Let there be light!
“He who bears light in his heart shall see no darkness in his life”
- from the Tirukkural, a collection of 1330 rhymingTamil couplets or aphorisms celebrated by Tamil speaking people.
“We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own” - Ben Sweetland, author of many self-help and motivational books who’s probably best remembered for his “Grow Rich While You Sleep” bestseller.
Happy Divali all! May the light you bear continue to shine forth, illuminating lives and paths especially whenever and wherever darkness threatens to overwhelm.
Boat on Dry Land
I actually saw this boat sitting right smack by the roadside that leads to my workplace some two weeks ago. It seemed such an absurd scene that I couldn’t help but take a couple of shots, watched by a couple of bemused guys nearby.
This morning I found myself awake at 4 a.m. and try as I might, couldn’t get back to sleep. So I did what I usually do nowadays – turn on the tv and promptly found The Next Karate Kid playing on HBO.
This was the 1994 sequel starring Hilary Swank as a troubled young teenager and venerable Pat Morita. Unfortunately, this 4th edition in the “Karate Kid” series was lambasted by the critics when it first came out. Watching it now though, thanks to a broken night’s sleep, some of the scenes and dialogue did strike a chord or two…
I’m not sure if Mr. Miyagi‘s words of wisdom are actual Zen/Buddhist euphemisms but they do make sense. A pick of the crop:
“Ambition without knowledge is like a boat on dry land” – which brings me to that boat on the road above and, reminds me of the times how I have felt – stranded on dry land, clueless and directionless at different times in my life. Then again, the state of this country at the present moment – got engines but no pilot, no able crew, and seemingly, if one cares for the signs of the times, headed into financial oblivion.
“Answer only important when asking right question” – Too many times probably, in the quest to attain knowledge, wisdom has been cast aside…. here lies probably the greatest funeral of all – Malaysia’s blundering education system,
and this one,
“Sun is warm, grass is green” - The gentle reminder that no matter what, we are still blessed in many ways, and that we should never take things for granted, and enjoy the good moments while we have them – both in our “little” own lives and in the larger scheme of things.
For those of you who missed it, I’m sure you’d be able to catch it on Astro’s HBO Channel – thanks to the many “repeat” broadcasts, failing which you could always check out my online site above for a DVD copy.
Steve Jobs
In memory of one of my heroes:
Steve Jobs
1955-2011
From a tweet in outerspace:
“Steve Jobs.
On behalf of every dreamer sitting in his or her garage
who is crazy enough to try to change the world,
you will be missed.”
And in his own words:
- “Sometimes life’s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers”
- “Stay hungry, Stay foolish”
- “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking”
- “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition”
- “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t settle”
Thank you, Steve. R.I.P.
The Demand for A Sign
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16 verse 3 quotes Jesus:
“When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”
That was Jesus’ blunt answer to the Pharisees and Scribes who wanted to test him for a sign from heaven.
Which brought me to this short checklist:
What about us, today?
Our health, for one.
How many of us aware of our own mortality? Do we live like we are going to be around forever? When was the last medical check up you had? Are we content to let past hurts fester and turn to septic wounds rather than let healing and reconciliation take place? Have we let our egos become that big?
What about the environment?
Do we merely remain comfortable talking about “green” issues but shy away from making the “brown” choices – which call for lifestyle changes and choices?
What about justice, law and good governance?
Do we care what happens to the maid from Cambodia? Is it justifiable that the foreign factory worker has to work 12 hour shifts and earn just enough to put food into his or her mouth while forced to go “salary-less” for 7 months in order to repay the agents who brought them into the country?
If Singapore can enact laws that ensure these agents don’t get more of the returns than the worker, then why is Malaysia unable or unwilling to do so?
What about God, faith and spirituality?
Are we content to offer lip service to the One we call Creator and Master, but keep our hearts far from Him? Do we say one thing but do another? Are we building bridges among all His people or are we guilty of fuelling feuds among one another in His name? Are we simply building more and more places of worship while giving less and less room for Him?
What about education?
