Pune: Christians should not afraid to proclaim Christ whatever be the challenges, says a Catholic woman leader from Odisha.
“Jesus says not to be afraid 77 times in the Bible, but we are afraid to talk of Jesus. We are called to proclaim our faith fearlessly,” Shashi Minz told a group of Catholic journalists.
The retired Income Tax Commissioner from Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha, says the present religious atmosphere in the country may make one feel helpless, but Christians should not succumb to such sentiments.
She chided Catholic schools in India for being afraid to read the Bible in classrooms. “Protestants do so,” she said while addressing the Indian Catholic Press Association on “Influence of Media on Families” on March 13 in Pune, western India.
She wants Christian parents to teach their children to be fearless for their faith. “We have to give quality time to our children. They will then grow up deeply rooted in faith,” she added.
Speaking about how her parents brought her up in faith, Minz said,” Novena to our Blessed Mother knitted us together in our faith. She is the first evangelizer in the Church.” She said she grew up hearing about the stories of Saints Thomas and Theresa of Lisieux. “Parents taught us to walk in their footsteps,” she added.
The mother of two regretted young people now show little interest in having children. “They are carrier oriented. They have lost the sense of sin because we have not helped them read the Bible, imbibe the Spirit. They can easily know the shallow faith.”
She challenged the gathering to teach children prayers and make them imbibe integrity and honesty in life.
She said prayer has saved her from dangers several times. “Smugglers could not touch me,” she added.
Holy Cross Father Shiju Joseph, professor of Philosophy at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeth, Pune, who spoke on Christian Journalists, Catalysts for Change, regretted that families are now facing the Dark Age. “If we have experienced Golden age of family in the past, we are now in the dark age,” he said referring to the emergence of nuclear families and disintegration of joint families that had strengthened families in the past.
He said what matters is how we respond to problems such as abortion. “We notice that most family issues are related to marital conflicts, and with parents. He cautioned against self-styled experts who give advice without much research. “We need to consolidate reliable, research based information to help the conflict-ridden families,” he added.
He also urged parents and elders to caution modern youth about challenges in inter-cultural marriages.