Writing about a giant is a dwarfing experience. The giant is my spiritual mentor (I won’t call him Guru), Fr Augustine Deenabandhu Ofm Cap. I write this on the occasion of his Birth Centenary. First the basics. He was born on the 9th of April 1911 in Bajpe parish of Mangalore diocese, and baptised Henry…

Good Friday is a holiday, and holidays are associated with festivities, so it is not surprising that some of my well-meaning non-Christian friends wish me a “Happy Good Friday”! We Christians are ourselves to blame for a wrong choice of word. It should actually be called “Holy Friday” in English; just as in Hindi it…

There is a popular TV programme named after the old adage “The Buck Stops Here”. It literally means, “Who is ultimately responsible?” It is usually asked in a pejorative sense, for somebody shirking responsibility, or for apportioning blame. Now that Anna Hazare has made his Jan Lokpal Bill (JLB) a life and death issue, it…

When I was born 60 years ago, 6 paisa made an anna and 16 annas a rupaiya.  Today we have one Anna Hazare, and hazaron log who have milked our country of trillions of rupaiya.  Speculating on the amount received in bribes, siphoned off in commission, or stacked away in Swiss Banks is mind boggling.…

(A Sequel to “If I Were Pope”) Is it easier to be the Pope or the Prime Minister of India?  To a large extent the answer would depend on one’s understanding of the Papacy.  If it is to be the Vicar of Christ, then of course it is the most demanding job on earth.  If…

The title of this piece is somewhat different from the common Latin phrase “Ora et Labora”, which means “Pray and Work”.  It is one of the basic premises of Christian spirituality. Unfortunately, we are sometimes confronted with a corrupted version “Ora o Labora”, which means “Prayer or Work”. Is there a choice?  Some over zealous…