Sambalpur: Odisha’s six Catholic bishops have urged their theology students to live a simple life and prepare for Christ’s mission to bring justice and mercy to the world.
The bishops were addressing 53 students of theology at Khristo Jyoti Mohavidyaloyo (KJM or light of Christ college), Sambalpur, Odisha on August 27.
Established in 1987, the seminary is the regional theologate of the Odisha Catholic bishops. It is managed by the Society of the Divine Word missionaries and diocesan priests. It stresses seminary formation in context or realities of people’s lives or “contextualized theology” training as it is better known.
During their annual visit to the seminary that has eight resident staff members, the bishops exhorted that students of theology lives should be rooted in Gospel values.
“Keeping in mind, the Year of Mercy, your needs and comforts should be minimum and simple. Such life should enable to strive for better human formation with solid spiritual base and intellectual training,” said Divine Word Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, who is also the president of the governing body of the seminary.
Quality of seminary life depends on the spirituality of simplicity that needs to be a part of one’s life style all through, said Barwa, chairman of Odisha Catholic Bishops’ Council.
Quoting Pope Francis, Bishop Sarat Chandra Nayak of Berhampur diocese said seminary training basically demands to overcome global and individual indifferentism and focus on faithful encounter with God, and knowing and understanding struggles of people’s life.
In his talk, Bishop Kishor Kumar Kujur of Rourkela said “We wish to see in our seminarians who are committed to take risks to make a different in life especially fighting for social justice.”
Reacting to the bishops’ calls, Purnachanda Nayak, a student of theology, said that the clarion call of the bishops made them to keep their lives on the guard and not fall prey to modern comforts.