Sr. Dr. Teresa Joseph, FMA remembers the contributions to the church by late Anand Castelino, and pays a rich tributes to him.
“A life well lived
A race well run
A journey complete
His smile lingers on.”
Anand dear, you said goodbye to us in a Jiffy surprising all and responding promptly to Jesus’ call: come my son and rest with me. You were a multifaceted man: a wonderful son, loving husband, beloved dad and grandfather, caring brother and friend, a generous benefactor, a man of God and a man for all. We praise and thank God for making you so unique and gifting you with exceptional abilities to respond marvellously to Him and to each one of us.
With this article, we want to take a close loving look at you and the way you followed Jesus becoming a brother to so many of us. Your life and witness shows us how we can be effective followers and missionary disciples of Jesus in our daily life. You were genuinely interested in other people and that was the magic bond that made so many to love you. Talking about you Arputha Mary, your house helper affirmed: Anand Sir “Super”, he was “Golden.”
A pillar of the Church
Greg Anderson has expressed it aptly: “When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life.” Walking memory lane, cherishing our life experience with you Anand, we have to acknowledge and affirm that your goal was to be a true disciple of Jesus, your dream was to be there for everyone, you made your presence felt more by loving gestures than words and you truly lived life in abundance.
We can proudly say that you were more than a parishioner. Your parish priest, Fr. Vivian D’Souza, described you: “a Pillar of the Church.” You knew you have a place in the Church and you played your role very significantly. You embraced joyfully every sacrifice to nurture and strengthen the Christian and secular community. You were a builder and sustainer of community.
All things to all people
Anand, a fountain of happiness and joy to many, returned to his source of eternal bliss on 18th August 2017. “A Son, a Father, a Grandfather, a Friend to one and all” that is what you had been as you journeyed with us during the 67 years of a beautiful life shared so generously and graciously with all those who came in contact with you. Yours was indeed a life lived in love of God and neighbour.
Anand, you were all things to all people: young and old, rich and poor will mourn your departure from our midst. No matter whether it was the proof reading of Bible God’s Love Letter to you and me, or on an emergency call, dropping a Salesian Sister to the airport at dead of night to take her flight to Africa, or assuring job placement for our youngsters or picking up a parcel for the convent, Anand dear you knew well how to stretch yourself amiably and big-heartedly for the common good.
As a Parish Council member we saw you for a record 18 years always marching ahead with clear vision and determination to make Jesus known and loved. For 16 active and fruitful years, you gave your best to the SCCs. As you were in charge of the SCCs, many fondly remember your visits to the families, patiently and lovingly sorting out the various needs of the families and responding effectively. You made sure that your own community at St. Thomas blossomed well when you were in charge of it and what surprised everyone was your great ability to offer guidance and expertise to any other community.
A Leader at the service of one and all
The FIOLMC Team found in you, Anand, a good trainer and member, you conducted several sessions for our parishioners on the SCCs and you ministered to several other parishes in the archdiocese. You so ably shouldered so many key roles: you were in the forefront of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, a lector, Eucharistic Minister, part of the Dolours Centre for Empowerment (DCE), the Family Cell and an advocate of the Marriage Encounter Program, in the liturgy and other cells in the parish.
Commendable was your commitment to the Wadala Neighbourhood Movement and the AGNI group. You were a specialist in RTI. Both institutions and individuals benefitted from your generous services and how can we forget how you involved yourself in training and running a desk in the parish for those who needed this service. You knew well in your own inimitable way how to blend your family life and to be of service to the Church and society. The words of Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia in the final chapter, Spirituality of Marriage and the family come spontaneously to our minds: each person is called to “keep striving towards something greater than ourselves and our families.” In fact you made the whole world your family.
A man of God and a man for others
Anand, you had much of St. Paul in you. Is it not true that like Apostle Paul, the great daring missionary, you learned to fix your glance on Jesus Christ and consider everything else as useless? “Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8). In daily life, you came across to us as a person well trained in the school of discernment. You were an artist in testing all things and holding fast to what is true (Cf. 1Ths 5:19-21).
You were truly a man of God. Wrapped in prayer, you were there always for the 7.00 a.m. Mass. You took delight in animating the liturgy and getting others to pool in their contribution. What is most amazing was we saw you as a ministering angel present for every parish celebration of the Eucharist and parish event. You were blessed with the gift of service and you were truly an artist in reaching out to everyone and to everything. You knew when and how to speak and to make apt suggestions for the good of the parish. You truly spent your life for others. Your simplicity and availability speaks volumes for the type of person you were.
Anand, as we take a closer look at your life we see clearly how you had been a true missionary disciple of Jesus spreading joy and happiness. You, who journeyed with us, now intercede for us from heaven above that we may fix our glance on Jesus and respond to him generously with our whole being.
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow” says Melody Beattie. This article is a grateful homage to Anand for the life and love he so generously shared with countless number of persons.
Sr. Teresa Joseph, FMA is a Salesian Sister of the Bombay Province. She has a Masters’ degree in Science of Education with specialization in Catechetics from Auxilium, Rome and a PhD in Missiology with specialization in Inter-religious Studies from the Gregorian University, Rome. She has participated in a number of International Seminars and presented research papers. Teresa has authored several books and has contributed numerous articles for various journals in India and abroad. One of her books Dream Big! Dream True is a best seller published by Better Yourself Books and has gone to the 7th print. The 6th one was a revised edition. This book is translated into Marathi: Paha Mothi Swapna, Khari Swapna! and is recently transformed also into Braille in English and in Marathi. Sr. Teresa Joseph is Secretary for CBCI Office for Dialogue and Desk for Ecumenism.
Great dear Sr Teresa. We miss Anand
Anand was a very helpful and humble person.
Well written, congrats Sr. Teresa. We thank God for the gift of Anand.
Well said. I always use to to badger him to go slow. But he told me he had a strong message to go wherever you are called. He was a great help in organising the most painful chores like police clearance, sound, catering, banners at all AGNI meetings in Don Bosco. Our regular meetings in St. Joseph Wadala had his stamp for commitment, by arrangements of permission, snacks, chairs etc. But always in the background, no chest thumping. But I remember him most for his smile. In my desolate moments it was a sense of reassurance.