by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Like Peter, in today’s Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20), Catholics believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. This belief has implications for us as followers of Jesus. If we follow Him, then He will be at the centre of our lives; our morals and values will reflect Gospel values, and we will seek to live as He lived.
To be true disciples/witnesses we have to demonstrate that we are following Jesus’ Commandments, particularly the new commandment He gave to His disciples at the Last Supper – to love one another as He has loved us.
The kind of agape love that is required of us can be seen in the lives of true servant leaders whom we should emulate. Recently I was invited to Belfast as a guest of Lord Dilgit Rana, who was created a life peer in 2004 as Baron Rana of Malone in the County of Antrim, Northern Ireland. He was appointed to the House of Lords “in recognition of his work in driving the successful regeneration of Belfast city centre and his efforts to encourage political dialogue in Northern Ireland.”
I first met him in 2010 when I presented a paper at an international conference held in London. He was the then President of the organisation that arranged the conference. Here is a man who uses his God-given talents not only to make money. He also recognises the role that corporate social responsibility plays in his business activities and he practises this through a number of laudable initiatives.
According to his website http://www.diljitrana.com/about.html), “He was awarded an MBE in 1996 for his contribution to the economic regeneration of the city of Belfast through the development of hotels, restaurants, fashion shops and modern office accommodation…He was instrumental in leading a delegation of academics from the universities to India to explore educational partnerships and help develop university links between India and Northern Ireland…
“Lord Rana had to repair his property portfolio over 25 times during the Troubles in Northern Ireland because of bombings and arson attacks…Today, he is a successful property developer, hotelier and has held the position of President of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is a leading figure in the Indian community in Northern Ireland. He is also the Honorary Consul of India to Northern Ireland.
“He has been actively involved in promoting business links between India and Northern Ireland. To this effect he has led several trade missions of many Northern Ireland-based companies to India to explore business opportunities. He is also the founder and Chairman of Andras House Limited, a broadly based company with substantial interests in hotels, restaurants and commercial property in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ..He was also instrumental in the development of ‘Harmony’, an iconic statue of peace and reconciliation which is at the core of the city’s Thanksgiving Square” on the river Lagan (Beacon of Hope).
Lord Rana has also set up a charitable trust of Rs.50 million for the Cordia Education Complex (Centre of Academic Excellence) in his native village, Sanghol, near Chandigarh, Punjab, India, housing eight educational and academic Institutes/Colleges/Schools and catering for more than 3,000 students. As he says, the project “focuses on education that is relevant in the modern context, creating employment opportunities, instilling a sense of cultural pride through knowledge and awareness, promoting self-reliance, poverty alleviation, protecting and sustaining the environment and, above all, creating a model village”.
According to http://www.sanghol.edu.in, “The Education Complex provides university level education in disciplines such as Humanities, ICT, Business Management and Hotel and Hospitality Management. It also includes colleges and a Heritage Institute… As part of a wider regeneration project, the colleges will support planned developments in Sanghol such as a water harvesting and conservation system for irrigation, a modern dairy farming unit, solar power for street lighting and domestic purposes, bio-gas power, a herbal garden, as well as access to internet and modern telecommunications.
“The overall objective is to use education to create a self-sustaining and thriving village community that will become a role model for other rural areas throughout India…Lord Rana is working in his role as British parliamentarian to help the poor and working for peace in different parts of the world”.
Blessed Teresa rightly reminded us that: “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
God has given us abundant gifts/talents. Let us demonstrate our love for Christ and for our neighbour by using these to promote St John XXIII’s pillars of peace: truth, justice, love, and freedom.
