MISSIONARIES OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALESSouth-East India Province

MSFS Provincialate

Kunnathur PostPudukkottai (Dt) - 621 316

Tamilnadu, S. India Ph: 0431 – 2680521 2680522

Email: provincialsoutheastmsfs@gmail.comprovincialsecretarysoutheast@gmail.com

My Dear Confreres,

Fraternal greetings to each one of you in the name of the Lord!

“Say the Rosary everyday…Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for

sinners…I’m Our Lady of the Rosary.

Only I will be able to help you.… In the end My Immaculate Heart will

triumph.”

- Our Lady of Fatima

The Word of God has power to touch the lives of ordinary people through solid piety and

authentic devotion to the living Word. It deals with the living communities of faith, which

have handed down the message to us, a message that keeps our community of faith alive. For

many people who do not have the luxury, privilege, money, time or perhaps desire to delve

into serious scripture studies, their only encounter with the Word of God might be through

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the liturgy or popular piety and devotion. And one beautiful way of encountering the Word of

God is through the Rosary.

From the Annunciation to Pentecost, Mary appears as a woman completely open to the

will of God. She is the Immaculate Conception, the one whom God made “full of grace”

(Lk1:28) and unconditionally docile to His Word (Lk 1:38). A Virgin ever attentive to God’s

Word, she lives completely attuned to that Word, and treasures in her heart the events of her

Son, piercing them together as if in a single mosaic (Lk 2:19,51).

Every year, in the month of October, we, the Catholics, specially honour the Word of God

through Mary by praying the Holy Rosary, which if used with confidence, we will be amazed

at the results, says St. Josemaria Escriva. We also celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Rosary

on 7th October. Known for several centuries by the alternate title of “Our Lady of Victory”,

the feast day takes place in honour of a 16 th century naval victory which secured Europe

against Turkish invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the

Blessed Virgin Mary, who was invoked on the day of the battle through a campaign to pray

the Rosary throughout Europe.

In modern times, successive Popes have urged the faithful to pray the Rosary. Pope Leo

XIII says, “The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means

of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is

no more excellent way of praying than praying the Rosary.” It is a form of contemplative

prayer, mental and vocal prayer, which brings down God’s Blessing on the Church. It is a

biblically inspired prayer centred on meditation on the salvific mysteries of Christ in union

with Mary, who was so closely associated with her Son in His redeeming activity.

The Rosary is christocentric, setting forth the entire life of Jesus Christ, His passion,

death, resurrection and glory. Meditation on this cycle of Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious and

Luminous Mysteries makes the Rosary not only a breviary or summary of the Gospel and of

Christian life but also a compendium of the Liturgical Year. The Rosary stands revealed as a

dynamic teacher and nurture of Christian Faith, morality and spiritual perfection, fostering in

various ways faith, hope, charity and other virtues.

Let me conclude with Pope Benedict’s moving words:“May Mary help us to welcome

within ourselves the grace from these mysteries, so that through us, we can water society,

beginning with our daily relationship, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus

opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when prayed in an authentic way, not

mechanical and superficial but profoundly, brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It

contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith

and love at the centre of each “Hail Mary”.

Holy Mary, “You who have allowed yourself to be transformed by God’s Grace”, Pray

for us!

“The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.”

– St. Francis de Sales

ANNUAL RETREAT – I: 2015

The province-arranged-annual retreat - 2015 was held at DMI Retreat Centre, Joe

Beach, Chennai from 20th evening to 25th afternoon, September. Forty seven of our confreres

attended this retreat. It was preached by Rev. Dr. Fr. Thomas Kalariparambil, Msfs. The

theme of the retreat was: “Reimagining Consecrated Religious Life”. His talks were on:

Religious Consecration: a taking leave of oneself, Consecrated to Christ Crucified,

Consecrated into a Religious Communion, Revisiting the Vows, Called to be Mystics,

Anointed to be Prophets, Commissioned to be Witnesses of Christ, Gospel Leadership and

A New Dawn.

This year being the Year of Consecrated Life, he mostly focussed on the aspect of

consecrated life in his talks. He, through his inspiring talks, led us into an atmosphere of

prayer and encouraged us to be prayerful and silent in order to have the experience of God in

a tangible way. He dealt with religious consecration especially in terms of the charism of our

congregation. His approach to the Bible and the teachings of the Church was very creative

and made us to reflect well. He cited examples and occurrences from his own life and that of

others and anecdotes from different authors which inspired us.

