MAGIS is the Latin word meaning 'more'. This event was organized by the Jesuit priests with the idea of allowing youth to explore, to go out of their comfort zone and work. Their aim was to let them experience the joy of helping others, the satisfaction of seeing a smile on a street child's face and to truly live for what Christ lived for.
This year, MAGIS was held from the 9th to the 12th of April in Chakala, Andheri. The participants were mainly youth, and AICUFers from St.Xavier's and St.Andrews actively participated in both the organization and the activities of this camp. The participants were divided into groups and were given certain responsibilities that they all fulfilled splendidly. There were sharing sessions, called the "Magis Circle" through which everyone got to know each other very well. Shared here are some of the experiences of our fellow AICUFers:
"Magis 2015 came as a package full of surprises. If the Holy Family Parish, Andheri hadn't invited AICUF, I wouldn't have had the chance of being a part of something as big as Magis. The motto for everyone was 'launching into the deep'.
On another other day, our group was taken to the slums of Dharavi. We were promised to be taken to visit individual houses but we all were disappointed when that didn't happen. However, we got the privilege of visiting the chapels and learning more about the leather factories. The youth of the parishes around Dharavi took us around the area. We got to see the initial processes undertaken in the making of leather. Finally, we got to see the finished leather products at the outlet showrooms as well. This brought to light the fact that the man who does the most menial and dirty job of tanning is left with no profits while the man who merely sells the finished products pockets all the profits. We also got to see the grounds where Holi was celebrated by the Koliwada village. Over there we learnt how the entire village comes together not only to celebrate Holi but also the various other festivals together, as one community. Another interesting observation made by us as we passed through the various lanes of Dharavi was that we never found any beggars. Even though it is known as Asia's largest slum and in spite of being hit by poverty, these people choose not to resort to begging and instead indulge themselves in any kind of job be it white or blue collar jobs."-Annabelle
"Magis 2015 was something very special to me. It taught me spirituality through service. I realized that the world is bruised badly. And to heal this bruised world I've got to heal myself first. The moments of revelation we experienced were best felt when reflected upon and shared at the Magis Circle. Fun is definitely needed and recreation during this event was crucial to break the ice. Gospel rock bands taught us that when you sing for God you pray twice but if you dance, sing, shout and praise God the blessings that flow are much more in abundance. We all are thankful for this amazing event and Magis now has just begun for each one of us. We are pilgrims on our way."-Aaron
" Magis has given an amazing start to a journey which leads us to go deeper and closer to what god wants us to be. "Launch out into the deep" being the theme of this year's magis gave us an insight to what exactly we want in our life. Are we happy with the basic and ordinary life or do we want to do something extraordinary and experience life at its fullest. Magis means more and that's what we are supposed to do. Going in for that extra mile and putting our heart and soul in it."-Hazel
" Magis means a lot to me. Magis 2015 was a huge success for the second time in the Holy Family church. The concept of Magis this year was what I liked the most. There were advantages, but there are also disadvantages. The biggest advantage was that we got to experience lot of things this time. Going to Dharavi and exploring the whole place, getting to know about the factories there, the people and their lifestyle, etc. was really enlightening and enjoyable. The second day cleaning adventure that we had with the BMC was fun. We had the pleasure of cleaning the streets and the happiness of seeing it clean. The most touching part was the happiness on people's faces around us, on seeing the church so clean. Then there was the Magis Circle where the whole group came together as one family and shared their experiences with each other, the quiz time, the gospel bands, sleeping sleeping with our group of friends and finally the Eucharist. The few setbacks that weren't really major but were still felt were the food, the accommodation, which a lot of people compared to last time's, and the amount of time for us to rest(in a way it was a really good thing!). But over all this year Magis was a good success and I can't wait for it to come next year!."-Frank
"Magis for me was not just an experience, it was a very new way of living life that I learnt. To go beyond my own limits and do MORE. I learnt how to find joy in doing simple things like spreading awareness about doing the right thing, helping someone in their hour of need, encountering the street kids and interacting with them. Along with experience and lots of memories, I will take back the new human in me that I have discovered through Magis"-Sandra
" My Magis experience was nothing short of beautiful. I loved the Magis Circle, which basically got people closer in the group and also the 1 on 1 session where two people just sat and started talking and getting to know each other in a much better way.
