Sparsh this time was a camp of chosen ones. The chosen 16 were indeed from different spheres of lives but this diversity enriched the 3 day camp. We began our day (of course we had our ice breaking session the night before) calming our mind and body, under the pleasant guidance OF Fr. Peter Thirutanathil. The meditative yoga refreshed us and was a perfect start.

The testimony by an ex-goonda  was a kind of experience. His past as a sinner and his present as a believer made us think about our personal lives. In his transition a great role was played by his wife. Though his case is still on hearing he and his family is ready to face anything. Many had doubts why he had turned out to be a person who engaged himself in illegal activities. This was deep rooted in his family relationships. And this was what, he tried to convey, that we should never in future let our children feel insecure. He says, “Parents shouldn’t fight in the presence of their children. If the fight is unavoidable then do it when the child is asleep or gone to school. But again, it should get over when the child is back.” What he told wasn’t his own problem but a trend noticed in almost all families. For me it’s rather a social problem that would become difficult to tackle if gets rooted.
Behavioral change is an ongoing process. But have we ever thought whether our behavior is getting refined as we grow old? Well, the answer can be speculative. But the point to be noted is how important is the role of ‘love’ in this context. This was what Fr. Augustine Kallely had to share with us. He had indeed deep knowledge in this matter and rather than telling everything by himself he made us come up with our views. The most striking point that I noticed was that he never told not to fall in love but instead, he only asked us to check whether the love in any way helps us in our growth or make us narrow-minded. It’s a matter of Real Love. Real love is the love that helps in our integral growth. I know it’s a simple definition but when in practical terms many fail to understand it. Here, he introduced the Triangular Love Theory and the three angles’ are Passion, Intimacy and Commitment. Real love is a commitment, a commitment for ever.

Media these days come up with the most sensationalnews and if they don’t get any they make some by themselves. It was Mr. Binu  who came up with the topic Youth and Media. He started with a brief history of newspapers and went on to its positive and negative influences.  He said that with the coming of electronic media the reading habits among the youth has come down. Any how the media still perform its duty of providing knowledge and possibilities to the world. But again the problem of consumerism still remains that’s exposed though advertisements. A consumer world is being created. Again the possibilities are getting widened with the upcoming of internet. Internet is becoming common to all, even among kids. Another idea shared was that of Right to Read. It’s the right to decide between right and the wrong news. In simple terms, to filter what you read.

All these classes were the most relevant topics and convincing for us. Gathering all the essence of these classes a group discussion was held, where we were divided into three different groups and came up with three questions each and was discussed.
We had another testimony by Sr. Jisa. She is the head of the Sneha Jyothi Sisubhavan, an institution that takes care children below the age of fve years. This particular section was the heart touching that many our eyes was filled with tears. Sr. Jisa proved herself the mother of many children whose so called biological mummies had left them for their own. From her talk we understood that she considers this as her mission on earth.
The next day started with adoration by Sr. Josna. Those silent moments with Jesus made us prepare for our confession and this was again backed up the class on confession by Fr. Joseph Parecattil. It’s not that we didn’t know what sin meant but with this class the realization of repenting for our sins came in its essence. The adoration and the class made us ready of our confession and through the confession we again became close to Jesus.
It’s not that the whole camp went on with classes but we did have great fun during our breaks. These breaks brought each of us together as a group. It was the time where we cracked jokes and made fun of each other. For me, the whole camp was heart touching. And I consider myself lucky to be one among the chosen 16. Thank you, Jesus.