THE EXALTATION OF THE
HOLY CROSS
St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine discovered the Holy
Cross in Jerusalem and since then the Christians have been venerating
it. Then the Holy Cross was taken by the Persians and was rescued in the
seventh century. The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross commemorates
this rescue. The Church sings the triumph of the Holy Cross which is the
instrument of our salvation. With the mystery of his suffering and death on the
Cross Jesus defeated Satan and established the Kingdom of God.
In fact God reigned from the wood.
The Romans punished the most notorious criminals by nailing and
hanging them on the cross. This was the most ignominious punishment. This
punishment gave the condemned person unimaginable physical torture with pain
and humiliated the person totally. This is the punishment Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, chose. He suffered beyond measure and died on the Cross to make amends
for our sins.
No part of his body was excluded from suffering, because nothing
in man is free from sin. The concupiscence in man makes him inclined to commit
sins. Jesus Christ came to cancel the effects of sin with his Blood and his
sorrow. He also suffered morally as he was condemned and abandoned by his own
people. He even felt that his own Father in Heaven had abandoned him. He, the
Son of God and Creator suffered humiliation by his own creatures. Through these
he has washed away our sins and strengthens us against culpable tendencies.
The hands of Jesus were wounded after they had become tired
carrying the Cross, to make amends for all the crimes committed by hands of
man. His feet, after becoming tired and bruised on the stones of the way of his
passion, were pierced and immobilized, to make amends for the evil
we do with our feet making them means to go to our crimes. His flesh was
bruised, torn to pieces for the numerous and variety of sins we commit with our
flesh out of fondness for sensuality. He wanted to remove from our flesh the
poison of sensuality, of lack of modesty, of lack of respect, of ambition and
of admiration for the flesh destined to become dust again. His head was
tortured with countless tortures: with blows, with exposure to the sun, with
shouts, with thorns to make amends for the sins of our minds. Pride,
impatience, revengefulness and intolerance are our common attitudes. He was
considered mad, but Jesus was dying in order to defeat Evil/Satan. His eyes,
his mouth, his nose, his tongue had their torture. Further, his lungs were
suffocated due to cruel scourging and hanging on the cross. He also found it difficult
to breathe. He suffered thirst of water, of love and of souls.
The Cross symbolizes his suffering and his Triumph over the
Evil/Satan. On this Feast day as we celebrate the Triumph or Exaltation of the
Holy Cross, we thank Our Lord Jesus Christ for making amends for our sins, for
defeating Satan and establishing the Kingdom of God in the
world. We also pledge to make amends for our sins.
+Felix
Toppo, S.J.
Bishop
of Jamshedpur
FEAST OF ST. JOHN MARY VIANNEY
CATHOLIC WOMEN'S GATHERING
ST.
ANTHONY’S CHURCH, DHANBAD
4th August,
feast of St. John Mary Vianney took the form of get-together in the parish. There
was the solemn Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Fr. Amatus Kujur and
concelebrated by Frs. Norbert Kindo and Nestor Kujur. As it was the feast of
Priests, the parishioners thanked their priests for the spiritual care, wished
them God’s blessings in the days to come. To share the joy the parish priest
gave the tea and snacks to all the parishioners present in the parish campus.
Feast
of St. Monica, the patron saint of mothers was another
great event of St. Anthony’s Church, which was celebrated on 25th
August, 2013. 97 women of the parish gathered in the parish on 24th
evening and in honour of St. Monica, a flag was hoisted in the campus by Fr.
Amatus Kujur, the parish priest. Women spend the whole evening in adoration, reflection
which helped them to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Fr. Alexander,
S.J. helped the women in there prayer and reflection.
The solemn Eucharistic
Celebration was the culmination of Mother’s Day on 25th August, 2013.
After the Mass there were competitions of various games and singing which
conducted by A.C. Sisters from Carmel Convent, Dhanbad. It was a day full of
fun and enjoyment for all the mothers. The day came to an end by lowering down
the flag. Congratulations to Fr. Amatus Kujur and team!