Do we subscribe to the Martin Luther King Jr’s theory that the “function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically… Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education” or are we content to let politics and narrow-minded ‘nationalism’ advocates dictate what it means? Even if it means dragging the whole education system down the drain?
Lastly but not least: Some famous last words from Lao Tze to help us ponder: “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading” -
Freedom Film Fest 2011
There are movies, then there are “movies”, and, we watch them for many different reasons. For instance, my 10 year old has been consistently reminding me of our date for the new “Johnny English – Reborn” feature – something which I’m actually looking forward to. I think it’s about time for a short breather and get silly for a while!
Consequently, an email from an old friend reminded me of the 2011 Freedom Film Festival – organised by Komas once again, which features about 20 documentaries on human rights issues in Malaysia, ranging from child refugees, women’s rights, the current political climate and national identity.
This year’s Freedom Film Fest kicks off at the Wisma Bentley Auditorium, Petaling Jaya on 1st. Oct, moves up north to Penang on the 8th Oct., then travels to Kuching on the 29th and Miri on the 30th.
According to its website, also slated for the tour this time are the smaller towns like Bukit Mertajam, Sri Manjung, Ipoh, Muar and Johor Baru. This is good news for the so many of us who would otherwise be starved of such films. The synopses also offer a glimpse of what story lines are being portrayed on screen this year.
Better still, you can watch the previous years’ Freedom Film Fest movies online.
Oh yes, one final thing. The FFF is by invitation only. You will need to register for FREE INVITES. You can register online here. If by any chance the registration is closed, you may do so at the appropriate venue at least 20 minutes before movie time.
It can’t be any easier than this folks! I just did minutes ago. So, take some time out, bring your family and friends for a different kind of movie experience. Have a break – have a Kit Kat moment!
To infinity and beyond! - Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story.
You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.
~ Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness.
Of Immoral Laws, Lions and Freedom
What price freedom? What price justice?
Last week, Mahathir Mohammed applauded Najib Razak’s proposal to abolish the ISA while describing it as “not too cruel”. However, one time ISA detainee Jeffrey Kitingan begs to disagree: “The cruelty of ISA is immeasurable”.
Reading Nilakrisna James’ interview with Kitingan in her article in Free Malaysia Today throws some light on what actually transpires when one is held without trial under the ISA. As James writes:
“Jeffrey Kitingan is an enigma, not least because he is partly elusive, partly unpredictable and partly Houdini.
You can never really find him and when you do, he very quickly disappears.
As his friend and compatriot in a civil rights mission, I know him and yet I don’t and, as a friend, you tend to wonder if he would ever fully trust you.
After the Internal Security Act (ISA) experience, his character became part of his natural defence mechanism.
Those were “The Cruel Years”, not “The Wonder Years”. The ISA had moulded him into the person that he is today and he remains fascinating.
When former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad applauded Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s proposal to abolish the ISA, he decided to lace his comment with the sort of sarcasm that would add salt to the injury faced by former ISA detainees like Jeffrey.
Mahathir described the ISA as “not too cruel”.
Jeffrey recalls a very different scenario in Mahathir’s office in January 1994 upon his release from ISA detention.
Mahathir apparently said then: “I am sorry about the detention, Jeffrey, I know it is cruel.”
“The cruelty of ISA is immeasurable,” Jeffrey says.
‘I was glad to be breathing’
Recalling the details of his arrest, Jeffrey said that he had to sign a letter the police had given him.
They gave it to him at the Tambunan Ka’amatan (Harvest Festival) on the May 10, 1991, in the presence of some 200 FRU personnel, who left the scene immediately after he signed the document.
On the May 13, 1991, he presented himself for an appointment at the Karamunsing police station.
He was arrested on the spot and sent to the Kepayan detention centre.
That same afternoon he was flown to Kuala Lumpur on a MAS flight with only himself and Special Branch police officers as passengers.
That evening, though, the plane was not permitted to land at the Kuala Lumpur airport and he ended up being flown to Penang to spend the entire night in a cell.
The next morning, he was flown back to KL. Upon landing, he was blindfolded and shoved into a Black Maria.
