Organized Chaos

June 26^th-July 1^st

Yes, sorry about the inconsistent and sporadic posting. Let it be a reminder to be watchful and vigilant because, “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night” (1 Thes. 5:2).

So I departed from Vadavathoor Seminary on June 26^th and went back to my grandmother’s house in Changanacherry. During my days there, I was able to rest and relax a bit, since I didn’t have to wake up at 5:15am every morning.

On one of the days, I had the privilege of being able to go a prolife outreach activity with my uncle and a few members of a prolife movement called Krupa Prolifers.

Before going, I imagined possibly praying a rosary outside of a hospital that does abortions or watching the leaders do sidewalk counseling, but when I asked my uncle what we would be doing, he said that we would be giving haircuts and shaving the beards of almost one-hundred men at a nearby institution that takes care of mentally challenged patients.

What does giving haircuts and shaving beards of mentally challenged patients have to do with the pro-life movement? Just about everything. 

I arrived to St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Aluye, which is near the big city of Ernakulam. The campus here is absolutely beautiful. I feel like I’m at a Hogwarts for Indians (minus the magic).

The day after I arrived, the seminary community celebrated the Feast of St. Peter and Paul, so whenever there are special feast days throughout the year, the seminarians are allowed to go for an “outing”, which means, they get to leave the campus for an extended period of time and can pretty much do whatever they want (provided that they are not formally or materially cooperating with sin).

So I joined the brothers on their outing to Ernakulam to explore the city and see what it has to offer.

But of course. . .

But I must first tell you all about the journey there. Oh my.

If you’ve never been on a bus in Kerala, you haven’t experienced life yet. The buses are crowed and smelly, but that’s not the main reason why the buses here are crazy, since the subways in New York and “L” in Chicago are no different during rush hour. What makes the buses in Kerala really crazy is that everyone getting on or coming off the bus have about ten seconds to do so. If you take too long, the bus will leave, so the sight of seeing men and women jump on and walk off a moving bus is nothing unique here. The brothers made sure I was the first one in the group to get on and get off the bus, so thankfully, I didn’t have to pull out any of my non-existent parkour skills and jump out of the bus.

But the bus was actually the easy part of the journey there; what was really crazy was having to cross the busy NH 47. I’ve crossed plenty of busy roads in the U.S., both in downtown Chicago and New York, but nothing compares to crossing the road in Ernakulam. In America, pedestrians have the right of way, but in Kerala, pedestrians must get right-out-of-the-way because no one will stop if they see you crossing the street. Perfect real-life opportunity to use my Frogger skills from back in the day (and they said video games couldn’t help you in life).

I held on tight to my brothers as they crossed the dangerous national highway. I was also dumb enough to record it. Enjoy real life Frogger!

Though driving in Kerala pretty much has no rules, everyone seems to get from point A to point B in once piece. Organized chaos. 

We finally made it to Lulu mall and it is CRAZY! Probably better than all the malls I’ve been to back in the U.S.(which isn’t that many, but still!)

There are so many brand name stores, eateries, and even a small theme park. So many things to do, but of course, we just simply walked around, visited electronic stories, and talked about how none of us could afford any of these items. We planned to just leave after spending a few hours of walking, but then, something caught my eye; I was speechless. My lover from America came to see me, shining so brightly, and looking more golden then ever.

I immediately told the brothers that I would not leave the mall until I bought McDonalds. I also told them that I would not leave the McDonalds unless they all ate something from there. It was funny seeing their reaction to the second condition; they told me that they’ve never had McDonalds before and that they don’t know what to buy.

Did they know who they were with? Good thing I got them covered.

I felt like such a B0$$

...or if you think I’m corrupting these innocent children with the negative aspects of American culture, perhaps this meme applies to the situation better…

They don’t have any beef on the McDonalds menu in India, but they do have plenty of chicken. There’s no American-style Big Mac, but if you’re feeling like a king and wanna go big. . .

The Chicken Maharaja Mac. Legit.

We got McChickens and fries, and right before we were about to pray grace and eat, I told them the one and only rule: we only speak English while we eat McDonalds.

So we had a nice meal and I got a chance to tell them all about American culture and answer any questions they had. We slowly got into the topic of evolving women’s fashion in India and how it's becoming more westernized. One of the brothers asked a pretty funny question (well, at least to me)

“Brother Kevin, girls in India are starting to wear a type of clothing called leggings. Do girls in America wear leggings?”

lol.

And here's the gang.

