Muslim Ahmed encounters Jesus and becomes Catholic

This article is a true account of a courageous Catholic convert who is still being persecuted for leaving his Muslim faith. He is using a pseudonym, Ahmed, for security reasons to protect his young family's life.

I was born in a large radical Muslim family. I grew up having learnt the Koran and devoutly practised my Muslim faith and followed its teachings. One day in October 2004, after work, I went home and took a bath as was my usual routine. I was tired and I then slumped down on my bed. At that time, my company was going through a very difficult time and I was very depressed.

My wife was preparing dinner in the kitchen and my daughter was watching cartoon on television in the lounge. Very gently, I fell into a light sleep in which I could hear all that was going on in the house. Suddenly, all these sounds stopped as if my ears were blocked. At that moment a very strong, intense light gradually invaded my room, advancing from the left corner of my bedroom. Advancing towards me, in the background of this intense light was the figure of Jesus Christ - I was completely astounded! It was as if I was struck by a bolt of lightning. I was feeling terrified and was shaking like a leaf blown in a gust of wind! At that time I had no personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus placed His cool right hand on my back. I still remember the position and the feeling of His touch. With His hand on my back, He said to me reassuringly and kindly, "Do not be afraid. Instead, I am here to help you!" All this lasted a little less than a minute and thirty seconds. Then Jesus retreated into the light and disappeared with it into the corner of the wall. Things came back to normal. I jumped out of bed, yelling and calling for my wife to relate to her what happened. My wife found the story difficult to believe knowing full well I was a fervent Muslim. It was when she started seeing the transformation happening later in my life that she finally believed this story!

To my wife, the change that she could perceive in me was nothing short of a miracle as all the while I was still a fervent Muslim, clinging onto the faith I was drilled in during my childhood and the only one faith that I knew. As for myself, I refused to believe that this meeting with Jesus ever happened! I tried to continue to live my life as if nothing had happened, but the more I denied this visitation from the Lord, the more things became difficult for me. My business was falling apart. I was losing customers every day. In short, everything was falling apart around me and I felt very bad.

Despite hardening my heart, deep within me, I felt the call of the Lord. God was merciful and patient. But I still persisted in my disbelief. I conveyed my line of thoughts to my wife who is a Catholic - if what had happened to me was really of divine origin, I would not be passing through all these difficult times! However, later on, by the mercy and grace of God, I began to be interested in the Christian religion. I did lots of research which later led to my Baptism, my first Holy Communion and marriage in the Catholic Church! This is a major milestone in my life and constitutes another miracle the kind Lord has executed with His strong hand in my life. Just over a year back, I would never ever have envisaged myself being a Christian, much less a practicing Catholic! With God nothing is impossible! (Luke 1:37)

With all my heart, I praise the Lord for His unending Mercy and Patience towards me in leading me from my darkness and into His wonderful Light - where there is freedom from all bondage to sins and slavery. "He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains." (Psalm 107:14) "... and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." (Colossians 1:12)

Since then my life began to change as if by magic. I found inner peace in my heart and mind. My business took off. I won the biggest contract of my life and I was engaged in charity work until the time I was caught up by my former Muslim community. They had decided to eliminate my family and I. From the moment we learned of their evil intentions, we began to move across the country to escape their attack. However, they always managed to find us! They burned and destroyed my office, my home and all our assets. They made our lives a living hell, and we endured untold sufferings. The situation was so tense and risky that for almost a year I did not know the whereabouts of my wife and kids. We were all hiding in different locations in order to escape detection. But throughout this ordeal we were not alone, Jesus Christ was with us!

God helped me to escape to another country with the help of the Catholic Cardinal of my country. Before leaving the country, I found out that my young children were with my mother-in-law and my wife was hiding outside the country. I collected my children and hid them in a bushland far away from the city - I thought it would be a safe place for them till I would send for them later. During this time, I managed to get in contact with my wife. I told her to go back to the country and to be with the kids until I found the means to take them out of the country.

When I had fled out of the country in September 2008, my wife and two young daughters were attacked by some members of my former Muslim community.

They arrived at the house where my family was temporarily hiding early one fateful morning as my wife was boiling drinking water on an open fire. When they attacked, my wife started screaming, and ran out of the house using another door. Taken by alarm, they started to run off distracted by my wife's screaming. Unfortunately, her screaming awoke my younger daughter who also started yelling and calling for her mother. This caught the attackers' attention since she was sleeping on a couch outside on the veranda. Quick as lightning they grabbed her and dumped her mercilessly into the huge pot of boiling water! Then they ran away shouting "Allah is great!" in Arabic.