Jeffrey paused, and without a single expression on his face, looked at me and said: “At that moment, I lost sight of the world and my material life… not knowing where they were taking me and what they were going to do with me.
“I was glad to still be breathing.”
Stripped naked
Hours later of what seemed to Jeffrey like an eternity, the vehicle arrived at a building in a place he would never know and his blindfold was taken off. He was ordered to strip naked and every item of clothing, including his watch, was removed.
“I felt ashamed… and felt ready to be wrapped up for my own funeral,” he said.
Given a blue uniform with the number “931” on the left side of his chest, Jeffrey’s photographs were taken at various angles before he was locked up in a maximum security cell.
“As the door shut behind me, I found myself confined to what can be described as a living hell to what seems forever.”
Jeffrey was thrown into his cell in the first 60 days after his arrest. He was accused of subversive political activities and is one of Malaysia’s most renowned political detainees under the ISA.
In that cold, bare room with nothing but an empty, solid wooden bed measuring about 2½ feet wide, there were no mattress, blanket, pillow, toilet, sink, water or window.
There was a small peephole on the door that you could only look through from the outside and two holes on the floor the size of a chicken egg for ventilation.
Sleeping with urine and faeces
The room, Jeffrey said, was so small that he would pace up and down and see only walls and felt no different to a caged animal.
“That’s how I realised how animals in a zoo behave when they’re deprived of their freedom.”
The lights in the cell were uncommonly bright and never, ever switched off. Occasionally, loud music would suddenly be played to shock him and he was deprived of his sleep.
“The toilet was at the other end of the building and if they don’t hear you knock, you end up sleeping in a cell with your urine and faeces everywhere.
“I had to clean up my own waste with nothing but the newspaper they gave to wrap up my faeces.”
Jeffrey could not recall a time when he could even take a shower as there were no facilities for bathing and there were no towels.
“We just had the toilet,” he said solemnly.
‘Am I alive, dead or dreaming?’
Jeffrey told me that this method of sensory deprivation was a living nightmare and the detainee would be denied any sense of time or conscious connection with the outside world.
“I felt lost, I felt alone and I felt abandoned even by my own God.
“I tried talking to myself just to hear my own voice. Where am I? Who am I? Am I dead or just dreaming? I even tried to sing.
“In the first week, I blamed God and scolded him. What did I do wrong? After one week, I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to experience this.”
Not knowing whether he was dead or alive or in some terrible dream, Jeffrey asked me to imagine the agony of having to endure 60 days of this repetitive nightmare.
The idea revolted me and my imagination did not allow me to feel the pain and suffering.
Yet, it was Jeffrey’s imagination that kept him sane.
“I had to hold on to reality by creating patterns in my mind with my meals. Wrapped in plastic and newspaper, the rice was always wet and sometimes I had one fish and maybe six strands of beansprouts.
“I saw patterns in my food. I would look at the walls and sometimes it felt like the patterns would fly out of the wall and come to life.”
Solitary world, mental torture
In a solitary world where Jeffrey could not experience a 24-hour cycle of being alive and being asleep, he managed to count his days and nights.
“To have some sense of time and give or take a margin of three to four days inaccuracy, I could determine how long I was in there by scratching the wall surface each time the rat comes through the hole in the ground or whenever my meal was delivered.”
He went through a terrifying interrogation ordeal that was tame in comparison to what he heard the other detainees had to go through.
“Some of them said they went through physical torture. I must have been one of the lucky ones.
“The first time they interrogated me I had to sit on a red stool in a dark red coloured room with eight nameless interrogators who humiliated and insulted me as if I was a condemned, worthless criminal ready to be sent to hell.
“They did this non-stop and deprived me of rest, sleep, food and water till I could no longer bear it and asked to see a doctor.”
Jeffrey felt himself growing weaker, rapidly losing weight and his beard began to grow.
He was eventually sent to the doctor in a blindfold with two men holding up his frail body. He was given vitamins and told to sit in the sunlight for 20 minutes.
It was only after his recovery that he was told the interrogation took four days and three nights.
