God's Trailblazer of Contextual Theology

The method of theologizing in India - in the contexts of religious and cultural pluralism combined with the social context in which the vast majority of the rural poor lives amidst urban super rich - has to be more and more inductive than deductive. It was Fr. Louis Malieckal who was the leading figure in giving the right direction to the contextualized and inductive theological education in central India after the Second Vatican Council. His leadership in evolving an alternative method of teaching and learning theology, based on what is called ‘action-reflection-action’ which demanded a real involvement and insertion in the life of the people, is now giving positive results. His efforts for the formation of a contextualized theology, liturgy and theological formation is slowly making an Indian face of Christianity visible for which he himself had become one of the prominent Indian Christian faces.

The articles in the present volume are witnesses to how a visionary with a sustained commitment can change the course of theological formation and thinking into a meaningful, relevant and contextualized enterprise. Moreover, this collection would be a ready reference for anyone interested in the inductive and contextualized theology.

Fr. Louis Malieckal CMI has broken new ground in Indian contextual theological thinking, especially in the contextual theological formation. His life unravels the story of a theological and experiential search, responding dynamically to the challenge of a constant dialogue with the religions and cultures of India. When Indian church was dominated by the western attitudes and modes of thought, Fr. Louis found ways to express the Christian faith in authentically Indian ways and categories. He was able to lead a life of samanvayam, i.e., integration of the best of East and West, of Hindu and Christian, of vison and life and of bhakti, jnana and karma.

It is said that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken. Fr. Louis Malieckal's name is spoken of frequently, since he has walked into the lives of many people and left his footprints deep and long. His life, legacy and contributions to Indian theology, particularly to contextual theology has made him shine like a morning star. He was a pioneer in the process of inspiring and initiating others to contextual theological thinking. The legacy and pioneering contributions of his creative mind will continue to inspire generations to come.

He was a hard worker who was willing to take up any challenge. Even in his retired life, he was passionately engaged in academic activities. He was engaged in writing articles and giving courses. Never had you to remind him about the deadline for completing any academic work. He was well ahead in submitting them. He had often pointed out the dictum from Bhagavad Gita, karmanye vaadikaraste, ma phaleshu kadanchana, you are entitled to doing work, but never to its fruits. Although, his unpublished articles were ready for publication in a book in January 2019 (and eventually published in March 2019), he had already written two more before he breathed his last in February 2019. We have included them in this book.

The present volume is a humble effort to keep burning the fire of the zeal lit by Fr. Louis. This book has been envisaged in five parts. All the articles in this commemorative volume is written by people who are closely associated with Fr. Louis. Although, there are many who wanted to pen down their appreciation and affection, we have selected only a few as we could not reach others in time.

Part one of this book is dedicated mostly to the tributes and messages from the animators of the CMI congregation, Archdiocese of Bhopal and his family members. We also present here his life story and his contributions in brief. His younger brother Francis fondly narrates his childhood memories and the early life of Fr. Louis, while his niece Annie gives a brief note on his paternal and maternal love. Besides the narratives by the family members and messages from his superiors, we have included in this part the account of his seminary life by Fr. Paul Kalluveettil and his life and contributions by Cyril Kuttiyanikkal.

**Contents and Sample Pages**