were acts of faith that does justice. These proclaimed that silence in the face of suffering of fellow humans is complicity – that neutrality is not an option when human life is at stake. To follow Christ, as Ignatius did, is to take a side – the side of life, of mercy, and of the sacred dignity of every person, even when the cost is high.

For Indians and Indian Jesuits

Though Pope Francis never visited India, he and his lifestyle had a great impact on Indians of all religions. His simplicity made us Indians recall Mahatma Gandhi and the way he dressed and travelled. His defence of the dignity of the marginalized resonated with Ambedkar’s cry for justice. His embrace of interfaith dialogue reminded us of Swami Vivekananda’s vision of religious fraternity.

For today’s Jesuits, Pope Francis’s life is a call for an honest examen and renewed communitarian discernment. His legacy is not meant to be admired from a distance, but to be lived with clarity and conviction. To honour him truly we need to live and speak as he did – for the greater glory of God.

Shailendra Boora, SJ (AND) is pursuing his Ph.D. in Communications. He can be contacted at bjshailu@gmail.com.

On a day when we celebrate freedom

The editor points out that this issue is released on a day when we celebrate the freedom won by Mother India and Mother Mary.

This was a podcast that featured two well-known American priests – one a Jesuit and the other a Franciscan friar. Both are eloquent speakers and inspiring writers. The Jesuit happened to be Gregory Boyle, SJ (Greg), the famous founder of Homeboy Industries, which is the world’s largest gang intervention programme. Greg’s ministry for the gang members for more than thirty years has given a new life to thousands of these youth, caught in a vicious web of poverty, lack of education, violence, drugs, jail or death. The Franciscan happened to be Richard Rohr, OFM (Richard), the well-known writer, speaker and spiritual guide.

The podcast took place a few days after Pope Francis died. Therefore the host says, “I’d love to ask you both about Pope Francis, whom we lost this week. He’s no longer walking with us on this earthly plane but has joined the cloud of witnesses. He was a Jesuit who had the aroma of a Franciscan.”

Then he turns to Greg and asks, “Greg, what was it about Pope Francis that most inspired or impacted you?” Greg says, “When he began his papacy, Whoopi Goldberg (the famous Afro-American actress of the Sister Act fame) said, “He’s going with the original program.” There was this acknowledgment: a return to the Gospel, a stance on the margins, with the poor and powerless. And that’s the original program. I always liked that.”

To the same question Richard replies, “All that has been on my mind is how will we ever match him again? … As radical as he was, while holding a sacral, high-priest role—it’s a rare combination. And he did it without arrogance. With this calm certitude: this is the original program. We don’t explain or apologize – we implement. He implemented the Gospel.”

Greg says, “For me Pope Francis always meant a return to the marrow of the Gospel. He uses that phrase. When I get caught in observance or adherence, that invitation back to the marrow is powerful.”

It is an article in this issue of INI that reminded me of this podcast. Shailendra Boora, SJ, in his tribute to Pope Francis, says, “The values of St Francis of Assisi – poverty, humility, peace, and care for creation – echoed Ignatius’s call to indifference, mission to the margins, and finding God in all things.”

Another article, by Francis P. Xavier, SJ, explains how St. Ignatius and the Ignatian pedagogy can be effectively used by Jesuit Business Management Schools. Cedric Prakash, SJ asserts that the cry of the earth is the cry of the poor. Justice for the poor demands justice for our planet earth. Errol Fernandes, SJ, the Scripture scholar, analyses Annotation 23 in the Spiritual Exercise of St. Ignatius, titled “The Principle and Foundation.” He explains what the triple purpose of life it provides could mean. In his report on the Stan Swamy Day – 2025, Santhanam Arockiasamy, SJ points out how the anniversary of the Jesuit social activist who spent his life for the poor tribal people of Chottanagpur is galvanizing people in both the secular and religious realms.

We are happy to release this issue of INI on a day, when we, here in India, celebrate both the freedom won by Mother India from her British colonizers and the freedom won by Mother Mary from death and corruption.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Feast of Mary’s Assumption!

– M.A. Joe Antony, SJ

No Other Land!

Cedric Prakash, SJ, talks about a powerful documentary that won an Oscar and its painful message.

By Cedric Prakash, SJ

For many years American children used to sing a popular song at camps, picnics and other get-togethers. Thanks to its very catchy tune, it was always a hit. The chorus of the lyrics went: “This land is your land, and this land is my land/ From California to the New York island/ From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters/ This land was made for you and me.”

A special stanza of the song said: “There was a big, high wall there that tried to stop me/ A sign that was painted said ‘Private Property’/ But on the back, it didn’t say nothing/ This land was made for you and me.”

The song is essentially a protest song, first composed by the American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940. It was a critical response to Irving Berlin’s ‘God Bless America.’ The song was a hit then, particularly during World War II; over the years, the lyrics of the song have undergone several changes and adaptations. The essence however remains the same, “this land was made for you and me.” In 2025, it was listed at No. 11 of ‘The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time.’

