by Fr. Martin Mary, FI

“Although Francis realized that the kingdom of heaven is found in every dwelling on earth, and though he believed that heaven’s graces are imparted everywhere to God’s chosen ones, he had learned nevertheless that the church of St. Mary at Portiuncula was filled with more abundant grace and visited more frequently by heavenly spirits...”

In addition, Our Holy Father Francis said: “Here when we are few the Most High increased our number; here he enlightened the hearts of his poor with the light of his own wisdom. Here he inflamed our wills with the fire of his love.” (I Celano ?)

This early document already emphasized what is central to the Franciscan vocation that should serve as an important hermeneutic in understanding Franciscan charism, namely, the Marian dimension of belonging to the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Maximilian Kolbe made explicit this Marian dimension by his act of total consecration to the Immaculate.

Bro. Ajoon, 17 years old, is from Thootoor, Tamil Nadu, 40 km from Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala. Born of a big family of six, he considered listening to chorale and classical music a great interest and hobby. Like most Indian boys, Bro. Ajoon loves cricket, a sport popular to all countries under British rule. The call to vocation came quite late when a spiritual inspiration dawned on him after witnessing the ordination of his own cousin. He certainly had a great interest to become missionary and specifically, Franciscan missionary for its simplicity and tangible witness of the Gospel to people.

The youngest of the new vocations is Bro. Jacob a 15 year old lad from Pulluvilla, about 22.5 km from Trivandrum. At the age of eleven, he already felt the call to the priesthood. This is not unusual to Southern Indians since family and civil values are pretty much from the “old school” as expression go: traditional values in the family, less past time institutions as movie houses, malls or taverns. But the experience of poverty becomes a guard to a worldly lifestyle hostile to the development of vocation. He may be short by stature for he stands only 4 feet tall, but he loves to play football, another typical Indian sport. He came from a family of four children.

Another vocation from Pulluvila is Bro. Prasanth, 15 years old. Opposite in stature from Bro. Jacob, Bro. Prasanth stands 5’ 7” tall. He is immediately recognized for his knowledge of English but also his sense of responsibility. He has a hobby of reading non-fiction books: facts and science and most likely, if he watches television, he would be a frequent viewer of Discovery Channel. He felt the call to the priesthood when he was 14 years old. An altar boy in his parish, he must have witnessed the beauty of serving the Lord and the Church through the priests of his parish. Like many Indian boys, football is Bro. Prasanth’s favorite sport.

The last of the new brothers is the 16 year old, Bro. Vinnu, from Puthiyathura, a village immediately after Pulluvila, a 2 km away. Bro. Vinnu is a child of four children in the family with two sisters and a brother. He is the most reflective type of all the boys and exhibits a deep sense of piety. This must have developed by his ordinary love for classical music. It was as early as 13 years old that he felt called to the priesthood. He hopes to become a priest someday to serve God’s people and render God the greatest glory.

These are the new vocations and gift of Our Lady to our community in Kerala, India. May the Blessed Mother give them the grace of holy perseverance.