APOSTOLIC WORK

MY APOSTOLIC EXPERIENCE

I commenced my pastoral/apostolic year in June 17, 2017 in the Luxmipur parish. It was a golden opportunity to have a divine experience with divine faithful. It was also a great privileged for me to abide with Rev. Fr. Robi Robert, omi, Fr. Paulus, omi and Fr. Sagor louise, omi who always assisted, guided and led me. They are individually and respectively great and inspirable oblate. They are labouring hard to evangelize the Good News to the poor in the spirit of oblate. I have intimately been living with them in Luxmipure for Six months, 17 June, 2017 to 19 Feb, 2018.  As an oblate apprentice I had meaningful and fruitful apostolic experiences with oblate priests and faithful. These apostolic experiences will guide, lead and help me after being an oblate religious priest and facilitate me to work with faithful in future in the parish. It was not an experience to convert the faithful rather to experience their faith in Jesus Christ. Deep faith of faithful has deepened my faith and vocation in oblate and constant conversion within me. Another six months I was with Fr. Soroj, omi and Fr. Sudhir, omi. It also was a unique and different experience with them and with indigenous community faithful in Mogaipar Parish. So I accumulated a rich apostolic experience in a year.       

Prayer life

Prayer is an inevitable element in religious life. Religious without prayer is valueless and meaningless life. It is a source of my spiritual life and strengthens me in spiritual crisis. In my apostolic year, I emphasized on my personal prayer and tried to discover my vocation deeper with the help of my parish priest and faithful. I have offered and dedicated myself to work in the field of apostolic work. I have also learned to pray from faithful whose deep faith inspired me more in my prayer life and vocation life. I had an opportunity to show devotion to Mother Mary by reciting of Rosary with hostel boys and girls and benediction once in month to the Blessed Sacrament. People have a strong faith in the Blessed Sacrament. They come to the church and pray to the Blessed Sacrament.  I alo prayed daily in Mogaipar with the hostel boys and did adoration on every Thursday and devoted to mother Mary on every Saturday and sharing the faith experience on every Sunday evening. It was a wonderful time to develop my spiritual life. Faithful wants a prayerful priest who will pray with them and pray for them. It is a new experience for me that in the modern world they still prioritize the prayer. So as an oblate religious I have to be more prayerful and I resolute to be a man of prayer, praying with them and praying for them.

Community life                  

I enjoyed Community life in Luxmipur. Fathers in Luxmipur thought and showed me how to behave in the community. It was a credit for me and truly learned from them to be a man of community. It was fraternal community, taking care, sharing and helping one another and planning together. It is beautiful that oblate and other nun community go together for apostolic need to the villages/ Punjees. It was very beautiful local community with oblate and nuns. I found it was a fraternal community life. It was an alive community where every member could share ones opinion. I also experienced a good community life in Mogaipar where Fr. Soroj and Sudhir were in the community.  They also thought me the community life of the oblate. There was oblate spirited community in Luxmipur as well as in Mogaipar.  Every member in the community has concern for one another and sharing minded. I became eyeball of the community and made me homely in the community. I was happy in both communities.

Apostolic in the Parish

I had privilege to stay in parish as well as in the villages or punges. I helped in the rectory, cultivated vegetable and gardened flowers. I also got opportunity to take class in the school in absence Fr. Sagor. It was a good learning for me to teach in the school and to be with the students. I did also manual labour with hostel boys and girls. I also got opportunity to give the Holy Communion service when priests were absent in the parish. So I could also practise the theology that I learnt from the major seminary. For some occasion I helped Fr. Paulus in the centre to arrange hall rooms and bed rooms. In absence of priests, I also learnt some office work in Luxmipur specially how to enlist the names of baptismal, confirmation, death and marriage information. I was also given opportunity to share the Gospel during the Holy Mass.  On the other hand in Mogaipar, I was entrusted to be in-charge of the boys` hostel. I tried my best to accomplish my responsibility. It was a great opportunity to be with young students. I studied, laboured, prayed and played with them. It was a unique experience to be with them. Sometimes I gave them conference and catechism class for the hostel boys and girls as well as for students of the village. Moreover I did some management work in the parish specially doing monthly market. I also did manual labour myself, especially in the flower garden and vegetable garden. Another unique experience was that in absence of priest I got opportunity to expose the Blessed Sacrament. I feel blessed myself to expose the lord Jesus Christ. I also helped fathers to distribute the Holy Communion during Mass and distributing Holy Communion to the sick persons.