Given the context of the highly polarised and divided world we live in– this song is definitely all the more relevant today!

On 2 March 2025, at the 97^thAcademy Awards, No Other Land won the coveted Oscar for the Best Documentary Film. The film has been made by four Israeli and Palestinian activists (Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor) and is a powerful examination of life in West Bank. It is their directorial debut. They describe the film as an act of resistance on the path to justice during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

‘No Other Land’ is a portrait of a West Bank village under Israeli military occupation. The documentary film gets its title from a statement by a long-time West Bank resident who says, “We have no other land. It is our land. That is why we suffer for it.”

The documentary film gets its title from a statement by a long-time West Bank resident who says, “We have no other land. It is our land. That is why we suffer for it.”

‘No Other Land’ is a breathtakingly powerful chronicle of what it means to live with the constant threat of eviction. The film captures with heartrending detail the relentlessness of Israel’s effort to remove any trace of Palestinian presence in the West Bank. This reality is what the world painfully witnesses today and yet does not dare to address collectively!

The documentary has the friendship between Basel and Yuval as a backgrounder. Their relationship is filled with intense emotions. Basel, a Palestinian who lives in the West Bank, is very anxious over the fate of his family and village, to the point of exhaustion. Yuval, an Israeli, expresses guilt and sorrow over being unable to prevent imminent destruction or to persuade his fellow- Israelis to see reason.

Nobody can miss the sad, grim irony when Basel says that he has a law degree, but can only find work as a construction labourer in Israel. The manner in which the judiciary can be used to redesignate land use and thus enable unfeeling eviction policies points to a familiar playbook predicated on absolute denial of basic human rights.

In their acceptance speech, two of the film’s four directors pleaded for an end to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist who is from Masafer Yatta, a region of the West Bank said, “About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope for my daughter is that she will not have to live the same life I’m living now – always fearing settlers’ violence, home demolitions and forceful displacements that my community is facing every day under the Israeli occupation.…We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.” Adra also described the issues faced by his village, including home demolitions and displacement.

Yuval Abraham, an Israeli investigative journalist, co-director of the film said, “When I look at Basel, I see my brother, but we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law, and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life. Israelis and Palestinians are ‘intertwined’; my people can be truly safe only if Basel’s people are truly free and safe.”

Israelis and Palestinians are ‘intertwined’; my people can be truly safe only if Basel’s people are truly free and safe.”

In February 2024, at the 74^thBerlin International Film Festival, ‘No Other Land’ won the Berlinale Documentary Award and the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film. In his acceptance speech, Abraham said, “We are standing in front of you now, me and Basel are the same age. I am Israeli; Basel is Palestinian. And in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal. I am living under a civilian law and Basel is under military law. We live 30 minutes from one another, but I have voting rights. Basel does not have voting rights. I’m free to move where I want in this land. Basel is, like millions of Palestinians, locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, it has to end”.

Adra chipped in saying, “It’s our first movie; since many years my community, my family has been filming our community being erased by this brutal occupation. I am here celebrating the award, but also very hard for me to celebrate when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massacred by Israel in Gaza. Masafer Yatta, my community in the West Bank, is also being razed by Israeli bulldozers.”

Since its release in February 2024, the documentary has won numerous awards and accolades from all over the world. However, for reasons unknown it has not been screened in India. Even in the United States, the film has failed to find a distributor because it reveals truths that some think Americans should not see!

No Other Land is about divisiveness and discrimination, about demonization and denigration, about demolition and destruction! At the receiving end are the Palestinian people – the ‘other’! It is not without reason that Pope Francis has been praying every single day for the people in Gaza. Even when he was hospitalized recently he didn’t forget to keep in touch with friends in Gaza, whose sufferings he understands.

This film is a powerful manifestation of the terrible reality faced by millions all over the world. It is time that the rulers of the world realize that “this land was made for you and me.”

Fr. Cedric Prakash, SJ (GUJ) is a well-known human rights, reconciliation and peace activist. He is a writer who writes regularly for Catholic and secular magazines. A recipient of several international and national awards, Cedric is currently engaged in Advocacy work.

Grace Unpacked

Sahayaraj Stanley, SJ, shares with us the riches of a book he read recently – Philip Yancey’s “What’s so Amazing about Grace?”

By Sahayaraj Stanley, SJ

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. After some time, C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”

We live in a world inundated with grace. Grace, the mysterious and manifold gift of God, comes in many forms and shades. For me, one such enduring source of grace is books. Of late, a unique book arrested my attention and made me realize once again that I live in the domain of grace. What Is So Amazing about Grace? is the name of the book, and Philip Yancey is the author. For me, this is an explosive book, weaved by a dexterous craftsman who simplifies theology.

This book is divided into four elaborate parts. The first part deals with grace that fills the earth as water fills a jar. The second part reminds us that we have to break the merciless cycle of ungrace! The third part magnifies the scandal of grace and reminds us that we have to see the world with grace-healed eyes! The fourth and the last chapter makes the readers realize the need for filling the world with grace-filled actions in the days to come.

