Monday, July 29, 2013

August, 2013


                       BIJHAN MISSION CONGRESS, YESU MAHOTSAVA, 2013

To: All the Priests, Religious and Laity
Diocese of Jamshedpur

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

After the Indian Mission Congress in Mumbai in 2009, all the Regional Bishops Councils of India pledged to celebrate the similar Mission Congresses in their regions. BIJHAN Regional Bishops Council has decided to celebrate it on October 11 to 13, 2013 in Ranchi on Loyola Ground. The participants will arrive in Ranchi on October 10, evening and leave on Sunday, Oct. 13, after the Eucharistic Celebration and lunch.

The Mission Congress is "Yesu Mahotsava" (YM), celebration of Jesus. The theme of the forthcoming Mahotsava is: "Let Your Light Shine". The main purpose of the BIJHAN YM is to strengthen and deepen our love and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior so as to give witness to him to our brothers and sisters who do not yet know him. We are in the "Year of Faith" and the forthcoming YM is a God-given opportunity to further enthuse ourselves to deepen our faith and give witness to Jesus Our Lord.

Fr. Cyril Tigga, Director of Divya Bharati, Chaibasa, is the YM coordinator for our Diocese. He has been attending the meetings of YM Central Organizing Committee (YMCOC) in Ranchi. According to the guidelines of the YMCOC of Ranchi, Jamshedpur Diocese is expected to send 200 participants, which will be comprised of 75% laity and 25% priests and religious. Fr. Cyril Tigga is working on getting the names of the participants. The participants of YM will be accommodated in different schools, hostels and institutions in Ranchi from Oct. 10th evening till 13th noon, 2013. There will be no registration fee.

For the Success of the YM after every Holy Mass the Prayer for the Year of Faith is to be said. Each parish is also expected to organize prayers meetings in preparation of YM. Each Diocese is preparing a flag with its logo and a flex with its mission history and its main apostolates as directed by the YMCOC.

To support this mega event financially, the YMCOC will provide with envelops for donations for each family, institution and religious house. Parish priests will be responsible for distributing and collecting of these envelops. The YMCOC has also requested to donate one Sunday Collection of all the parishes and Mass centers for this noble event. I request the parish priests to send the Sunday collections of August 18, 2013 to Fr. Eugene Ekka, the Diocesan Treasurer by August 31, 2013.

May Our Lord bless our Diocese through the prayers of Mother Mary and St. Joseph her Spouse!

Date: 22/07/2013                                                                                Yours in the Lord
                                                                                                         +Felix Toppo, S.J.
           Bishop of Jamshedpur

 A POLICY OF JAMSHEDPUR DIOCESAN EDUCATION SOCIETY

To:       The Principals of all Schools,                                                             
The diocese of Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur.

Dear Fathers and Sisters,

This comes to thank you sincerely for all your cooperation and support you have extended to various diocesan efforts in the field of education, especially in rural areas. Only God can adequately bless you for your unstinted support and generosity.

Now I am making a specially appeal to you. Already last year during various meetings of principals in preparation of Diocesan Golden Jubilee Celebrations, a suggestion was made that  every school in the diocese –English Medium  and Hindi medium –should contribute  to the  Jamshedpur Diocesan Education Society annually, a fixed sum of amount of fee per student in the school. It was suggested that Students in English medium Schools could contribute Rs. 100/ per child and students in Hindi medium school could contribute Rs. 50/ or whatever they can.  Subsequently, this issue of Annual contribution was taken for discussion at different Fora, like during meetings of Principals of all schools in the Diocese, during the Clergy meetings and during the Diocesan Consult.

While there was a broad consensus on this issue of Annual Contribution during all these meetings, some practical difficulties too had surfaced. It was also pointed out that some English medium schools are already supporting some Hindi medium schools. Some schools also give concessions to a number of poor students. However, it was agreed upon that schools run by both the diocese and the Religious should contribute to the diocesan efforts.

After taking into consideration various opinions and suggestions, I am evolving a diocesan policy in this matter. Every English Medium School annually contributes Rs; 100/ per student while, the Hindi Medium schools try to contribute Rs. 50/ per child. However in case the student is not able to contribute that amount, they can contribute Rs. 25/-annually.  This should be incorporated in the school fee-structure. If any English medium school is committed to support another Hindi medium school, it is requested that they contribute a substantial amount to the Diocese.

The Contributions could be made to The Jamshedpur Diocesan Education Society, Golmuri.

