News Letter – SEPTEMBER, 2012
GOLDEN JUBILEE: MESSAGE OF THE SHEPHERD
My dear brothers and sisters and sons and daughters in the Lord Jesus,
We are celebrating the Diocesan Golden Jubilee Year with spiritual fervor and joy. On the one hand we are expressing our gratitude to God for all the blessings he has given to the Church of Jamshedpur Diocese during the last 50 years, on the other we are trying to march towards the “Fullness of Life”.
What is the meaning of the “Fullness of Life”? In brief we can say that it means the life lived totally according to the “Ten Commandments”. It means to identify ourselves entirely with the life of Jesus. It means to live according to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, knowledge, Piety and Holy Fear of the Lord.
The “Fullness of Life” means to become as holy as God the Father, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. Jesus has said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is holy” (Mt 5:48). Therefore it is necessary to fulfill God’s Will in everything and at all moments of our life. God has expressed his Will in the “Ten Commandments”. We need to live according to these Commandments. We need to know Jesus, love him and follow him with all our mind heart and soul. Following Jesus our savior is not easy because he makes a special demand from us. He says, “ If anyone wants to be my follower, let him renounce himself and take up his cross everyday and follow me” (Lk 9:23).
How difficult it is for us to renounce ourselves? Can we follow the example of Blessed Mother Teresa who considered herself just a pencil in the hand of God? Can we compare ourselves with a broom which is used by the housewife to clean the house and then thrown in a corner? This is not a passive renouncement, but an active one, done with deep love for the sake of God’s love.
Further we need to carry the cross to Calvary like Jesus Christ. If we wish to follow Jesus and walk in his footsteps we have to be obedient and suffer. Jesus was obedient to his Father, even obedient unto his death. For Jesus being obedient to his Father implied his incarnation, poor laborer’s life, opposition, persecution, betrayal, apathy from his friends, arrest and treatment like a criminal, condemned to death, carrying the heavy cross, insults, rejection by his own people, crucifixion, painful and ignominious death on a cross. Are we ready to carry the cross? In order to march towards the Fullness of Life we have to follow Jesus by carrying his cross.
In the Old Testament times God said to Abraham, “Leave your country, your kindred and your father’s house for a country which I shall show you” (Gen.12:1). Though Abraham was 75 years old, trusting n God’s words, he left everything and went to an unknown destination. He certainly marched towards the “Fullness of Life”. From the burning bush God commissioned Moses to liberate the Israelites from Egypt and from Pharaoh (cf. Ex.3:1-12). And Moses did everything commanded by God. He truly marched towards the Fullness of Life. Then we have the prophets who were chosen and given the Holy Spirit to prophesy in the name of God. Many of them suffered opposition and even became martyrs. They truly marched towards the Fullness of Life.
In the New Testament times Blessed Virgin Mary is an example of Fullness of Life. On the one hand she was created as the most magnificent and immaculate human person, on the other her virtues were supreme and incomparable. The Apostles of Jesus started marching towards the Fullness of Life after they receive the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost Day. Except Judas Iscariot all of them became martyrs and received the Fullness of Life. In the history of the Church we have many saints and martyrs who because of their deep faith and for the zeal of spreading the gospel received the Fullness of Life.
Can we receive and live the Fullness of Life? Yes! Everyone has been called to live the Fullness of Life. But we need to follow the pedagogy of sanctification. First of all, we need to purify and liberate ourselves from whatever is sin and evil. This is because God cannot pour out his grace where there is filth. He needs a receptive heart. Secondly, we need to know Jesus Christ our Savior. We have to know him thoroughly by reading, studying, reflecting, meditating, praying, experiencing, etc. Knowing Jesus also implies that we understand his doctrine. Then we will be able to love him intimately and follow him closely. These require deep faith and hope for God. Finally, we need to make God our only factor of life. This means that we are able to find God in all things. We love God in all things and love all things in him. In this way we really march towards the “Fullness of Life”.