Moving to Kamunting
After two months of solitary confinement, Jeffrey was hoping for his release and was told that if he was taken to the airport he would be a free man.
He was taken instead to Kamunting Detention Camp and spent the next 2½ years detained without a trial.
“You don’t go straight to Kamunting. You go into an empty building somewhere on transit with hardly anybody around.
“I was then transferred to Camp 5 in Kamunting. That would be the time you’re given a pillow and a blanket. Those are the only possessions. It’s worse than being a convict.
“The camp had maximum security and was a U-shaped building, I remember, with a barb-wired security fence as high as 12 to 15 feet, reinforced by zinc and cement so that you could not see the outside world.
“You could only see the sky. They locked us up at night and opened the cells in the morning like a chicken coop.”
Kamunting had open areas for inmates to play sports but their footballs would burst against the wired fence.
They bathed communally and they would poke and shove one another for soap and hassled to hurry.
Wrote books and poems
Every week, they would assemble to raise the Malaysian flag and sing the national anthem and recite the “Rukun Negara”. Their library was filled with propaganda materials and was uninspiring.
Jeffrey wrote books, poems and read voraciously. His family would post all the reading materials he requested from them.
He learnt meditation and practised yoga, teaching taekwondo to communist detainees. They, in turn, taught him Chi Kung.
“The inmates were high-tensioned people: communists, terrorists, political detainees, spies, immigration fraudsters.
“An accidental knock in the playground would end up in fights.
“In the TV room, they argued all the time. The Indians would want to watch the Hindi movies, the Malays their dramas. I saw all sorts of people, especially the vengeful, dangerous types who vent their anger on other inmates.
“I believe these types would always keep their anger inside, even after their release.
“Yet, there were ‘happy-go-lucky’ types who would kill time by talking forever or giving others a massage.”
Whispering campaign
He remembered the paranoia they developed through whispering campaigns where some detainees were believed to be spies from the Special Branch.
The inmates even became possessive over photos and pictures of women pasted on the table.
They engaged in manual labour by cleaning the compound, cutting the grass, doing domestic chores and cleaning the toilets.
They took turns to cook and followed the roster quite diligently although the only delicacy they enjoyed was the odd snake or bird caught in the compound.
When the authorities found out about the addition of caught wildlife in their diet, the roster was changed and they had to eat “institutionalised, prisoner’s food” that had no variety and was only adequate to prevent starvation.
The inmates would rather be sick in the detention camp than face the humiliation of being handcuffed to their beds in the hospitals.
A lot of them went mad and tried to commit suicide, banging their heads violently on the floors, especially if they knew that their term of imprisonment would be extended.
“They would rather die than spend another day inside”, Jeffrey said.
Human nature
I asked Jeffrey how he coped and survived the experience, wondering if there was a deep psychological scarring for a man who was spiritually intellectual.
In his mind, Jeffrey believes that ISA gave him a greater insight into human nature.
“I survived by playing the role of a researcher… I studied and observed the behaviour of detainees in confinement.
“Somehow, by taking on the role of a healer and friend I managed to remove myself mentally from the situation,” he said.
Jeffrey’s diaries were confiscated and the letters he sent and received were screened.
“I wrote a letter in Dusun [local native dialect] once and the officer couldn’t understand it and sent it through.
“The letter caused a demonstration at home because it told of my experience. The officer was promptly replaced.”
Keeping people ignorant
Released with conditions in January 1994, Jeffrey was told not to be involved in politics and organisations and remembered Mahathir telling him not to teach the people what they don’t know.
“This must be the attitude: to keep the people ignorant,” he said.
He remains resolute in his political drive to abolish all legislation deemed to be an affront to human and civil rights and tows that fine line of risks which many fear to tread.
“Behind the negative is the positive,” he says calmly.
“In that situation, I couldn’t see the world with my eyes so I travelled with my mind and learnt to function through my spirit.
“The development of this mental vision is where I began to truly understand myself and I found solutions to many outstanding problems which were recorded in my writings and letters.
“Once you have gone through death, you become fearless.”