My wife took her to a hospital but it was a six-hour journey! By the time they reached the hospital, she was already in a coma. I am very sad to say my daughter died six days later. I still remember the sweet innocent smile on my little daughter's face, never once imagining, that such a little beautiful one could suffer so much at the hands of the people of the very community that I used to identify myself with. This attack was decided and meticulously planned by the head of my former Muslim community with the complicity of my parents. I asked myself - what kind of religion could inspire such deep hatred and violence for one's own flesh and blood?

My precious little baby died for a great cause. She died for Jesus Christ! She earned for herself the distinction and honour of being a martyr for God. She died because I discovered a new life in Jesus Christ; because I converted to Christianity; and because I have accepted and welcomed the Lord Jesus Christ into my life. Though we truly miss her, we are very proud of her and have no doubt of meeting her again in the promised Kingdom of Light. There, our joys will be even greater for all the pains we have been through on earth! Such was the will of God. Every day, we pray for her and we know that she hears us from above. I know that with her new status as a martyr, she has become an angel who watches over us - because she died for a worthy and noble cause.

After the death of my daughter, we hit rock-bottom. My wife and I fell into an inexplicable emotional and psychological trauma - especially when we were separated again with me abroad and her at home. The pain was so deep and unbearable! That had been the most difficult moments of our lives. But we did not stop praying even when we were down and out. Without money to get my wife and surviving child out of the country, once again God worked one of his miracles.

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress." (Psalm 107:13) He touched the hearts of some kind women whom I did not know to get air tickets for my wife and child. Again with the intervention of God, my wife managed to get a visa to join me. What a miracle! Since the beginning of this trial, I had felt the presence of the Lord with me and my family because His help was always with us. To evade the many attacks from the Muslims in my country, I had to leave the country despite the fact that we had no money to buy our air tickets and to pay for the consular and visa fees. I felt that the murder of my daughter which I am convinced was the will of God and which I willingly offer in sacrifice for the conversion of my father's Muslim family, was to help my wife, remaining daughter and I to leave my country in one piece. As if that was not enough, God established a strong relationship between Himself and I!

From then on, I have a deep, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. I talk to Him daily and I can feel His Presence and His actions in our lives. It is extraordinary what we have lived through. We have lost all our worldly and material possessions but we have found inner peace of heart and mind - the Peace of God which is free for everyone but which no money can buy! God has called me out of my misery and ignorance and revealed to me His wondrous Love and Truth. Despite the horrific trials we went through for God's sake, by His grace, we are not broken but live instead to joyfully proclaim his Good News!

I have never been so internally at peace than today and I thank the Lord from the bottom of my heart. This experience has made me understand that when one is with the Lord, one needs not defend oneself - He will do it for us. "Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you." (Deuteronomy 3:22) All praise and glory be to the Lord forevermore!

(Divine Retreat Centre requests your prayers for the martyred soul of Ahmed's young daughter who died a year ago in September 2008. May God's Protection be upon Ahmed and his family to be permanently resettled safely to start life anew in a new country. They live in poverty now.)

A Hindu Pandit encounters Jesus to become Catholic

JANKI DAS becomes Maria Das

Until three years ago I was Janki Das. I was a Hindu Pandit reasonably well known in Mumbai. I had studied 4 Vedas, 18 Puranas and 108 Upanishads. I had taken great interest in popularizing books like the Bhagwat Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata. I used to be invited for conducting poojas in the homes of the rich in Mumbai. People had great admiration and faith in my poojas and in my incantations. 
Whenever I asked people to do something as per the modes given in the Vedas they blindly obeyed me. Although I never asked for any remuneration, I always got plenty from the satisfied and grateful people. My monthly earnings exceeded Rs. 20,000. I had taken great pains to see that I adhered strictly to the ritualistic patterns and conventions envisaged in the various poojas. I used to get up very early in the morning and only after taking bath I would be doing any act connected with the pooja. I was so revered by the people who had faith in me that they even drank the water in which I washed my legs. They even believed that if I entered their house, it would become holy. 

Jesus Calls
The Bhagwat Gita says that if you do your duty you will get the reward for it. But whatever poojas I did, my mind never experienced peace. The film producer named Aditya Pancholi had erected a cross in Mumbai. I used to pass near that cross each day. One day as I was passing that cross, somebody called me from behind, “Janki Das! Janki Das!” When I looked back I did not see anybody. As I began to walk away, I heard the call again. I again looked back. But nobody was around. As I was about to move forward, I heard this very clearly, “Janki Das, you go everywhere. Why don’t you come to me?” 