Thanking you much in anticipation,

Sincerely Yours,
+ Felix Toppo, SJ                                                                    Fr. C. R. Prabhu
Bishop of Jamshedpur                                                             Secretary cum Director, JDES
         Diocese of Jamshedpur

 WE NEED SAINTS, ​ …, RELEVANT TO OUR TIMES
"We need saints without cassocks, without veils - we need saints with jeans and tennis shoes. We need saints that go to the movies that listen to music, that hang out with their friends. We need saints that place God in first place ahead of succeeding in any career. We need saints that look for time to pray every day and who know how to be in love with purity, chastity and all good things. We need saints - saints for the 21st century with a spirituality appropriate to our new time. We need saints that have a commitment to helping the poor and to make the needed social change.

We need saints to live in the world, to sanctify the world and to not be afraid of living in the world by their presence in it. We need saints that drink Coca-Cola, that eat hot dogs, that surf the internet and that listen to their iPods. We need saints that love the Eucharist, that are not afraid or embarrassed to eat a pizza or drink a beer with their friends. We need saints who love the movies, dance, sports, and theater. We need saints that are open sociable normal happy companions. We need saints who are in this world and who know how to enjoy the best in this world without being callous or mundane. We need saints."
- Pope Francis (World Youth Day 2013)

BUY HUMBLE BICYCLES, POPE ADVISES FUTURE PRIESTS, NUNS
Vatican City, Jul 9, 2013: “I think that bicycles are necessary because there’s a lot of work to do and you have to move around but get a humbler one!” Pope Francis told seminarians and novices on 7th July in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. “And, if you like that beautiful car, think about how many children are dying of hunger, just (think of) that!” he told the approximately 6,000 young adults.

Pope Francis met with the young seminarians and novices to mark the end of their four-day pilgrimage to Rome sponsored by the Vatican as part of the Year of Faith. “I’m telling you, truly, it hurts me when I see a priest or a sister with a brand new car. But you can’t (do that), you can’t!” he commented.

Pope Francis said to priests and religious, "It hurts me when I see a priest or nun with the latest-model car. You can’t do this. A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but, please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world."


SUNDERNAGAR: PRATIKSHA
On July 1st the Regional Propaedeutic seminary was reopened with the Eucharistic Mass offered by the Bishop Aanad Jojo D.D., Bishop of Hazaribag who was the chief guest for the inaugural day of Pratiksha. This year the seminary is blessed with 45 candidates from different dioceses of this region. In his message to the young seminarians, he brought the theme of being aware of the Presence and the Power of God in one’s life through the active and personal profession of faith in a simple and humble manner. Frs. Eugune Ekka and Tobias Kujur concelebrated the Holy Mass along with Fr. Oscar, the Director and Fr. Casmir Vas. Fr. Director Oscar Beck welcomed and wished all the students to have a pleasant stay.

VIANNEY NIVAS
Thirteen (13) new candidates from six different diocese of India, arrived at Vianney Nivas, Nildungri, Jamshedpur in the beginning of July, 2013. They are all happy and doing well in their beginning stage of formation. Frs. Roque Cardoza and Herman Tigga are helping them out to learn and discern their vocation, for the great mission of Jamshedpur Diocese. The Diocese of Jamshedpur welcomes and wishes them ALL THE BEST.

JESU MARSAL, CHANDIL
The parishioners at Jesu Marsal Chandil, were pleased to welcome their new Parish Priest Fr. Raphael Montiero on 07th July, 2013. He was installed as the Parish Priest of Chandil by Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. during the beautiful liturgy. It was also an occasion to show gratitude from the part of parishioners to Frs. Valerian Lobo and Pradeep Marandi for their commitment in leading the parish community. As 14 boys and 10 girls received Holy Communion first time it added still a greater joy in the community.

FEAST OF SACRED HEART SISTERS
Priests and religious of Jamshedpur deanery gathered together to celebrate the Congregation’s feast of the Sisters of Sacred Heart of Jesus at Amar Jyoti Convent, Pardih. Sr. Dominica, SSH gave a warm welcome to all the guests. As it was the birthday of Sr. Neelam, SSH, the Candidates-in-Charge, the whole congregation joined and wished her a very happy birthday. Fr. Camille Hembrom, Parish Priest and dean of St. Joseph’s Cathedral Golmuri said grace over the meal.