As soon as you open the book, you see the extraordinary story of a Chicago prostitute whose experience with ‘grace’ comes unannounced. Many people fail to recognize the indwelling and overpowering presence of grace. Philip Yancey contrasts “the age of Law” and “the age of Grace.” In his opinion, legalism has taken away the finer nuances of grace that are to be tasted and cherished as the unmatched gift of the Lord. One has to taste and see the goodness of grace!

Love, through grace, conquers the world, and ungrace becomes a toxin that spreads venom and rancour in the lives of the people.

Grace and ungrace: Philip Yancey gives a telling example of the uniqueness of grace. Love, through grace, conquers the world, and ungrace becomes a toxin that spreads venom and rancour in the lives of the people. Philip Yancey uses the word ‘Ungrace’ to denote the state of gracelessness and the lack and absence of grace. Yancey points out that, like a spiritual flaw encoded in the family DNA, at times, the defect of ‘ungrace’ gets passed on in an unbroken chain. This ungrace does its work quietly and lethally, like a poisonous, undetectable gas. When this ungrace gets solidified, individuals and, at times, communities get poisoned and develop prejudiced opinions.

This ‘ungraced’ poison spans centuries and traditions! The best remedy to heal this disgrace and come out of this pitiable situation is the miracle medicine of ‘love.’ When one is suffering from ‘ungrace’, a dose of ‘gratitude’ clothed in ‘loving grace’ can serve as the right antidote.

Quoting from a plethora of authors, Philip Yancey points out how we are loved by a God who is ‘extravagantly’ gracious and ‘unconditionally’ forgiving. The psalmist sings, “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” The catch here is that as God loves us with grace and compassion, we too are expected to reciprocate. In the pages of the Bible, one reads stories of reconciliation and forgiveness from different perspectives acted out by different protagonists. I agree fully with Yancey, when he says the Bible is a luminous chronicle of the book of Grace and Compassion!

Grace & forgiveness: Tango is a celebrated, fast, South American dance with a strong rhythm in which two people hold each other closely. It is said that it takes two to tango! In theology, to tango, grace normally is coupled with forgiveness. But it is not easy. Philip Yancey writes that behind every act of forgiveness lies a wound of betrayal, and the pain of being betrayed does not easily fade away. From the life of Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sonya, Yancey brings out graphically how, for half a century, jealousy and unforgiveness had blinded Sonya, who refused to forgive Tolstoy and, in the process, destroyed all the love for her husband.

The gospel of grace begins and ends with forgiveness. And people write songs with titles like “Amazing Grace” for just one reason: “Grace” is the only force in the universe powerful enough to break the chains that enslave generations. Grace alone melts ungrace!

Yancey quotes C.S. Lewis, who in turn talks of Saint Augustine, who quipped that “God gives where He finds empty hands.” A man whose hands are full of parcels can’t receive a gift.” Grace, in other words, must be received. Lewis explains that what Yancey has termed “grace abuse” stems from a confusion of condoning and forgiving: “To condone an evil is simply to ignore it, to treat it as if it were good. But forgiveness needs to be accepted as well as offered if it is to be complete, and a man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness.” So, in other words, forgiveness goes along with accepting the mistake and the willingness to redress the mistake.

We live in a world that is slowly becoming deaf to the mild, melodious notes of grace. Grace, perhaps, can be compared to the still, small, and subtle sound that Elijah heard when he was on the edge of the rock, encircled by the divine presence.

‘Everything is grace,’ says St. Thérèse of Lisieux. As I grow older, I begin to relish the wisdom and magnitude of this powerful statement.

Gravity & grace: In the closing section, Yancey mentions Simone Weil, the French mystic, who concluded that two great forces rule the universe: gravity and grace. Gravity causes one body to attract other bodies so that it continually enlarges by absorbing more and more of the universe into itself. A similar force operates in human beings. We too want to expand, to acquire, to swell in significance. The desire to “be as gods”, after all, led Adam and Eve to rebel. Emotionally, Weil concludes, “All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception.” Most of us remain trapped in the gravitational field of self-love, and thus grace gleefully escapes through the cracks.

Philip Yancey asks and answers a very pertinent question: How does a grace-filled Christian look? He answers that a graceful Christian is one who looks at the world through “grace-tinted lenses.”

The style of Yancey is not didactic but deeply personal, spiritual, and human. He infuses historical data and personal experiences by fascinating anecdotes to elucidate and throw light on a particular point. Yancey presents complicated theological insights as palatable fast-food takeaways!

Todo es Gracia – ‘Everything is grace,’ says St. Thérèse of Lisieux. As I grow older, I begin to relish the wisdom and magnitude of this powerful statement. We stand before God as recipients of innumerable gifts. Ultimately, grace is a precious yet free gift, and one needs to believe “Grace Happens!”

