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BY LifeSiteNews.com This is the third and final report of LifeSiteNews.com Editor John-Henry Westen about the trip he, his wife and youngest child took to India. He was called to India on speaking engagements to promote openness to life. See part II of this report here: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06082304.htmlBy John-Henry WestenMy wife and I completed the stay at the Divine Retreat Centre with a tour of the incredible complex.ÂWhat we saw will remain with us for the rest of our lives.ÂNot only do those good priests at the Divine Retreat Centre run the largest Catholic retreat centre in the world, they also run a television station, a radio station, a printing and publishing facility, a Bible College, a farm with 250 head of cattle, a free tailoring school, an AIDS hospice, a school for orphans, a de-addiction centre, two homes for the aged, a refuge for widows and orphans, and a home for mentally ill patients. In addition to all this, they provide some 700 free meals a week to needy patients in nearby Government hospitals.The de-addiction centre is a government approved centre for the rehabilitation of drug addicts and alcoholics. The Centre welcomes nearly 150 persons weekly. It has nearly an 80% success rate.The Maria Santhi Bhavan Home for the aged is home to 100 female residents. The Divine Mercy Home is another home for the aged taking care of 40 men and women many of whom are bedridden and need total care. St. Mary’s Home, which was established in 1990, is a refuge to widows, abandoned wives and their children as well as orphaned children. There are 150 women and 300 children.ÂÂThe Divine Care Centre, is a complex which is home to nearly 450 mentally ill patients. The Centre expects to have 2,000 residents by 2007 - which will make it the largest home for the mentally ill in Asia.As we did not have much time, we visited only the farm, the AIDS hospice and the nearby orphanage school.ÂThe farm had an amazing variety of milking cattle, with one huge cow which provided 40 litres of milk per day. We were informed, however, that despite the great number of cattle, the farm did not produce enough milk to satisfy the retreat centre and its multitude of pilgrims so extra milk is purchased from local farmers. In addition to cattle, the farm raises pigs, foul, and fish. It also houses monkeys and dogs and other ‘pet’ animals which provide entertainment for the many children and visitors at the Centre.I happened to get a little too close to one of the monkey cages, and as I turned round to have my photo taken, the mischievous little rascal grabbed my shoulder. It made for a good laugh for my wife and the little party of volunteers giving us the tour.We went from there to the AIDS hospice called St. Vincent’s Home. It is a 100 bed care centre which was opened in 1997 and is currently home to 87 adults and 13 children. As we entered we were greeted by one of the nuns who cares for the patients there. Sister Celine (not sure if that was her name), brought us first to one of the rooms for the recently arrived patients - those still in relatively good health. While most of the patients arrive severely depressed, after a few weeks with the good sisters, experiencing their love and concern, and receiving expert medical care, they are at peace.The four patients we met were happy and cordial, and very eager to have their picture taken. I saw real happiness in their eyes despite their affliction. And in those eyes too, was a great respect and love for Sister Celine who was for them a mother, friend and caregiver, an antidote to all those who had made them feel like outcasts.Upstairs, in the women’s quarters, Sister Celine brought us to where a dozen women were praying in a chapel. They were singing together and praying, these women, all of whom, Sister Celine informed us, were infected by their husbands.We also visited two male patients who were in the final stages of AIDS. Their bodies ravaged by the dreaded disease, the two men lay in cots close to one another. They did not speak, but attempted a smile as I greeted them. Their emaciated bodies and bandaged sores did not repulse the youthful Sister Celine who ministered to them as if she was serving her own ailing father.The grounds of the AIDS hospice are truly beautiful and in the evenings many of the residents choose to do some gardening. The spiritual life in the hospice is alive and well. The cafeteria and food fare are simple but plentiful.But by far, the most moving part of this visit was the thirteen children, who Sister Celine affectionately refers to as “my children”. All but two of them have AIDS, and the two children who do not have the disease are there because their mothers have it and they have nowhere else to turn.The children were not present in the hospice at the time but next door at the orphanage school, where they played with other orphans. The playground was full of beautiful children, playing and laughing, none fighting, swinging, running, jumping, and - when they noticed me - posing for the camera. They were all wearing clean and tidy and very handsome uniforms. All of them in light red chequered short-sleeve button-ups with the girls wearing dark-red jumpers, and boys dark-red shorts.