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MOP has been in this mission territory since February 27th, 2007. The first nine months were very trying and difficult moments. With only three of us to begin this mission, we found it quite a challenge because we were already used to living in a large Community. However, nothing is impossible to God. With His grace, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the presence of the Blessed Mother in our daily lives, we were able to reach out to many people who lived in our vicinity and who were dealing with us from day to day.
We started off by living in the Bishop’s House, Rourkela, for the first 3weeks. During this time we were searching around eagerly for a home suitable for Brothers to live in. Finally, we were able to rent a home near to the parish. It was the home belonging to a very devout and prayerful Catholic man named Mr. Abraham Khess. It was providence for us to find a home like that. He treated us as his own children and provided us for all our needs. He became our first benefactor. The second benefactors we encountered the same day we found the house to live in, was the SRA Sisters. These Sisters, of the Order of ‘Mary Queen of the Apostles’, provided us with all we needed like beds, mattresses, pillows and food until we settled down. Though we were strangers, they truly took care of us as though we were part of their family.
During these days, we were kept busy with the prime task of looking for a suitable place to establish our Monastery. We were given names of different persons and places that we sought and only realized that all those involved in this game were only money-seekers. There was no interest in helping us; only driven by the desire to pull out money from our hands, these men tried their best to win our trust. But the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the mouths and minds of trustworthy people kept us always vigilant during these trying moments.
One day we finally thought that we procured a small piece of land along with the house. It was being sold for 65lakhs (i.e. then currency of US$150,000.00). We were about to purchase the house when certain incidences changed the route of our journey and we never purchased it. Once again we were given up to our search.
After much prayers and novenas, finally in the month of November, through the help of Rev. Fr. Celestine Xaxa (pronounced ‘kha-kha’), we found a beautiful piece of land with a mud house which had mud tiles. This is typical house in this region. It was one piece of land equaling 2.72acres. We purchased it for 7lakhs / dismal. Now, 100 dismals make one acre. Two pieces of land was 7lakhs / dismal. The third land with about 89 dismals was 10lakhs / dismal because it had the house, an old building, a pump, a boundary wall, and some other minor materials.
On the eve of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, i.e. 7th December 2007, we purchased the property. After nine months of struggle, it was a relieve that we finally had our own property and a little home to start off with. Big thanks to the Blessed Virgin, Cause of our Joy.
Once settled here, we were joyfully and respectfully welcomed by the parish priests and the entire parish on a joyful celebration of the Sunday Mass. Since then, we have been able to establish our presence here through our works amongst the poorest as well as our help in the parish.
Our Ministry
For our ministry, we visit the poorest villages surrounding us and offer the spiritual works of mercy. We began to look for those families and children who were in real need of our help. We took in 15 children from the nearby slums and put them in the diocesan English Medium School last year. This year we have 50 children from around the different slums that surround us. People, especially the Hindus, have come to recognize and accept us as ‘not harmful’. With the surge of persecutions on the Church in Orissa by the Hindu fundamentalists, there was a fear that we too will be affected by it. But, God’s plans and designs are different.
All sorts of people, Hindus, Catholics, Christians of other denominations, fallen Catholics and Christians, drunkards, prostitutes, and many others have found refuge in the Brothers – either for spiritual or material needs.
Twice a week the Brothers visit the slums in the evening to evangelise, pray, rejuvenate the faith, chastise, and love the poor ones, teaching them also to love God above all else.
Sanjit Sai Tidu
Sanjit Sai Tidu
is a boy of 17 years of age.
When he was only 4 years old, he was
carrying a lit lantern filled with kerosene.
Accidentally he tripped over a stone in the
dark and spilled the kerosene upon himself
and his clothes caught fire immediately. He
received about 60 percent burns on his small
body. The family is very poor. They could
not afford to take him to the hospital and
so tried the village treatment for him.
While he recovered slowly, his left leg
suffered a serious contracture of the muscle
ligament below the knee joint. Thus, he was
left to live his life crawling for the
coming years of his life. He was unable to
open his left leg as it became fully
contracted. He still struggled on to the
village school about three kilometers away
from his home. He crawled through the dusty
streets to and from school. His mother ran
away with another man and his father is a
drunkard. So, the burden fell on
grandparents who lived in a small hut. With
the meager earning of the grandfather, the
child was brought up.
Having heard of our presence here, the family immediately sought us out for help and were fully confident that we will make the child better. Their faith was a revelation to us that this is God’s call to us to express our apostolate in this place. Having discussed the matter of the child with a nearby hospital, the doctors were most willing to help in this situation. In the month of March, the child was operated, the ligament was enlarged, and skin-grafting was done. After the child was discharged from the hospital, we brought him to live with us in our little home. Daily dressings and physio-therapy offered by Brother Anil, has now brought much improvement to Sanjit. The leg (as seen above) is made fully straight and the boy is able to move about with support. Soon, he will be able to walk, run, play and live the normal life that every child lives.
Parish
We also participate in parish activities in-so-far as we can manage. Bro. Christopher teaches catechism to the little children who are preparing for their First Holy Communion. On a daily basis he goes and offers the spiritual works of mercy, thus building up our relation with the local parish. We have also been given the permission to say Mass in the villages and slums we visit regularly so as to enliven and invigorate the faith of the people so that the parish can once again be blessed by their presence while our apostolate is also built. It helps us to reach out to so many who are thirsting for the Living God.
Future Plans
- Setting up a home for children who are orphaned
- Organizing Food Line for the poorest families in the nearby Christian villages
- Organizing Mobile Clinics for poorest Christian villages
- Establishing slowly the full-fledged MOP apostolate for homeless and destitute
Persecution
There had been wide-spread persecutions of the Christians in the Eastern belt of Orissa, i.e. in the diocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. Though it is very far from the Western belt, nevertheless the reverberations of the persecutions were felt by all Christians in Orissa. Beginning in December 2007, the Hindus began persecuting the Church through the diocese of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. The persecutions reached its peak in August 2008. Thousands of Christians fled to the nearby forests and many priests and religious had to go into hiding or as refugees in the nearby dioceses. Christians houses were burnt; statues were broken to pieces; Church properties were vandalized wherein parishes were set afire, tabernacles broken and the Sacred Host treated with sacrilege; vehicles and houses of priests and brothers and sisters were broken and burnt; a catholic nun was raped and the priest with her was beaten severely; another priest was found in hiding in the nearby broken Church and was beaten so badly that he died later in the hospital; lay Christians were beaten first and then buried alive with only their heads sticking outside the grave; some others were burnt alive; many others were tortured and then their heads were cut off and thrown in the nearby ravines. Such outrageous acts done against the Christians had only made the faith of the suffering more firm. The State and Central government did not intervene until very late. Even in the refugee camps the Christians were treated with hostility.
At present the situation is calm. A form of a cold-war is prevalent still, whereby the Christians cannot buy rations even if they have money. The government provided a roll of plastic and only Rs. 10,000.00 (U.S.200.00) for each family to find re-settlement in their hometowns. They are still treated with hostility by the Hindus living there. No help is offered to them and their cries go unheard.
Conclusion
In the midst of all this, we as MOP still move about in our habits without fear and believing that God is on our side. We move about freely and joyfully among the poor who welcome us with loving hearts. We live our Monastic Life of Prayer and Work in community and amongst the poor.