My dear brothers and sisters, on September 29 and 30, when we celebrate the “Golden Jubilee Year Concluding Functions” and “Yesu Mahotsav” together, we are going to celebrate our faith and life in Jesus Christ Our Lord. It is a communitarian Feast of the Diocesan Christian Family. Therefore, I earnestly request all of you to participate in these ceremonies in big numbers. I invite in a special way all the catechists, all the members of the Parish Councils, and all the Catholic Teachers of our schools. I also invite all the youth and Krusvir boys and girls to participate in these events.
Let us pray to St. Joseph, the Patron of the Diocese and his Spouse Blessed Virgin Mary to deepen our faith and commitment to God so that we may persevere in marching towards the “Fullness of Life”.
“May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of or God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints” (1 Thess 3:12-13).
+ Felix Toppo, S.J.
Bishop of Jamshedpur
FEAST OF ST. JOHN MARY VIANNEY
The Feast of St. John Mary Vianney, the Patron of Priests was celebrated on 02nd August, 2012 at Bishop’s House, Golmuri. The day was filled with fun and laughter as the Basketball match was played between the teams of the Bishop and the Provincial. The Provincial’s team defeated the Bishop’s team by scoring 41 points against 16. In the Evening at 7:00 the Clergy and Religious of the Jamshedpur Deanery gathered for Benediction at St. Joseph Cathedral and thereafter for a fellowship meal at St. Joseph’s Welfare Centre.
TUNDI : JISU JAHER
Jisu Jaher Church Tundi, celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the diocese on the parish level on 5th of August, 2012. On this happy occasion 32 boys and girls received the Sacrament of Confirmation and 30 received the First Communion by Most Rev. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. The parish community refreshed their faith journey as they put up an exhibition on the long parish history which helped them to see their progress and achievements during the last 50 years. Every member of the parish enjoyed the beautiful exhibition, cultural program and delicious fellowship meal. Congratulations to Frs. Raphael Lakra, Sushil Balmuchu, S.J. and parish community.
After the program at Tundi Most. Rev. Bishop Felix made contact visits to our Fathers in Govindpur, Sindri, Dhanbad and Balrampur.
FEAST OF ST. DOMINIC
Dominican Fathers celebrated the feast of their founder St. Dominic, on 8th August at their residence in Birsanagar. The celebration started with the beautiful liturgy presided over by Most Rev. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. in the evening. Through his homily Bishop invited the faithful to follow Christ more closely and to be the carriers of Truth, which is Christ Himself. The faithful actively participated in the liturgy and shared the joy with Domincan family. The people felicitated the Dominican fathers and Bishop Felix Toppo with gifts and bouquet. Frs. Simplicius and Jotin, O.P. offered cake and coffee which were enjoyed by all. All the priests and sisters present for the celebration shared a delicious meal served by the Dominican community.
ST. MARY’S SCHOOL BISTUPUR
St. Mary’s English High School, celebrated the Annual Prize Night on the 28th of July, 2012. The Chief Guest was Dr. Ajoy Kumar, MP and the Guest of honour was Fr. Edward J. Saldana. On this occasion, 95 students were awarded with certificates and cups for Academic Excellence. The inaugural issue of the school magazine ‘Fragrance’ was also launched on this occasion.
The Independence Day was celebrated with patriotic fervor especially by the little ones of the Junior Block, they had competitions like: Patriotic ‘Fancy Dress’, Songs and poems. On 15th of August, the National Flag was hoisted by Chief Guest Mr. Anil Oraon amidst the singing of the National Anthem. A short program of patriotic songs and dances and distribution of sweets concluded the Independence Day Celebrations.
St. Mary’s English School, in collaboration with St. Mary’s Church, had organized a ‘Sit and Draw’ competition to celebrate the Diocesan Golden Jubilee. From thirty schools in and around Jamshedpur participated in this competition. The certificates and mementos for the winners were sponsored by St. Mary’s English School.
Holy Mass was celebrated in honour of Mother Mary’s Assumption into Heaven by Rt. Rev. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. at St. Mary’s Church, Bistupur. Soon after the Holy Mass the winners of ‘Sit and Draw’ competition were awarded.