I realized that the voice was coming from the cross. Because of some inexplicable inner power I retraced my steps and bowed my head before the cross. Some interjection sounding like ‘Hallelujah’ escaped from my throat. I did not now what that word meant. When that word was repeated, I felt some kind of peace settling in my mind. I knelt there and prayed for nearly half an hour. The Divine Presence was making me his own. “There is no one who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it?” (Is 43:13). Although I had not known Jesus, I started praying under the cross from the following day. 


When people saw me praying there they asked me, “Why do you pray here? Go to the temple to pray.” But since the prayer here gave me solace, I continued praying there. One day when I was praying one man approached me and asked me to pray for him. He was a cameraman, who was producing a film. He was financially broken. I prayed for him. The following day he came to me and thanked me. He told me that his financial problems were solved and he could restart shooting for the film which had stopped due to lack of funds. I saw the God that listens to my prayer. 
“Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear” (Is 65:24). I never knew what the Bible was. So I began to learn it. As per the suggestion of one of my friends, I took part in a retreat. Thus, through the Bible, I came to know who Jesus was. When I came to know the truth, I rectified my mistakes. I stopped performing all kinds of pooja and I began to go to church. My family members who came to know of my change drove me away from home. Somebody who was getting more than Rs.20000 a month was now getting worth even less than Rs. 20. 
I neither had money nor a roof over my head; not even a shelter to sleep. I began sleeping on the pavement. The Word had become my life experience. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Is 49:15). Although all my people had denied me, Jesus was there to acknowledge me as his own. I went to take part in a retreat at Tabor Ashram in Kalyan, Mumbai. Then I took part in two retreats at DRC Muringoor, in Kerala. Later I received baptism and took the name Maria Das. I dedicated my life to serving Jesus. For three months I had been busy in evangelization work in Arunachal Pradesh. 

Evangelization in Mumbai
Now I am involved in a prayer service in Mumbai. I am now speaking about Jesus to the very same RSS and Bajrang Dal loyalists who used to prostrate before me for my blessings. Although some of them are still in the Bajrang Dal, their minds are with ‘Jesus Dal’. In our prayer house, people belonging to different faiths – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians of all denominations - come to pray. Not only the Bible, but even the Koran says, Jesus is God. There will definitely come one day when all the mankind will accept and acknowledge Jesus. “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). It is because many people do not know the truth that they do not come to Jesus. “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (Jn 8:32). Only Jesus can release us from all kinds of bondage. It is only Jesus that loves people of all faiths equally. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). 


If God loved only Christians, definitely he would not call me by name. He did not tell me, “ Hey Janki Das, aren’t you a Hindu?. So why don’t you keep away from here?” On the contrary he told me, “Janki Das, why don’t you come near me?” That God calls people by name was news to me. “I have called you by name” (Is 43:1). Jesus came to wipe away the tears of all and remove the stains of sin and lift us right up to the presence of the Most High. 
He came “so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Merely by becoming a Christian, one can not hope to get salvation. He must follow Jesus. “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). The heart should be transformed in accordance with the Word. 
The gain I have today can’t be had by giving any amount of money. Today I live not because of money, but because Jesus came into my life. He continues to live as the Lord of all (Is 43:10).


souce Vachanolsavam: June 2007 Magazine

Description of Heaven - Medjugorje

All six of the Medjugorje visionaries have seen Heaven. They all have said that there are no words to describe the beauty of Heaven and if we knew what awaits us in Heaven, there are no difficulties or trials that we experience that won’t be worth eternal life in Heaven. The following description is of Heaven, through the words of the Medjugorje visionaries:


In describing Heaven in an interview with Fr. Livio for Radio Maria, Vicka explained that when they arrived at Heaven, there was a great big wooden door. She said that the door was closed, but when they arrived Our Lady opened it and they entered into Heaven. She said St. Peter was standing at the right of the door. Vicka said, I immediately understood that it was him. With a key, rather small, with the beard, a little sturdy, with hair.”

Fr. Bubalo asked Vicka to describe Heaven. She responded:


…it can’t be described. That is something beyond description. It is filled with some sort of beautiful light…people…flowers…angels…All is filled with some indescribable joy. Your heart stands still when you look at it.”


The following is taken from another interview with Vicka:


Question: Vicka, tell us about Heaven

Vicka: Heaven is a vast space, and it has a brilliant light which does not leave it. It is a life which we do not know here on earth. We saw people dressed in gray, pink, and yellow robes. They were walking, praying, and singing. Small angels were flying above them. The Blessed Mother showed us how happy these people are.

Question: How could you tell they were happy?

