By Fr. James Spillae,SJ
Greetings from Yogyakarta where our normal rainy season pattern continues. We have sunny skies in the mornings followed by afternoon and occasional evening showers. There is a lot of flooding around the country with details shown on the national news networks. Hope you are having pleasant weather.
Our campus is suddenly like a ghost town. All the students went home for the Christmas -New Year’s vacation while the lecturers are busy correcting final exams and assignments. However, a large number of students are using their 6 week break between lectures to do their mandatory Community Service Projects. Most of the ones here on Java are in rural villages. One Jesuit member of our community who is studying Chemistry Education has gone to the southeast tip of Kalimantan/ Borneo. His team’s “base camp” is a new Jesuit parish in the tropical rain forest area there. Life is very simple. The experience is an eye-opener for our students who are predominantly from large or medium sized cities.
The biggest event of the recent social calendar was the 88th anniversary of the orphanage in Ganjuran, about 30 kilometer south of Yogyakarta. During the period of the Dutch East Indies, it was the center of sugar plantations and a factory to refine the sugar. The Dutch manager was a devout Catholic and fervent believer in Catholic Social Teaching based on the Papal encyclical Rerum Novarum. Consequently, he built a complete complex with a church, rectory, convent, hospital and orphanage in the Javanese Hindu style. The shrine to the Sacred Heart has become a place of pilgrimage. The orphanage was certainly a game changer for many children who became nurses, doctors, teachers and other professionals. Our Jesuit Communities had a marvelous Christmas party for all our domestic staff. Many now have grandchildren. Almost all their children are graduates of our Teacher Training Institute. We are blessed to have such dedicated and reliable people serving us daily.
Fortunately, our 68th birthday celebration for the university is now available on YouTube. Just type in the title “Dies Natalis Sanata Dharma University” and you will see the entire 3 hour ceremony. Skip to the 1:14 point to hear the lively choir and to 2:11 to watch the incredible dancing group. The theme of their dance was “educating your child to develop moral character”.
Be assured of my thoughts and prayers. Our global situation certainly urges us to pray for peace and mutual understanding. More weapons of destruction are certainly not solving the problems.
