“I have read the Holy Bible back to back 17 times,” Father R H Lesser told me as I was narrating to him how I chanced upon his “Words with God” at school.
One day after a catechism class, one of the nuns opened a cupboard and asked all the students to pick up a book and read it. I picked the thinnest of books with big letters so that I could finish it soon.
That was my first encounter with the writings of Fr Lesser. I flipped through the book liked the prayers and was so impressed that the author’s name remained engraved in memory.
Many years later I had a chance meeting with him at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi. I found the homily by the foreign priest very inspiring. He was later introduced as Fr R H Lesser from Ajmer, the name immediately rang a bell.
But since I was on duty that day, I could not wait to meet him. I rued the missed opportunity. A few years later, I met him again at the cathedral and this time around I did not let the opportunity pass. I told him about his book, by then he had written so many that he could not immediately recall.
Later, he told how he came to write the compendium – he had titled ‘Words With God.’ He said he found the Psalms to be the heart of the Bible. The prayers fit every mood, condition of life, every type of human nature and every degree of intelligence.
He said the prayers written for ordinary people should have universal appeal. Therefore, he, put it in the simplest and most understandable form – doing away with having to explain the cursing bits, the legalisms, the historical references.
He says in the book “They may have been written 1000 years before Christ but man is basically the same, with the same emotions, fears, needs yearnings and desires.”
He has written thousands of articles and 102 compelling books.
Fr Lesser was an Indian to the core, though born and ordained in England. His pet theme was “Indianisation of Christian thought.” He had extensively written and lectured on the topic.
Besides his literary exploits, he was a wonderful counselor. He took a personal interest in each of his parishioners and all those he came across. The Britain born priest had many admirers in Ajmer, Udaipur and other places in northern India, he had frequented.
His frail figure notwithstanding, he was a reservoir of energy, I often asked him how he found time and energy for all his works. At this he would point to the Bible he carried. “All solutions lie in the Bible,” he would say. He would quote the scripture profusely, he even knew the page number.
As advancing years kept him from making his date with Delhi, I kept up my correspondence with him through emails. Even though he was not computer savvy, he would get some parishioner to go to a cyber cafe and get a print out of the emails. He would say call me between 2 pm and 4 pm any day you have any problem.
Though it was his resting time, sure enough he would pick up the landline himself. With his mobility decreasing, I ceased the phone calls and the interactions. I had desired to interview him before his final goodbye, but alas that was not to be. It will remain a deep regret. RIP Fr Roger Lesser.