By Fr Arockia Dhas Rayappan –
An Assumption and an Acknowledgment by the author: In this article, the author shares with the readers the lessons that he has learned from the time he began writing articles. He hopes that the insights arising from writing may offer an impetus to the readers to contribute write-ups to magazines, journals, and newspapers both online and print. The author acknowledges that English is his second language; his intelligent quotient is average; and he is a slow learner, contrary to the way he has been perceived by colleagues throughout his academic and seminary studies. His is like the life of a tortoise, described in “The story of A Hare and A Tortoise’ <Completing Story: Slow and Steady Wins the Race / The Hare and the Tortoise (hscxm.com)>:
One day, a hare met a tortoise on the way. The hare laughed at the tortoise for its slow motion. But the tortoise challenged the hare in a race competition. They decided a destination. The one first reaches the destination will be the winner of the race. They started their race. The hare ran fast but the tortoise ran very slowly. The hare could run a long distance. When he saw that the tortoise was not seen, he thought he could sleep for a while. In the meantime, the tortoise reached to the destination. When the hare woke up, he ran quickly and reached the destination. But there, to his surprise, he found that the tortoise had reached earlier. The tortoise than told the hare: “Slow and steady wins the race.”
This story fits the author’s academic life especially in learning and gaining fluency and proficiency in English. The author learned to speak and write in English after had joined the Delhi Archdiocesan Minor Seminary. For his proficiency of English, he gives credit to his English teachers and professors: Bishop Ignatius Mascarenhas, Father Nicholas Dias, Father Julius Caesar, Mr. Peter – a teacher from Saint Michael’s School (Gurugram), Father Vikas IMS, late Fathers: Philip Bruno OCD, Philip Parmar, Shradhanad IMS, Douglas Dias SJ, Lionel Mascarenhas SJ, and Noel Sheth SJ. The author gratefully remembers the Delhi Archdiocesan Priest and his long-time friend and elder brother Father Christopher who instilled in him the love and interest for English language and vocabulary from the time of his philosophical studies by gifting the book Words Made Easy by Norman Lewis <Word Power Made Easy: The Complete Handbook for Building a Superior Vocabulary: Lewis, Norman: 9781101873854: Books – Amazon.ca >. It is Father Christopher’s proficiency in Hindi and English that motivated the author to fall in love with learning new vocabularies often sitting long hours at the study table. The author is happy to share with the readers some life-lessons and values from the hobby of writing, which he happily continues to cultivate:
Humility and Acceptance
As I honestly recall, I can confidently own up that I lacked confidence to write articles for publication. I became aware of my limitations. First of all, I needed to overcome my negative self-talk since English was not my first language. I started initiating conversations about writing articles with peers, friends, and professors, at times even with strangers while travelling by bus, train, and metro/subway. Some had discouraged me from writing but encouraged me to do after I will have completed my Ph.D. studies. Some others encouraged me to write articles and were ready to proofread them. The parishioners who, expressed their availability to proofread, were mostly from India (Delhi), Canada, and USA. For some among these, English is their first language, and for others their proficiency was fruit of their hard work. Amir Benz, my companion from my first grade, who is now working in Bangladesh, encouraged me so much and also mentioned about the insights he had received from my telephonic conversation. He encouraged me by saying that he believed that I could write really well. Then I gracefully accepted my limitations regarding the proficiency in English language.
Yes, English is not my mother tongue. Accepting my own limitation and lack of fluency in English has been a gradual development in me. Now, I do not send articles for publishing without getting the article proofread by a lay person/ parishioner, youth, or a friend-priest even if it takes days or months.
Patience
Initially, I had a sad and challenging experience. I sent a number of articles to the Catholic News Magazine. It took almost two years before they got published. While I waited for the publication of my articles for the first time, I kept on writing, and got my articles edited, or simply proofread.
The experience of delay in publication did not really discourage me. But it made me aware of the presence of the highly competitive writers contributing to that magazine. Then I started reading their articles regularly to understand their style of writing. My intention to read their write-ups was to learn the style of writing, how they used the phrases and clauses, including idioms, in a sentence. I regularly re-read them to understand how their writing was distinct from the articles meant for publication in the diocesan and theological journals. I would say it took years for me to be able to send an article for publication, especially in Vidyajyoti Journal, Indian Currents, and The New Leader. Now I write to the editors of these journals in advance to see if they would be willing to publish an article of mine.
