Day 34, Sept. 13


Today, once again, I was on the move. This time it was by car. Dr. and Mrs., Sagai Anthony, who are newlyweds, were taking me to Chingleput. I had met the young Doctor n the Bronx. He was staying with Fr. Vijayan Joseph while doing work t Montefiori Hospital. Now he was on vacation, enjoying his bride and writing to be accepted as a resident in some hospital in the US. One of them is UT Hospital in Knoxville. I hope he gets it.
For the fifth time in three days e made our way through Chennai. This was to be one way for me. The highlight for me, other than to spend time in a car with lovers, was the lunch we had. For that there were five of us. Two relatives were driving along with us in a motorcycle. The lunch was in a tree house. The food was superb; but the atmosphere was best. I asked and was told this was a typical South Indian home in olden times. It reminded me of Thai homes in the jungle even today.
When we arrived in Chingleput, we were warmly greeted by Fr. Charles at the Bishop’s House, that is to say, the Chancery and residence for its members. Fr. Charles is a dynamic man who had been pastor at many parishes. He was only recently named Procurator, CFO of the Diocese, and a member of every single commission in the Diocese. To me, as we visited almost 1/3 o the Diocese in 3 days, he appeared to be a priests’ priest. He gave wise advice to young and old alike and loved everyone.
After I was handed over to his care in late afternoon, we started visiting parishes and programs sponsored by Love & Care. The first three came today.
We began by visiting Ghandi Nagar. There 100 children had their tuition paid by Love & Care. They would otherwise not attend school and be faced with being a coolie laborer for the rest of life.
From there we went to a sub-station. That term describes a mission of a parish in the Chingleput Diocese. (and many others, perhaps) A typical parish may have four to ten substations. It’s a pastor’s problem to figure out how to service them all. They are not too far away from each other as our “missions” are in Tennessee; but they are well populated and have great hope of conversions. This one was at Madaiyambakkam, a substation of Sengattur. It sported 150 children supported by Lo& Care.
You have to know the typical visit. Fist, I would have tea or some drink with the leaders of the program. Then, I would tour the site. Then the children (or adults as the case may be) would conduct a show of some sort. I would give a speech or pep talk. Finally, I’d b thanked and I’d die into the group usually resulting in joy and shouting. At the end we discussed what was really happening and what needs they had. In every case there were a lot more needs than we were even dreaming to give.
The last place we visited that night was the 150 yea old Church at Cheyur. There, F. Raymond shared with us his hospitality and wisdom. As has become usual, I returned to the Bishop’s House quite tired.