| Rev. Binu Joseph, O. Praem. |
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"I am grateful for the hope and stability that my Norbertine Community has provided. I am also experiencing another part of the world, its varied cultures, its dry climate, the surrounding magnificent mountains, various food tastes, many remarkable new friends, so many interesting places to visit and, for the first time in my life, snow! It is exciting and fun!"
I was born on March 4, 1977, in Kanichar, Kerala, India. I am the third of six children; I have three sisters and two brothers.
India is a nation with a variety of cultures, languages, and a plurality of religions. On the southwest tip of this country is the small state of Kerala, “the land of coconuts” (kera – coconut, alam - land, in the local language). It is also nicknamed “God’s own country” due to its lush mountains and valleys, tropical climate
and variety of spices. Growing up I learned three languages: Malayalam, my mother tongue; Hindi, our national language; and English, which became my second language. After ordination I learned two additional languages to work in two south Indian states.
Over eighty percent of India’s population is Hindu. For this reason many Americans ask me how long I have been a Catholic. My usual answer is “many generations.” We firmly believe and have evidence that St. Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus, came to India in 52 A.D. and converted some Hindus to Christianity. Subsequently, missionaries from Syria, Persia and Portugal further evangelized my state of Kerala. Due to its Syrian background, the Church to which I belong is called the Syro-Malabar Church, one among the 21 Eastern Churches in union with Rome. (Malabar is the common name for the southwest region of India.)
I come from a traditional close-knit farming family. Our primary crops were rubber, cashews, and coconut. We helped our parents to lessen their burden of raising a large family. After school each day, we joined our parents
in nurturing the plants and harvesting the crops. Since we had similar experiences and goals in the family, we stayed together and built up strong relationships. In our culture it is usually the responsibility of the elder
children to take care of the younger, so we depended upon each other and learned from the elders. In addition, the presence of our paternal grandparents, who stayed with us until their death, also assisted us in our growing years. They explained to us the life stories of different people who succeeded in their lives, and inspired us with their thoughts on various occasions. As a family we also had common evening prayers and meals every day. These are some of the factors that helped us and still help us to maintain our family ties wherever we are.
From a very young age I was inspired by the lives and works of priests of our community. I was attracted even more to the priestly life when I attended an ordination in our parish during my high school studies. From that time on, I started to give serious thought to priestly life and ministry. After the school years, as it was a decisive time in my life, the Spirit moved me to decide to pursue priestly studies and I entered the Norbertine Order of Mananthavady, India in 1992.
On April 29, 1997, I made my first vowed commitment; subsequently, I learned three bachelor degrees in philosophy, theology, and arts. On June 6, 2003, I made my final commitment in the Order and was ordained a deacon on the following day. I was ordained a priest on January 2, 2004.
My first assignment after ordination was to a social work center of the Order called ECHO, in Bangalore. It is an
organization for the empowerment of children and for human rights. In a special way it deals with children who are in conflict with the law, and has its own programs to rehabilitate them. After five months of experience in this organization I started a new branch of it in the same city and continued to be its director until July, 2006. I very much enjoyed my ministry in this center and I am still proud to say that this center is the fruit of my hard
work, and through it many children found and continue to find hope in life. I also worked for tsunami relief. In fact, I was one of the few to reach the site of tsunami-hit coastal areas of Tamilnadu to work with the victims.
In September, 2006, I came to America on an invitation of the Albuquerque Community, and was appointed sacramental priest at Presbyterian Hospital in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. I also did a year of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in the same hospital, and now minister as a sacramental priest at Lovelace Medical Center and its surrounding satellite hospitals. Working in the hospital is stressful due to the difficult situations I face on most days in dealing with deeply emotional moments, but my CPE training has enhanced my skills for this ministry.
The strongest motivating factor in my life and ministry is one of my never forgotten childhood experiences and
the meaning I now see in it. It is my near drowning experience when I was an eight-year-old third grader. I can’t
call it anything other than the providence of God that a passerby pulled me from an unprotected well and back to
life. I had almost given up hope in the eighteen feet of water, but I woke up to consciousness and to “new life.” This experience makes me appreciate the value of life and inspires me to use this God-given new life to help others in their time of need.
Now I am in New Mexico and I try to live here and now. Being far from home, I sometimes miss my family back in India. This is where my religious Community comes in. The presence of my Norbertine brothers gives me a home in the USA by filling this missing-family gap. But I do go back home to Kerala once a year to see everyone. Upon my return home I always make sure I visit the social work center and the children with whom I feel such a strong emotional bond.
The food, climate and culture were the major initial adjustments for me. The members of Santa Maria de la Vid Priory have been most helpful to me in all the transitions. I am grateful for the hope and stability that my Norbertine Community has provided. I am also experiencing another part of the world, its varied cultures, its dry climate, the surrounding magnificent mountains, various food tastes, many remarkable new friends, so many interesting places to visit and, for the first time in my life, snow! It is exciting and fun! I am grateful to my Community back in India for sending me and thankful to the Community in Albuquerque for inviting me and welcoming me to a new home.