As we live in a world that looks hopeless, the Easter season should remind us of the delightful promise of ‘hope.’ Philip Yancey’s book helps us see it as a grace-filled world. Though Philip Yancey is an Evangelical Christian, he quotes Catholic authors at random. He is so appealing, because his insights are blended with suffering, chaos, confusion, and human pathos. His book is a much-needed consolation to heal the wounds of ungrace.

After reading this book, you may like to dip into Philip Yancey’s other masterpiece, Vanishing Grace, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s reflections on ‘Costly Grace’ and ‘Cheap Grace,’ as well as Scott Peck’s Road Less Travelled, where the last section deals with ‘grace.’ Deo Gratias!

Fr. Sahayaraj Stanley, SJ (MDU) holds a licentiate in Moral Theology from Accademia Alfonsiana, Rome, and a doctorate from the State University of Innsbruck, Austria. He is the Academic Director of Arul Kadal, the Jesuit Formation Centre for Theology in Chennai. He teaches courses on Moral Theology and Ethics.

Are we preparing our students for tomorrow’s world?

When will our students learn? What do we need to do to get them engaged in what they ought to learn? Francis Peter, SJ, probes answers for these questions.

By Francis Peter, SJ

The question that all educators should ask is: Are we equipping our students with what they need to play a meaningful role in tomorrow’s world? Our present education leaves unaddressed significant gaps for critical leadership roles of tomorrow. Today’s knowledge economy relies on information and knowledge in creating jobs and fostering growth whereas our education system, modelled on labour economy, is fixated on land, labour and capital model as factors of production.

The gap between what our world needs and what our schools and colleges deliver needs our urgent attention. Our effort at bridging this gap begins with a radical shift in our perception of learners and on what gets them to learn.

Learning is not the prerogative of an elite few! Social status, economic affluence, locational advantage, etc. are no prerequisites or necessary conditions for learning to happen. You do not need to be highly intelligent, especially talented or “good at languages” to learn a foreign language. Every normal human being is prewired to learn, all that we need to trigger learning is a conducive atmosphere and an internal compulsion to learn. If we are reminded, given motivation and exposure, it is impossible for one not to learn a foreign language. A compelling attraction to a topic made comprehensible with sufficient opportunity to interact in the process of understanding issues and solving problems pertaining to the topic gets a learner to learn both the content as well as the medium. What is encouraging is that these opportunities are not impossible to introduce in our schools and colleges.

In a way, learning, like seeing, is involuntary. Nobody needs to teach another normal human being to see. All you need to do is to open your eyes and everything before you becomes visible. One only needs to like what one sees, focus on what one wants to acquire and judiciously omit all other distracting details. Some assistance from an expert caregiver or peers would be an added advantage to help notice what is critical but not obvious in what is presented. When the content is seen as relevant, appealing, achievable, and rewarding, learning is triggered.

However, the fact is not all are interested in acquiring everything presented to them. Despite firm resolutions and repeated exhortations, some seem to make no progress. Why they abandon their pursuit halfway and give up can be quite revealing.

Call to mind any three resolutions you had made in the last six months, things you required, skills or information you wanted to acquire. Take, for example, your desire to get a 4-wheeler driving licence, master a computer package/coding language, master a new recipe, learn a foreign language like Japanese/ Spanish, try and slim down, or publish an article in Scopus/UGC journals. Now, you might have achieved some and abandoned others halfway. Analysing factors bearing upon your outcome, you would agree that predominantly we give up halfway because we felt the task undertaken was beyond/below our capacity, has no immediate use/relevance, or was not exciting enough. And whatever you felt achievable -even if mildly challenging – and rewarding, you pursued.

That is also true of learners. When their passion matures into persistence and determination their effort becomes a pleasure. They begin to realise what they are looking for is also looking out for them. Think of the learners who struggle in traditional classes to stay focussed in the classroom, to pass an exam. Yet these kids easily master intricate computer games, replete with so much more complex rules than those that govern solving mathematical problems or complex language construction.

In a way, learning, like seeing, is involuntary. Nobody needs to teach another normal human being to see. All you need to do is to open your eyes and everything before you becomes visible.

They demonstrate astounding mastery of complex concepts involving multiple interconnected aspects, operating under specific conditions. Playing the game creates a compulsive need in them to learn to win. So, they determine the most successful route, anticipate the probable moves of competitors, develop strategies to counter them and look out for and take advantage of favourable opportunities. They succeed because the game creates a compulsive need in them to learn and enjoy what they do. When success is round the corner, the task becomes so engaging that they do not mind the burdens and hurdles along the way.

A classroom can also succeed if it can replicate a situation like this. When what is taught is made relevant, challenging, rewarding, interesting, and interactive, it is likely to become compulsive, engaging, and effective. With an added provision of an expert who is ready to guide them, to track their progress, to offer non-threatening feedback about their progress the students will march at a pace not witnessed before. Learning would turn into a celebration, transforming the learners’ current ‘have to learn’ attitude to a welcome ‘want to learn’ attitude. They will take the initiative in making learning yield desired and assured results.

