By Ladislaus Louis D’Souza

Mumbai: It was on April 27, 2020, that Pope Francis appointed Father Trevor D’Souza of Saint Anthony’s Friary, Koramangala, in the Archdiocese of Bangalore, as a “Missionary of Mercy” for a period of three years. The new faculty empowers him to forgive certain sins hitherto reserved to the Pope.

A little over a year down the line, the goodly friar has come up with three mercy initiatives for the benefit of those infected with Covid-19, for others victimized by it, and for the comfort and consolation of those bereaved as a result.

Father D’Souza is a simple Franciscan friar whose expertise in the field of religious economics is legendary in church circles in India. A qualified chartered accountant, he has conducted innumerable seminars on finance matters for priests and religious across the country.

His programs has demonstrated how accounting, which has become the hub of their ministry in relation to investment planning, budgeting, auditing, depreciation, taxes, TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) and a plethora of allied matters, is not “Judas’ work” as such but an inevitable part of the mission of Christ.

Threefold act of mercy

Friar D’Souza has opened what is termed “The Book of Life” in which are recorded names of those in need of special prayer on account of the virus, more than 1,800 individuals already sending in requests.

Next, he has started a daily “Blessing prayer service for protection and healing.” He has until now held 61 sessions [57 with the blessing of salt, water and oil) benefiting innumerable people. Thirdly, he has initiated a special “Memorial Mass,” some 22 of which have so far covered the souls of nearly 500 individuals who, having died during Covid times, were buried without the benefit of an exequial Mass.

The immense consolation Father D’Souza’s three-pronged strategy is bringing to people is commendable as is evident from the sentiments shared by participants at the end of every Memorial Mass, tearful thanks flowing from the heart.

Deep-rooted concept

Basing the celebration of the entire ZOOM Mass on the twin Faith-Resurrection precept, Father D’Souza, who was ordained a priest in March 1993, empathizes with those who’ve lost their loved ones and have, in addition, faced the ignominy of being deprived of even a last glance at their face, with protocol restricting the numbers of mourners permitted worsening the trauma, the burial itself characterized by unseemly haste.

Dwelling on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 & John 11:20-27, this ‘Angel of Mercy’ gently leads participants in perceiving that their grief ought not to be like that of those who have no hope. Catholicism teaches that the Resurrection is everything for the believer, Saint Paul clarifying that “if Christ is not risen our preaching is in vain and your faith is meaningless” (1 Cor 15:14).

Further, with Jesus himself asserting, “Whoever believes in me will never die” (Jn 11:26a), we sure have the hope of living our lives with the promise of Salvation constantly before us! “Do we as Baptized Christians really believe this?” he prods. Indeed, ‘do we believe’ has been the battle-cry of this genial friar at every Memorial Mass, in repetition of Jesus’ query to Martha when she had matter-of-factly blurted out: “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died” (Jn 11:21)! The rest is Gospel history and Gospel truth!

Closing with grief gratified

Father D’Souza [Mob: 9481326855], a worthy son of the Poverello of Assisi, doesn’t stop here but proceeds to link the expression of a Christian’s faith at the recitation of the Creed at Sunday Mass: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”

This he does by backing his reflections on the faith-resurrection perspective with an in-depth understanding that came during his priestly training from a gut-conviction when, standing beside his father’s coffin [Belgaum, July 1990], he found himself mulling over the purely intellectual treatise he had only a while earlier submitted as his assignment on the ‘Resurrection of Jesus’ and for which he had earned exceptionally good marks. With death suddenly a stark reality, he saw vividly and conclusively the link between the specter of death and Jesus’ assurance of eternal life.

Father D’Souza, a product of Jesuit academic education and Franciscan religious formation, is comprehensively helping believers reorient their sorrow to absorb the very hope of seeing each other with and in Jesus, a hope that stands as a beacon of light amidst the turmoil of darkness prevailing on account of the fluctuating Covid-19 situation, thereby making for a consoling closure to their grief.

(Ladislaus Louis D’Souza, is the copy-editor with St Paul’s/Better Yourself Book, Bandra, Mumbai, since 22 years. He is a founding member of the Indian branch of the Association of Lay Pauline Cooperators.)