I was touched when a street kid who was selling flowers at the signal went and bought cold water for me when we had to spread awareness about the noise caused by horns, wastage of fuel and the importance of wearing helmets and seat belts. She couldn't talk so her younger sister explained to me how she found me sweet even though she didn't know me. Many a times we don't care about people whom we know but that girl, who didn't owe me anything, cared. With this gesture, I realized how good it feels to be cared. After interacting with these street children, we all learnt how important it is to treat people equally because money or position doesn't matter but behavior does.
There was a group member who had a leg problem and yet she still walked all the way from the Holy Family church, Andheri till Mount Mary church, Bandra! She never complained or let it affect the journey but kept walking slowly and steadily. Today she has a leg infection, and she still doesn't regret it. It makes us think about the times we have easily given up in our daily lives because she felt the happiest and the most accomplished when we reached our destination. The fruits of hard work are truly sweet.
I had a humbling time with all the experiences where we had to shower love on people we would normally be afraid to even be with. We put ourselves in an uncomfortable position and became comfortable with it! We actually fed the physically and mentally challenged youngsters at the charity home in Versova, Andheri. This kind of change is what is so marvelous about Magis,
Another lovely experience we had was when we visited the Holy shrines of different religions ; a mosque, a Jain temple and a Gurdwara. This gave us the opportunity to learn about their religions, to respect them and value their teachings.
This year, MAGIS was held from the 9th to the 12th of April in Chakala, Andheri. The participants were mainly youth, and AICUFers from St.Xavier's and St.Andrews actively participated in both the organization and the activities of this camp. The participants were divided into groups and were given certain responsibilities that they all fulfilled splendidly. There were sharing sessions, called the "Magis Circle" through which everyone got to know each other very well. Shared here are some of the experiences of our fellow AICUFers:
"Magis 2015 came as a package full of surprises. If the Holy Family Parish, Andheri hadn't invited AICUF, I wouldn't have had the chance of being a part of something as big as Magis. The motto for everyone was 'launching into the deep'.
My group was called 'Two for Tango' and as part of the Anubhav was given the Swacchata(cleaning) task. We were provided with gloves, masks, dust pans and even brooms. It was then we realized how difficult the same task was for our BMC sweepers. We managed to clean the whole of Sant Tukaram Umble park in a couple of hours. After battling with the sun and the non-cooperative brooms, we somehow completed our task with sighs of relief. The people from the slums near the park extended their hospitality towards us by giving us water to drink. To add to that, our team moderator, Aunty Christine rewarded us with Pepsi. That day we not only developed sympathy towards the BMC sweepers who help in clearing our waste and then at the end of it are paid peanuts, but also realised how important it is to throw waste into the bins. The whole experience was fun filled, tiring as well as educative.On another other day, our group was taken to the slums of Dharavi. We were promised to be taken to visit individual houses but we all were disappointed when that didn't happen. However, we got the privilege of visiting the chapels and learning more about the leather factories. The youth of the parishes around Dharavi took us around the area. We got to see the initial processes undertaken in the making of leather. Finally, we got to see the finished leather products at the outlet showrooms as well. This brought to light the fact that the man who does the most menial and dirty job of tanning is left with no profits while the man who merely sells the finished products pockets all the profits. We also got to see the grounds where Holi was celebrated by the Koliwada village. Over there we learnt how the entire village comes together not only to celebrate Holi but also the various other festivals together, as one community. Another interesting observation made by us as we passed through the various lanes of Dharavi was that we never found any beggars. Even though it is known as Asia's largest slum and in spite of being hit by poverty, these people choose not to resort to begging and instead indulge themselves in any kind of job be it white or blue collar jobs."-Annabelle
"Magis 2015 was something very special to me. It taught me spirituality through service. I realized that the world is bruised badly. And to heal this bruised world I've got to heal myself first. The moments of revelation we experienced were best felt when reflected upon and shared at the Magis Circle. Fun is definitely needed and recreation during this event was crucial to break the ice. Gospel rock bands taught us that when you sing for God you pray twice but if you dance, sing, shout and praise God the blessings that flow are much more in abundance. We all are thankful for this amazing event and Magis now has just begun for each one of us. We are pilgrims on our way."-Aaron
