Pastoral Supervision: Managing Psychosocial Challenges in Priestly Ministry
Selvam, S.G. (2022). Pastoral Supervision: Managing Psychosocial Challenges in Priestly Ministry. In S. Fernando, J. & Jeyaraj, (eds.) Care for the Priests (pp.21-34). Chennai: Don Bosco Publications.
Engagement in pastoral commitments involves intrapersonal and interpersonal experiences of psychosocial nature. These include: dynamics of euphoria and dysphoria following public engagements, emotional overload and affective enmeshment, transference and counter-transference, and power disparity. Priests, especially those young in ministry, might mistake these states for boredom, depression, temptations, and discouragement. Seminary formation does not prepare them adequately to handle these nuanced experiences. Without understanding what is happening to them, they might get into a downward spiral of addictions and unhealthy relationships. What could be a support system that they can rely on. The current chapter proposes pastoral supervision as an […]
Author: selvam
Sermon for 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C Homily
The Lost Son
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32)
Today is one of those days when I feel a homily might steal the gospel reading of its depth. The parable that we heard read is a much-quoted story and we are all too familiar with it. Perhaps I might just challenge that familiarity, so that the Word of God may become alive in us today.
Usually in stories and movies, there are three types of main characters: the hero and/or the heroin – the protagonist, around whom the story revolves; there is the anti-hero – the antagonist who creates a conflict which the hero attempts to resolve; and the supporting characters, who contribute to the events that lead up to the conflict. There would also be the minor characters (like the servants), and ‘the extras’.
The story of two boys
In the parable of […]
Sermon for 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C Homily
Remember, you are following a martyr!
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 14:25-33)
Our world today has too many celebrities and very few heroes. Our contemporary culture focuses so much on celebrities. The media hypes up stars in sports, entertainment, and popular culture. Often these celebrities are far from being role models for the younger generation, yet young people have them as their pin-up models. The personal life of these celebrities is often a disaster. The few heroes we have around are people who have endured difficulties; they have exhibited tremendous courage in being altruistic; they are visionaries. These are people to be imitated.
Jesus does not want people to rally around him as if around a celebrity. He does not want a large following of fans and admirers. He […]
Sermon for 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C Homily
Follow the Kingdom with a Single-Minded Devotion
There are several films on Jesus. Each movie has its own take on the life and message of Jesus as narrated by the Gospels and, sometimes also, using extra-biblical sources. One of my own favourite films on Jesus is Jesus of Nazareth, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and produced by Rai-Uno, the Italian TV Channel. In fact, it was originally produced as a TV serial in1977, and later distributed in film form in different languages.
There is one particular scene in that film, that is worth recalling here in the context of the gospel text of today. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” they say. Even with the limitation of words in comparison to image, let me attempt to describe the scene: one evening, Jesus and […]
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