Colors of Faith

Here in Fiji I encountered a lot of things that are not only new to me but also strange at times. Among these are the following issues and situations that I find challenging to understand and deal with coming from a limited theological background and which I hope I would be enlightened from.

Plurality of Religions. Fiji is not just multi-racial  with the presence of the native Fijians (iTaukei – 475, 739), Indo – Fijians (313,798), Chinese (4,704), Europeans (2,953), Rotumans (10,335), Part-European (10,771) and other Pacific Islanders (15,331) but here also exist a plurality of religions among the different racial groups but also within the different groups, too. The largest populations by race are the iTaukei and the Indo-Fijians.[1]

Children of Fiji

The 2007 Census revealed that in that year 539,536 Fijians are Christians; 233,393 are Hindus; 52,520 are Muslims; 2,577 are Sikhs; 2,172 are of other religions and about 7,703 implied to have no religion. A closer look at the data shows that the Catholics are a minority in the Christian group at only 14 percent.  A more detailed data but outdated (1996) revealed that most of the iTaukei are Christians mostly Methodist (261,972) and only 52,163 are Catholics. Amongst the Indo-Fijians the population is largely Hindu (Sanatan – 193,061), Muslim (Ahmadya – 32,082) and also Christian. Out of the 20,719 Christians: 5,432 are Methodists and 3,520 are Catholics. Faith has many colors, too.

Pertinent Issues and Questions: How do we respond to the plurality of religions? What is mission? What is our mission then to promote the Gospel, convert people or engage in dialogue with these religions? How? One Catholic asked me what is the Catholic Church in relation with the other religions. How to engage with peoples of other religions? What is authentic dialogue? One important aspect I want to examine is the aspect of reconciliation in mission – our world is a broken world not just talking about our differences, which could sometimes lead to violence or indifference but also the lost of our relationship with the Creator and in turn with the entire Creation.

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Suva, Fiji Islands

On a more practical issue attending prayer and worship service of other religions, the Hindu in particular. I once attended a “pooja” or prayer service conducted by a Hindu priest to give thanksgiving for the first year death anniversary of their mother. At the end of the service, a girl was going around distributing what seems to be a liquid and later I learned was milk to everyone. When she came to me I asked what is it and she said “pooja” but I just said thanks and refused her. When interacting with other religions, what is allowed when it comes to participating in their different services or rituals?

Inculturation and pastoral application: the use of diya and celebration of the “Diwali” mass. The level of acceptance of certain practices like inculturation of the liturgy with the use of the diya or clay lamp and of the celebration of the “Diwali” mass even if these practices have been approved by the Church vary in the different Indo – Fijian communities in Fiji. There are some communities who welcome the use of the diya and the celebration of the Diwali Mass but there are also groups that opposed it.

I realized real inculturation is not subjecting communities to instructions and practices borrowed or taken from other communities assuming if it works there it can work anywhere. It must grow from within the communities guided and inspired by the Spirit. How is inculturation accepted here in Fiji and what are some examples of these?

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[1] All figures taken from Fiji Facts and Figures as at 1^st July 2010 by the Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics.

We are Columbans

There are 19 members of the Region of Fiji. 14 are priests and 5 are lay missionaries.

These missionaries come from 5 different countries and are involved in the following ministries:

Parish ministry

Formation programs: formation for priesthood and formation for lay mission

Members of the staff of the Pacific Regional Seminary (PRS)

Mission promotion

Vocations awareness

Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation commission

Archdiocesan translation office (Vosa)

Hospital ministry




David G. Arms (New Zealand)
Rowena Caggauauan (LM Philippines)
Patrick Colgan (Ireland)
Elena Tonya Alejos Tolentino (LM Peru)
Francis Hoare (Ireland)
Judith Tarcila Condor Quincho (LM Peru)
Francis ko Latt (Myanmar)
Donal McIlraith (Ireland)
Gerald McNicholas (Ireland)
Kieran Moloney (Ireland)
Richard O'Sullivan (Ireland)
Jaime Riquelme (Chile)
Thomas Rouse (New Zealand)
John J. Ryan (Ireland)
Lanieta Tamatawale (LM Fiji)
Paul Tierney (Ireland)


Staff and Personnel:


Maria Nariva
Mission Awareness Office
Columban Companions in Mission


Visenia Navelinikoro
Kauloto - Columban Fiji Publication


Maria Soela Matai
Secretary

The Regional Director is Fr Tom Rouse 
Address: Columban Fathers PO Box 2364 Government Buildings Suva FIJI
Phone:+679-3308-290 Fax: +679-3308-292

Sir Give Me This Water!