Vicka: You can see it on their faces. But it is impossible to describe with words the great happiness I saw in Heaven…In Paradise, when the Blessed Mother passed, everybody responded to Her, and She to them. There was a recognition between them…They were standing there communicating with Her, like in a tunnel, only it wasn’t exactly like a tunnel, but a tunnel is the closest comparison. People were praying, they were singing, they were looking…People in Heaven know the absolute fullness of a created being.

Question: How long were you there?

Vicka: Maybe twenty minutes.

Question: …Did the people talk to you?

Vicka: It was very unusual. They were speaking, but I could not understand them…The people were in small groups. I was with Jakov and the Blessed Mother. We spoke to each other, but there was no communication with anyone else. About the people there, the Blessed Mother only said to us, ‘You see how people who are in Heaven are happy?’”


Mirjana didn’t physically go to Heaven, but saw Heaven during an apparition. The following is her description of what she saw:

Mirjana: I saw Heaven as if it were a movie. The first thing I noticed was the faces of the people there; they were radiating a type of inner light which showed how immensely happy they were.

Question: Is Heaven an actual place?

Mirjana: Yes. The trees, the meadows, the sky are totally different from anything we know on the earth. And the light is much more brilliant. Heaven is beautiful beyond any possible comparison with anything I know of on the earth.

Question: Did the people you saw have bodies?

Mirjana: Yes.

Question: What ages were they?

Mirjana: They were different from what we are like now. Perhaps they were all around 30 years of age…They were walking in a beautiful park. They have everything. They need or want nothing. They are totally full…They were dressed in the types of clothing that Jesus wore.”

Mirjana was asked why Our Lady showed her Heaven. Mirjana answered:


She told me many people on earth today do not believe Heaven exists. She said God has chosen us six visionaries to be instruments of His love and mercy. I have personally seen Heaven. It exists! I’ve seen it! Those who stay faithful to God to the end will see Heaven as a reward for their faithfulness.”

Ivanka shared the following:

Question: Did you see Heaven, hell, and Purgatory, Ivanka?

Ivanka: I saw Purgatory and Heaven as a picture. I told the Blessed Mother I did not want to see hell.

Question: What did Heaven look like?

Ivanka: It is a place that is very, very beautiful. Most beautiful…Everyone I saw was filled with a happiness I can’t explain – and I can’t forget.

Question: Do you long for that happiness yourself?

Ivanka: I know some of that happiness when I am with the Blessed Mother, and when I pray.

Question: Can you tell us more about Heaven?

Ivanka: God made us for Heaven. If you pray, you will know that.”


Question: Were you taken to Heaven or were you shown a vision of Heaven?

Marija: I had a vision of Heaven, but Jakov and Vicka were actually taken there.

Question: When you saw the vision, were you in the rectory room? Or where?

Marija: It was in the house of Jakov…It was like you watch a movie on screen or looking out a window. I saw a vision. I wasn’t actually there like the other visionaries…I have never seen such a picture before; no one can even begin to imagine how it looks…the people were around the flowers. They were all the same age. No one in Heaven is older than the age of Christ. People in Heaven were full of joy and all of them are giving thanks for the gifts given to them of God. Every day they realize how much love God has for them…There was a multitude of people.”7


Ivan, when asked about Heaven, stated:


Heaven is worth any cost! Jesus showed us that, with His death on the Cross. His death was not the end. He rose from the dead, glorified to put an end to death forever for God’s children. People in Heaven are happy. They live in the fullness of God.”


Jakov was the other visionary, along with Vicka, that was physically taken up to Heaven. He was only 11-years-old at the time. The following are from a series of interviews:


Question: Will you tell us about Heaven.

Jakov: When you get there, then you will see how it is.

Question: You have said that the reason the Blessed Mother took you there was to show you what it would be like for those who remain faithful to God – would you tell us anymore?
Jakov: If I thought about it too much – I would die of loneliness.”

Question: Tell us your understanding of Heaven.

Jakov: I have been there. It is difficult for me to talk about it.

Question: Is it difficult to live on earth once you have been in Heaven?

Jakov: That is an understatement.

Question: Jakov, you said that if you thought about Heaven too much, you would die of loneliness. How do you handle the memories of Heaven, hell, and Purgatory?
Jakov: The Blessed Mother asks us to be careful of the problem of the tyranny of memories.

Question: What does that mean?

Jakov: She asks us to trust God’s love to make all things well. She asks us to surrender the past to Her maternal care and to remember only in the light of God’s love.”

THE EUCHARIST AS SACRIFICE

THE EUCHARIST AS SACRIFICE 
- THE SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF THE CHURCH IN INDIA

by Fr. Bryan Lobo, S.J.