Apostolic in Village/Pungee

As a regency apprentice, I sometimes had an opportunity to stay in the pungee/village. It was a spiritual adventure to be in the pungee/village. People who lives in punjee or village whether remote or developed village/punjee are in touch of digital world. Faithful are advanced in multi-areas. Faithful are slightly driving away from religious spirituality. They are rather emerging in consumerism, realism, and individualism. In spite of all, people are earnestly desire to listen to the good news and have the Holy Eucharistic. So far in every pongee/village, there is a church where people are praying. Priests in charge are taking care of the faithful.  For me, it was a golden opportunity to be with punjee`s faithful. They are simple, honest, faithful, loveable, hospitable and hard working. They have an extra respect for religious priests, brothers, and nuns. I also found people who are living in the pungee are facing a lot of challenges and difficulties. It was a good experience for me to share my faith with them and taught them some catechism. I also prepared the children, teaching catechism for the sacrament of confirmation.  I sometimes took class for conjugal who were bond for the marriage. So there were a lot of opportunities to associate with faithful. I really learnt from them. They faithful really inspired me to be a holy, honest, simple and a good religious.

Formation during apostolic or regency year

I was six months in Luxmipur under guidance of Fr. Robi, omi, Fr. Paulus, omi, and Fr. Sagor, omi and another six months in Mogaipar Parish under guidance of Fr. Soroj, omi, and Fr. Sudhir, omi. They really guided me to grow in spiritual, psychological, human and intellectual.  They always inspired me to be a holy priest. I am inspired by their religious life style. They entrusted me different responsibilities. Accomplishing those responsibilities, I learnt how to become a responsible person. What I observed is that is not formation like scholasticate. It was more relax and free formation I got in the parish.  They gave enough freedom to do any kinds of work. 

Spiritual Directions

My spiritual director is Fr. Srijon, sj. I once met him in luxmipur. Otherwise I could not get opportunity to meet him for spiritual direction because of far distance. But he guided and instructed me. So he inspired me to write the daily journal and to examine conscious. So it was a good helpful and I am benefited from it. I am always grateful to my spiritual director who is always helping me to grow in spiritual life. Because of spiritual guidance, I am wealthy in my spiritual life and it also revives me in my spiritual life.

Relationship with Fathers

I had a friendly and open relationship with fathers who were in-charge of the parish. Since I was a little bit introvert, could not approach as they wanted. But I think that I had a healthy relationship with the father. This relationship was healthy to grow as an oblate scholasticate. All the priests were approachable, shareable, loveable and respectable.  As an oblate brother, I was valued and prioritized. Fathers sometimes fraternally corrected me whenever I did wrong or made any mistakes. I personally like all the fathers’ personality. All helped me in my regency year. All fathers were prayerful, simple, sincere and open minded. It was constructive, instructive and formative formation which will help me in ongoing formation. 

Relationship with Faithful

I had an opportunity to associate with the faithful who were aged, children and youth. What I found to be with the faithful that they were sincere, simple, generous, amicable, hospitable and piety. As a regency oblate brother, I had an amiable, religious and sincere relationship with faithful. They valued and respected me as a brother. I tried my best to approach to the people and shared my faith in the lord Jesus Christ with divine faithful. People wanted me to be a holy and devoted priest. So this demand from faithful was challenge for me. When I went to the pungees and villages, I shared my faith, prayed with them, catechized to the children, discussion to the signs of the times and recited the holy rosary and also visited families. These mediums helped me to be close and open to the people. They were really earnest desire to listen to the word of the lord and some faithful are really indifferent to the word of the Lord. But I realize that there is a needed change the system of preaching. So these new faces of challenges have to face the new generation religious. Therefore I have to prepare myself to face upcoming new challenges as a religious of new generation.  So I had a good relationship with faithful. The divine relationship with divine faithful makes a divine place.