Interestingly, there’s this news story today about the rescue of undernourished Panamanian lionesses that had been caged up for 14 years . Craig, who works for The Wild Animal Sanctuary (WAS), the team that saved the animals and which is located near Denver, Colorado has this to say:
“The lionesses weigh about 200-225 lbs, half their normal weight. Nobody took care of them, they didn’t get any medical attention. They had been cooped up in 6′ by 8′ concrete and steel cages at Panamanian fairgrounds by NGO’s wanting to raise funds! They has been isolated and had no family structure”
Back in 1987, Richard Attenborough made a film on Steve Biko, titled “Cry Freedom”. Biko was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa, who would eventually be killed in detention. This video clip recalls the horror of his detention and his courage and others like him who have been tortured, held without trial and summarily executed.
And all the while, as I see and hear what our politicians and “public servants” talking, there’s the voice of Martin Luther King Jr, some 50 years after his assassination, still calling for justice and peace:
“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent”.
After so much horrendous accounts of sheer injustice and disrespect to all things human and alive, whether man, nature or animals, do we still need to defend something so morally wrong as the Internal Security Act? And more importantly, do we need another “replacement” of its kind, as Najib has indicated? What more evidence do we need?
Note: Nilakrisna James is a lawyer-cum-social activist. She is also a co-founder of the United Borneo Front, headed by Jeffrey Kitingan.
Caution! Potholes Ahead!
(with material taken from Aliran, Malaysikini and Malaysian Insider)
There is a popular saying that goes: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”.
Usually it’s applied to warn unsuspecting people of other unscrupulous people peddling some vague promise. At least, that’s my take. Like the following “real-life” example:
Aug 15: PM announces setting up of Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to look into electoral reforms. He did not mention whether the reforms were a response to the Bersih 2.0 demands.
However, some 9 days later…on
Aug 24: the PM states that “the next general election can be held anytime and will not be bound by the findings of the PSC on electoral reforms”!
Sounds like a contradiction, right? P. Ramasamy, writing in Aliran, explains further:
#1: In order for the next General Elections to be held, Parliament would have to be dissolved and as such the PSC would lapse automatically. The PSC’s life span doesn’t go beyond the current Parliament’s own term Why then, set up a PSC in the first place?
#2: The first Bersih demands in 2007 were 4 fold:
- The use of indelible ink (which was already been agreed to by the Electoral Commission, but later scrapped);
- A clean-up of the registered voters’ roll;
- Abolition of postal votes; and
- Access to the government-controlled print and broadcast media for opposition parties.
The government had 2 years but didn’t do anything until the March 2008 General Elections; which in turn led to Bersih 2.0 in 2011 where another 4 points were added to the original demands, namely:
- A minimum 21-day campaign period;
- The strengthening of public institutions;
- An end to corruption; and
- An end to dirty politics
Now, would it be reasonable for the public to even contemplate that these additional demands would be entertained by the government when it did nothing on the original 4 points some 4 years ago? Will it really be any different this time around?
#3: The composition of the PSC in itself portrays an unfair advantage to the BN. The PSC would consist of 9 members; 5 from the BN, 3 from the Opposition and 1 Independent. However way it’s seen, the outcome of the PSC’s voting would always favour the BN, either 5-3 or 5-4 depending on how the Independent voted. Here lies another anomaly. There is NO Independent MP in Parliament! However, there are so-called “BN friendly” Independents which means the voting could also end up 6-3 in favour of the BN!
That, coupled with the following announcements to certain “target” groups:
#4: The granting of RM15 million micro-credit scheme and another RM100 million loan to Chinese villagers;
#5: The announcement of the RM8 billion guaranteed contracts for Malay/Bumiputra companies to construct the Sungai Buloh – Kajang stretch of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), which in effect is 43% of the total contracts to be awarded; and
#6: The statement by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) that it will help those earning below RM3000 per month to cope with rising living expenses;
sounds like the next GE is around the corner!
Sure, we’ll be hearing more of such “goodies” in a matter of time. Which, brings us full-circle again – weren’t such “handouts” and “aid-giving” one of the agendas to be wiped out by the electoral reforms in the first place?