The Students of St. Mary’s English School excelled in extra-curricular activities. They have won accolades and awards in various inter-school activities. The co-operation of the Principal, Vice Principal, teachers, students, well-wishers and parents made this possible.
DHOWATAND
Fr. Vijay Bhat Parish Priest of Dawatand was honoured by Indian Medical Association of Dhanband Branch on 1st July 2012 on the occasion of Doctors’ Day at the Seventh Heaven Hotel, Barwada, Dhanbad. He was honoured with a shawl and was thanked for the services rendered to humanity, particularly to the Leprosy patients in Dhanbad area during his tenure as the Director of DSWC.
On 15th August, 2012, the 66th anniversary of Independence Day, children of St. John Mary Vianney Primary School participated in the dance competition at the Block level along with many other schools. It was organized by Nagrik Samiti Govindpur at Agresan Bhavan. St. John Mary Vianney Primary School Dhowatand took the 1st prize where as St. Nirmala Girl’s school got the 2nd prize in the dance competition. Congratulations to Fr. Vijay Bhat!
ST. JOSEPH’S CATHEDRAL, GOLMURI
A seminar on ‘Responsibility towards Church’ was conducted from 9.00am to 4.00pm on 5th August at Welfare Centre Hall by Fr. Philip Kattakayam. He emphasized the important role of the faithful in building the Church as that of the early Church which was vibrant and fraternal. The 800 participants felt it was a day of learning and inspiration. Fr. Camille Hembrom extended a warm welcome to the resource person and the faithful and Mr. Saban Barla thanked all on behalf of the Parish Council.
Charismatic Convention: As a part of preparation for the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Jamshedpur Diocese, a Charismatic Convention was organized at St. Joseph’s Cathedral from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm on 17, 18 & 19 August, 2012. It was a moment of grace and blessing for the 1400 people who attended the convention from all the deaneries of Jamshedpur diocese. Bishop Felix Toppo offered the Holy Mass with 13 concelebrants on the first day. The preachers for three days were Bishop Felix Toppo SJ, Fr. George, Fr. Vineet Pereira, Br. Rajan Fernandes, Fr. Oscar Beck and Fr. Sebastian. Fr. Camille Hembrom was found very busy in facilitating the retreat and arranging the accommodation for all. Fr. Henry Sequira and the Sacred Heart Sisters were generous enough to make available the Welfare Centre Hall and the school respectively for the convenient stay of the participants. It was a successful Charismatic Convention. Thanks to all the parish priests for encouraging the parishioners to participate in this convention. (Bro. Jacob KJ DDS)
GOILKERA
“This was the first time I ever had such a respectful gesture of welcome” says Most. Rev. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. as he made his Golden Jubilee Pastoral Visit to the Prabhu Marshal Church, Goilkera. At the arrival of Bishop Felix at Prabhu Marshal Parish, the faithful of Goilkera gave him a warm welcome making him walk on the new sarees that were spread right from the main gate to the Church. It was an important event for the Goilkera Church as 52 boys and girls received the Sacrament of Confirmation by Most Rev. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. The new soldiers of Christ were honoured by the Confirmation Certificate.
BARADWARI: FEAST OF OUR LADY THE QUEEN AND THE MOTHER
On 22nd August, M.C. Sisters celebrated their Society’s Titular Feast, the Queenship of Mary. Most Rev. Felix Toppo, S.J. was the Chief Celebrant at Baradwari. He spoke about the divine plan and the divine intervention in Mother’s life. In the presence of a good number of priests, religious and well-wishers the M.C. Sisters renewed their commitment to Christ the Lord. After the Mass all the participants shared a delicious lunch served by the Sisters of Missionaries of Charity.
KUMARDUBI/TALDANGA
A very special news of this month is that two Loyolians Arunabha Mondal , IX & Rituparna Banerjee, X class students who displayed their science models at District Level (Dhanbad) were selected to compete at the State Level in Ranchi. Arunabha is one among the few who has been selected for the National level Competition. He will go to Delhi on 18th Oct, 2012 to meet the Prime Minister.