Courtesy: Jivan

Francis Peter, SJ (MDU) has worked for more than four decades in institutions of higher education such as St. Xavier’s College, Loyola College, and XLRI School of Business Management. Currently he is Director of Joseph’s Hub for Languages (JHL), Trichy.

In India who are the most affected by Climate Change?

In this article, Prakash Louis, SJ, affirms that while climate change affects us all it affects the poor the most.

By Prakash Louis, SJ

Just a month before Pope Francis issued his well-known encyclical, Laudato Si’, a strong earthquake shook the mountain kingdom of Nepal on 25 April 2015. It left behind a trail of devastation and death. Around 10,000 people were killed and over 20,000 were seriously wounded. Nearly 600,000 buildings, both private and public, homes and institutions had been either fully or partially destroyed. About 1,26,000 pregnant women were severely affected. Further, over 2 million women and girls of reproductive age were badly affected. The UN Agencies announced that 12 million out of 30 million affected would need humanitarian assistance for years to come. Most of them are the poorest in Nepal.

It has become clear that cyclones and floods affect the poor who live along river banks and wash their dwellings away. Crop damage increases food shortage.

This is why the encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si‘: Care for our Common Home was seen as timely and won wide appreciation. In this Encyclical, the Pope tried to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home. He termed this degradation of environment for the sake of excessive consumption and profit as sin – a social, moral, ethical, spiritual and ecological sin. This sin is against ourselves since it dehumanizes us, and opposes God’s plan for his creation. To be silent on the face this sin is neither Christian nor human. Hence, he called for immediate and urgent action.

With the increasing awareness about climate change and its effect on the marginalized, now hard data are available to demonstrate the level of impact that climate change has on the most vulnerable. The government of India’s economic survey, 2018 estimated an annual loss of US$ 9-10 billion, that is, 700 crore Indian rupees, due to the adverse effects of climate change. Some of these changes involve floods, droughts, storms, hail storms, cyclones, heat waves, tsunami, etc.

Bihar is India’s most flood-prone State, with 76% of the population in North Bihar living under the recurring threat of flood. Floods are recurring disasters that annually destroy thousands of human lives, livestock and assets worth millions of rupees. On an average, floods in Bihar affect 15 lakh hectares of land, and 76 lakh population every year.

With the increasing awareness about climate change and its effect on the marginalized, now hard data are available to demonstrate the level of impact that climate change has on the most vulnerable.

The most disastrous are floods in the Kosi River in Bihar. Hence, the Kosi River has been called ‘The River of Sorrow.’ Floods in the river have led to malnutrition and starvation, change in crop patterns, shifting of cultivable areas, change in settlements of villages, children becoming orphans, women becoming widows, etc.

How does climate change affect food security, particularly for the marginalized communities in India? Mahendra Yadav, a social worker associated with Kosi Nav Nirman Manch (Kosi Rehabilitation Forum), observed, “The 2008 Kosi flood deposited large amounts of sand and silt on agricultural land affecting millions of people in Nepal and India”. Quoting some of the studies, Mr Yadav asserted that over 700 hectares of fertile land were made uncultivable because of the inundation, which left sand and silt sediments. This forced thousands of people to migrate. They had to migrate in order to survive.

Various studies examining the causes of migration in India have identified many natural and human-induced causes. The natural causes of migration include floods, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, unseasonal rains, melting of glaciers, global warming, climate change, etc. How can we help? All Jesuits, particularly members of groups like EcoJesuits, should make the rulers – both in the State and at the Centre – become aware of and commit themselves to 1) The principles enshrined in the National Disaster Management Act – rescue, relief, and rehabilitation must be strictly adhered to; 2) Infrastructure development in disaster prone areas should consider human and nature-related issues and construct common placesfor rescue, relief and rehabilitation; 3) Setting up large-scale alternative employment in disaster prone areas is one of the major demands of the people; 4) Large-scale skill training of youth to enhance their employability in the area and increasing employment opportunities; 5) Respecting formal and informal organisations that work to ensure women’s rightful place and role. 6) Emergency preparedness that helps address the emerging issues of climate change and their impact on people, especially the marginalised; 7) Promoting better health and education for the marginalised sector 8) Ecology, climate change and environmental protection must be taught in all schools.

Fr. Prakash Louis, SJ (PAT) is a human rights activist and an author. He can be contacted at prakashlouis2010@gmail.com.

EASTER: Every Area Starts To Enter Renewal

Errol Fernandes, SJ, a Scripture Scholar, explains in this article the perennial message of Easter for us.

By Errol Fernandes, SJ

The Synoptic Gospels contain three passion, death and resurrection predictions. The predictions in Mark (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34) can give us strength and hope in our own life situations. They can help us realise that because of Easter – which follows the passion and death of Jesus – Every Area (of our lives) Starts To Enter Renewal.