Below is an excerpt of Carlo Jung's report on the issue of water resources in Fiji.

BIBLICAL IMAGES OF WATER

There are many images of water in the Bible. Water has been with human beings from the beginning of the world. Even water was there before human beings. However, it is true that most of time, we forget the importance of water in our life.

What kind of images of water do you have? What kind of images of water do you have in biblical stories? And what are the meanings of water to you? Moreover, how does God show the images of water to you?

Let’s begin with the Old Testament.

According to the First Creation Story, God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other (Gen 1:6),” and God created “the sea (1:10).” Moreover, God also said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures (1:20).”

At the beginning of the first book of the first testament, the image of water is life. The water is the life for all living creatures. The water provides the life for all creatures in the beginning of the first book of the Bible.

However, when we turn to the next chapter, which is the Second Story of Creation, which is also known as the Creation Story of the first man and woman, the function of this water is not only providing life. But, it also functions as a way of God’s division of the world. God rises four rivers – Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates – at the Garden in Eden.

In short, God shows God’s omnipotent power to the world, which is giving life to the world, through creating and controlling the water in the first two chapters of the first book of the bible.

When we read this passage carefully and prayerfully, this water becomes a mediator to reconnect the world to God. This water becomes the mediator to reconcile the world with God. This water also becomes the mediator to recreate and restore the world with the image of God. Therefore, the image of water in the story of the Flood is also life.

Then, you can keep continuing to reflect on the other stories of water in the Old Testament, such as Crossing of the Red Sea and the story of Jonah. Even though there are moments of disappointment, suffering, and dead, water is the source of life in the First Testament. This is what God wants to show to us.

When we turn to the Second Testament, it is much simper than the First Testament. It is more clear that the image of water is providing everlasting life from God. Just as we heard the Story of Jesus encounters with a Samaritan woman at the opening prayer, there are many example passages in the four Gospels that show the importance of water as life from God through Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

If water was the source of life, and water is also the source of life from God through Christ by the with the Holy Spirit, as brothers and sisters of God, we are the ones who should raise the questions.

How is this the same water treated by human beings? How do we see the importance of the water? Do we treat the water as a gift from God and as the source of life from God?

It was the last summer when water really became the source of eternal life from God to me. I had privilege to spend for a month at the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach in Washington D.C.. When I was there, one of my tasks was to research the water situation in Fiji because I was already appointed to Fiji for my FMA for next 2 years. 

So, now I want to share my research and thoughts with you. I want to share the source of eternal life from God with you.

There are 7 Columban countries in Asia and the Pacific – Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines and Republic of Korea. However, any country is in the same situation as any other countries. But, According to the research which was done by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asian and the Pacific, it seems the water situation in Fiji is the worst among Columban countries in Asia and the Pacific.

When we see the coverage of safe sanitation, the situation seems almost the same. When we see the table, Fiji is the only country which is around 50% of the population can access to improved drinking water. Maybe, you already have experienced that it is not easy to access to the clean water resources from the tap water in this country. The sad thing is comparing the percentages in the year 1990 with 2006, there is no progress of the percentage of the total amount of accessing to clean water in Fiji. Even we have lost one percent of it.

We have to think about how we have used water, the source of life from God. And there are many different actions that we can do. We can have campaign to families and schools to save water. We can write letters to the government and various companies to do further actions to save water. We can make a group of religious brothers and sisters to discuss about how we can save our water, the life! There are many difference actions that we can choose.

When I researched about the water issue in Fiji, I remembered that quite many people in the United States bought Fiji Water from stores. They have bought bottled Fiji water from stores.

