THE REVERIES OF A SENIOR

The reveries of a senior
By
Prof. Joseph K Alexander.

{Professor Joseph K Alexander is the Retired Director, Collegiate Education, and Kerala State. He is currently the Chairman of Kerala Regional Branch of the Indian Institute of Public Administration ( IIPA) and Honorary Treasurer of the MGOCSM India. He has been holding senior official posts in the MGOCSM ever since 1976.}

The MGOCSM is celebrating its centenary. In a hundred years the small seed sowed by the early visionaries has grown into a giant tree. The original aim was to deepen the spiritual life and creating in them (students) a livelier sense of fellowship. But in a hundred years the aim of the Movement has flowered into three: Worship, Study and Service: Training students in personal and corporate worship, deepening the study of the liturgy, history and ambit of the Church and above all, service to the fellowmen. In recent years the third motto of service has become important in the annals of MGOCSM.

In the globalised competitive spectrum of modern world, skewing up of the income and wealth and endowments into the hands of the more adventurous few is inevitable. Marginalization and increased disparity between the haves and the have-nots also is inevitable. Striking a balance through inclusive growth, so that the disparity is reduced and the marginalized is not left out in the onward march is the only solution to this malady. MGOCSM through its FASES (Financial Assistance to Self Employment Schemes), education scholarships, and total education programme and charity schemes is precisely trying to do this. Hence one cannot but felicitate MGOCSM for its new direction of activities. MGOCSM should try to ameliorate poverty and marginalization of all kinds and must uphold its service motto. All the same this new orientation of inclusiveness and self sacrifice for the service of others shall not be at the cost of the worship and study motto.

Looking forward, MGOCSM has to venture more actively into some other areas also, like:

1. Seeking the targeted students. The exhortation given at the 99th Annual Conference of the MGOCSM on 27th Dec. 2007 at the St. Mary’s Cathedral church, Thumpamon by H B. Paulos Mar Milithios, Catholicose Designate, is very relevant. He said, “so far the students and youth used to come to the clarion call of the MGOCSM. But in the New Century the students and youth shy away from religion. MGOCSM has to seek them and go after them”. MGOCSM has to find out methods to meet this new challenge of the 21st Century.

2. In the 20th Century the Syrian Student Conference was the barricade against the creeping cultural hostility to Christianity. In this new Century this role has to be more vigorous and effective. The failure of the family, church and school to bring up the modern youth in faith and spirituality; the mis-interpreted secularization of the society as ir-religiousness; and the role played by media in upholding it; make students to shy away from religion. Moreover, in the wake of pursuit of new types of enjoyment and pleasure youth have less leisure and time for religion and such meditative reflections. Modern youth consider it a waste of time to spend on such doubtful ideas as God and religion. Concurrently, individual’s reason has emerged as the bench mark of truth. Unless one gets logically convinced, he refuses to believe. So anything that seem unreasonable to one’s mind is untruth and bunkum. To them God may appear as a mere human fantasy. So MGOCSM must act as bulwark against this agnostic trend which is ghastly getting universalized.

3. Evangelists for the Third Christendom. Religiosity is still prevalent and strong in the older civilizations in China, Japan, India and the Far East. With the weakening of the communist suppression, religion in Russia and China have resurrected with greater vigour. So a Third Christendom with Philippines as epicenter is quite a possibility in the 21st century. (The coming of the Third Church” –Walburt Buhlmann). The First Christendom of the Middle East was destroyed by the militancy of the Arabs, the Crusades and post-Crusade fanaticism and Turkish invasions. The Second Christendom of the 13th Century onwards was dissipated by the western Colonial exploitation and the new scientific enquires that questioned unreasoned faith of man in God. Renaissance and reformation expedited this dissolution

We of the St. Thomas Tradition have a right and duty to train our students to be participants in the creation of the Third Christendom. In the wake of globalised centrifugal scattering of employment opportunities, our trained MGOCSM cadre employed all over the World can be ambassadors of Nazranis of Kerala. MGOCSM can and should play a vital role in the evolution of this Third Christendom. It is its inevitable duty. Proselytism is not the modality. They should mirror Jesus in their life and thereby be evangelists of the Third Christendom.

4. Finishing School. The education Orientation Course started in 1981 had been trying to develop the human abilities of the students to be leaders of the future society. Universal learning, information technology and use of websites for latest information make Global competition very intense and technical. Hence a restructuring of the Education Orientation course is necessary. They have to be trained to face the Universal competition arising from competitors of all parts of the World. So the training must include some kind of finishing curriculum that will equip them to face successfully the competitive World. This is to be given at the end of their professional and general education courses.

All these dreams require new orientation and training for our members, workers and youth. Let us pray for such developments in our programmes so that MGOCSM will not merely be more relevant, but also will be in the vanguard. I am certain that my dreams are only a glimpse into the future. A more thorough examination can bring more ideas and modalities of working for the MGOCSM of to morrow. May God and our Patron St. Parumala Mar Gregorios guide and equip us to take up these challenges.

<<<>>>>…..