In the case of Jesus, the “predictions” must be interpreted not so much as “foretelling,” but as faith and hope statements. They are statements made in the present, about future events knowing that they WILL come to pass. They will come to pass because of the faith and hope that Jesus had in his “Abba”.

The first prediction: The first of these three, is in Mark 8:31. Before the actual prediction, Mark tells us that Jesus “began to teach his disciples”. He does not use parables now, but plain language. “He (Jesus) said all this quite openly” (8:32). It is likely that if Jesus had not taught them about the kind of Messiah/Christ he had come to be, they would have continued to think only of a glorious and conquering Messiah.

What is to happen to Jesus is ordained by God. Despite what people may do, Jesus would have the last word. To be sure, Jesus’ faith in his ‘Abba’ led him to believe that he would be vindicated. Jesus could predict that he would rise after death, because he believed in God in the present. He had faith and hope.

In all three Passion and Resurrection predictions, the Markan Jesus uses the phrase “after three days”, which would mean “the day after tomorrow”. Not only was Jesus confident that he would rise, he also knew when that would be.

The second prediction: The second passion, death and resurrection prediction in Mark is brief. It is briefer than the first. Here, the religious/political authorities are not specified. It is “into human hands” that Jesus will be handed over, and it is they who will kill him. Here too, he will rise, “three days after being killed.”

Not only was Jesus confident that he would rise, he also knew when that would be.

After the first prediction, Peter responded with shock and incredulity (8:32). After the second one, the disciples as a group do not understand what Jesus means and are afraid to ask him. The disciples are not usually reluctant to ask Jesus to explain difficult sayings (4:10; 7:17; 9:11). It is likely that their reluctance on this occasion was because they knew that the answer would be one, they would not want to hear. In other words, they understood enough to want to not understand more.

The third prediction: The third and final prediction in Mark (10:33-34) is the longest and most detailed of the three. Here the two groups which will collaborate are mentioned. Jesus will be “handed over” to the first group made up of the religious leaders. These will condemn him to death and then “hand him over” to the second group made up of political leaders who will kill him after torturing him. This sequence mentioned in this prediction, corresponds closely to the actual events of the Passion. Jesus will first be handed over (14:10) by Judas to the Jewish authorities, and then handed over (15:1) by them to the Romans. Here, like in the earlier two predictions, “he will rise again”.

What lessons can we learn from the passion, death and resurrection predictions in Mark?

No Easter without Good Friday: After each passion, death and resurrection prediction in Mark, the disciples misunderstand what Jesus says or do not want to understand. This is because none of them wants Jesus to be a suffering Messiah. They want an Easterwithout a Good Friday; they want the resurrection without the cross. However, Jesus believes that God is in control and it is God who has set the plan in motion for the salvation of the world. In this plan, there has to be trial and pain before victory, there will be a storm which will be calmed. Like the disciples, we too prefer glory without shame and ignominy, we too prefer victory without the effort and sometimes, the struggle. The truth is, however, that pain is a reality. What we can learn from Jesus is to know that there is “joy even in the midst of pain.” We need to believe like Jesus, that the cross is not the end. After the resurrection of Jesus, the cross can never be the end.

Fearlessness: If there was one striking quality that Jesus showed all through his passion and death, it was fearlessness. He had lived what he believed and was prepared to face the consequences of his action. His fearlessness led him to be bold but not abrasive, courageous but not arrogant. It was his unconditional love for all that made Jesus fearless. John explains this succinctly when he says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” (1 Jn 4:18)

The disciples on the contrary were frightened and gave in to that fear by running away. Mark states this unambiguously, “All of them deserted him and fled.” (14:50)

His fearlessness led him to be bold but not abrasive, courageous but not arrogant. It was his unconditional love for all that made Jesus fearless.

Faith: When Jesus speaks of faith (Mk 11:22-23), he defines it as believing that what one is praying for is received already. There ought to be no doubt in one’s heart. In all three passion, death and resurrection predictions, Jesus was able to predict his passion and death because he could read the signs of the times and had his ear to the ground. He could predict his resurrection because he had faith in God. In this context, it is instructive to note that when he prayed in Gethsemane, it was his faith in his “Abba” which made him cede his will to God’s will. He knew that even though every fibre of his being was asking for the cup to be taken away, it was better to drink it, if it was God’s will.

In contrast to the faith of Jesus, the faithlessness of the disciples left them defeated, disillusioned and disheartened. When we look at the situation around us, we too might be tempted to feel defeated like the disciples felt. We can, however, opt to imitate Jesus and be faithful till the very end knowing that like him, if we too accept God’s will, the cross will lead to the resurrection.

Lessons for political and religious leaders: Like in Jesus’ day, most political leaders of our time are content to feather their own nests. They care little about the people. They see people as votes not humans and live from one election to the next. The passion and death of Jesus was caused by religious and political leaders, who instigated the people, indoctrinated and brainwashed them into believing that he was against their traditions and everything they believed in. He was to be eliminated. Though, the overwhelming majority was against him, Jesus did not back down. He stood for the truth and came out victorious. We can take a cue from the Lord in our present situation. Like him, we will continue to stand for truth, non-violence and harmony.