Do we need to send our water to other countries? One issue is about using plastic bottled water. There is controversy about plastic bottled water. Particularly, since Fiji has produced and exported plastic bottled water to the world, this issue is not the issue which is far from us.

Moreover, we have to think about what are our first little steps to save our water, the life from God. We also have to think about how we can contribute ourselves to the local community. What is our first step for the life from God? Water is life. The life from God.

I want to conclude my presentation with quoting a Traditional document by Tertullian about Treaties on Baptism.

“We, little fishes, after the example of ourichthusJesus Christ, are born in water,… we [don’t have] safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water.” Treaties on Baptism by Tertullian (André Hamman, ed., Baptism: Ancient Liturgies and Patristic Texts. Staten Island, NY: Society of St. Paul, 1967, 30.)

For a much more detailed presentation on the issue of water in Fiji you may visit Carlo Jung's blog: http://carlojung.wordpress.com/. Carlo Jung is a Columban FMA student from Korea, now assigned to Fiji for pastoral and missionary experience.

A Royal Wedding

I have only been two weeks into my first missionary assignment here in Fiji and I was able to witness my first Indian wedding. Fiji is multicultural society – the population is composed of the native Fijians, Indo-Fijians, Chinese and others. Most of the Indo-Fijians are descendants of the “girmitiyas” indentured laborers from India who came to Fiji to work in the sugar fields of Fiji more than a hundred years ago.  Within the Indian population here in Fiji, one can also find diversity in ethnicity and religion. They came from different parts of India. There are three major religions practiced by the Indo-Fijians namely Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. Here in Fiji, Christianity is further divided into many other churches like the Methodist, Catholic and Pentecostal groupings.

It is not common to find inter marriages between the major ethnic groups. Last April 30, 2011 I got the privilege to witness the celebration of the wedding of an Indian couple – the bride is Catholic while the groom was a Hindu. The entire ceremony lasted for about two hours and it was filled with a lot of rituals, symbols, colors and scents. I realized through the process of inculturation, the wedding ceremony has been enriched and enlivened. The ceremony happened under a brightly – decorated tent called a “mandap” in Hindi on a stage.

Mandap, brightly decorated tent for religious celebrations.

We arrived early before everyone started coming into the venue of the wedding, which was the rented hall of an Indian college. The ceremony began which the sounds of the drums and cymbals announcing the arrival of the groom. The groom was welcomed and given some food and drinks; then he was seated. The bride came in and the priest welcomed the couple. Both the bride and the groom looked very royal and beautiful. The priest then lit the diya, which is a camphor lamp used in religious ceremonies together with the parents of the bride and groom. Everyone settled down and the opening prayer was said followed by the reading of the Gospel and psalms. A bhajan (religious hymn) was sung before the reading of the Gospel.

Lighting of the diya.

It was great to be able to witness everything up close since I was also busy taking pictures while the entire ceremony was going on. The actual wedding rites began with the declaration of the couple’s intention and freedom to marry followed by the kanyadaan, where the bride was culturally handed over by her parents into the hand of the groom. It is a beautiful ritual that shows the value the Indian culture place on women. After this ritual, the couple encircled the tent housing the altar for seven times. The priest also placed incense in front of the Cross and questioned the couple on a different aspect of married life each time they completed a circle. This ritual is called the bhavar.

Kanyadaan

At the end of the bhavar, the couple exchanged marriage vows holding each other’s right hand (The left hand is considered unclean in Indian culture). The priest blessed the rings and the couple placed the ring on each other’s finger. The groom tied the tali, a yellow string, around the bride’s neck. Interestingly, the groom’s sister then placed a toe ring on the bride’s right foot, which is a South Indian practice.

Groom tying the tali around the bride's neck

Then the bride led the exchange of mala, which is a garland of flowers, three times. The exchange signifies that whatever one owns, the other also owns.  The couple then exchanged seating places.  As they were seated, the relatives tied strings of gold metal on the foreheads of the couple. After everyone had their chance, the groom took red dye with his finger and marked the spot on the bride’s forehead just between her eyebrows, which is called the tika. The tika is a mark, which signifies to others that the woman is married. Indians, especially from the Indian South, culturally practice this.