                         (Ain't nobody fresher than my clique)

After Lulu Mall, the brothers took me around the area to show me some tourist spots. We stopped by a famous Hindu temple called Aluve Sivarathri Temple. There was a nice boating area, so we decided to hop on a go for a short ride.

The following day was Sunday and I had to get up at 5am. On Sundays, the seminarians studying theology leave the seminary at 5:30am to take a bus to their pastoral assignments, where they spend most of the day teaching Sunday school, assisting the priests for the Holy Qurbana, and visiting families. I went with Br. Jithin from the Kothamangalam Diocese to his parish assignment at St. Mary’s Forane Church in Chalakudy.

Br. Jithin is a boss. When he does family visits around the parish, he takes the pastor's motorcycle and rides to each of these houses, while wearing his cassock.

I got to visit all of Br. Jithin's Sunday school classes. I was expecting to just sit in the back of the classroom and listen to him teach, but without telling me, he ended up having me lead the class by telling them about my vocation, seminary life, and culture in America.

The students were all shocked that I knew a little bit of Malayalam. Br. Jithin, along with all of the other seminarians, all introduce me to priests, sisters, and lay people saying, 

“This is Br. Kevin. He is from America, but his parents are Malayali”. 

I guess I’m only an American then…

The students were great. They had so many questions to ask me about American culture. I was really surprised by how much they knew about American culture. They were all up-to-date on their American movies and music. I asked them if they knew who Justin Beiber was, and they all did! One of the boys raised his hand and said, 

“In India, the girls tend to like Justin Beiber more than the boys. Actually, the boys don't like him at all”. 

Not only in India my friend, not only

I tried telling them how I’m American, but at the same time Malayali. They couldn’t really understand it, but luckily, most of them saw the new Malayalam movie ABCD (American Born Confused Desi), and so I tried to explain to them how I’m a real life ABCD…

Catechesis is really serious here in Kerala. While I was learning how to connect the dots to outline the shape of an Easter Bunny in my years in CCD (I'm exaggerating a bit) , the students at this Sunday School this past week learned about materialism, moral relativism, and other contemporary issues the Church faces in the third millennium. God has a great sense of humor having me –an America –sit in in all of these classes that are somewhat aimed at showing Indians what Americans are like.

Catechesis has been an important part of faith formation in the Church for centuries, and it was no less a part of Blessed Kunjachan’s work in the liberation of the Dalits in Kerala.

For Blessed Kunjachan, to love the members of the Dalit community with the love of Christ, but to withhold from them the home that the Church gives, would have been inconceivable. 

Pope Francis speaks beautifully about the inseparability of Christ and the Church saying:

"Because it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church. The great Paul VI said: "Wanting to live with Jesus without the Church, following Jesus outside of the Church, loving Jesus without the Church is an absurd dichotomy." And the Mother Church that gives us Jesus gives us our identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging. Identity means belonging. This belonging to the Church is beautiful."

Whenever he would visit the homes of the Dalits, he would always bring a catechist with him and instruct them of the treasures that the Church has to offer. Though Blessed Kunjachan never forced any of the Dalits to convert to Catholicism, many they were inspired to receive Baptism and so became members of the Mystical Body of Christ –the Church!

Blessed Kunjachan faced a lot of ridicule and verbal abuse from Hindus of the upper class because he was converting the slaves of wealthy landlords and teaching them about the message of Jesus Christ. Not only did he face obstacles from upper class Hindus, but he also faced much apathy and indifference by his own Christian brothers and sisters.

In his initial years working towards the liberation of the Dalits, many members of his own parish did not fully agree with his efforts to work with the untouchables. It was socially unacceptable at that time for a Christian to eat at the house of an untouchable, and even more so for a priest, who was seen as a person of high rank and prestige among the parish community.

Despite these obstacles and problems, Blessed Kunjachan nevertheless drew his strength from the Eucharist and continued to persevere in working towards the liberation of the Dalit people. He embraced these people into the womb of the Church and nourished their souls with the Sacraments the Church hands down from generation to generation.

May we come to an experience of the love Christ has for us, especially in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and let that love overflow towards our neighbor. May Blessed Kunjachan’s love for Christ and His Church inspire us to do the same for the marginalized people of the twenty-first century.

  Just like the ark of Noah, floated on the waves

  The Church is the ark that saves us on the sea of life.

  The white dove brought good tidings in those days of old.

  The Holy Spirit gives it to the Church and saves her

-Onitha D’Wasar, Tuesday Ramsha (Evening Prayer), Period of Dedication of the Church, SyroMalabar Liturgy of the Hours

  

(Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Christ the King Knanaya Catholic Cathedral, Kottayam)