Promise of resurrection: The resurrection of the Lord does not lie behind us, but in front of us. There is no doubt that because of the resurrection of Jesus – and his promise of the resurrection to us – that we too will be raised. However, it is also true that we have to cross over the boundary of death. When and how that will be, we do not know. What we do know is that the God who raised Jesus from the dead, will raise us too. This is why the resurrection of Jesus keeps offering hope even in the midst of hopelessness. It keeps offering faith even in the midst of faithlessness and it keeps offering love even in the midst of fear. In and through the resurrection of Jesus, Every Area (of our lives) Starts To Enter Renewal.

Fr. Errol Fernandes, SJ (BOM) is Chaplain of the Shrine of the Infant Jesus at Nashik Road. He is active on social media. He has his own YouTube Channel on which he posts videos every day. He also has his own blog which is updated every day. He can be contacted at errolsj@gmail.com.

On a joyful day of celebration

The Editor points out that every issue of INI is released on a joyful day of celebration.

Friends,

Nine days before the scheduled release of this issue, we heard the sad news of the death of our beloved Pope Francis. Isn’t it better to wait and dedicate the next issue to the Jesuit Pope than to try and get some articles on the Pope in a hurry?

We are happy to release the latest issue of INI, dated April – June 2025, today, celebrated as ‘May Day’ all over the world. May Day could mean the International Workers’ Day that aims to honour workers and defend and promote their rights. It could also refer to an ancient European festival that celebrates the arrival of spring and includes crowning a local young woman as ‘May Queen’ and singing and dancing around the May Pole.

Keen readers of INI would have noticed that the issues of this online magazine are released on a joyful day of celebration. The first issue of this quarterly (Jan-March) is released on 14 February, Valentine’s Day, the second (April-June) on 1 May, May Day, the third (July-September) on 15 August, feast of the Assumption of Our Lady and India’s Independence Day and the last issue for the year (October-December) on 14 November, Children’s Day here in India.

Arriving on joyful days of celebration, INI, I hope, will add to your joy, by enlightening and inspiring you.

This issue carries Errol Fernandes’s article on Easter that tells us that what the resurrection promises should inspire us to stand fearlessly for truth, non-violence and harmony. Francis Peter points out in his article, which was published earlier in Jivan, that the present generation of students will learn when we manage to make the content be seen as relevant, appealing, achievable and rewarding.

While climate change affects us all, the most affected are the poor, says Prakash Louis in his article. Sahayaraj Stanley summarizes for us a marvelous book he read recently – What’s So Amazing about Grace? by Philip Yancey. Cedric Prakash explains the significance of a documentary film that won the Oscar for the Best Documentary at the 97^th Academy Awards function held on 2 March 2025.

May this issue of INI add to your joy by enlightening and inspiring you!

– M.A. Joe Antony, SJ

It is in these moments of genuine sharing

Joseph Victor Edwin, SJ, shares his conversations with three other professors in Rome, all of whom are engaged in the field of Christian-Muslim relations.

By Joseph Victor Edwin, SJ

In December 2024, I travelled to Rome to participate in the meeting of the Commission on the Role and Responsibilities of Women in the Society of Jesus. While there, I also taught a course on Christian-Muslim Relations for the licentiate students in the Department of Missiology at Urbania University. Each evening, I enjoyed engaging in discussions with Professors Wasim Salman, Francesco Zannini, and Gaetano Sabetta, with whom I share a long-standing connection.

Fr. Wasim Salman, who hails from Damascus, has been teaching contemporary Arab-Islamic thought at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) since 2016. A Syrian-Italian scholar, he holds a doctorate in theology from Gregorian University (2009) and another in Arabic philosophy from the University of Tor Vergata (2016). He is also a member of the editorial board for Islamochristiana. He is currently the director of PISAI, Rome.

Francesco Zannini is another esteemed academic who taught Contemporary Islam and Islamic Law at PISAI in Rome. He previously served as a Professor of Islamic Studies at the National Major Seminary in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He dedicated several years to editing the magazine, Encounter – Documents for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and has authored numerous essays and articles on the history of Islam and interfaith dialogue.

Each evening, I enjoyed engaging in discussions with Professors Wasim Salman, Francesco Zannini, and Gaetano Sabetta, with whom I share a long-standing connection.

Lastly, Gaetano Sabetta is a Professor at the Faculty of Missiology at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, where he focuses on interreligious and intercultural dialogue. His research spans the theology of religions, interreligious theology, and dialogue. Having lived in India, he earned his first theology degree from the Vidyajyoti Institute of Religious Studies in Delhi.

