INTRODUCTION
The command of our Lord and Master
Jesus Christ, ‘go into all the world and
proclaim the Good News to the whole creation…’ [Mk. 16:15], and the words
of St. Paul, “…for necessity is laid upon
me, woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” [1 Cor. 9:16], and the
life of Martyrdom of the Apostles and the exemplary Christian witness bore by
all the Saints in the Church, especially the life of St. John Bosco who
imitated the heart of the Good Shepherd for the poor youth of Turin, seems to
have adequately imprinted on the heart and mind of Venerable Constantine
Vendrame, [SDB] that the Church does not have a Mission as if ‘mission’ were
one among the dozen things that the Church does, but rather, Church itself is
MISSION, and that everything the Church does is ordered for that Mission, viz.
proclamation of the Gospel for the conversion of the world to Christ.
When we meditate on the beautiful
masterpiece of the life of Fr. Vendrame, SDB, the zealous Missionary and the
ardent Evangelizer in him, would certainly come to the fore and grips us with
deep inspiration to follow his legacy. We are in the ‘Year of Faith’ proclaimed
by his holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI coupled with the clarion call for
‘New Evangelization’ set in motion with the Synod of October 2012.
India is a great mission land, and we are
immensely grateful to God in Jesus Christ who had placed us among the Tribal
communities of North East India, which in a way ‘awaited for generations their
fulfillment in Christianity’, as Fr. Vendrame had opined, and gave up his life
to bring the people of Khasi-Jaintia hills to the feet of Christ.
Therefore, in such light of context
of the ‘Year of Faith’ and the Church’s Mission to Evangelize, and the recent
Synod of 2012 for ‘New Evangelization’, it would be quite significant to glean a few lessons from an ardent
evangelizer and zealous missionary in Fr. Vendrame, who is called ‘another St.
Paul’ or ‘Francis Xavier for our time’, and one who became ‘all things to all
people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them’ [Cf. 1 Cor.
9:23].
‘MARTYR’ AND ‘EVANGELIZATION’
The writings of Msgr. Louis Mathias,
[one among that first group of Salesians, who came to India,] give us ample
insights into the life of Fr. Vendrame.
He refers to him as ‘Francis Xavier for our time’. Fr. Barnes Mawrie,
SDB, in his mini-research work titled, ‘Burnt out for Christ’, speaks of Fr.
Vendrame’s great missionary zeal for souls resembling St. John Bosco, the
founder of Salesian Congregation with the motto, ‘give me souls and take away
the rest’. When we pore over into the life of Fr. Vendrame, and the other
historical accounts attributed to him, we realize that he was an authentic
evangelizer who not only excelled in bringing souls to Christ, but left us a
legacy to follow.
The word ‘martyr’ with its two
significant dimensions offer us ample lessons into this evangelizer of par
excellence. In fact, every Christian is fundamentally an ‘evangelizer’
emulating Christ, the supreme and chief evangelizer.
The word ‘martyr’ has two meanings,
which apply to Evangelization. The first meaning is from its root word in
Greek, viz. (μάρτυς – martus) which means “witness.”
The second meaning is one of what we ordinarily find in the modern English,
‘martyrs are those who suffer and die
for their faith’. Both the concepts are essential for an
Evangelizer.
First let us
understand ‘Martyr’ as one who suffers.
A. ‘Martyr’ is one who
suffers:
If we are going to
evangelize, it necessarily involves great suffering to preach the Gospel and to
proclaim Christ. There are many who have gone so far as to be killed for
announcing Jesus. We might even face laughter, scorn, derision, anger,
rejection, or even worse, simply being dismissed or ignored. Fr. Vendrame was
not exceptional from this accursed situation of a ‘martyr’.
In fact, the Word of God
speaks of such suffering:
·
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they
obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way
because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. [John 15:20-21]
·
The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had
been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name [of Christ]. [Acts 5:41]
·
If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are
blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. [1 Peter 4:14]
·
If you suffer for being a Christian, don’t feel
ashamed, but praise God for being called that name. [1 Peter
4:16]
·
We are fools for Christ’s sake [1 Cor.