(Fr Bryan Lobo s.j with Pope Benedict XVI)

INTRODUCTION

I am writing this paper as an Indian Catholic Theologian. I shall therefore present the convictions and beliefs of the Catholic Church on the Eucharist, in the light of the Synod of Bishops that was recently held on the Eucharist and which was called, “THE EUCHARIST: SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF THE LIFE AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH”, bearing in mind my Indianness. Among the many important themes emerging from the Instrumentum Laboris[1] and from the 50 Propositions[2], I have chosen SACRIFICE as the Eucharistic theme for my paper. This theme I find extremely important for the Indian Church because of its intimate connection to the Indian religious psyche[3].

THE EUCHARIST AS SACRIFICE

The OT is replete with instances of sacrifices offered to God. Animals, birds and crops were offered to God for various intentions; for worship (Gen 4: 2-5), for atonement of sin (Heb 9:22), to seal a covenant (Exod 24: 4-8) and to strengthen the bond between God and the devotees. In this way sacrifice became a means to relate to God for personal and communitarian salvation[4]. 

There were also moments in the life of the Israelite community when animal sacrifices became abominable to God especially when offered by devotees who never bothered to do the will of God in their personal and social lives and took the cover of sacrifices to appease God and assure salvation for themselves. This attitude led to cultic ritualism which was heavily criticised by prophets especially Isaiah, Hosea and Amos (Isa 1:2-31; Hos 6:6; Amos 5:21-24). Outward sacrifices could therefore not be an excuse for inner disobedience. Sacrifices to God had to be pure in both ways interior and exterior. Only then would it be pleasing to God and assure one the salvation that one sought. 

The sacrifice of Jesus was seen as transcending the sacrifices of the OT. In the OT the sacrifices were repeated but the sacrifice of Jesus was once and for all (Heb 10:1-10). The OT sacrifices were animal sacrifices but the sacrifice of Jesus was of himself; a self-offering. The benefit of the OT sacrifices also included the priest but the sacrifice of Jesus benefited him in no way; it was for the salvation of others. The salvific motif is later seen by the Apostles as the underlying motif of Jesus’ death. 

What makes the Apostles see this motif in the death of Jesus? 
It was the Last Supper. At the Last Supper Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with his disciples, giving his own interpretation of that meal. Jesus was placing himself as the Passover lamb who had to be sacrificed for the salvation of all[5]. In 1Cor 5: 6-7, Paul alludes to the Passover feast calling Christ the Paschal lamb that was sacrificed. Jesus understands this sacrifice not only as a one way process from God to humans but also vice versa because he makes us participate in that sacrifice by asking his Apostles (and the future Church that would come into existence), to eat the bread and drink the wine as though they were his body and blood (Mk 14: 22-25; Mt 26: 26-29; Lk 22: 14-23; 1Cor 11: 23-26). 

In this way Jesus makes the future Church (the people of the new Covenant), participate in his sacrifice of redemption. It is this participation that brings salvation and wholeness to the participants. This motif of sacrifice became central to the Eucharist especially during the times of the persecutions of the early Christians. The self-sacrifice of Martyrs, right from the first Pope, Peter, down through the centuries, was and is venerated by a kiss of the altar (the centre of which is supposed to contain the remains of the Martyrs), by the main Celebrant (and Concelebrants) of the Eucharist. The Fathers of the Church, living in varied contexts, gave different perspectives to this sacrificial motif of the mass. 

We know the famous words of St. Ignatius of Antioch (? – 107 AD), “I am the wheat of God, when I am ground may I be found pure bread”(Rom 4).[6] Eusebio of Caesarea (365 – 440 AD) calls the Eucharist the fulfilment of the past prophecies, as a sacrifice offered in a new way according to the law of the New Covenant (Dem. Ev. I. 10).[7] Gregory I (540 – 640 AD) Pope and Doctor of the Church gave a lot of importance to the Eucharist as sacrifice. The sacrificial vocabulary – sacrificium, oblatio, immolatio, victima, hostia, etc were words extensively used by him. 

According to him the passion of Christ is mystically imitated in the Eucharist because the sacrifice of Christ is made present at every Eucharist celebrated by the Priest (Dialogue IV, 58: PL 77, 425).[8] We could go on giving examples on how the Fathers of Church laid prime importance on the sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist but for the lack of time we have to move on. After Martin Luther’s (1483 – 1546) attack on the sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist,[9] many other Catholic theologians like Thomas Cranmer (1486-1556), Robert Bellarmino (1542-1621), and others wrote in defence of the sacrifice of the Eucharist[10]. The Council of Trent (1545) finally upheld the mass as making present the sacrifice of the Cross. It said, “It is one and the same victim here offering himself by the ministry of his priests, who then offered himself on the Cross; it is only the manner of offering that is different” (DS 1743)[11] 

The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (1962-1965), which opened the doors of the Church to a great renewal, did not allow this sacrificial aspect to loose its significance in the Eucharist. It says, “… our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his body and blood … in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages, until he should come again” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 47). It also sees the faithful as participating in the Eucharistic sacrifice and along with the divine victim offer themselves to God (Lumen Gentium 11). The Church therefore sees the mass as the inseparable sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1382). 

