Wednesday, August 1, 2012

When I first went to school...

V. Rev. Orobator, SJ

Fr. Orobator begun his presentation with a beautifully sung prayer and led into part of his story, how he came to know the shepherd...

When he first went to school there was no school.  He went to "Garri" school, a makeshift collection of children gathered from homes and safely paraded to the teacher's house, not a classroom to be found.   This teacher, a true shepherd, led the way, and Fr. Orobator developed a deep devotion to this shepherd.  She modeled for him how we are all called to model the Good Shepherd as educators of the young. 

The gospel story of the Good Shepherd was then proclaimed in Spanish to draw us deeper into the truth of this call: Jesus calls all His followers to Him, the Good Shepherd we are invited to then model for others.

Garri is the starchy grain Fr. Orobator mom equipped him with for the day's nourishment, placed lovingly into his pocket.  Hence, the understanding of this as the "Garri" school.  Fr. Orobator further described the simple conditions of his school, no chairs, no desks, no pens, paper, just a simple wood tablet and some chalk in which he learned to write English.

Then proclaiming, in French, G.C. 34, Decree 26's call to a "holy boldness", Fr. Orobator exhorted the audience to provide the gift of education no matter the obstacles, as his Garri school did for him.

Fr. Orobator then shared his experience of primary school, a journey to the this school with his neighbor children an example of solidarity as no child walked to school alone.  This notion, echoed in Pope John Paul's proclamation on solidarity, was read in English.  

Fr. Orobator linked his experience to our call as leaders in Jesuit education.  Describing his East Africa province's schools from Loyola in Wau, South Sudan to Ocer-Campion Jesuit College in Gulu, Northern Uganda, to the world over, Jesuit education is about making a difference in the lives of the children we serve, as his own life story testifies to. 

Describing the horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Fr. Orobator asks if Jesuit education offers an opposite invitation to enslavement, an opportunity for liberation, like the door to the slave ship another door of no return.  Proclaiming Luke 4:16-21 in Spanish, the Lord proclaims this liberty to the captives, glad tidings to the poor.  This is the Good News, fulfilled through the liberation of youth through education.

Fr. Orobator concluded with intercessory prayer for the young, their liberation through education, and our Jesuit ministries that help towards this end.

1 comment:

Vinod Fernandes, SJ said...

The picture on "the door of no return" reminds me of the darkest aspects of our history, and challenges me as an educator to introspect what kind of education am I going to impart to my students such that no events of hatred such as holocaust or violence take place. I am aware that some parts of the world violence is still happening in different forms and they challenge us, the Ignatian educators to show the world that we can live with peace and harmony.