Living as missionary disciples: Our discussions centred on what unites us: our scholarship in Christian-Muslim Relations and our commitment to living as missionary disciples, as highlighted in Evangelii Gaudium (No. 120). We reflected on our vocation as both priests and lay theologians engaging with Muslims. The phrase “sent among Muslims” particularly resonated with us, especially the word ‘among’ which carries profound missiological importance. We are not “sent against” or merely “sent to,” but truly “sent among” Muslims. As the Church embodies the sign and sacrament of communion with God and the unity of the entire human family, she sends her children among Muslims to witness to God’s wonders in their lives.

The missionary disciples are tasked with making explicit the kingdom values that many of our Muslim brothers and sisters already practice. The document, Gaudium et Spes, encourages missionary disciples to engage in open dialogue with everyone: Catholics, other Christians, adherents of different religions, and even those who may oppose or challenge the Church. This dialogue should be all- encompassing and thorough, with the ultimate aim of fostering “genuine peace in the world.” (Gaudium et Spes 92).

The lives of these missionary disciples should be imbued with ‘joy’ and ‘hope’. They should not appear as if they’ve just returned from a funeral (EG. 10) or lead lives that resemble a perpetual Lent without the joy of Easter (EG. 6). Pope Francis encourages us to embark on a new phase of evangelization characterized by joy (EG. 1) As individuals centred on Christ, our experience of salvation should inspire us to cultivate a deeper love for both Christ and humanity, driven by hope. We felt our presence among Muslims must reflect the Gospel joy and hope.

Our discussions centred on what unites us: our scholarship in Christian-Muslim Relations and our commitment to living as missionary disciples.

The intersection of religion and political power: Our conversation shifted toward the intersection of religion and political power. As educators, we often encounter students who assert that for Islamic societies to evolve into genuinely democratic entities, traditional Islamic doctrines must be reformed and infused with Christian ideals. Those familiar with the history of Christian-Muslim relations will recognize that, prior to Vatican II, such notions were quite common, with the Dutch Jesuit J. J. Houben being a notable proponent of this perspective.

While it’s true that early Christians refrained from establishing a religio-political system, believing instead that the Church should guide lives through Gospel principles, Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, laid the foundation for a religio-political community. Consequently, Christians (many Muslims too) view Islam as a comprehensive legal framework, where Sharia—rooted in the divinely prescribed teachings of the Qur’an and the hadith (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad)—hold significant sway. As scholars of Islamic Studies understand, Sharia grew through a consensus within the umma (the community of the Prophet Muhammad), driven by the intellectual contributions of legal scholars. This framework has considerable political implications, particularly in challenging Muslim rulers who do not adhere to it. Over time, sharia became more rigid and less adaptable, often failing to respond to the evolving needs of society.

Students often overlook the fact that Sharia serves as a guideline to adapt Islamic behavior in various contexts. It is inherently flexible and can be tailored to fit local doctrines. However, even among Muslim scholars, there exists a certain tension in the understanding of Sharia.

Pope Francis and Muslims: Our conversation also touched on Pope Francis and his approach toward Muslims. The key takeaway is that the Pope acknowledges the significant differences between Christianity and Islam. Yet, he encourages Christians to set aside elements that may lead to conflict and instead focus on collaborative efforts for the common good. It is important to understand that he does care about these differences; he recognizes that ignoring the doctrinal distinctions could lead to a dilution of faith.

Pope Francis embodies a dual awareness in his mission. On one hand, he reaches out to Muslims, seeing them as brothers and sisters rather than adversaries. On the other hand, he remains open to learning from them and sharing experiences that foster mutual growth. His efforts aim to present the essence of Islam to Christians while also sharing the love of Christ with Muslims. Through these actions, he highlights the notion that we are equals, and no faith is superior to another.

Talking of Pope Francis filled us with joy as he illuminates the path toward solidarity and reconciliation. He emphasizes that both Christians and Muslims have much to learn from our conflict-ridden past and the importance of transforming rivalry into collaboration. By reminding believers that we originate from God and ultimately return to Him, he encourages us to discover a new way to coexist in harmony, building peaceful societies rooted in justice. In a world often clouded by bitterness and animosity, Pope Francis urges both communities to step into each other’s shoes, empathize with each other’s pain and suffering, and ultimately find a way to reconciliation. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to professors Francesco Zannini, Fr. Wasim Salman, and Gaetano Sabetta for generously sharing their invaluable time and insights in our recent discussions. These conversations not only enriched our understanding but also fostered a deeper sense of connection among us. Through our dialogues, we not only discussed important concepts but also prayed for one another and strengthened our support for each other in our shared mission of outreach and engagement with diverse communities. It is in these moments of genuine sharing that we find the true essence of collaboration in our mission to all people.

Fr Joseph Victor Edwin, SJ (DEL) is a Lecturer at Vidyajyoti Institute of Religious Studies, Delhi. He is also the Director of Vidyajyoti Institute of Islamic Studies (VIDIS), and the Secretary of the Islamic Studies Association (ISA). He edits the ISA quarterly, Salaam.