Keeping this whole tradition in mind, the late Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, exhorts his faithful to see the sacrifice of Christ as intrinsically connected to the Eucharist. I would like to quote him in full: “The sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic mystery cannot therefore be understood as something separate, independent of the Cross or only indirectly referring to the sacrifice of Calvary.By virtue of its close relationship to the sacrifice of Golgotha, the Eucharist is a sacrifice in the strict sense, and not only in a general way, as if it were simply a matter of Christ’s offering himself to the faithful as their spiritual food” (12 – 13).By now it has become clear that the sacrificial aspect is the sine qua non of the Church’s understanding of the Eucharist. Without this aspect any conception of the Eucharist would be incomplete. Secondly it is taken for granted that Christ’s sacrifice is a means for the salvation of all. This is what makes the Eucharist a means to salvation for all.

SACRIFICE IN HINDUISM

I had mentioned earlier that sacrifice is intimately connected to the Indian psyche. With all the varied religions and their inner dynamics and conflicts in India, Hinduism plays an important role in shaping the psyche of the Indians. The concept of sacrifice is central to Hinduism. Yajna, Tyaga, Tapas, and Bali are words and concepts intrinsically connected to sacrifice. 

In Hindu Cosmogony creation itself is seen as the self sacrifice of the primordial Person who is God. The primordial Person is Purusha (a word that means also ‘man’). We find this idea in the Purusha-Sukta, one of the latest hymns of the Rigveda.[12] This hymn describes a mysterious ancient sacrifice which led to the division of the primordial Purusha from which emerged the different parts of creation[13]. Here two points have to be noted that Cosmos comes into being through the Anthropos (a;nqrwpoj) namely that man (primordial Man who is also considered as Supreme Being), is responsible for the creation of the universe. Secondly it is His sacrifice that brings the universe into existence.[14] Sacrifice therefore becomes the foundation of life itself. When life gets corrupted and looses its inner harmony or rta, sacrifice is performed called Yajna to bring back the cosmos into harmony. Yajna is the re-presentation[15] of the primordial sacrifice of the Purusha. Sacrifice is therefore intimately connected to Wholeness. If wholeness is possible at the cosmological level then it should be a reality at the personal level too. 

This makes individuals do tapas, tyaga, and other personal sacrifices for personal wholeness. The persons who attain wholeness are called Yogis, sants or saints etc. These saints in turn work for the welfare of the people and the society (lokasamgraha). We therefore see that personal and cosmic wholeness are the obligatory goals of sacrifice in Hinduism[16]. At this point one is struck at the vision of Hinduism in terms of sacrifice which so much coincides to the vision of sacrifice in the Eucharist although the differences cannot be overlooked. What remains to be shown is how the Eucharist as sacrifice differs from the vision of sacrifice in Hinduism, at the same time how it upholds and completes the central desire of that vision, becoming in the process, the source and summit of the Church in India.

THE EUCHARIST AS SACRIFICE: THE SOURCE AND SUMMIT OF THE CHURCH IN INDIA

The Purusha Sukta is a myth. The idea of God sacrificing Himself for Cosmic creation or Cosmic wholeness is not realised for the Hindu (Indian) consciousness in an Historical context. One may be even tempted to think that such realizations can only be imagined or construed by one’s theocentric or theistic convictions and may be historically impossible. Well the impossible has become possible in Jesus Christ. God became man in Jesus to reconcile the whole world to Himself. The body and blood of Jesus, who is God historically and really, sacrificed on the altar of the earth on the specific hill of Calvary, has restored wholeness to the Cosmos. It was Theos (qeo.j) becoming Anthropos (a;nqrwpoj) to be sacrificed for the wholeness of the World. 