Beginning from the mission command of Jesus and the missionary work of the

disciples, he led us to be more closely consecrated to the Crucified Christ in our religious

communion to be first of all mystics and then to be authentic leaders in the world. The

atmosphere was very conducive for the retreat, and the five days were good and precious, and

the confreres who attended the retreat indeed benefitted a lot form it. We thank the Provincial

Administration for arranging the retreat for us.

Fr. A. Nayaga Seelan

ANNUAL RETREAT – II: 2015

Those Attending the Special “Inner Healing Retreat” for Priests & Religious: at

Divine Retreat Centre, Chalakudy, Kerala, from 01st evening to 06th afternoon, November,

2015, animated by Potta Team:

01. Anantha Raj P 02. Arul Francis A03. Arul Sundaram L04. Christu Raj A05. Deivasakayaraj S06. Dominic Savio G07. Doss A 08. Jeyakumar A09. Jeyaseelan A

10. John de Britto M11. John Wilson Fernando S 12. Jone Gragori I 13. Kootinal George14. Maria John Franklin A15. Maria Nayaga Jeyaseelan A16. Maria Selvan A17. Pilavendran S18. Yesuraja V

The Address of the Retreat Centre is as follows:

Divine Retreat Centre

Muringoor P.O., Chalakudy

Trichur, Kerala - 680 309

Tel: 0480 6066010

SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATION OF FR. S. JOSEPH HENRY’S ORDINATION

“It is better to be late than never.” So goes the adage. Two years went by, without a

celebration for the silver jubilee of Fr. S. Joseph Henry’s ordination, due to various

unavoidable circumstances. His holidays had to be postponed so was the silver jubilee

celebration. This year, as everything was clear, he came home for his holidays from USA,

and the whole Province was eager to celebrate the silver jubilee of his ordination.

The grace of God works through different ways, as he himself reiterated it during the

celebration, which was held on a small level in our Provincialate on 4th September. Around

twenty five of our confreres from different communities and a few sisters from the

neighbouring convents were present at the Eucharistic Celebration, thanking God for the

person of Fr. S. Joseph Henry and praying for him. Just before and soon after the Holy Mass,

there were prayer dances (Bharadha Naatiyam), thanks to Fr. A. Jeyaseelan and his troupe.

In the Introduction during the Holy Mass, his own formator, Fr. George Kootinal,

gave credit to the Silver Jubilarian, as one who justifies what his name signifies - being a just

man before God and men like St. Joseph. He also said that everything about Fr. Henry is

simple and ordinary but everything has the touch of God. In the homily, Fr. Henry reflected

on the Call of God, personalizing and asking the participants to personalize and live

according to the great Call.

The Holy Mass was then followed by a felicitation programme, in which cake was cut

and words of appreciation and encouragement were poured on the Silver Jubilarian.

Rev. Fr. Anthony Dharmaraj, our Provincial Superior, on his turn, thanked him for his

innumerable services and help rendered to most of our institutions and centres. He said that

the day was indeed very special as this was the first Silver Jubilee that we celebrated after

becoming a Province. Finally, the day came to a conclusion with a fellowship meal.

Fr. S. Prem Kumar

PERPETUAL PROFESSION AT M.S.F.S. STUDY HOUSE, SHILLONG

The ceremony of Perpetual Profession of eight Brothers was held at M.S.F.S. Study

House, Shillong at 6.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 30th September, 2015. Among them, two

brothers, namely, Bros. A. Jerome and M. John Fernandez belong to our South-East India

Province, one belongs to Nagpur Province and the other five belong to North-East India

Province. The Holy Eucharistic Celebration was presided over by Rev. Fr. George

Panthanmackel, the Provincial Superior of North-East India Province and the Vows were also

received by him. The celebration was enriched by the message given by Rev. Fr. George

Panthanmackel: One should forever live his life for the sake of the Lord, accompanied by our

Founder, Fr. Mermier and Patron, St. Francis de Sales. A good number of priests, religious

and lay people were present to witness this spiritual event. After the Holy Eucharist, there

was a felicitation for the newly professed brothers, which was followed by a fellowship meal.

Bro. D. Nelson

Many Congrats and loving wishes to our dear Bros. A. Jerome and M. John Fernandez!