Editors as Collaborators and Guides: Willingness to Learn
At times, I emailed the editors a year/ six months/ three months in advance. Then I found the editors very helpful. They emailed me the guidelines of the news magazine. They sent some recommendations and suggestions to make the article reader friendly. I wrote an article on Father Stan Swamy. Then the editor made me aware of the socio-religious-political situation in India. The editor discouraged me from pinpointing that the state of India directly may be seen or held responsible for the death of Father Stan Swamy. Some even showed hesitance to publish articles that had a theologizing component on the current political milieu in India. They counselled me to apply academic discretion to my writing regarding the socio-political-religious situation. The editors generally evaluated the article without bias and with academic honesty and neutrality. They appreciated the insights of the article, and some helped me to shape the flow of thought. Some of their feedback helped me articulate my thoughts better, especially the concluding statements. At times, I had to rework and revise the content and structure of the article. Other times, I had to research on the topic to gain further knowledge and understanding of it. My two articles now being peer-reviewed for Journal of the Council for Research on Religion (JCREOR) of School of Religious Studies in McGill University here in Montreal, Canada has been exceedingly educational and scholarly experiences. [The JCREOR is “a semi-annual online peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 2019 and is published on an open access platform by McGill University. The JCREOR (e-ISSN 2563-0288) is a web-based refereed interdisciplinary journal that publishes articles on all aspects of the scholarly study of religion. Subject matter ranges from the ancient to the contemporary and explores western and non-western perspectives and approaches.”]
Channelization
There are times when I attempted to articulate my ordination motto of Jesus’ words, “I have come so that you may have life, life in abundance” (John 10.10) in my writing. And I primarily write on faith, and spirituality based on the Holy Bible/ Sacred Scriptures.
How do I go about writing? I try to experience the presence of God in daily events. As an expression of my evolving and developing of spirituality of seeing God in daily events, I started writing about significant events from my daily life. This helped me record the events that are very relevant and significant. I am advised by my professors to seek the permission of the protagonists in my writing if they are alive. I have always sought their consent before including them. I have also emailed the article for their personal approval of the manner in which I have depicted them in the article. There were other times when someone declined to be named or included. I have respected their academic discretion. I did not send the articles in such cases for publication.
I turned my hunger for justice, and questions about the injustice suffered by innocent people and the minorities into my academic contribution. I incorporate my dream and vision of the society and the Church based on my reading of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. For example, I had a hell of a time at the time of the imprisonment of Father Stan Swamy though I knew him not. I was in Canada. I was restless. I was agitated. I could not sleep. Then I was inspired to do some research on him and write about him. I pondered over the inspiration of the exemplary and sacrificial life of Father Stan Swamy offered. Eventually, I contributed articles on him in The Voice of Delhi, The New Leader, The Indian Currents, Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, and The Tablet of Brooklyn Diocese in USA. I wrote a seminar paper of 13,000 words on Father Stan Swamy and his involvement with the indigenous people of India namely Adivasis/ Moolvasis/ from Jharkhand and around.
To be continued tomorrow…
Father Arockia Dhas Rayappan ([email protected]) is a priest of Delhi Archdiocese and a Ph.D. student at Concordia University, Canada. His doctoral research explores practical, resourceful, and sustainable ways to foster social and religious harmony through Basic Ecclesial Communities in the contemporary Indian multi-cultural, plural-religious, social, economic, and political milieu. His ministry in the states of Delhi and Haryana has been in missions of Rohtak and Dharuhera, parishes, the Formation Commission, Vinay Gurukul – Delhi Archdiocesan Minor Seminary, and Saint Mary’s School at Bahu-Akbarpur. He served as the deputy secretary general and PRO of the Regional Bishops’ Council of the North from 2012-2014. His contributions have been published in The Voice of Delhi, The Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, Indian Catholic Matters, The Indian Currents, The New Leader, The Examiner, The Tablet (Brooklyn, USA), Golden Key Academy (Atlanta, USA), and JDV Times.