4:10]
The entire missionary life of Fr. Vendrame in India from 1924 to 1957 was
filled with several instances where he had to undergo hardships, suffering and
trials. There are several instances to allude to this dimension of suffering as
a ‘martyr’. Like Don Bosco, who was on fire with zeal for souls, Fr. Vendrame
resembled the same spirit denying himself food and sufficient bodily rest but
was out in search for souls that whom so ever he met for the first time, he
would ask ‘are you a Catholic?’ or that as Msgr. Louis Mathias recounts of Fr.
Vendrame who seemed to have said, “no one who comes near the priest or the
missionary should depart without having heard the Word of God”.
He endured the suffering and God’s protection accompanied and sheltered
him.
·
In the research work, ‘Burnt
out for Christ’, we are told of an extraordinary event as recounted by Ms.
Angelina Kharbuli, who was a close collaborator of Fr. Vendrame: It was during
one of his pastoral visits to Cherrapunjee, Fr. Vendrame along with a few of
his followers were inside a tea shop to sip some tea for they were thirsty and
hungry. Before they took the tea, Fr. Vendrame said the grace and blessed the
cups. To everyone’s surprise his cup of tea just broke into two pieces and the
tea spilled over the table. He and his followers got up and went away from the
shop. Although he never told why it happened, everyone knew that some enemies
had tried to poison the missionary.
·
Fr. Vendrame also
continually endured great suffering meted out from the Protestants who hindered
his missionary work from time to time through violent protests impeding his
plans to construct churches in Catholic villages and spread the Word of Christ.
·
We are also told from his
own writings that a few pagans who were possessed by the evil spirits at one
time had announced to the public that they were to kill the missionary [Fr.
Vendrame] for a revenge, because he had spoken against them, and tried to chase
them out of the villages and from the life of the people. This news was
publicized everywhere through banners. Many people came from far to ascertain
this news. But even after many weeks, he was unhurt and was keeping good health
and was visiting the villages.
·
His return to the Khasi
hills in 1951 after he served for a while in Wandiwash parish of Madras
Archdiocese in South India from [1945-1951, he had to encounter hatred and
recriminations from Methodists in Mawkhar parish. No Catholic priest could walk
through this area without being ridiculed or even being physically assaulted.
It was a strong foothold for the Methodists and other protestant groups.
However, his endurance to their verbal abuse, his prayer for them, and above all his
spiritual integrity and sanctity and deep confidence in God, strengthened him to
bear up all the hardships, and consequently,
by the time he passed away in 1957, there were already 2000 Catholics in
that parish. And one of the Methodists himself elevates Fr. Vendrame saying,
“he alone is worth more than 12 of our pastors”.
Therefore, an important aspect of a ‘martyr’ is to
suffer for the sake of Christ and His Gospel, and suffering is intrinsic
dimension to being an evangelizer. This explains a lot in terms
of why most Christians do not evangelize. Fr. Vendrame stands out as a shining
example in this regard. We are told that in the last days of his life when he was
admitted in the hospital in 1956, his lack of sufficient nutrition ruined his
health and all his physical energies were drained out and he developed acute
and unbearable pain in every part of his body, as he was in constant vigil to
engage with the people and filled with zeal for souls.
Let
us ask ourselves, Are we ready to suffer for Jesus? There are many who have
gone so far as to be killed for announcing Jesus, and how about us? Are we even
willing to risk a raised eyebrow? How about laughter, scorn, derision, anger,
rejection, or even worse, simply being dismissed or ignored? If we are truly
serious about the Evangelization in our country and especially in North East
region, the path to tread is what has been evinced by Jesus Himself, and
following him were his Apostles and martyrs, the saints and all the heroes of
the Church, including our beloved Venerable Constantine Vendrame.
B. ‘Martyr’ is one who bears
witness:
The second meaning of ‘martyr’ as mentioned above emanates from the very
Greek word (μάρτυς –
martus) which means “witness.”
Martyrs offer witness because they themselves have
personally seen or experienced and know
what they are talking about. In
evangelization work, we are called to be witnesses. We are called to
speak not only what we intellectually know, or have heard others say, but also
what we have personally experienced. It is not enough to know about the Lord, we have to personally
KNOW the Lord.
The entire
missionary journey of Fr. Vendrame is a perfect testimony of his life of
witness. The fire of love for Christ and the zeal for souls, which
sprouted in Fr. Vendrame from his childhood days, had begun to aglow after his
priesthood with the kind of motto he took ‘compelle
intrare’ which decisively steered the course of the rest of his life as a
Salesian priest in India.