" Magis has given an amazing start to a journey which leads us to go deeper and closer to what god wants us to be. "Launch out into the deep" being the theme of this year's magis gave us an insight to what exactly we want in our life. Are we happy with the basic and ordinary life or do we want to do something extraordinary and experience life at its fullest. Magis means more and that's what we are supposed to do. Going in for that extra mile and putting our heart and soul in it."-Hazel
" Magis means a lot to me. Magis 2015 was a huge success for the second time in the Holy Family church. The concept of Magis this year was what I liked the most. There were advantages, but there are also disadvantages. The biggest advantage was that we got to experience lot of things this time. Going to Dharavi and exploring the whole place, getting to know about the factories there, the people and their lifestyle, etc. was really enlightening and enjoyable. The second day cleaning adventure that we had with the BMC was fun. We had the pleasure of cleaning the streets and the happiness of seeing it clean. The most touching part was the happiness on people's faces around us, on seeing the church so clean. Then there was the Magis Circle where the whole group came together as one family and shared their experiences with each other, the quiz time, the gospel bands, sleeping sleeping with our group of friends and finally the Eucharist. The few setbacks that weren't really major but were still felt were the food, the accommodation, which a lot of people compared to last time's, and the amount of time for us to rest(in a way it was a really good thing!). But over all this year Magis was a good success and I can't wait for it to come next year!."-Frank
"Magis for me was not just an experience, it was a very new way of living life that I learnt. To go beyond my own limits and do MORE. I learnt how to find joy in doing simple things like spreading awareness about doing the right thing, helping someone in their hour of need, encountering the street kids and interacting with them. Along with experience and lots of memories, I will take back the new human in me that I have discovered through Magis"-Sandra
" My Magis experience was nothing short of beautiful. I loved the Magis Circle, which basically got people closer in the group and also the 1 on 1 session where two people just sat and started talking and getting to know each other in a much better way.
I was touched when a street kid who was selling flowers at the signal went and bought cold water for me when we had to spread awareness about the noise caused by horns, wastage of fuel and the importance of wearing helmets and seat belts. She couldn't talk so her younger sister explained to me how she found me sweet even though she didn't know me. Many a times we don't care about people whom we know but that girl, who didn't owe me anything, cared. With this gesture, I realized how good it feels to be cared. After interacting with these street children, we all learnt how important it is to treat people equally because money or position doesn't matter but behavior does.
There was a group member who had a leg problem and yet she still walked all the way from the Holy Family church, Andheri till Mount Mary church, Bandra! She never complained or let it affect the journey but kept walking slowly and steadily. Today she has a leg infection, and she still doesn't regret it. It makes us think about the times we have easily given up in our daily lives because she felt the happiest and the most accomplished when we reached our destination. The fruits of hard work are truly sweet.
Also my group members set a very good example which can be applied in our own lives; As we walked we kept waiting for the others who were walking behind slowly. It teaches us that we shouldn't be so fast in our own lives that we forget about people around us who we leave behind. We need to support each other in every step in our lives.
All the groups were allotted to set up food counters and every person had to wash his/her own plate. No one cribbed about it, something that made me feel really good about all of us. The atmosphere was positive and there was a lot of learning. Can't wait for next year!"-Natasha
" I am indeed grateful to have gotten the opportunity to attend another Magis this year at the Holy Family Church Andheri, meeting new youngsters in its vicinity and few from far off. I am indeed blessed to serve the Catholic Church and also the beautiful event Magis. I shall do anything for Christ.
I had a humbling time with all the experiences where we had to shower love on people we would normally be afraid to even be with. We put ourselves in an uncomfortable position and became comfortable with it! We actually fed the physically and mentally challenged youngsters at the charity home in Versova, Andheri. This kind of change is what is so marvelous about Magis,
Another lovely experience we had was when we visited the Holy shrines of different religions ; a mosque, a Jain temple and a Gurdwara. This gave us the opportunity to learn about their religions, to respect them and value their teachings.
I am thankful for being a part of such an event. Looking forward for Magis 2016!"-Allwin
Keep a look out for pictures! Coming soon....
Keep a look out for pictures! Coming soon....
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