After making my decision to become a priest and after winding up all that I was doing in Chennai, I left for Bangalore to join the ICPE community and begin my formation to the priesthood. I joined the community on 3 June, 2006 and immediately began with my Philosophy studies at St. Peters Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore. I stayed with the community and attended classes’ everyday at the seminary. It was the beginning of a new way of life - living in community, studying, reaching out, making new friends and experiencing God’s ways of working in me in a very different and profound way.
Community
The ICPE community is officially known as The Institute for World Evangelisation - ICPE Mission. It is a Catholic Lay Missionary community founded in Malta in 1985, and now present in about 10 countries. It is recognized by the Vatican as an Association of Christ’s Faithful. It consists of families, single brothers and sisters who have given up their careers and have dedicated their lives full-time for Jesus. The ICPE communities worldwide are called to a life of Worship and Evangelisation.
The communal lifestyle lived out in the various Mission Centres is fundamental to God's call and invitation to come together as a people, to know Him and to make Him known. Members come together from all walks of life, states of life, nationalities and ages. The unifying factor is the common inner experience of living under the Lordship of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. The daily schedule ranges from times of prayer – community and personal, to preparation of meals, general house cleaning, and preparations for various pastoral and evangelistic projects.
Through my involvement with the Charismatic renewal I had already met quite a few of the community members, so it made my settling down in the community much faster. The initial days were about discovering the charism of the community, learning how the community functions and participating in the various activities of the community. Deep within I had a great Joy of being able to share a life with brothers and sisters of the community who had a great passion for the Lord.
Many have asked me of how I fit in as a priest within this community of lay missionaries. Yes, in order to become a priest one has to be part of a diocese, a religious congregation or a secular institute. We are none of them; therefore we have got into an association with a diocese in Ghana, Africa. The priests for the community will officially be incardinated (belong) to this diocese of Cape Coast in Ghana and according to the agreement with the Bishop of this diocese, we will be released from this diocese to work along with the ICPE Mission.
Philosophy Study
Everyday except for Thursday and Sunday, from 9 am to 12:30 pm I attended classes at St. Peters Pontifical seminary seminary along with two other brothers of the community.
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There were about 35 of us in total doing the philosophy course, consisting of seminarians and nuns, from congregations and various dioceses of South India. Classes were purely in lecture mode and it was very challenging for me initially, to get back and listen to lectures after a gap of 5 years. A lot of people warned me to be cautious and not to loose my faith studying Philosophy. I started the course with a little bit of skepticism but I soon discovered that philosophy was a basic foundation for theology. It is by reasoning and questioning that we will find the ultimate answer to all things which is God himself.
We had to study the whole gamut of philosophical schools, from ancient Greek and Indian Philosophy to postmodern thought. From a skeptical mind view I moved to be open and accepting and as I dwelled deeper, all the more my philosophy study led me to affirm the presence of the Supreme Being who to me is the Triune God in our Christian faith.
A philosopher who inspired me much was Pierre Teilhard de Chardin a Jesuit Philosopher of the early 1900’s. In his work The Divine Milieu he provides philosophical thought a link to traditional Christianity (as expressed in Baptism, The Cross and The Eucharist).
Some highlights were, a seminar presentation that I made on “Globalization in the postmodern world.” It made me reflect on today’s trends - a free economy, breaking down of borders and boundaries, shrinking of distances and differences, a developing multinational culture and the immeasurable effects of the information boom.
People have been swept over by this wave. I began to reflect on my call and its relevance in this changing world, how are we as Church going to cope up? How are we to make Christ known in this postmodern world of relativism? As the world talks about customization and subjectivism how are we going to hold on to traditional beliefs and teachings? I realized that a key reference point to faith would be ones own personal daily experience of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. All the more, I understood that i have to cling to Jesus – the way, the truth and the life.
Some Interesting elements at the seminary were the hierarchical and formal set up, the formal introductions to speeches with special mention to titles that each one held, the absence slip – a slip signed by the superior that had to be submitted to the professor on the day of absence, group discussions that would be held for the sake of breaking the monotony and certain professors who were favorites to be mimicked.
Other Commitments
In addition to study, there were many other commitments that kept me on my feet most of the time.
As a community, we were coordinating and preparing for our participation at the 2008 Sydney World Youth Day (WYD). ICPE members were going to be involved at various levels – organizing an International Youth Meet, our band “Revive” having a few performances, and youth groups from other countries joining us for the big event. There was a lot of planning, coordinating and communication to do, but it was all worth it, knowing what a WYD truly offers - an experience of a lifetime for many.
In addition I got involved with the parish and a college prayer group too; I always believed that ones parish is where one should find ones belonging; the Parish Youth Group aimed to help many migrant Catholic youth of the city find a belonging. Along with the clergy and a few committed youth, we initiated a Youth Mass every Sunday and came up with many more opportunities where youth could get actively involved with the Church. There was a good response and the youth of the parish were christened as “SPY” - St. Patricks Youth. SPY’s for the Lord. 
Another group that I got committed to was at St. Josephs Pre University College. This group was formed as a follow up to a retreat that we had organized for the Catholic students of the college. We met every Thursday afternoon for a time of prayer and sharing.
Some of its members joined us for the Yeshua Adonai meetings on Saturdays too. Involvement with all these groups meant that I had to meet with the leaders of each group separately an additional day of the week to pray and plan for the meeting in the coming week.
During these hectic times of study, ministry and community chores, the brother’s household of the community where I lived, was a haven to unwind. We often had some interesting moments of sharing, of uncontrolled laughter, of entertainment, of recreation and it was also a place where members of the youth group frequented.
During these 2 years, I grew much deeper, in an understanding of who God is and in my relationship with Him. All the more I came to an understanding that God is the source of all life and if I have to do anything meaningful, I have to turn to Him and seek His plan and direction for me. I grew in a desire to spend more time with Him, thanking Him, adoring Him, talking to Him about my daily experiences and above all listening to Him.
Each day he strengthened me and directed me forward. I had a great passion and desire for Him and to give my best in all that he directed me. Life was constantly filled with fullness and peace deep within in spite of some rough and tough times.
I finished my philosophy studies in March 2008 and was about to embark on an exciting year of travel, new encounters, experiences and as usual, trusting in the Awesome God that I have.
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