The Little Things

Vocation story of Fr. Victor Sundaram O. de M

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things" is one of the famous phrases of Robert Brault. When I think of my call to religious life, I think of my childhood spent on the church campus just to get some chocolates and biscuits from the parish priest. And even more, if we serve at the altar, the priest will be more generous and kinder. As I was always in the church campus after school, my parents and the neighbors started to put a seed of God’s call in me telling me that he will be a priest in the future. This seed started growing and was nurtured by my parents daily by waking me up early to send for the daily mass.

My family is a simple catholic family. My parents encouraged me to go to Mass every day, and we had a daily rosary at home. My family was actively participating in all the church events.

When I was twelve a nun belonging to a Franciscan family said to me that I will become a priest like St. Don Bosco. That was a boosting word that encouraged me more and more which increased my desire in me. From that time onwards, as there were Salesians in our parish, every year I used to attend the retreats and oratories conducted by the Salesians during summer holidays. Moreover, when I was 15, the age at which one usually enters the seminary, I approached my mother to tell her that I am going to a vocation camp conducted by the Salesians. She replied, “I think you are too young to make such an important decision, so you continue to study your high school and then you decide if you still love to go to seminary.” It seemed to be a hindrance, but at that time that was the best idea.

I continued to nurture this desire by serving at the altar as an altar boy though I was big enough. When I completed my higher secondary school as my mother told me, my brother took me to a priestly anniversary celebration during the summer holiday. The celebrant priest asked me what I am going to do, immediately I replied I am going to Don Bosco seminary. And the priest told me about a new congregation “The Order of Our Lady of Mercy”, which was new in India but was founded in 1218 in Barcelona Spain. The seminary was quite far and twelve hours of journey from my family. Once again some were telling me it’s too far, will be difficult to travel and parent visit, etc. However, I did not mind all these difficulties of distance and language, etc. Thus, I decided and went to the seminary, which was not so easy in the beginning because of the language, food, and culture as all were different from mine.

Coming from this very simple catholic background, all I desired was to become a priest. Before entering the seminary, I did not know the difference between a religious priest and a secular priest. Only after entering the seminary only, I came to know the beauty of community life and religious life and then I felt happy with the choice I made. In addition, I started enjoying the fraternal life in common though was difficult at the beginning. Even now, sometimes, it is hard but always there is a beauty in it, joy and happiness is full.

Religious life is full of challenges and challenges are not new to religious life. Today the challenges are more and more characterized by astounding technological progress. We religious are called to live in this progress and still give a valid witness to Christ through our way of life. The religious institutions are facing a crisis, vocations to religious life decline continuously, and so do the numbers, religious men and women get old, religious houses and works are being closed, and the future is in danger. A vocation crisis is the result of a crisis of faith. So, our call today is to deepen our faith and be a joyful religious with a witnessing life.