Have we got over the recent death of Rev Eugene Moon Lazarus of Agra? Is there anything about his life that we should be over the moon about?
There is much in the life and death of Moon, or Moonbhai, as he was affectionately known, for us to be literally over the moon? Why? Because he was special to the people of Agra Archdiocese. He was a son of the soil, a local vocation in ecclesial parlance.
He belonged to Lower Padre Tola in the shadow of the mighty educational institutions that surround the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. Some 20 to 25 thousand children must be coming to study in this vast campus. Again, in the shadow of the huge cathedral is the relatively puny Akbar’s Church. It is in a way symbolic of the co-relation between the educational campus and Padre Tola. The latter is the poor cousin.
This is what makes Moon’s life and his vocation to the priesthood so special. He was the first one from the locality to become a priest. We need to see this in its historical perspective. Catholicism came to Agra in the 16th century during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. In his quest for knowledge he had invited two Jesuit priests from Goa to his court. They were St Rudolph Aquaviva and Sanskrit scholar Francis Roth. At that time there were reportedly 1000 Catholics in Agra; locals, not Goans.
By normal demographic growth that number should have been several lakhs today. Sadly, the local Catholics are mostly limited to the Padre Tola area. This missiological disaster merits serious attention.
It is in this context that Moon shines out, as the first priest in over 500 years from the local community. My association with him goes back to 1979 when I was appointed as the first Secretary of the U.P. Regional Youth & Vocations Bureau. After a three day spiritual discernment led by Bp Gratian Mundadan CMI it was decided to conduct 5-day spiritual renewal programmes for the dioceses in the region. At that time Rev Jose Maliekal was the Youth Director for Agra. I can never forget his indefatigable zeal.
Of the 7 dioceses, Agra was my happiest hunting ground, where we experienced powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Our plan was to have these annual spiritual renewal programmes over a period of three years, followed by a month long Life Orientation Programme (LOP). This had a two fold purpose – to expose the youth to sacred scripture, Vatican II ecclesiology, inculturation and evangelization. It also afforded an opportunity to interact with vocation promoters from various dioceses and congregations. Rev Albert D’Souza (later archbishop of Agra) was the LOP Director.
Moon went through this entire process before opting for the priesthood. He therefore had the “rightness of intention and the freedom of choice” (O.T. No 6) as advocated by Vatican II. For me he was the first fruit of my vocation promotion work. His mature choice was manifest in his priestly ministry, especially in the areas of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, both of which are crucial to the life and mission of the Church.
There is no doubt that had Moon’s life not been stifled by a debilitating disease, he would have scaled even greater heights.
Both foreign missionaries and later those from south/ south west India have laboured greatly in the Vineyard of the Lord in Agra. But is now time to cede space to local vocations in the spirit of John the Baptist, “He must increase and I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). We may also recall the words of Pope Pius X emblazoned at the entrance of St Joseph’s Regional Seminary, Allahabad, where Moon studied: “Filii tui India, Administri Tibi Salutis” (Oh India, your sons shall be your salvation). Replace the word India with Agra.
So while celebrating the life and witness of Moonbhai I will be over the moon only when I see far more young men from the region opting for the priesthood with “rightness of intention and freedom of choice”. I’m sure that Moon will be praying for that, as I also do.
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