FOUNDER’S DAY CELEBRATED IN THE PROVINCIALATE

“Ours is a call… to seek and initiate ever new and creative ways to be effective

missionaries for the sake of God’s kingdom in season and out of season.” (MSFS Const.

Prologue)

A formal invitation was sent out to all our confreres to be part of the Founder’s Day

celebrations arranged in our Provincialate on 30th September, 2015. In response to the

invitation, a number of our confreres turned up and participated in the Holy Eucharist

celebrated at 6.15 p.m. in honour of our beloved Founder. In order to make the celebration

more meaningful, a very special invitation was given to the Congregation of the Sisters of the

Cross of Chavanod (SCC), the Women Congregation founded by our Beloved Founder

himself to be part of our celebration and to pay homage to him together with us, their loving

brothers.

It was really a very grand celebration as many of our Confreres, around fifty of our

S.F.S. Minor Seminarians, about fifty five Sisters of SCC together with their Provincial

Superior, Rev. Sr. Rosy Antony, and a number of Priests and Religious took part in the Holy

Eucharist and the fellowship meal.

Thanks to Rev. Fr. Provincial and the Provincialate community, who, along with our

S.F.S. Minor Seminary Students, did all the necessary arrangements to have a grace-filled

celebration and Fr. A. Jayaseelan and his troupe for their dance performance before and after

the Holy Eucharist.

Many thanks to Rev. Sr. Rosy Antony and her Sisters for making it a point to be present for the celebration, very beautifully decorating the Altar and the house, carefully looking into the minute details of the Liturgy and fantastically organizing the Choir.

Fr. D. Sheen

JOY OF THE GOSPEL - 2016

Fransalian Liturgical Calendar with daily readings and reflections is ready for

the year 2016. The Biblical Diary titled, Joy of the Gospel, was initiated last year and

it was well appreciated and accepted. Our sincere thanks and appreciation to

Fr. Benny Koottanal, Msfs and his team at IIS, Bengaluru for this commendable work!

BLESSING & INAUGURATION OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL CHURCH

AT SURAMPET, ADANUR

Our Lady of Mount Carmel church at Surampet, a substation of the Parish of Adanur,

witnessed a joyful event of blessing and inauguration after a beautiful renovation. To mention

a short history of the church, it was built more than 150 years ago. As the church stood in

need of some renovation, it was renovated with the help rendered by the Province and with

the contributions received from the locals and by the efforts of the Parish Priest. The

renovated church was blessed and inaugurated by Rev. Fr. Anthony Dharmaraj, our

Provincial Superior, on 12th September, 2015, in the presence of our Msfs Confreres

belonging to St. Mary’s Apostolic Community, Villupuram, the parishioners and the

well-wishers.

Fr. A. Christopher

NEW HOUSE FOR THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA

Through the newsletter of the Superior General, the news about the New General

Secretariat House in Hyderabad has reached you already. Our sincere congratulations to the

Superior General and his team for this new step! Below is the postal address of the House:

MSFS HOUSE

H. No. 19-29, Plot 266

Street No. 15, Goutham Nagar

Malkajgiri, Hyderabad - 500 047

Telangana, India

NEW PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION IN VISAKHAPATNAM PROVINCE

The Seventh Ordinary Provincial Congress of Visakhapatnam Province, held from 23rd

to 26th September, 2105, with the theme: MSFS of VIZAG Province: To be Witnesses as

Praying and Fraternal Communities in the Mission of Faith Renewal, elected the following

Confreres to the New Provincial Administration:

1. Fr.Mandagiri Jojaiah - Admonitor cum PCIC of Mission

2. Fr. J. Lourdu Ravi Kumar - PCIC of Social & Innovative Ministries 

3. Fr. P. Bala Sundar Rao - PCIC of Formation

4. Fr. G. Sandeep Reddy - PCIC of Education

5. Fr. B. Anil Bosco - Provincial Bursar

We extend our hearty congratulations and prayerful wishes to Rev. Fr. Pentareddy Chinnapa Reddy, the Provincial Superior and the new Provincial Administration of Visakhapatnam Province.