Manual labour           

I did everyday some manual labour around parish. Especially in the flower garden, vegetable garden and cleaning the house compound. It was a good experience for me to learn some sorts of manual labour in the parish. I tried to contribute for the parish through my little manual labour. It was very prayerful manual labour I tried to do what St Teresa the little flower did in the convent. So the manual labour was also one of the subjects of experience in my regency year.

Involvement in Activities and association

There were a lot of programmes and activities in the parish arranged by Parish Priest. It was a golden opportunity for me to involve those activities and those programmes or activities were based on catholic teachings. There were also some associations and movements; such as YCS, BCSM, Holy child, SVP St. Vincent De Paul,  Micro Credit and legion of Mary. I, in Luxmipur, actively participated in BCSM, Holy Child Hood and St Vincent De Paul movements. It was a unique experience for me to involve those movements. Holy childhood children in Mogaipar, were given religion and catechism class by me. I also got opportunity to give a talk in a seminar organized by parish on family.  These all experiences are gathered that will assist me in my priesthood life.

Evangelical counsels

Vows of Poverty: As I experienced in luxmipur as well as in  Mogaipar parish, fathers are living simple and frugal life. As an oblate, I have received the vow of poverty. For me, it has a value to abide by the poverty. Fathers whom I stayed for six months thought me how to live in poverty life. Poverty life is not to be stingy but maximum use of it. Poverty in heart is the chief obligation for religious. So I am persevering to abide by poverty in my heart. Jesus as son of God came down to the earth as poor and in his whole life he poorly lived but he was rich in spirit. Poverty is a power to evangelize the poor.

Vow of Chastity

 For me vow of Chastity is a gift from God. I have pronounced the vow of chastity and with this I have embraced the message of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived chaste life and thought his disciple to live on it. Chastity life has a value for religious life. I have willingly pronounced the vow of chastity to serve the people of God. I personally enjoy chastity life. It is not only pronouncing chastity in word it is a matter of living practically. There are also challenges to live on chastity life in the open digital world. Facing these challenges and experiencing the present face of impediment, I am progressing and stepping towards my chastity life. Jesus is the source of chastity life.  Chastity I have received is for the kingdom of God for serving the people of God. Chastity is to be abided by words, actions and thoughts. The more I become chaste, the more I come to God.

Vow of Obedient

Obedient is one of the precious evangelical counsels. This vow makes me discipline and opportunity to serve and respect the superior. Obedient also makes me humble. Without humility, I cannot be an obedient man. Jesus showed humility and obedience to his disciples.  Jesus made humble himself being born in the earth. He came down to the earth in the form of son. He left the divine sonship but received the sonship in the earth. So for me Jesus is the most model for obedient. In my apostolic year, I tried my best level to obey the house superior in Luxmipur as well as in Mogaipar.  In my apostolic period I have learned from them a lot how become an obedient man. They brotherly corrected me too which was formative and constructive.  I observed the vow of obedient with heart and soul.

Vow of Perseverance

 I whole heartedly persevere my vocation life. There is need a lot of patience and humility in religious vocation life. It is not only in my vocation life but also in my studies, prayers, manual labour and developing some other qualities, I persevere.  Thrusting on Holy Spirit, I proceed on my perseverance life. I hope that perseverance will lead me to right way to my oblate vocation.  

Finally, I am very grateful to my superior who sent me for pastoral experience. I am also very much grateful to all priests with whom I resided for one year. They brotherly helped to grow in oblateness.   Every experience I received will lead, guide and instruct me in far future life. I ask God’s blessings.