July was a month of celebrations. On 26th there was a Fancy Dress competition for Nursery & K.G. students and School Song Contest for Classes II, III & IV. The Quiz contest on St Ignatius also was held on the same day. The children thoroughly involved themselves.
The grand day was 30th July. The Skit Contest took place on this day. Judges were invited from the neighbouring schools.
A special MASS was held in the Holy Family Church on 31st and all the teachers of the Loyola family were invited.
Not to forget, our Independence Day celebration was once again a grand one with much patriotic zeal. Two students, one each from Hindi medium and English medium made everyone conscience of the FREEDOM we are enjoying, through their dynamic speeches. The real inspiration, however, was given by our Principal, who cited very common examples we experience in our lives.
Now both students and teachers are geared up for the Semester I exams, starting from 24th August.
KUTKUDUNGRI
On 26th of August in St. Anthony’s church Kutkudungri Mango celebrated the feast of St. Monica as a Mother’s Day. Mass was presided over by parish priest Fr. Anand Toppo ofm cap. There was solemn Eucharistic celebration for all the mothers of Mango parish. The Choir of youth and children made the Eucharistic celebration more prayerful. Church was packed with faithful. During Mass Fr. Anand highlighted the life of St. Monica whose life correspond very much to life situation to the mothers of today. He exhorted to imbibe two qualities of Monica. That is patience and persistence in prayer. After Mass there were programmes the mothers and Frs. Prem James Tigga ofm cap, Peter Ekka ofm cap, Sr. Margaret scjm and Fr. Anand Toppo addressed the mothers. All the speakers spoke how in the present day they can become good mothers. They spoke about the family life and about the qualities of a good mother. At the end of the program all had sumptuous meal and departed their home.
ANANDPUR
On the occasion of feast of St. Monica, the patron saint of all mothers, Mahila Sangh of St. Joseph’s Church, Charbandia came together and spent a day praying and reflecting their lives. As the Holy Father declares this year, October 2012- October 2013 the Year of Faith they took it as the theme of their prayers and reflection. They were helped and guided by Fr. Halan Bodra. The day was concluded with Holy Mass. Good number of faithful participated at the Holy Mass and prayed for the mothers. Congratulations and prayerful good wishes to all the mothers of St. Joseph’s Church Charbandia.
DIVYA BHARATI, CHAIBASA
On the 21st of August we began a Month long Short term Catechetical Training Programme in which 16 participants are attending including a female representative from St.Theresa’s Parish, Jhinkapani and also one from Infant Jesus, Sonari. The Jesuit Deacons of Jamshedpur Province are helping out the “Teachers of the Faith’ in their training Programme. We have representatives from Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh and Daltonganj Dioceses. Along with modern methods of Communication and Interactive sessions, they have facilitated the sessions and their inputs have been very valuable.
On the 26th August I made a quick trip to facilitate the Women’s cell of Purulia Deanery for the St. Monica Days’ Celebration wherein 80 Mothers from Purulia, Adra and Balrampur Parishes participated. Frs. John Otto, Shayadasan and Jerome Pereira were present in the programme to encourage their parishioners. Much thanks to Fr.John Otto for the Invitation.
SONARI: INFANT JESUS CHURCH
On 26 August, 2012, St. Monica Day was solemnly celebrated at Infant Jesus Parish, Sonari. Most Rev. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. presided over the Holy Mass. Fr. Alex facilitated the mothers with his inspiring talks to be the true model of St. Monica. On this occasion the 10 mothers of the parish were given due honor by Most Rev. Bishop Felix Toppo for their continuous selfless service to the Church. To make this programme memorable one the various activities were conducted such as quiz, games and action songs.
DSWC, GOVINDPUR
Damien Vocational Training Center: We are happy to share with you that there are 15 girls, who are learning Tailoring course under the guidance of Charnjeet Kaur, the Instructor. They are learning to make ladies garment like Blauze making, undergarment making, salwar- suit making etc and gents garment like payzama Kurta making.