SYMPOSIUM ON OUR BELOVED CONFRERE, LATE REV. FR. GABRIEL, MSFS

As we are well aware, our beloved confrere, late Rev. Fr. Gabriel Amirthanayagam,

Msfs, was a resident Professor of Philosophy at Suvidya College for several years. He served

the institute in various capacities and his contribution as a formator, teacher and all the more

as a humane person are immense. Suvidya College is what it is today because he too had a

lion’s share in shaping the course of the largest Philosophate in India. Besides, he also

regularly taught at JDV Pune, St. John’s Regional Seminary, Hyderabad, St. Peter’s

Pontifical Seminary, Bengaluru and a number of other institutes. Though it is almost five

years since he left us physically, yet he has left a vast trace of legacy to recall, recount and

emulate.

As a nominal sign of gratitude to late Fr. Gabriel, Suvidya College is organizing a

symposium in his honour. The nature and the purpose of the symposium are three-fold:

firstly, to remember the very person of late Fr. Gabriel as seen through the eyes of his close

and familiar associates; secondly, to recall and reiterate his intellectual contribution both in

philosophy as well as in theology, and his contribution for creating an intellectual culture in

the campus; thirdly, to recapture the legacy he left behind as a true religious and especially,

as a true MSFS.

The Governing Body of Suvidya College has unanimously encouraged this initiative

and henceforth, Gabriel Memorial Lectures will become a regular annual phenomenon of

Suvidya College. All the scientific papers that are going to be presented during this

symposium will be brought out in the form of a scholarly journal. The organizing committee

as well as the Suvidya community extends to all the Msfs Confreres a warm welcome for this

symposium.

As Fr. Gabriel was a member of our SE India Province, with much joy and pride, I

encourage and exhort all of you, my dear confreres, especially those within the Province,

to personally attend this symposium, benefit out of it and make it a memorable event.

Please find below some important details:

Date of the Symposium: Tuesday, 08th December, 2015Arrival & Inauguration of the Symposium: 9.00 a.m. by Rev. Fr. Abraham Vettuvelil, our Superior GeneralConclusion of the Symposium & Departure: 5.30 p.m. Venue: Suvidya College

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Fr. P. Maria Pushpam is appointed the Superior of our Msfs House in St. Thomas

Mount, Chennai.

Fr. K. Ignacimuthuis appointed in Madurai for the exercise of his legal ministry.

LET US PRAY FOR THE DEPARTED

Rev. Fr. Baptist D’souza of Pune Province, aged53, expired on 19th August, 2015.

Rev. Fr. Gerard Van Hooren of Franco-Swiss Province, aged 89, expired on 11th

October, 2015.

Rev. Fr. A. Antony Savary Raj of our South-East India Province, aged 32, expired

on 13th October, 2015.

May I request those who have not fulfilled the suffrages to do the same at the earliest. (Const. No.118; General Directory No.98)

May their souls rest in peace!

MY PROGRAMME

October19th : Laying of Foundation-Stone for the New Extension of Friendly Home

in Vaniyambadi20th - 22nd : MSFS Heritage Week, Visakhapatnam24th : Institute Day, Suvidya College, Bengaluru25th - 30th : Visitation of Mr. Jean Pierre, EMAP, France

November01st : Canonical Visitation to Kelambakkam02nd : Canonical Visitation to St. Thomas Mount 03rd : Canonical Visitation to Elapakkam04th : Canonical Visitation to Perungozhi07th - 10th : Suvidya College, Bengaluru (Superior General’s Visitation)12th : Canonical Visitation to Provincialate Community18th - 22nd : Belgaum (PIF-PEA Meets General Curia)23rd : Governing Body Meeting, Suvidya College, Bengaluru 24th : Provincial Council (PC) Meeting at Alangayam25th : Joint Meeting of PC and Vaniyambadi Apostolic Community26th : Joint Meeting of PC and Chennai and Villupuram Apostolic

Communities27th : Joint Meeting of PC and Pudukkottai Apostolic Community28th : Joint Meeting of PC and Virudhunagar Apostolic Community

December04th - 05th : Canonical Visitation to Virudhunagar08th : Inauguration of Dr. Fr. Gabriel Memorial Lectures, Suvidya College,

Bengaluru

Yours Fraternally in Christ,

Rev. Fr. Anthony Dharmaraj, Msfs

Provincial Superior

SALESIAN THOUGHT

“Nothing indeed can humble us so much before the mercy of God as the multitude of

His benefits and nothing can humble us so deeply before His justice as the multitude of our

misdeeds”. (IDL, Part-III, Ch.5)