·
Msgr. Louis Mathias recounts in his ‘Le
mie impressioni su D. Vendrame’ that Fr. Vendrame was truly a man of God
who had deep relationship and undaunted faith. One day, he and Bishop Stephen
Ferrando were out for supper with the governor and reached home only by
midnight. Msgr. Mathias passing in front of the Church was wondering to see the
light inside still on. Slowly he opened the door and there in front of the
tabernacle was Fr. Vendrame who was praying, to which Msgr. Mathias exclaimed
to Bishop Ferrando, “now I understand why he got so many conversions, yes, a
life of prayer and sacrifice was the secret of his conquest.’
·
Fr. Alessi, the then Provincial of the region, [as narrated in ‘Una vita per I’India’] remarks beautifully
that Fr. Vendrame is a perfect example of a detached religious. On a visit to his
little residence at Mawkhar Fr. Alessi had noted that Fr. Vendrame had nothing,
not even spare food in his kitchen. Fr. Alessi had given him some money. But after
three days when he was on his deathbed in the hospital, he had not even a penny
with him. He had given everything away, even his pants. To dress him up they
were compelled to borrow a pair of pants from the Bishop.
·
In his research study, ‘Burnt out for Christ’, Fr. Barnes Mawrie, SDB,
notes that with the missionary motto ‘compelle
intrare’, Fr. Vendrame like the Apostle Paul, travelled the length and
breadth of Khasi-Jaintia hills on foot to take the Gospel to every person. The
author records an incident which took place in a village on the road to Jowai.
One evening Fr. Vendrame was showing pictures with a magic lantern, but as the
wind was strong, the thatch house caught fire from the petromax he was using.
The next day, Fr. Vendrame went to Shillong and came back with more than
sufficient money to build a new house for the family that had lost their hut.
He embodied in himself that same sensitivity and pastoral concern St. Paul.
·
Yet another account is recorded by Msgr. Louis Mathias in his ‘Le mie impressioni su D. Vendrame’
wherein a couple returning from the club late at night saw him under the lamp
post praying his breviary. They offered to take him in their car and drop him
at his house in Mawlai, but Fr. Vendrame politely declined saying, ‘thank you
so much, but there are still a few minutes before midnight and if I accept your
offer I will not have time enough to complete my breviary’. The couple was so
impressed by his holiness that they reiterated, ‘if Fr. Vendrame is not a saint,
then who can be?’
One can narrate
several instances of such nature which clearly manifest the exemplary life of
witness of Fr. Vendrame, and which in a way reflected the saying of St. Francis
of Assisi, ‘evangelize, you must, if necessary use words’. The life of witness
of Fr. Vendrame spoke volumes of deep convictions of his religious life and
discipleship to Christ.
Thus a ‘martyr’
emulates in himself both a life of ‘suffering’ for the sake of Christ
and His Gospel, and a life of ‘witness’ which has deep impact on those
whom we evangelize. The Church needs apologists and intellectual knowledge is
important, but personal witness is even more important. We need martyrs for the
work of evangelization. Those who are willing to suffer, and also those who are
willing to be first hand witnesses, who have a personal testimony to give of
the Lord they have come to know by experience.
It is quite
significant to know the guiding motto of Fr. Vendrame, ‘to compel people to
enter the Church and if they do not come, make them come’. His love for Christ
and the Church fostered in him a deep conviction that the Gospel should be
preached everywhere, anywhere, anytime and to everyone, because it is
fundamentally attractive and wrenches the souls of humans and makes them
Christ’s disciples. With such mind set and passion for Christ, Fr. Vendrame had
baptized more than 30,000 in just 22 years of his missionary work in Khasi-Jaintia
hills, and inspired millions of people in the tribal communities, and left a
historical legacy for priests, religious, catechists and for every Christian,
to follow. The Church now acclaims Fr. Vendrame as ‘Venerable’.
Why is our
life of ‘martyrdom’ [suffering and witness] so lukewarm and unconvincing? Why
are our energies dissipated and our attention drawn away from preaching Christ?
Venerable Constantine
Vendrame:
Pray for us that our
hearts may be set on fire to evangelize the world
Thank you,
Papireddy
14th
May 2013
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