Groom puts a tika on the bride's forehead.

The priest officially blessed the newly married couple. Finally, relatives and close friends were then invited to approach the married couple and shower them with flower petals mixed with rice grains to bless them. This ritual is called the pushpavrishti.  A feast of curry and roti followed which I was looking forward to. All kinds of curry was served but without meat to respect the many Hindus who don’t eat meat, especially during religious functions. I loved the sweets and the paisam, which was made of milk and peanuts.  This is one common thing with Indians and Filipinos, we love food!

Fr. Pat Colgan, SSC officiated the wedding assisted by Master David Krishna who is also my Hindi guru-jii (“respected teacher”). Fr. Pat and the couple went through a lot of preparation before the wedding. Only a few couples request for this kind of wedding because of the preparations and the complexity of the rituals. There were many things I found quite different from my experience of weddings in the Philippines. The rituals that provided so much symbolism and meaning were new for me.  I think it is important to have all these rituals and symbolism kept because they provide the experiential element of the ceremony, which is important in our understanding of the sacraments. Coming from the Philippines, I’m sad that we have lost so much of our rituals and symbolisms. We have given in to the commercialism and Westernization of our faith and culture.  I admire the couple for their courage to remain faithful to their tradition and thank them for their invitation. It was truly a royal Indian wedding. 

Choir singing beautiful bhajans. Mostly members of the Nandera mandali.

Fr. Pat Colgan, SSC watches over as the groom signs the marriage contract.

Written by Kurt Zion Pala, a FMA student from the Philippines currently assigned to Fiji for two years of pastoral and missionary experience.

Looking back

The Marist Fathers had been working in the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific Ocean for more than a century when 13 Columban priests joined them in 1952. At the invitation of Bishop Victor Foley, S.M. they came to provide for the needs of the Church in Fiji and to reach out to the non-Christian Indian population.

Columban Father Diego Cabrera Rojas and lay missionary Rowena Cuanico pose with Fijian women parishioners in the village of Naleba after a celebration in 2002.

Because of a shortage of priests, two parishes where English was generally spoken had to be staffed immediately by Columban priests. Three were assigned to a Marist school to gain some experience in Fijian education. Within a year, these three opened Xavier College, a secondary school in the predominantly Indian western province with the aim of coming into contact with the Indian people.

Of the rest of the Columbans, four were assigned to learn Fijian and four to learn Hindi. Within the year, they were assigned to five parishes with others soon to be set up.

As the number of Columban priests increased, they took over the founding and development of other parishes and apostolates, especially among the Indian population. Several Columbans spent time in India to gain expertise in the language and an understanding of Indian culture.

A few Columbans devoted their energies to special apostolates: the training of Fijian catechists and of teachers for schools in towns and villages spread over the islands. Columbans remained in charge of the Catechetical Center and the Teachers Training College until the local Catholic Church developed the expertise and personnel to take charge of these.

As the numbers of diocesan priests increased, Columbans were able to turn over to them the many parishes that they had developed in the towns and remote villages on the main islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and in the Yasawa Group.

Parishioners in Fiji invited Columban Father Frank Hoare for dinner after Sunday Mass.

Columbans also provided professors for the staff of the Pacific Regional Seminary, opened in 1972, and continue to do so. In 1988, Xavier College was turned over to the Monfort Brothers.

Today, except for four parishes, Columbans have placed themselves at the disposal of the archbishop to serve with Fijian priests in whatever parishes the archbishop may assign them. The purpose of this arrangement is to acknowledge and foster the leadership abilities of their fellow diocesan priests.

Other areas in which Columbans have made a major contribution are promoting housing for the poor and natural family planning, organizing an archdiocesan newspaper, intercultural dialogue, producing low-cost religious books and pamphlets and translating liturgical books into Fijian.

In recent years, several Columbans have promoted courses and seminars aimed at promoting racial and religious harmony and breaking down the racial prejudice between native Fijians and Indians that surfaced after the military coups of 1987 and 2000.

In 1986, Columbans began accepting local vocations and preparing them for missions outside Fiji. Two Fijian Columbans were ordained in 1995.

Taken from Columban Fathers' website.