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Giving the life sketch of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Sr. Sylvie, A.C., the Principal of Carmel Junior College Sonari, welcomed the priests and religious who came to share the joy of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patroness of the Carmelite Order. She led the group into a short prayer through the intercession of Our Lady of Carmel. The same feast was celebrated on 21st July in Secred Heart Convent community at Bistupur. Sr. Teresita Mary, A.C. welcomed the guests and Fr. C.R. Prabhu invoked the God’s blessing upon the A.C. Sister. All enjoyed the hospitality of A.C. Sisters at Carmel Junior College, Sonari.

FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH’S OF CLUNY, TELCO
Sisters of St. Joseph’s of Cluny rejoiced as they celebrated the feast of their patron saint on 15th July, 2013. They invited all the priests and religious as well as teachers and some important people of the town to join in the celebration. All the invited guest join the thanksgiving Eucharist celebration presided by Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. and preached by Fr. C. R. Prabhu. Special prayers were offered for the Sisters of St. Joseph’s of Cluny. At the end of the Mass all shared the fellowship meal served by the Sisters at Telco Club hall.

FR. ROBERT FIGHTS WITH A COBRA
It was surprising. As Fr. Robert Toppo entered in his bathroom a few days ago, he founds a cobra raising its hood around the bucket. He ran to call his parishioners who managed to kill the hoofing cobra.

Another braking news from Sindri is that Fr. Robert has given fullstop to smoking forever. Congratulations to Fr. Robert!

HEARTY CONDOLENCE TO FR. JOHN CRASTA
Fr. John Crasta lost his mother Mrs. Lily Crasta on 14th July, 2013 due to heart attack. She was 71 years old. Hearing the news Fr. John Crasta rushed to Mangalore to give the last tribute to his great mother. At this difficult moment let us remember Fr. John Crasta and his family in our prayer. May her soul rest in peace!

Fr. Pascal Minj took shelter in Mercy Hospital for a week as he had to undergo a big unexpected wound in his right knee. He is completely cured and getting ready to take his new appointment as assistant parish priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Telco.


UPASANA, MANGO
We have been blessed by the presence of Fr.Bene Minj and Pradeep who joined our Community this month as they continue to stay in Upasana and work in the neighbouring St.Joseph’s Community College. They are also generously helping the Community with various Liturgical assignments. On the 10-11 of July, we also had  Jamshedpur Diocesan Priests’ Recollection in which 30 Priests participated, including Frs.Cyril Tigga and Sushil Jojo . It was facilitated by Fr. Peter Francis,SJ who took his valuable time out of his busy schedule in XLRI and spiritually nourished the Pastors with his reflections and the Recollection ended with the Liturgy by Fr.James Quadros. This was followed by the Diocesan and Jesuit Regents’ Recollection on the 13-14 July , in which 13 Regents took part. It was facilitated  by George Anthony who briefed them about their role and purpose in this first immersion of their Apostolic Life.
-George Anthony

SALESIANS IN ILLOO –JHARGO
Frs. Valerius Tirkey, PP and Edward APP along with Srs. Celine and Flora have taken control of the Church Campus in Illoo-Jhargo.  The Catholic Community of the area under the guidance of Fr. John Ottaplakal has finally succeeded in taking the Catechist and his family out of the house meant for the priests in the Church Campus. The Church Committee also cleaned up the house. The Fathers and sisters are busy now cleaning up / clearing the campus of unwieldy bushes – a home for many snakes. They already killed two cobras and a krait.  There are many more. They have noticed two snakes in their house. In the meantime, the Fathers are visiting the families in Illoo-Jhargo and Kodeng.  Most of the Catholics now attend the regular Sunday Services. Fr. Prabhu paid them a surprise visit and encouraged them.  Well begun! Congratulations to Fr. Valerius and his team.

WEEK-END RETREAT FOR COUPLES FOR CHRIST IN CKP
Fr. Richard Miranda and his team organized a special week-end retreat on 27 -28 July for Couples for Christ.  Over 50 couples participated in this prayer-experience.  Fr. Sebastian VC, Sundernagar, Fr. Denny V.C from Bareilly along with Mr. Ashok conducted this retreat. Fr. Prabhu joined this group for the Concluding Eucharist and the fellowship meals. The people have asked for more such spiritual renewals.

