Catholic Professors’ Meeting
Congratulations.
New and very inspiring venture by the
diocese and the Cathedral parish.
KISS at the meeting----narrated by
Abp.Sheen. I would be short.
Prof.C.A.sheppard, Prof.Ulahanan Mappila,
two professors of great repute at S.B.
Their commitment to the subjects and
to their students are worthy of special mention. We have to see our profession
as a God-given opportunity and one that gives us a great role not only in the
community but in the lives of others.
One day visiting a student of ours in
the US, he asked me about one of the teachers. The teacher was not known for
any outstanding contributions. I was curious to know more about the student’s relationship with the teacher,.He was telling
me that he could not forget him .He was a great disciplinarian in class and got
the class really inspired. Even after so many years, he is being remembered. The
teacher passed away in the year of his retirement. All of you have similar
experiences in your contacts with students. The great advantage of a teacher’s
life is that he can change the lives of
people. Nobody else has that advantage.
“SOME people think that good teachers
are born; educators know that good teachers are made. They are made over time, through education, perseverance, practice and
guidance. Newly minted teachers may be shiny and bright, but teachers with
experience connect with students. They are the coin of the realm for student
achievement. It takes time to get from here to there”.
It was reported in the press
recently:
Sixth
Grade teacher from Arizona, Judith Tensing, wrote on the report card of
the 6th grader in 1993…”It has been a joy to have you in class. Keep
up the good work. Invite me to your Harvard graduation”. The student, Christine
Gilmer graduated from Harvard on May
23,18 with a Ph.D in Public Health.
Speaking of the impact of teachers,
Henry Adams said “Teachers affect eternity.”
How can we become the best teachers?
Teachers should become the best in their
respective fields… .. .. by knowing more
about the subject, the developments in
the subject and presenting them in inspiring manner.
Stephen Covey—Seven Habits of Highly
Effective Leaders
“Sharpen your Saw; Be pro-Active”
Should also know about the faith—
should be good communicators of the faith.
I recall the influence of a teacher
who taught us Maths in the Middle school. The prayers he taught us is still
remembered ….A prayer to the Little Flower.
Prof. P.C. Thomas ……about his
devotion to the Eucharist.
Teaching poetry in MA..The Wreck of
the Deutschland—Role of the Virgin
My niece was doing research at Caltech ,California---the Professor of
Aeronautical Engineering..giving them books on meditation---saying rosary with
a Chinese student…
The Bible I gave to a student..while
he came to say good bye after finishing school…writing about in the Manorama in his reflections on his alma
mater.
In spite of the large number of
educated people in our community, we don’t find many coming to the forefront
with confidence, explaining or defending the faith.
Benedict XVI “Negative Tolerance” in the Light of
the World.
Pope Francis’ talks and books
–opening a new window to the understanding of the Faith.
His book –God is Mercy- should
be read by all. Very simple, at the same
time very enlightening and consoling.
He speaks against clericalism and the arrogance coming from the
following of just rituals and
traditions.
“When the awe of salvation wears
off, we think we can do everything alone, that we are the protagonists. And if
that person is a minister of God, he ends up believing that he is separate from
the people, that he owns the doctrine, that owns power and he closes himself
off from God’s surprises.” The Holy Father calls such an attitude the “Degradation of awe”.
God’s mercy is infinitely greater
than our sins; his medicine is infinitely stronger than our illness that he has to heal.”
The Church is a field hospital
where attention is paid to healing the wounds first.
John Allen: The Future Church…Ten
characteristics. One important one is
that Church will be more evangelical—Gospel based.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.(Jn.14:6)
Once I heard a follower of Islam recounting
the contributions of Islam to the world.
What I thought at that time was : “Would any Catholic teacher be able to
recount the contributions of Christianity to the World?”
Science, Law, Human Rights,
Democracy. Capitalism, Religious Freedom
etc.
Faith and Reason.
Faith is not blind and irrational but supra rational. There are
things that cannot be measured.
No one is against science. Science
unravels the secrets of nature. Questioning and experimenting….Development of
reasoning—our gift from God.
(The Tao of Physics—Fritjof Capra---encountering a non-material dimension in the heart of
modern Physics.)
Francis Collins, the Head of the NIH,
the Director of the Genome project ,wrote the book Science, the Language of God….his
story.. the great defender of the faith now.
Two other books--- How the
Catholic Church built the Western civilization
By Thomas Woods
Universities, Law, Developments in
Science
Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries
of Anti-Catholic History :
Rodney Stark…
Deals with Suppression of Gospels, Crusades,
Inquisition, Scientific heresies, protestant Modernity etc… tries to demolish
all the misconceptions that were held against the Church. …
”I am not a Roman Catholic and I did
not write this book in defense of the Church. I
wrote it in defense of history.”
Gary Wills : Why I am a Catholic
When people ask why I do
not go in search of a Popeless church, I answer sincerely that I want the papacy.
It is a blessing, a necessity –it is a requirement for the mystical body of Christ
to remain one body….Even in the darkest hours of the papacy, there is more life
and light within the Church than in the groups that split off from it…. A
person who loves the church can have a lover’s
quarrel with its leadership. He can appeal from the Pope to Peter .He cannot
wish to do without Peter and still be true to the Gospel, since it is Christ
who made Peter the first of apostles, our brother with a special mission to
care for us, the servant of us servants.”
Valerie Jones, a young journalist
once wrote that I have so many
differences with the Chruch but I will never leave the Church because it is
here that I receive the Eucharist.
A teacher affects eternity…….
Tuesdays with Morrie:
Forgive every one. Loving others is the important experience in life.
“As long as we can love each other,
and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going
away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still
there. You live on - in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured
while you were here. -Morrie”
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie
Forgive yourself before you
die. Then forgive others.”
Teachers
are the backbone of any country, the pillar upon which all aspirations are
converted into realities.
Addul kalam
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
William Arthur Ward
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