CJNL - 616 August 2013 2013/06

FROM PROVINCIAL'S DESK

The 15 year old Raziya Sultana's story is a story that spontaneously evokes in all of us admiration for her and for the noble and courageous deeds she has been carrying out in her little village, Nangalkhumba, near Meerut, in UP. I consider her and others like her 'Real Patriots and Freedom Fighters' of our time. Hers is a living story that needs to be retold many times. You will agree with me that our mother land needs more such daring Raziyas who will actually help translate the freedoms enshrined in and guaranteed by the Indian Constitutions into a reality, particularly in the lives of over 12 million children below the age of 14, who are forcedly engaged in domestic works, stone quarries, embroidery units, mining, carpet-weaving, tea stalls, restaurants, hotels and also in child prostitution across India.

12 July 2013, now known as Malala Day globally, saw this class XII teenager climb the UN podium in New York to receive the United Nations' Special Envoy for Global Education's Youth Courage Award for Education. The award was given in recognition of Raziya's efforts to help liberate 48 children from child labour bondage and motivate them to go to school. That day, the world

learnt about this former child labourer, Raziya's struggle and courage as she recounted her tale to youth delegates from across the world.

It took Raziya two years to break the shackles of child labour. Later, a bal panchayat was formed in the village and Raziya was elected its head. She went on to

become a leader of the National Children's Parliament. Little Raziya began campaigning in the village for children's education and their rights. A flurry of complaints by villagers to her father followed. Villagers complained that Raziya was a bad influence on their children. But Raziya was indomitable in her spirit and unstoppable in her mission against child labour and illiteracy. She carried out a door to door campaign to fight child labour and promote child education instead. A student though she is, Raziya is a leader and a liberator in her own right. A freedom fighter in our midst ! On 15 August, Independence Day, the Tricolor will once again

thflutter atop flag posts all across India and this will happen for the 67 time in the history of the Independent India; we will celebrate our freedom, even as our 12 million little brothers and sisters face no option but toil under the yoke of bonded labour in today's labour markets. - Fr. Jeyaraj Veluswamy

PROVINCIAL'S PROGRAMME

August 201301 – 03 : Visitation : Xavier Sadan06 – 07 : CONSULT09 – 10 : Visitation : Shanti Nir - Kalahrdaya10 : Feast of St. Lawrence21 – 27 : Visitation : KGP 23 : Consult at Archbishop's House

28 : Live in Groups Animators' Meet29 : Velankanni Novena/Flag hoisting, St Joseph Chapel31 : St. Xavier's Kolkata Visitation Starts

September 2013

01 – 11 : Visitation : St Xavier's, Kolkata09 : JESA meeting12 : Jubilee Mass, Sisters of Charity13 – 14 : CONSULT15 : CRI Meet at Raiganj21 – 22 : MSMHC Sisters' Animation26 – 29 : Visitation : Chamrusai

APPOINTMENTS

Fr. Peter Durajraj - Director of Apostleship of Prayer Bishop Cyprian Monis has appointed Fr. K.C.Jacob, President of the GB of Asansol Diocesan Schools.

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Calcutta Jesuit Newsletter August 20132

CALCUTTA JESUITS :: NEWS & VIEWS

SANTAL EDUCATIONAL APOSTOLATE

The Santal Educational Apostolate of our Province organized an on-going teachers training programme for all the teaching staff of our Santal Missions. 40 participants attended the programme at Namchi Loyola College, Sikkim. Fr. Amulya who conducted the programme with other resources persons helped our teachers to learn new techniques of teaching primary level students through rhymes, action songs and through creative and reflective method of teaching.

The ten days programme was intended to be an exposure cum educational programme for our teachers. It gave an opportunity to our teachers to pay a visit to Nepal, Sikkim and Darjeeling. The program was conceived by Fr Amulya who felt the need to give such an experiential training to our teachers. Thanks to Fr. Amulya for his tireless efforts to give much needed quality training to our teachers.

We thank the superior and the other community members of Loyolya College, Namchi for their hospitality, love and care for our teachers and looking after us like one family.

- Fr. Tom Varghese

Fr. General has suppressed the independent Region of Cuba and integrated all the members, houses and works of this Region into the Province of Antillas. He has also suppressed the Region of Maghreb, which was dependent on the Province of France, and integrated it into the Province of the Near East. The Provincial offices of Northern Belgium ( BSE ) and the Netherlands ( NER ) have been moved to one place in Brusssels. The headquarters of the Conference of Provincials of Latin America ( CPAL ) has started functioning from its new location in Lima.

CURIA, ROME

ST. XAVIER'S, BURDWAN

St. Xavier's School Burdwan celebrated its School Edu-Fest on July 25-27. The inauguration programme began with Dr. Subhash Chandra Nandi, Principal of Raj College, Burdwan, lighting the lamp along with Fr. Paul Arockiam, Fr. Jimmy Keepuram, Br. C. Hembrom and Sr. Monica Kachhap, SCJM.