ST. XAVIER’S ENGLISH SCHOOL, CHAKRADHARPUR
As the cool breeze blows and the splashes of rain drops fall, we the members of Xavier family would like to share the news of the month and that is as follows. The month began with our school conducting extra coaching classes for the weaker students so that they may be able to compete with the others. The school teams are also busy practicing Kho-Kho, Football and basket ball as the inter house competitions are fast approaching. We had our 4th set of the Intra class competitions on 6th July. The LKG & UKG had Drawing and colouring , Std. I and II had Recitation, Std. III to X had the Quiz competition. The winners were very happy to see their names up on the school notice board. Right now, the students are all occupied with their First Terminal Examinations.  As 4th August is celebrated as St. John Mary Vianney’s feast day, the feast of all the pastors, so we the members of Xavier family wish all the pastors A very Happy feast and following up soon our school will begin its preparation  for the Independence day of our country which is on the 15th of August, we wish all the citizens of our country A very happy Independence day in advance.

ST. XAVIER’S ENGLISH SCHOOL, CHAIBASA
We believe in change and we are ever ready to upgrade ourselves in accordance with the current demands in the educational field so that our students get the best of everything. We have been using digi boards since last two years and now all our class rooms are equipped with smart Boards for making our teaching & learning more effective, advanced and student friendly.

We have many gifted students in our school. We had some competitions to bring out the best in them and to discover the hidden talents in others. We had picture pasting, fancy dress competition and memory test for the students of std I & II. Choral recitation, pot painting and memory tests were conducted for the students of std III & IV. We had stone painting, cartoon making and talent search competitions for std V & VI. There were spelling contest, mental agility test and talent search competitions for the students of VII &VIII. The students of std IX & X had caption contest and newspaper designing. The students have done very well in these competitions. Through these competitions we provide them with ample opportunities to pick up new skills and polish their existing skills so that they can excel in everything they do.

We celebrated the foundation Day of our school on 22nd July. Mr. Dhananjay Deogam graced the ceremony as our chief Guest and Fr. Edwin Coelho, the Parish Priest of Chaibasa was our guest of Honour. The foundation that was laid on 21st July twenty years ago, has blossomed into a sprawling edifice, equipped with all the modern facilities, a big campus, a basket ball court, Volley ball court, a playground, a children’s park etc. The school is now seen as one of the best schools of Chaibasa on which the parents have the faith that their children will have a holistic development irrespective of caste, creed, religion or economic status. We offered a special prayer to God for his continued benefaction in our school.

It was followed by a cultural program in which the students traced the life of Fr. Cyril Fernandes, the founder of our school. They also showed how his decision of founding an English School saved the people from their sorry state and meaningless existence. Our chief guest also recounted in his speech, the humble beginning of our school and how this school has made a difference in the lives of tribal people living here. It was a wonderful celebration.

ST. ALBERT’S COLLEGE RANCHI (SAC)
The Congregation for Catholic Education, Rome, has recognized the services of four faculty members of SAC. It has raised three of them as ‘Professors’ and one of the as ‘Lecturer’. These are:
Professor:        Dr. Selva Raj, Department of Philsophy, Dean of Philosophy and Vice President of the Faculty (Philosophy Professor)
                        Dr. Suman Kumar Ekka, President of the Faculty (systematic Professor)
                        Dr. Jai Prakash Kujur, Scripture Professor
Lecturer:          Dr. John Crasta, Moral Theology (Theology Faculty)

We congratulate them. This is one of the best recognition; a teacher can get in an institution. This is matter of pride for Jamshedpur diocese that we have two persons of higher rank in the kitty.

We had a good academic beginning. on 9th of July, the academic Year was declared open by His Excellency Charles Soreng S.J. who was the chief celebrant on the Eucharistic celebration concelebrated with all the staff. I delivered the Schola Brevis on the day. My paper was based on my Dissertation Paper entitled, "Lokasangraha, the Welfare of the Worlds". It was a well accepted and applauded paper.

Annual Meeting with the Board of Bishops of BIJHAN took place on 25th of July. Most of the Bishops were present on the occasion. They met all students and staff and assessed the growth of the seminary and formation.

The Centenary preparations are in full swing. On 20th of August, the Faculty of Theology Ranchi (SAC) has organized a Centenary Symposium on the theme of Mission and Theologizing in Indian Context. Arch Bishop Thomas Menamparambil and Dr. Felix Wilfred will be the chief resource persons who will present their papers on the topic. The symposium is organized in collaboration with the Regional Theological Center of Ranchi Jesuits.

Our seminarians in SAC, both philosophers and theologians are doing well. In both sections they are involved in various activities of the seminary besides the seminary studies.

(Fr. Raju Crasta)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
August: 01 James Surin
      04 Amatus Kujur
      05 Cornelius Tigga
      08 John Crasta
      08 Norbert Kindo
      13 Casmir Vas
      23 Johny P.D.
      28 Augustine Topno

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