Part II: My Experience on Positive Benefits of Writing

Fr Arockia Dhas Rayappan –

Writing: A Means of Evangelization

This helped me realise that I can bring alive the person of Martyr Jesuit Father Stan Swamy through my habit of writing articles and publishing them.

Bernard Lonergan says that theological method is a creative framework. It offers collaborative creativity. None of my articles are mine. All published articles have been proofread and edited. In them, you will find recommendations, suggestions, and feedback from my friends. So, these writings are an expression of communion and teamwork – collaborative creativity.

Often, I pray over the contents. Does this work become an evangelising activity? I ask: Are my thoughts like Jesus’? Do I think and write with the mind of the Church? Am I contributing in some way for the betterment of society as a follower of Christ? Does this article have contents that the official Church may disagree with?

There are other times when I am inspired by the New Testament writings of Saint Paul and of the Evangelists. I often ask myself: If they and the early Christian community did not write and preserve the Sacred Scriptures, what would have really happened? Through the Holy Bible, we make a sojourn to the faith and moral life that the Jews and the early Christian community lived and valued. How much revelation do we receive? In our life too, our writing could become an evangelising tool if it is a fruition of prayer, honest research and rooted in the Sacred Scriptures. Through writing, we keep on communicating and developing our faith through continual interaction with the readers.

After the death of Pope Benedict XVI, an archbishop from USA honoured him, saying that he would not be surprised of the writing of the Pope will someday be included in the Office of Readings prayed and read by the priests all over the world. Who knows? Some of our writing too could be included in the Office of Readings for meditation, reflection, and examination of conscience by the followers of Jesus.

I wish and pray that many of the writings of the diocesan priests from India be included more and more in the reflection of the Office of Readings of our Catholic Church. It is my dream too!

Bond between the Writer and the Reader

Contributing regularly creates in us a sense of responsibility and accountability. As a writer, I contribute to society. I am developing a bond with the readers who invest their precious time to read and to understand the intention and thought behind my writing. I keep aside my self-indulgence, and self-promotive gestures. I strive towards to have an honest, neutral, academic, and at times scholarly conversation where the readers are hoped to be led to Jesus, to the Word of God, to prayer and to do charitable works at times and even to self-transformation and forgiveness.

Habit of Reading and Excellence in Studies

The more I wrote, the more I felt the need to read. I read and reflected more on the Holy Bible, the daily Mass readings, the office of readings, and the liturgy of the hours. I also bought books on English Grammar. I borrowed books from the Public and University Libraries. I read the editorials of the news magazines and newspapers. I started collecting phrases and clauses which were creative and innovative. I noted down the new verbs I came across while I read newspapers, journals, and magazines. Another habit I developed from my studies in Jnana Deepa in Pune was that I picked up a book from the newly arrived books at the library, and read the introduction and conclusion, including the table of contents. These books are extraneous to my current academic studies. This exposed me to new writers and their styles of writing, which I would not have otherwise come across at all. This gave me an idea of how I could improve the title of the article, the paragraphs, the contents, and subsections. I tried to give credit to ideas and thoughts I borrowed from the other authors. I cited them and their work. I currently acknowledge the images I downloaded from the internet by citing them in the footnotes, endnote, and references using the Chicago Style Citation < Chicago style guide · Citing · Help & how-to · Concordia University Library > of Concordia University where I am a Ph.D. student, Short Form & Ibid. – Chicago Style (17th Edition) Citation Guide – Library Guides at University of Portland (up.edu) from University of Portland and Shortened Citations – Chicago Style Guide, for 17th Edition – LibGuides at Western Oregon University (wou.edu) from Western Oregon University.

For completing some articles of scholarly and academic nature, I read more than the required readings to get information that is reliable, trustworthy, and fact-based. At times, I conversed with some parishioners on the topic I wrote in order to know if any further developments have been made on that particular topic.

Through the readings, my proficiency in writing increased. I had read many quality books. I even kept a novel (that is a very recently published work in 2024) in my room and read it regularly, even amidst my busy academic schedule. At times, maybe a page or two. Just to remind myself that English is my second language. I need to put in more conscious efforts to write well.

Opportunities for Collaboration

Writing offers ample opportunities to be a collaborator. I have been introduced to editors, proofreaders, people with language proficiency, specialists in their field, professionals, critiques, and “devil advocates” who call a spade a spade. Yes, these devil advocates (sorry 😊 😊 it is just a sense of humour) communicate their honest feeling about my work. I now appreciate each of them.

Others walk with you in your journey of writing as friends, collaborators, or family. Often, they send you a word of reminder saying, “When is your next article going to be published?” “What are you into writing?” At times, they email you a topic or event, asking if I wish to write about it in the future.

This way I receive inspiration from them. There are people from whom I draw inspiration but who I never met, and with whom I am not in contact. But I read their published articles for inspiration. Some of them you will never meet but they contribute to writing because they consider writing as their mission.

Personal Development

From the moment I started writing regularly, I see that my life is more organized. I daily keep aside some time even 15 or thirty minutes for writing. I dedicate a whole day for only writing articles. Because of this, I often end up saying ‘No,’ to parties and get-togethers including invitations from very close friends. I could not tell them directly. But I had a weekly commitment of writing. So, I tell them that I have an academic assignment to be completed. This helped me regroup my thoughts and improve my writing skills. I had time to self-talk and prioritise my life-events. I regularly sought places for silence and reflection that were conducive to writing.

Writing also forced me to keep me away from social media and mobile. While I write, I keep the mobile in DO NOT DISTURB mode so that I give importance to the primary responsibility of writing. From my experience, many friends wholeheartedly supported in my cause of writing. They have been a source of encouragement. Because of my writing engagement, my mobile has learned the habit of staying switched off for hours becoming at times a testing trial of my friends’ patience 😊 😊

Encouraging Others to Become Writers

I received many words of encouragement from professors who are on the Ph.D. supervisory committee. Among them are two Canadians and a European. There are times I receive appreciative words from nephews and nieces. My late mom used to appreciate it too. She never knew how to read or understand English. My niece used to read my articles and explain their contents to my mom. Then she used to ask questions and get clarifications on the writing.

My contribution to writing has inspired eight people so far. May their tribe increase with God’s blessings and the celestial intercession of Saint Paul the evangelizer! I smile when I feel that I could sometimes be an inspiration to some writers in some different regions and countries of the world. Yes, it isn’t me, but it is God who inspires me to write 😊 Amen.

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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.