I.S.C. English department arranged two programmes; 1. Seminar on 'Indian writing in English', where students highlighted the role of some Indian writers, writing in English. The seminar papers were informative, analytical and the presentation was also very compact and interesting ; 2. A 'Spell-Bee' contest, which was a big

hit among the students of class XI and XII. The participants as well as the audience enjoyed the spelling contest held in Xavier hall.

The English Edu-Fest was brilliantly conceived and executed. It started with a speech based on “ The importance of the English language”, then an exciting Quiz competition was held, namely 'Word Buzz', where four groups performed. There was also a knowledgeable seminar where the students of classes 7A and 7B participated and spoke about very

thinteresting topics. On 27 there was an exhibition prepared by students with the help of teachers and it ended with the vote of thanks by Fr. Paul Arockiam, the Principal.

The St. Ignatius Novena ended

on July 28 in St. Xavier's Hostel with the Mass, followed by a fellowship lunch, in which the community members joined the hostel boys. In the evening there was a short programme for the hostellers. On July 30 there was a solemn Feast Day Mass for all the catholic students in the community chapel. The Mass was presided over by Fr. Jimmy. In his homily he highlighted the Ignatian 'magis'. After the Mass the feast day cake was cut and distributed to all. It was also the day for the community to welcome many neighbors to share the feast. At 7.15 p.m there was a small prayer service followed by a fellowship meal prepared by the Minister, Fr. Jimmy and his staff members.

- Sch. Patrick Bara

CHRISTO SEVA ASHRAM, KALNA

The month has been really taxing for the two of us in Kalna after the new appointments. We are trying to work together in our responsibilities in the mission. When one is out of the community or sick, the work load on the other increases much as he has to look after the parish, village masses, the boarding, the computer center, etc. We are trying hard to carry forward the various activities that have been planned for the Jubilee year 2013.

On July 17 we had a KGP meet in Gurap. All the members were present and had a very prayerful sharing of our KGP community experiences. There were cordial exchange of views and understanding between new and old members of the community. The meeting began with the Eucharistic celebration, which was presided over by Fr. Devasy. Every c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r o f K G P experienced the hospitality and enjoyed the sumptuous meal that was served.

On July 20 there was an

awakening program/seminar for the catechists and for the village leaders of KGP mission in Kalna. The theme of the seminar was “The role of the laity in the church.” 45 members from different places participated and profited much and promised to help the church communities to grow.

The novena prayers are going on and they help us to prepare spiritually for the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola on July 31. We receive a good response from the people for the spiritual activities in the mission.

- Fr. Sebastian XalxoPDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor

Calcutta Jesuit Newsletter August 2013 3

PREMANANDA ASHRAM, CHAMRUSAI

On 1 April Fr. K. Thottam bade farewel l to Chamrusai Premananda Ashram and proceeded for a well earned sabbatical to the Holy Land, America and Canada. During the Easter Octave Fr. Dipak Gomes initiated the house blessing of the catholic families of St. Ignatius Parish. Fr. Markus Hembrom, the newly appointed curate and assistant director of Ashram Premananda joined the community on 6 June and was ceremoniously welcomed on S u n d a y , 9 J u n e d u r i n g a concelebrated high Mass. He is already actively participating in the parish BCC programmes in the

villages. He is also familiarizing himself with the Ashram and the school activities

During the summer holidays, Fr. P. Johnson led his school teaching staff for an ongoing evaluation programme at Namchi from 13 - 25 June.

Sunday, 7 July was a red letter day for us. The school band and the parish ladies welcomed Archbishop Thomas D'Souza with music and dance for the installation ceremony of Fr. Dipak as new parish priest of St. Ignatius Church. The Archbishop also confer red the Sacrament o f Confirmation on some 58 young and adult members in the presence of the Dean, Fr. Shyamcharan Mandi, Fr. Tapan Gomes and a large number of

parishioners and invited Fathers, Brothers and Sisters. In the evening the Archbishop offered a Nepali Mass at Salua and also confirmed some 12 young and adult members. Paul Hembrom, a student from the parish, did excellently in Class XII Board exams and joined the pre-Novitiate at Barasat.

A novena to St. Ignatius began from 22 July and was conducted in Santali and Bengali on alternate days in preparation for the parish feast day.

Premananda Ashram has been selected by the West Bengal Government to run the sputum collection centre for TB patients in West Medinipur district.

- Fr. Markus Hembrom & Fr. Dipak Gomes

DHYAN ASHRAM, KONCHOWKI

After the excitement of June with all the retreats and vows celebrations, July was time to settle down. Our newly vowed brothers moved into the Juniorate for a year of solid training in languages and humanities. Though the buildings are just a few yards apart, the difference in the pace of life is measured in light years. The fourteen Juniors from four different novitiates have learned to work together. The classes are in full swing.