The Hindu desire expressed in the Purusha Sukta, becomes an Historical reality in Jesus Christ. It gets completed in Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is not seen as the Cause of creation as one finds the sacrifice of the Purusha in the Purusha Sukta but of Second Creation (a term used by many theologians today), of Restoration and Redemption. This sacrifice, although it accomplished the work of redemption once and for all, always remains as an offer to humanity for its own wholeness. The person who accepts this offer and participates in this sacrifice by eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ regains health and is made whole and redeemed. How is the presence of the Catholic Church looked at today in India? The presence of the Catholic Church is looked at as leaven in the bread of India. The Catholic Church is helping India to move unitedly to the goal of Dev Rajya, or as many Hindus call it, the Ram Rajya, which we Catholics call the Kingdom of God.[17] 

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Kingdom of God because the Kingdom of God is realized in the Paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. The Paschal mystery is relived at the Eucharist. It is made present fully and really at the Eucharist. Cardinal Martini very well states, “The Eucharist is, … the Kingdom which is to come; it is a synthesis and a making-present of the Kingdom, and its goal is to be incarnated in those who are fed with the Eucharistic bread and wine, and who thus enter into Jesus’ own sentiments and actions”[18]. 
The Kingdom of God is that cosmic wholeness which the Hindu consciousness and for that matter the Indian consciousness seeks. 

The Eucharist is that moment where the personal and cosmic wholeness is realized. One has to look at this realization with the eyes of faith. Without the eyes of faith the Eucharist may seem a simple ritual where the bread and wine are seen as just symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This is one of the greatest temptations of the Church in the Indian context. The Eucharist is seen just as a memorial meal where people of all faiths can participate and the bread and wine are simply given to the people as food of the celebration. Such a reductive comprehension of the Eucharist means that we have not understood the reality of the Eucharist at all. It could also mean that the Church through its pastors has failed in providing the proper catechesis required to approach the Eucharist with awe, wonder and faith. 

In Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Pope John Paul II says, “At times one encounters an extremely reductive understanding of the Eucharistic mystery. Stripped of its sacrificial meaning, it is celebrated as if it were simply a fraternal banquet” (10). The Eucharist is not just a ritual or a banquet, but “the sacrament of the sacrifice of Christ done once and for all on behalf of all of us” (The Lime Document 8).[19] In this way the Eucharist cannot be fully understood. It is a mystery whose meaning can never be comprehended but could be deepened in different times and contexts. Cardinal Martini says that the “Eucharist defies human understanding and defies our ability to completely capture its meaning. Pope John Paul II in his letter Mane nobiscum Domine,[20] says, “We are constantly tempted to reduce the Eucharist to our own dimensions, while in reality it is we who must open ourselves up to the dimensions of the Mystery” (14). In Ecclesia de Eucharastia 10, he says, “The Eucharist is too great a gift to tolerate ambiguity and depreciation”. All this goes to say that anyone approaching the Eucharist would be denigrating it if he does not approach it with faith, wonder, respect and love for Jesus in his heart. 

After the consecration, the gifts of bread and wine become really and fully Jesus’ body and blood. It is this belief and conviction that procures for us the salvation of the sacrifice of Jesus represented in the Eucharist. It is because of this requirement that the sacrament of baptism, the catechesis leading to the first holy communion and confession, are preparations presupposed before receiving God in holy communion. The Eucharist is the microcosm of the Kingdom of God. It contains the Kingdom of God in its womb. The salvation sought by the world is so to speak contained in the Eucharist because the Eucharist ‘re-presents’ the salvific activity of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ. On the other hand since the presence of the Catholic Church in India is to help it reach the Kingdom of God, the Eucharist ipso facto becomes the source and summit of the Church in India. All the social, educational, medical and pastoral work done in India by the Indian Church is not just labour but a great sacrifice done by the religious, clergy, missionaries and the Christian people. 

This is the daily martyrdom of the Church in India the source of which, is the sacrifice of Christ celebrated in the Eucharist. As Johannes Betz says: “Christ’s sacrifice is not to be understood primarily in terms of ritual sacrifice, but in terms of martyrdom; it is a person’s total offering of self”.[21] The source of this is the Eucharist. At the same time the Indian Church is helping India in its growth towards the Kingdom of God which is already present in the sacrifice of the Eucharist. In this way the Eucharist as sacrifice becomes the source and summit of the Church in India.

CONCLUSION

In all the preparatory documents of the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, especially in the letter of Pope John Paul II, “Mane nobiscum Domine” and his document “Ecclesia de Eucharastia”, one finds great importance given to the sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist. 

The 10th proposition in the Relatio Post Disceptationem[22] makes it explicit that this sacrificial aspect needs to be deepened and its truth taught with greater emphasis. 

The 37th point of the Instrumentum Laboris,[23] makes it clear, that the Eucharist makes present the sacrifice of the Lord without adding to it or multiplying it. Even in the ‘Message’ given after the Synod we find the desire of the Synod to celebrate the Eucharist as a Holy Sacrifice to “announce the salvation of the World” (7).