This year EId brought happiness to the girls of Damien Vocational Training Center (DVTC), a Unit of DSWC, when DVTC was linked with the wholesale market of Dhanbad. Now the girls got orders to stitch Peticot and the undergarment. Girls are very enthusiastic about it. This linkage with the market will help these girls to earn while they learn the tricks of tailoring. We hope that more and more girls join DVTC for learning tailoring so that these girls become self reliant, while they are still studying or staying at home.
DVTC is also running few nursing training in collaboration with Institute of Community Medicines (ICM), Raniganj. In the past ICM, Raniganj has already produced over 500 successful graduates, who otherwise, were undergraduates or unemployed and did not know what to do in their life or were working with low salary. Now they are employed with different Nursing homes or Hospitals. This year DVTC is providing Community Medical Service Training and Village Nursing Midwifery to 50 students, Essential Drug training to 20 students and Population Education training and family Welfare Training to 15 students.
Students from Rokko Gaukin High School Japan: 25 Students and three staff under the leadership of Fr. Mike arrived on 8th August to DSWC to see the work under taken by DSWC since last five Decades. Fr. Mike says they came to strengthen the bond of friendship with DSWC. There was a WELCOME program on 8th evening. It was more of cultural exchange, where students from Nirmala and Rokko Guakin shared the stage and performed some of the beautiful dance and tricks of their culture. They spent three days with the students of Nirmala School and they took fond memories of DSWC. Thanks to Rokko Gaukin for their continued support.
Nirmala School: 15th August the Independence is always a memorable day for Nirmala School. Children of Nirmala School welcomed Mr. Amitabh Prasad the Divisional Retail Sales Manager of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, along with three of his senior officers as the Chief Guest for the function of 65th Independence Day of India. Mr. Alok Agarwal was the Guest of Honor for the program. All the guests were much impressed with the parade, the school band and short program of Drill, Karate demonstration, patriotic song and dance. Two of our children viz. Puja Mahato B and Jannet Hemrom delivered speeches in Hindi and English successively. The day was not over with this function. When evening came children of Nirmala School participated in dance competition organized by Nagrik Samitty of Govindpur at Agrasian Bhawan, Govindpur. There were nine schools, who participated in the program called ‘Ek Sham Rashtar Ke Nam’. Puja Mahato B bagged the first prize in the solo dance competition, whereas group of five girls viz. Anju Chawhan, Sony Mahato, Archana Tirkey, Kajal Mahato and Jaya Paran stood second in the group dance competition. Congratulation to these girls and teachers.
KINDLY PRAY FOR THE SICK
Fr. Benedict Minj, Parish Priest of Telco experienced severe chest pain during the Holy Eucharist on 04.08.2012 in Jeevan Jyothi School of Nursing, Telco. Immediately he was taken to Tata Motors and admitted in the ICU for 6 days. Then he was advised to undergo angiography. In Angiography it was found that one of the Arteries (blood vessels) which supplies blood to the heart was 95% blocked & immediately the Angioplasty was done. At present he is recuperating in the Bishop’s House. Let us continue to pray for his good health.
Fr. Gualbert Furtado’s health condition is still critical. He is constantly on dialysis. Kindly pray for him.
Sr. Sudha SJT, fondly thanks everyone for their prayerful support during her illness and specially during surgery. Everything went on well and she is back home in better health. God bless!
Happy Birthday
Sept.: 07- Fr. Emmanuel Horo
09- A. Alphonse
11- C. R. Prabhu
13- Tobias Kujur
19- Vijay Bhat
21- Edward Saldanha
22- Benedict Minj
23- Bipin Kishore Barla
APPOINTMENTS
Name
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Designation
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Parish
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Fr. Leo John D’Souza
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Assistant Parish Priest
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Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Telco
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NEW CONTACT NO.: Fr. Linus Kindo – 09572752429
Fr. Ajay Tiru – 09546794595
Fr. Ajay Tiru – 09546794595
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