On 6 July they went on a pilgrimage to Bandel to seek the

blessings of Our Lady. Fr Gerry, the minister of the Juniorate, returned to Dhyan Ashram on 7 July after a long holiday. Some days later we were delighted to welcome Fr. Pierre Jacob, the Spiritual Father of the Juniors, to be on our permanent staff. Fr. Maria Joseph, the Dean of the Juniorate, is straining his nerves to make the Juniors computer literate.

In the meantime, things are happening slowly in the novitiate. At the end of the first probation, three new novices were welcomed officially to the novitiate community on 3 July, the feast of St. Thomas. The second year novices, also three, are training

them in the nitty gritty of our life. Listening to the book, 'Ah these Jesuits' during meals is surely a great help. It is a small group, but there surely is a lot of life in them. You can't pass by the 'Red Building' without listening to some strains of music ( if it is time for recreation ). These days all are busy preparing for the celebration of St Ignatius Loyola.

Fr. Peter Samikannu is busy directing 14 sisters from different congregations on a 30-day retreat. There were also other groups for shorter programmes and some individuals for shorter retreats.

- Fr. Sajeev Painunkal

VIDYAJYOTI, DELHI

Vidyajyoti has a rich tradition. Thus from day one we began to enjoy the richness of the community and its members. Our three first year brothers Anburaj, Jinesh Sebastian and Sahaya Jude were well introduced and instructed through a week long orientation to life in Vidyajyoti community and the study of theology. Narendra Singh, our second year, Jeyakumar and Alphonse, the new comers for third

year, reached Vidyajyoti on July 5 to continue their studies in theology.

We, a total of 81 Scholastics, 17 Priests and 2 Brothers of VJ community, began our one day community orientation on July 6. The next day was the day of academic orientation. Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi presided over the inaugural Eucharist and explained the theme of the academic year “Dare to Dream”. With inspiring inputs we are enriched and encouraged to begin the academic journey daring to dream big. In order

to strengthen the union among scholastics we had a day long faith sharing on July 20. The new comers had one day of Delhi darshan. Each living group came out with creative themes to conduct the Novena in honour of our founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Fr. Poulose Mangai conducted a two-day seminar for Salesian Rectors and Leaders. Sch. Narendra successfully completed his term in the kitchen.

- Sch. Alphonse A

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Calcutta Jesuit Newsletter4 August 2013

ST. ALOYSIUS COLLEGE, MANGALORE

It is nice to be back to college life again at Mangalore with the Aloysius community members. After the second semester exams I spent two full holiday months ( May-July ) in Chennai as part of my course requirements. I went for 8 weeks internship to Makkal T.V. and The Hindu newspaper in Chennai. These helped me to know the field better.

Staying at Loyola College, Chennai, was a nice experience and helped me to keep in touch with our Calcutta scholastics.

We, the PG scholastics have started our classes on 8 July. All of us have fared well with good marks in exams but hoping to increase the possibility of scoring more in the coming semester exams. Choosing broadcasting as specialization in the third semester, I am on my toes with a lot of work like script writing, editing

and shooting for V4 channel. S t . A l o y s i u s C o l l e g e

Community has got a new rector, Fr. Denzil Lobo, and two new priests. Everyone is hoping for many changes at Aloysius campus with his arrival. The exciting “Rain Contest” makes us to be accurate in measuring rain every day. The winners will be awarded on the Feast of St. Ignatius. Preparation for the feast is on and we are looking forward to it celebratingmeaningfully.

- Sch. L. R. Arun

Jesuits on China Visit

St.Francis Xavier Chapel on Sancian Island facing Mainland China

the Holy Spot on Sancian Island where St Francis Xavier died

The Province Retreat of 2013 will

be directed by Fr. Julian

Fernandes, SJ ( KHM ) from

11 to 19 October at Dhyan

Ashram, Konchowki. All in the

Province are expected to be

present. If you have good reasons

to be absent kindly contact Fr.

Provincial to be excused.

GONE TO THEIR REST

Fr. Thomas C. Kuriacose ( SRI, 93/69 ) on 07.07.13. Br. Aloysius Macwan ( GUJ, 78/53 ) on 22.07.13Br. Pascal Tigga ( MAP, 82/58) on 26.07.13 Fr. George Hess ( JAM, 94/76 ) on 30.07.13 Fr. C.P.Varkey Chalissery ( KER, 84/65 ) on 01.08.2013 Mr. Joseph Savarimuthu ( 52 ), eldest brother of Fr. Xavier Savarimuthu, SJ on 30.07.13 Mr. Selvaraj ( 72 ) elder brother of Br. Christuraj, SJ on 03.08.13.

NEW MOBILE NUMBER

Fr. Mathew Jayanth : 9051254756

LEFT THE NOVITIATE

Saren Sungod on 26.06.2013Mantry Anuranjan on 03.07.2013

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Photos from Fr.Provincial's

Visit to China / Sancian Island

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