Like my friend said: ‘take it all with a huge slab of salt’; and some famous last words:
“Politics, noun. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” – Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary.
WYD 2011 Madrid
The World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid came and went – with little attention from the mainstream media. All I saw was a 30 second or so clip on CNN sandwiched in between the more “important” news of money woes at Washington, the continuing saga of the Arab Spring and the London riots.
Strangely though, satellite tv did highlight the protests of the Pope’s visit to Madrid! Go figure.
Media blackout or not, here are 7 Reasons for Good Cheer after Madrid
As someone who was in Manila for the 1995 edition of the WYD celebrations, all I can say is if you’re old enough (16 and above) and who is “searching”, give yourselves a treat and attend one of these Days. It would be worth every cent of your money and time spent. You will be rewarded with much much more, believe me.
For a flashback on what happened at Madrid, go here for repeat webcasts.
The official WYD Madrid 2011 website has more.
p.s. The next WYD is in Rio de Janerio, Brazil in 2013. Start planning now.
Assumption of Mary
For the benefit of those of us – like me – who may not be able to get to a church today for the Feast of The Assumption of Our Lady, here’s a short homily for your reflection. It was written by a close priest-friend of mine and appears here with his permission.
Mary – A Magnifying Glass to Jesus
What image comes to your mind when we talk about Mary?
For me, the image is the magnifying glass. In a sense, Mary is like a “magnifying glass”.
Today as we gather to celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary, we are celebrating the act of God to assume Mary, who is immaculately conceived, and Mother of God into heaven after her death.
The very word ‘Assumption’ is the exact opposite of ‘Ascension’ and denotes, ‘being taken’ and is appears ‘passive’ – thus there is minimum contribution from the person involved. Therefore, it is totally an act of God on the behalf of the person.
Ascension on the other hand denotes, ‘going up’ and thus asserts an active contribution of the person to the whole event.
As such, the Church draws a clear distinction between Jesus and Mary.
Thus, Marian doctrine and devotion, properly understood and practiced, does not lead believers away from, but rather magnifies and grounds us more deeply into the mystery of Christ.
First Reading [Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a; 10ab]
It is God who is in control and who undertakes the whole work of reconciling the world. The woman is only a means. That is why she cannot face or engage the dragon. Here we see the mystery of God who engages in the act of Redemption. This is the God who fights on the behalf of humanity.
Second Reading [1 Corinthians 15:20-26]
The second reading speaks of the victory of Christ over death. With Mary’s Assumption, this promise becomes real and open and possible to all who believe in Christ. So when we celebrate Assumption, we are actually celebrating the victory of Christ and our hope that we too like Mary will one day be united with Jesus. Mary’s glorification magnifies the victory of Christ over sin, suffering and death. However, it is Jesus who takes the centre stage.
Gospel [Luke 1:39-56]
In the Gospel Mary magnifies the mystery of Christ.
Elizabeth knew she was filed with Holy Spirit not because of Mary but because of the Child within her womb. Mary on the other hand sings her praises to God whom she knows is behind this entire work. Both glorify God.
And, rather tellingly, Mary magnifies our vocation as co-redeemers in Christ
We are challenged to become instruments of liberation. Mary announced and affirms four kinds of liberation which is essential in the ministry of Jesus:
1. religious liberation (v 50): to move from our tendency to be ‘exclusive’ to ‘inclusiveness’;
2. social liberation (v 51): to remain rooted in community and solidarity;
3. political liberation (v 52): to advocate right governance;
4. economical liberation (v 53): to be sparing or wise in the use of the resources made available to us.
At one point, Mary’s Magnificat became so dangerous until it was banned in Argentina for sometime because it provoked Catholic to be proactive, reformers and talk about changes.
Once again then, Marian doctrine and devotion, when properly understood and practiced, does not lead believers away from, but rather more deeply into, the mystery of Christ. We become clearer and convinced of our identity, vocation and mission as Christians. She is always assuring and ever ready to assist us in such undertakings, especially as our devotion moves from mere petitions or intercessions to meditation and finally to contemplation of the face of Jesus.
