by Lynette Sequeira
MUMBAI, OCT 18, 2016: The campus at Don Bosco High School and Junior College, Borivli was filled with grace on October 17, due to the presence of an extraordinary visitor, Father Maria Arokiam Kanaga, the Regional Councillor of the Salesians in the South Asia region. He brought with him the love and blessings of the Rector Major of the Salesians, Father Angel Artime Fernandez.
Father Kanaga celebrated the Holy Eucharist in the parish and met various groups working in Saint John Bosco Church, on Sunday, October 16. The staff and students of all the sections of the school, the Junior College and the NIOS, met and listened to his address the following day.
After a short felicitation programme, Father Kanaga shared his message beginning with 3 W's in which he urged everyone to 'Wake up' and be alert, to 'Work hard' without thinking that any job is inferior or superior and to 'Worship' and pray at all times. It was a special moment for the students, as an 'Extraordinary Visitation' is a very rare event. Most of them will probably experience this visitation only twice during their school life, as it happens only once in six years.
Father Kanaga also addressed all the sections of the staff and thanked them in the name of the Rector Major, for carrying on the Mission of Don Bosco and for keeping the spirit of Don Bosco alive in the way Don Bosco wanted it to be. He urged every educator to be a 'Reflective Teacher', a 'Social Thinker' and a writer who forms the minds of the students, rather than merely being a Subject Teacher.
His words of wisdom to the management and staff were peppered with a dash of humour, which ensured that there were smiles all around. He encouraged everyone present to think about the reasons why India finds it difficult to compete and do well at the international level, like at the Olympic Games.
Citing examples from the words of Swami Vivekanand, Father Kanaga urged the members of the staff, to think about the various reasons why we lack and how we can talk to our students about bringing about a change in the way we think, in the hope that this change of mindset would then help us become a stronger nation.
In order to express his love for nature, Father Kanaga also planted a sapling within the campus. As it grows, this tree will continue to remind every member of the staff and the students to 'Care for Creation' and to be united as one, just as all of creation works in harmony at all times.