Yesterday evening, I was asked by the Visitation Sisters of Don Bosco to give a message and I spoke on the ‘Healing Touch’. For me it was a wonderful opportunity to speak on the role of Christians today in our country.

Most of the time in talks, seminars and webinars addressed to our own community, I have noticed we leave each webinar, more afraid of what is happening to minorities in our nation. But is that the role we are supposed to play, of either being a fearful people or a compromised lot?

Basing my talk on the life of their founder Archbishop Hubert D’Rosario, I mentioned that it is time for us to become healers in this nation, which is gradually becoming a battlefield of ‘them against us’.

Our role is not just to bind the wounds of the wounded but to become peacemakers.

For this the first trait we need to imbibe within ourselves is the ‘spirit of Friendliness’ And as the archbishop lived, we also need to be close to God, close to our fellow workers and close to the people we cater to. To become effective healers our very nature needs to become one of friendliness.

The second characteristic we need to instill within ourselves is the method of being still. Because it is only during periods of stillness that we hear God speaking to us. But stillness also means distancing ourselves from distractions from social media and your phone itself. Here I went further and spoke of the stillness of Jesus when he was put on trial. He did not react to his accusers, and we also as His followers need to learn how not to react when provoked. In an unhealthy reaction comes powder kegs of ammunition for them to use on us.

Thirdly, I spoke on learning to be compassionate, not from a distance, but by reaching out and touching the fallen, the wounded in spirit, the broken and the marginalized. But to become effective healers and to use the gift of compassion, we need to see Christ on the Cross crying out, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!” Because it is only in understanding why our adversaries attack us, do we realise that they themselves don’t know why they do it or are doing it for all the wrong reasons. When we go beyond tolerance to understanding, we are able to cater and aid those who we think are our enemies and are really not.

Lastly, we need to become little children again in our faith. It is not theology or religious teaching that brings us closer to God, but a childlike faith we need to get back to.

There’s a role we have to play today, and let us equip ourselves to becoming healers in this bleeding area we call our own…!