Motto :)

Charles — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 08:35:48 GMT

Motto: In My Potter’s Hands (Jeremiah 18:6)

Jeremiah 18:6 "‘Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done?’, says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”

There cannot be a verse that could better describe my life, this humble pilgrimage of my search for God and His will for me.

In all that I have done and said; in all that I have been through; in all that has ever happened to me, I see his hands moulding me, shaping me to fit into his eternal plan of things. There has been proud moments, painful incidents, shocking twists, etc., Now when I turn back, I can see that they were all occasions when my potter was busy with me at his wheel.

The call

Charles — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 08:34:12 GMT

If I tell you that I have always wanted to be a priest, I would be a huge liar. I wanted to be cardiologist ever since I was in my middle school. I opted for science with maths, devoted almost all my time to books but for the 30 mins I was attuned to the He-man Show every single day! Things changed when I started visiting the Blessed Sacrament after school. Thanks to Fr.Bernard Lawrence, the then parish priest, who initiated 2000 hours of adoration to mark the birth of the new centenary. The Lord invaded me, kept me glued to him. I could not think of a better way of spending time. A desire to stay close in his presence took root and the next thing I knew I wanted to be a priest. My nerves wrecked at the very thought of proposing this to my parents for I am their only son and they had huge dreams for me.

Finally, I told my parents. It was a night, we retired after a long day, and lights were put off. I mustered all my courage and said, "Appa, I want to be a priest”. My dad got up, switched the light on, turned to me and said in a husky voice, "Seruppu Pinjidum, paduthu thoongu” (Chappal tearing, go to sleep).

I never raised the subject again for like three months. Then I planned revenge. I stopped studying, did poorly in maths in the cycle test. The public exam was just three months away. I got my teachers, the principal and parents to stop and ask me, "Now what is happening?.” I knew that was my chance. I told them I can’t think of anything else except joining the seminary.”

Fr. Arputha Samy, the then parish priest, was pulled in. The sweet man that he is, put me to a serious test, when he said, he would recommend my enrollment only if I scored above 90 percent in my +2 exams. I panicked, returned to my books and started studying seriously. I scored 89. When I asked him to excuse me for losing 1 percent, he smiled, patted my shoulder and said he would.

The Right Road:

The Lord wanted to add a little more spice to my simple call story when he fixed the vocation camp to be held at the Sacred Heart Seminary, Poonamallee on the exact date of my entrance exam for professional courses, to be conducted in Veltech college, Avadi. I was riding pillion on my dad’s bike. We reached Kamarajar Salai. He turned to me and asked, "Which road should I take?” The left was to Veltech and the right to Poonamallee. I told my father, "Dad, take the right road”. Thank God, it has remained my right road for 13 years now.

Formation:

It has been an unpredictable run since then. Life introduced me to its sweet surprises, agonizing moments, tough situations, never-imagined cities, villages, slums pleasant and not-so-pleasant people, exciting studies, philosophies and ideologies. Each of them has played a role in making me what I am today and so I am grateful to them all.

I fondly remember my rectors: Fr G J Antony Samy, Fr Amal Raj, Fr Jude B Pragasam, Fr Ornelius Couttino, Fr Pradeep Sequira, Fr Joe Antony and Fr Francis Gonsalves.

Ordination website

Motto :)

The call