It is a miracle of Trust

It is a miracle of Trust

These adults who come to Taize Community in France, will at some stage perform that miracle, Which  I experienced in Rome during my first visit in 1988 January. We were doing our graduate school in Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Switzerland. They were closing for 10 days due to Christmas holidays. I spent one week in England and then came to Rome to attend a Taize meeting. And the number of participants were forty thousand! Meeting was for three days. I remember Pope John Paul II and brother Roger embracing each other in the St. Peter' s Basilica.

The miracle was that all  of  these 40,000 people were accommodated in families in Rome. People of Rome opened their houses for us, who were totally strangers for them. That is trust. I was with a family, who knew no word in English, but they gave me everything I wanted. Later they invited a relative, who was a student at Oxford, to help know one another a bit.

Taize conducts meeting all over the world, and the style is the same. We did the same in Madras two times later. If we can build trust, we can win over the hearts and minds of people, who are essentially good. This year Taize is going to Prague and the result will be the same.

Abraham Karickam

People's Pope

It was a happy coincidence today that we arrived at 12 noon at the Vatican, when Pope Francis suddenly appeared at the Vatican Square, greeting thousands of people who had assembled for the public audience. It was surprising that he was moving through the Square in his cart shaking hands with hundreds of devotees coming from all corners of the world.

 Whole Rome is in a jubilant mood as new signs of hope glitter in the Middle East because of the mediation of the Pope.

My last visit to the Vatican was in 1988 when we had the privilege of a private audience with the then Pope John Paul II, which we cherish for long. We were a group of 64 students from Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Geneva, being special guests at the Vatican for two weeks.

The atmosphere has tremendously changed here today, because of the people-oriented moves of Papa Francis.

Abraham Karickam

Why in Italy?

Why in Italy a Michael Angelo, a Leanardo Davinci, a Raphael is born?

Today my friend Renata Celli from Milan called us in Rome and I remembered visiting the Milano Cathedral with her during my first trip to Italy, where "Last Supper" is painted. There I understood that a Davinci can be born only in Italy. People make an artist of the world class.

Milano people knew that the City would be bombed during the Second World War. The Cathedral would vanish. And the "Last Supper"?. Large number of People came out braving the bombs and protected that wall with the painting with sand bags. As expected, the city was bombed and the Milan Cathedral gone. But Davinchi's wall remained in tact, and, of course, the painting was saved. Is it a wonder that these great artists are born in Italy?.  They love artists more than anything.

A Shakespeare can be born only during the reign of a Queen Elizabeth; a Kalidasa can flourish only in the court of a Vikramaditya. No other secret than this.

Abraham Karickam

Re-visiting Michael Angelo

Re-visiting Michael Angelo: two pictures that have captivated the minds of millions: Michael Angelo's Last Judgement and Davinchi's Last Supper. Yesterday I saw the Last Judgement again in the Sistine Chapel. Thousands of people line up here every day just to get a glimpse of this marvel. I know that MA started painting his pictures on the roof of this chapel when he was sixty and the work lasted eight long years. Sacrifice is the hall- mark of an artist. We usually don't recognise the suffering behind every classic achievement. Only long train of days with pain and patience bring glory, a lesson no one should ever forget.

Abraham Karickam

In side the Roman Colosseum