By :Lissy Maruthanakuzhy
Having completed twenty years of service among the poor and abandoned in 2016, Maher (Mother’s Love) Founded by Sr Lucy Kurien is starting an Association of interfaith communities and practitioners.
“I began to think of this seeing the differences faced by the people in various religions including in the church. Sometimes our people refuse communion which makes them sad and angry. So I thought if we come together and share we could feel the oneness among ourselves,” said Sr Lucy.
Defining the eligibility of membership Sr Lucy says, “Anyone who is drawn to the concept of loving and respecting every religion; anyone who is concerned about the suffering of humanity, and is ready to do something about it; anyone who is concerned about the ecological destruction of the natural world, and wants to do something about it can join us.”
She defines interfaith spirituality as, “We respect and love all religions. We never put down anyone’s religion, or uphold one religion to the exclusion of others. What we want is to believe an d respect interfaith religion, inclusive of all faith traditions. We respect all religions. In our community spiritual practices, we often use “God” to represent the Divine, rather than invoking any particular name or form of God to the exclusion of others. In the case of non-theistic religions, we refer to Dharmakaya (in Buddhism) or the Arhats (in Jainism), or the Tao (in Taoism).
Sr Lucy Kurien of Sisters of the Holy Cross of Chavanod, founded Maher after she encountered the death of a young lady torched by her husband.
Started in Pune today Maher home has reached different places of India: Pune and Ratnagiri , and Miraj in Sangli Dt in Maharashtra, Ernakulam in Kerala, Delatoli in Jharkhand. All the houses are managed by volunteers and lay persons.
Maher has house for battered women, children unwed mothers, abandoned widows, abandoned elderly men and women.
During past years 4000 women have passed through Maher. Now there are 862 children, 320 women, 56 men, 50 women in various houses. There are also HIV/AIDs affected and their children.
Maher has received over 65 awards.