Autograph
Valayathil Albin
She knows everything.... (Not only our
going out and coming in..... but much
more...)
In fact nothing is hidden from her.... our
tears, difficulties, failures, anxieties...
For, she was a silent witness of
everything...
She accompanied us in our sorrows....
And her smiles complimented to our
happiness...
No matter how far we are...
The splendid night sky,
here, makes us love this land
more and more... The abode of
clouds....the soulful presence
of God....the cooling breeze
of the night....the splendour
of the flowers...and the sweat
and cheerful words of welcome
–Kublei brother....
Here, in my youth, I
sensed the care of my
father and the warmth of
my mother that I enjoyed
as a child at home.
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Our day begins here....
With the melody of soulful
meditations....
In the silence of heart...being in
the presence of the Lord...
It is He who accompanied us
each moment...It is he who
transformed us daily...
These cocoons nest the hopes
of caterpillars waiting to fly
out into the world as beautiful
butterflies...
If we could learn all
that we were taught...!
If we could live all that
we learned...!
The silent witness of our
innermost desires...Our many
dreams were weaved here...
we built from here bridges to
our dreamland...dreams of
becoming professors...preachers...
administrators....missionaries....
doctors.... bishops....even popes!
100 Oriens Theological College, Shillong
Of course not unused...
But not used enough... Yes
still we are on the periphery
of the ocean of knowledge
without going into the
deep...
Here we are not sages on the
mountain, meditating in silence....
But, heroes of OTC.... Dancing
on the sand.... wearing colourful
jerseys and boots... Yes we are Messi
and Ronaldo, Leberon James and
Stephen Curry, Pullela Gopichand
and Kidambi Srikanth of OTC....
My breath has melted in you
and your life has nourished
me... Your fragrance will clothe
me wherever I am.... I will float
in your breath, no matter how
far I go.
The first place of cultural
interchange! We learned from here
the spirit of sharing and caring.
Pickles and chutneys from all over
India accompanied us and found a
place on the table and initiated the
intercultural dialogue. No doubt,
what we are today physically, our
height and weight has its source here.
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Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli Most Rev. Lyngdoh Victor
New Nuncio to India Archbishop, Archdioceseof Shillong
Most Rev. Hemrom Albert Most Rev. Chirackal Jose
Bishop, Dibrugarh Auxilary Bishopof Tura
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Thank You…
We are grateful to our professors who act as guiding
stars in moulding our lives in Christ
Oriens Theological College, Shillong 103
Human Individual :
An Embodiment and
Channel of Hope
It is my firm ‘hope’ that Oriens peaceful situation of the present, govern human existence.
served as a blower in strengthening I can hope to be in such a state of
the flame of hope in every reader life for all eternity. But will it ever The Church is firmly based on
as its pages are flipped through. remain the same in the future? Is the biblical tradition. Devotion to
From cover to cover, page after not this hope transient, fragile, and and uprightness before God are
page, word after word, and image ultimately dependent on the good measured by the concrete action of
after image, the theme of hope will of the self, humanity, and the the devotees or the faithful. Biblical
did abound. Was hope an external ‘Other’? In dire need, I can hope hope is springs from the concrete
element which made an in-road, that some good souls turn up and plan and action of believers.The
triggered a spark in the reader? extend a concrete helping hand. acts of charity emanate from the
Was not hope already part of the Hope, therefore, cannot remain faith of the devotees. Both faith
reader, and Oriens just showing up an utopian concept? Hope cannot and charity see the light of day in
to greet this inmate in one’s life? be a false assurance of things not an individual. Their focal point
realizable? lies on the reality of hope. It is the
In any given misery, I can hope source as well as the channel of faith
to be out of it the next moment, Is not hope, then, a planned and charity. From this individual
tomorrow, in the future. But will it endeavour, a calculated move? With springs forth the faith in God and
be an eternal wait in hope, a pie in a conscious endurance of deprivation manifests this faith in concrete
the sky? Conversely, in any ideal and investment of sacrifices for a acts of charity. Every individual
definite cause, vision or goal, one can needs to claim this ‘presence’ in
hope for a desired result, fulfillment order to build up and channelize
and fruition some day in the near this life-giving force effectively.
or distant future. But is hope only
an end in itself? Can it not be both To be a people of hope, we need
an end and a means? to be a people of action today, a
people of faith and charity. Our
Every individual does embody ‘today’was yesterday’s ‘future’or
hope, an end product of an investment ‘hope’. Our ‘here and now’, our
in the past. The blurred image of past ‘today’,is going to be tomorrow’s
hope is to some extent crystallized ‘past’, the foundation of a strong
in each individual. This makes one a ‘hope’ for tomorrow.
source as well as a channel of hope.
It is an existential booster which Let us embody hope and be
helps onelive optimistically in the channels of it by being genuine in
present. With the sponsorship of faith and active in charity today.
the energy drink ‘Hope’, one sails
throughthe waves of life batteredby Fr. Samuel Kapani
formidable challenges.Hope does
Dean of Studies
104 Oriens Theological College, Shillong