Of Divine Bondage: The Epic Life of St Joseph Vaz by Prof Oscar de Noronha published in 2014 by Third Millenium Press, Panjim, Goa is literally speaking a hagiography - in the best sense of the word.
A hagiography, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means a 'biography of saints or venerated persons' and this is what Noronha's book is all about. It is a book targeted at the believers and potential believers of the Saint. Obviously it is difficult to find a critical remark about the Blessed Fr Joseph Vaz in a book like this. There is no doubt that Noronha is a fervent believer in the power of his subject. He is one of those who testified to the 'miracle' that took place when his eldest son took ill with various complications but who after fervent prayers by the Noronhas to the Blessed Joseph Vaz recovered. It offers a narrative of the Blessed Fr Joseph Vaz's life, that is bound to be very timely when Pope Francis goes to Sri Lanka to canonize him on January 14, 2015. In fact if one looks at the title of the book Noronha has already canonized him, This is understandable for in a short time from now that's exactly what will be done. Of Divine Bondage covers Vaz's life from his childhood through to his ordination in 1676. He then went to South Kanara where he survived an assasination attempt after calling out << O Lord, my God, Deliver me!>> (Ps 116: 3-4). Throughout the book Noronha's prose is punctuated by apt quotations from the Bible. Later on he was to go to Ceylon as the island was then known as a missionary apprentice. There are accounts of the politics of the period and the conflicts between the Padroado and the Propoganda Church factions which often were to interfere in Fr Vaz's work among the poor. In the end he was to probably unite the factions with his humility. Fr Vaz was to do a lot of work especially during an epidemic of small pox which at that time was a deadly pestilence. There are accounts of various 'miracles' like for instance the one where a wild elephant came charging out of the jungle leading everyone to flee helter skelter, but on encountering Fr Vaz reading his breviary turned around meekly and trotted away. The book has a Forword by Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao and besides Noronha's account of Fr Vaz's life and the building up of the Church in Sri Lanka, there are 4 appendices to the book: 1) an interview with Fr Urbino Monteiro, Vice Postulator in the Cause of the Beatification of Fr Joseph Vaz; 2) an interview with Fr Eremito Rebello Vice Postulator in the Cause of the Canonization of Fr Joseph Vaz; 3) a chronology of the events in his life; 4) Documents relating to the testimony of Oscar de Noronha and Pravin Usapkar regarding the intervention of Ven Fr Joseph Vaz in their lives. 'Of Divine Bondage' is well designed for the purpose for which it is written and that is to propagate the messages and .story of the saint . The prose is crisp and simple and the book has 24 colour pages out of a total of 144 pages. The illustrations contain photographs of the places associated with Vaz; and paintings of major episodes in his life. If marketed well, 'Of Divine Bondage' can be sold in large numbers during and after the canonization of Blessed Fr Joseph Vaz.