“Those are my children,” said Sister Celine indicating a group of a dozen or so children in the orphanage school. They were grouped together, with the same smiles, and joyous play all the others in the large play yard exhibited. One of the AIDS-infected children, a girl of not more than 8, I was told was a very talented little girl able to read, write, to dance and do fine art.Our time at the Divine Retreat Centre had come to an end. We bade good-byes to our hosts and took our leave with memories to cherish for years to come.From there we were off for a short stay at a beautiful resort in the mountain region of Mavady. After our arrival at the resort and cordial greetings from the gracious hosts we went to the top of one of the mountains to visit a monastery.ÂWhat a gorgeous view! Breath-taking! Mountains some up to 6000 ft. high, but still topped by lush green.ÂOur stay at the resort was short lived as I became ill that very night. The same night we had learned that our home town in Canada had been hit, for the first time in recorded history, by tornadoes.The illness struck around 3am leaving me nauseous and then violently ill. With the immense heat I was getting concerned about dehydration as I could not even keep down my own saliva. At about 10am I was taken to hospital. There I remained connected to an IV bag but still violently ill. The illness continued without respite till after midnight.ÂDianne went with me to hospital but left after a few hours as she had to tend to our baby Lucas. She returned to the resort - dining alone and feeling quite out of place, far away from home, with her husband in hospital and her home town having been hit by tornadoes. At 10pm she called the hospital hoping to find me all better, but instead learned I was not yet over the worst. She called the Divine Centre for prayer support and tried to sleep. She informs me however that it was no easy task given her many worries. She prayed.The following day I was released from hospital in the late afternoon and we decided that we had better ready ourselves for our return flight two days hence. Thus we did not return to the resort but spent another couple of days with my relatives who had welcomed us to India.Our flight home was uneventful, except that in Toronto we found our stroller had not accompanied us. Upon our arrival home we found that, although our town had been ravaged by the tornadoes, our home and property had been completely spared.Our reunion with our children was delightful, especially watching how Lucas was overjoyed to be united with his siblings. They were full of stories about their adventures, beginning with the tornado chronicles.It was only after we arrived home that we realized that while I was in India giving talks on openness to life, with the agreement of the Indian Bishops Conference, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil had prepared a pastoral letter to call on Catholics to have more children.ÂAt the conclusion of the week I had spoken to those thousands of Indian couples and youth about openness to life, they heard the message again from their Cardinal Archbishop at all Sunday Masses.As the missionaries of old used to say: Omnia Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! (All for the greater glory of God!)To support the work of the Divine Retreat Centre visit:http://www.drcm.org/dvineretreat/generalinfo/topics.asp?topic=Charitable%20Trust%20-%20Helping%20Us%20-%20Overseas%20CurrenciesSee the Divine Centre’s website here:http://www.drcm.orgRelated LifeSiteNews.com coverage:Mission India: LifeSiteNews.com’s Journey to India Part 1: The call and the journeyhttp://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06081803.htmlLifeSiteNews.com’s Mission India Part II: A New Openness to Lifehttp://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06082304.htmlIndian Cardinal Warns Catholics it is Sinful to Refuse God’s Gift of Children Without Grave Reasonshttp://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06081502.htmlÂIndian Catholic Prelate Sees Faith in India Drying Up Within 20 Yearshttp://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06081601.htmlÂÂIndia Pro-Life Leader Explains How West Hurts India with Imposed Population Controlhttp://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06081701.html http://www.lifesitenews.com/resources/lifesitenewscoms-mission-india-part-iii-the-divine-and-the-journey-home/

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