Kerala, the birthplace of Kuriaksoe Elias Chavara, is from the point of view of its geographical position, the joint gift of the ever-blue Arabian Sea on the west and the evergreen Western
Ghats on the east. Though very small in area among the states of the Indian Union, the picturesque variety of the landscape and the abundance of plant and animal life, invest this region
with a distinct personality. Kerala culture has been an integral part of the mainstream Indian culture. At the same time its special geographical position enabled Kerala to enjoy its own outlook, way of life, culture and institutions peculiar to itself. From ancient times Kerala emerged as the meeting ground of all Indian religions and philosophical systems as well as the most important world religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
On the Arabian coast at Kainakary in Kuttanadu, in the diocese of Changanaserry, Kerala, India Kuriakose Elias Chavara was born on February 10, 1805 as the sixth child of parents Kuriakose and Mariam. The Chavara family is believed to be the descendant of the Pakalomattam family, one of the four that claim descent from the time of St.Thomas at Palayur, central Kerala. He was baptized on 18 February and on 8th September 1805 the child Kuriakose was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Marian shrine in Vechoor.
At the age of five, he began his studies in the village school, called Kalari under a village master called Ashan. There he continued his studies until he was ten years old. Then Malpan Thomas Palackal invited him to his seminary at Pallipuram. Subsequently as he was too young he spent about two years in the parish rectory under the care of the zealous and loving parish priest. Here his parents also discerned his divine call. In the year 1818 he joined the Pallipuram seminary under the tutelage of Malpan Thomas Palackal. Not long after the tonsure he received, there was an epidemic in Kainakary and surroundings. His loving father, his good mother, and his only brother fell prey to the epidemic.
As there was no heir in the family, relatives compelled him to discontinue seminary life and comeback to the family. But he arranged the family affairs in such way that he could continue his priestly studies. On 29 November 1829, at the age of 24, Bishop Maurelius Stabilini, Vicar Apostolic of Verapoly ordained him priest at St. Andrew's Church, Artungal.
The general theme that runs through Chavara's thinking is the mystery of man in relation to God: the greatness of God the creator and the ungratefulness of man, the creature. This consciousness created in him great sorrow for sin. At the same time he recognized the great love and mercy of God, the Savior, whom he calls 'My Father'. This confidence in the Father gave him hope and solution for all his problems and for the problems of others.
In Jesus he realized the mercy of the Father, the greatest expression of God's love. The heart of Saint Chavara was a living abode of the three traditional virtues or ways (marga) of spiritual realization of India, such as Jnana (wisdom), Bhakthi (devotion/love) and Karma (action), very much promoted in the gospels and well extolled in the Bhagavad Gita.
Real Jnana (knowledge/wisdom) is realization. Blessed Chavara, acquiring sacred wisdom from the Holy Scriptures, was always on the way of realizing his Divine Guru, Jesus Christ through his contemplation. This led him to think about the greatness of God, and there he met Jesus in bhakthi (love/devotion) as his Father. In his deep Father-Child relationship with Jesus, Chavara identified the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of his fellow being and it led him to serve others with Niskama Karma (Selfless action or service).
Suffering is part of human life. When one accepts sufferings as a participation in the sufferings of Christ, it becomes conducive to his/her salvation and sanctification and partaker with Jesus for the salvation of others. When one accepts suffering with this vision, it becomes an experience of love.
Rheumatic fever, which Chavara contracted at a young age in his priestly career, was a constant companion of his till his death. Once in his apostolic activities he was affected by fever, so as to lose his senses for two days. He had to be carried in a palanquin to the nearby monastery. His legs were also affected by swelling which caused him severe pain now and then. For about three months prior to his death, his eyes were affected seriously and had acute pain. During that time he lost his vision completely. The medicines applied by doctors to regain his vision were also really painful though he never complained about it.
More than the bodily pains what could have affected him most were his mental sufferings. For example, when his loving parents stood in the way of his divine call in the beginning much more when his loving parents and the only brother died, prey to the epidemic in the region; when the family itself became an orphan by the death of his parents and brother. He also had a very humiliating experience from his own parishioners and parish priest, when the traditional official entry to the church after receiving the tonsure was denied due to certain misunderstanding.
The impediments that happened when the construction of the monastery had begun, impeding in a way the very project of the religious institute; when 2 priests 8 scholastics and one aspirant left the budding congregation on account of the hard rules imposed on it in 1855 by the apostolic vicar and missionaries, at the time of the first profession of the members; the schism that threatened the Malabar Church carrying off the great majority of the churches into schism, when the prominent people of the Church, like the Malpans, one after another left the mother Church and joined the schismatics; when the schismatics threatened to occupy by force the monasteries of Mannanam and Elthuruth etc, his sufferings should have been immense.
But his faith in the divine providence was never shaken. It was in the providence of God that he found refuge on all these occasions.