[24] Finding this theme as important to the Indian context I tried to show how this aspect of the Eucharist fulfils the desire of the Indian psyche for salvation and wholeness both at the personal and the Cosmic level.

[25] In this way the Eucharist gives meaning and mission to the Indian Church because the presence of the Church in India is to offer salvation, which is symbolised in the Kingdom of God, to the people with whom it comes into contact. In this way the Eucharist becomes the source and summit of the Indian Church.

[1] This document was called the “working document” of the synod fathers.

[2] The 50 propositions was a list of various themes that emerged from the discussions to help the Magisterium prepare the final document which is still to be published.

[3] When I say “Indian”, I primarily mean the Hindu religious psyche.

[4] Here ‘salvation’ must be understood not just in an other-worldly way but also in a this-worldly way of health, happiness and prosperity.

[5] For a systematic, in-depth and scholarly account of this aspect of the Last Supper, see, Joachim Jeremias, The Eucharistic words of Jesus (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1964), pp. 218-237.

[6] Goffredo Boselli, “Notizie Eucaristiche Antichità”, in Eucharistia: Enciclopedia dell’Eucaristia, sotto la direzione di Maurice Brouard, (Bologna: EDB, 2004), p. 885.

[7] Ibid., p. 886.

[8] Mary Shaefer, “Notizie Eucaristiche Medioevo”, in Brouard, op.cit., p. 891.

[9] Here again due to the lack of time, we cannot go into the nuances of Luther’s argument against the Eucharist as sacrifice.

[10] André Haquin, “Notizie Eucaristiche Epoca Moderna”, in Brouard, op.cit., p.897. Here mention could be made of the books Thomas Cranmer and Roberto Bellarmino wrote against the Reformers. Cranmer wrote a book, In defence of the true and Catholic doctrine of the sacrifice of the Eucharist, cited in, Brouard, op.cit., p. 897. Bellarmino wrote a book, Disputationes de controversies christianae fidei adversus huius temporis haereticos, cited in, Brouard, op.cit., p.897.

[11] Cited in the English translation of the Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia by Pope John Paul II (Pauline Publications, 2003), endnotes no. 16, p. 71. This edition will be used for the future references of the Encyclical. Here I would like to offer the reader the Latin original in full: “Una enim eademque est hostia, idem nunc offerens sacerdotum ministerio, qui se ipsum tunc in crude obtulit, sola offerendi ratione diversa”. (DS 1743).

[12] Arthur A. Macdonnell, A Vedic Reader for Students (Madras: Oxford University Press, 1976), p. 195. In Subhash Anand, Hindu Inspiration for Christian Reflection: Towards a Hindu-Christian Theology (Gujarat: GSP, 2004), p. 3.

[13] Cf., Anand, op.cit., p. 3.

[14] This aspect is very well stated and developed in the book of Anand, op.cit., I am very much indebted to this book for these ideas.

[15] Here the word ‘re-presentation’ should not be understood in a Christian way because the sacrifice of the Purusha was not an historical event.

[16] Due to the lack of time we have not gone in the detailed analysis of the concept of sacrifice in Hinduism.

[17] Although both the concepts of Ram Rajya and the Kingdom of God have many similarities, they are symbols that have emerged in different religious and cultural contexts so differences between them exist.

[18] Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, from a talk given by Cardinal Martini in Rome on February 24, 2005. Translated by Fr. Murray Watson for Catholic Biblical Association Journal, Ontario Canada. I received this talk by email without mention of its source.

[19] In Ibid.,

[20] John Paul II, “Mane nobiscum Domine”, Apostolic letter to the episcopate, clergy and the faithful for the year of the Eucharist Oct. 2004 – Oct 2005 (Pauline Publication: 2005).

[21] Quoted in, J. Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), “Is the Eucharist a Sacrifice”? Translated by John Drury, Concilium 3/1967, vol. 4, pp. 35-40.

[22] Synodus Episcoporum, XI Coetus Generalis Ordinarius, Eucharistia: Fons et Culmen Vitae et Missionis Ecclesiae, Relatio Post Disceptationem, editiones latina et italica (E Civitate Vaticana, MMV).

[23] Synod of Bishops, XI Ordinary General Assembly, The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church, Instrumentum Laboris. The English translation is available at the following internet site: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20050707_instrlabor-xi-assembly_en.html.

[24] Synodus Episcorum, XI Coetus Generalis Ordinarius, Eucharistia: Fons et Culmen Vitae et Missionis Ecclesiae, Nuntius, English translation (E Civitate Vaticana, 2005), p. 21.

[25] Here the reader could also refer to the 32nd Proposition which states the cosmological dimension of the Eucharist.