FEAST OF ST. DOMINIC
HATIKUNDER: JESU MARSAL ASHRAM
A
team comprising Fr. James Kalapura, S.J., Fr. Bipin Pani, Fr. Amatus Kujur and
Fr. John Ottoplakal visited Jesu Marshal Ashram, Hatikunder on 9th
August 2013, to take stock for the better future of it. The team has submitted
a detailed assessment report on Jesu Marsal Ashram, Hatikunder. The final
decision on this matter is awaited.
OUR LADY OF KHUNTPANI
Our
Lady of Khuntpani Shrine, Quasi Parish had a meeting with local school managing
committee of St. Joseph’s School, Khuntpani. It was a decisive meeting with
regards to the School where Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J., Frs. C.R. Prabhu, Camil
Hembrom, Edwin Coelho, and James Quadros were present. The local school
managing committee of St. Joseph’s School has handed over the school to the
diocese of Jamshedpur. Bishop thanked all the committee members and asked their cooperation to bring up the
future of the children of Khuntpani. Fr. James Quadros has been appointed as
the Headmaster and Manager of the school. Congratulation Fr. James!
BARADWARI: FEAST OF OUR LADY THE QUEEN
AND THE MOTHER
TELCO:
MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATION
As a very old proverb
says “God could not be
everywhere and therefore he made Mothers”. Keeping this in mind, the Telco
Parish youth celebrated Mother’s Day in a very grand manner. On 24th
August, Fr. Raju Crasta who had especially come from Ranchi, conducted a
seminar for all mothers emphasizing on the importance of reciting the Daily
Rosary followed by a short movie on the 5 decades of the Joyful Mystery of the
Rosary. The next day, 25th August was a Sunday. The youth girls
welcomed all mothers by giving them a favour and thereafter having a short
candle procession into the Church. There was a solemn mass celebrated by Fr.
Raju Crasta, Fr. Leo D’Souza and Fr. Pascal Minz, after which there was a light
breakfast distributed to all parishioners present and the youth put up a
scintillating programme dedicated to all mothers. The programme was co -
ordinated by Mr. Stanly Joseph, Miss Prisca Hembrom, Mr. Yesu Anthony, Miss
Roseline and the team.
ST. MARY’S
ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL, BISTURPUR
ST.
XAVIER’S ENGLISH SCHOOL, CHAKRADHARPUR
ST. XAVIER’S
ENGLISH SCHOOL, CHAIBASA
India being a secular country, we try
our level best to teach our students to be secular in their outlook from the
very beginning. To inculcate in their hearts a respect for all religions, we
celebrate all religious festivals in our school. On 8th August we
celebrated Id-ul-fitr. It was something worth beholding. Some Islamic verses
were read by the students followed by a melodious song and graceful dance.
On 15th August we had a grand
celebration of Independence Day. Our students marched proudly with the rhythmic
beat of the drums. They presented patriotic songs, dances and a skit. We all
were mesmerized by their wonderful performance. There was a patriotic dance
competition in the evening in Pillai Hall, Chaibasa. It was a captivating and
awe – inspiring performance through which our students tried to convey the
message of universal brotherhood.
We have many talented students in our
school. Some are very good painters, dancers, singers, etc. others are cut out
to be excellent orators, writers, musicians, etc. To bring out their true
potential we provide them with opportunities where their hidden talents come to
the surface. We had elocution competition and creative writing competition for
the students of std VII and VIII. There were skit competitions (value-based)
debate competition (English) mind- mapping competition and quiz competition for
the students of IX and X. It is quite astonishing to see that these students
never fail to amaze us. There
performance is always beyond our expectation.
There was a district level science
seminar on 23rd August in S.P.G Boys school, Chaibasa. Forty – six
schools had participated in this event and our school bagged the second prize.
It is quite an achievement for us and we feel proud to inform you that Mahima
Pan of std IX has been selected for the state level science seminar.
This year our school celebrated the
Traditional costume Day on 24th August. It is a day which is
thoroughly enjoyed by the whole school. Children as well as the teachers were
seen in myriad colours. Everyone’s costume was fashioned differently,
representing different cultures belonging to different parts of India. It is a
day when India’s rich diversified culture is displayed in its full glory.
ST.
ALBERT’S COLLEGE, RANCHI
“A babe in the house is a well-spring of
pleasure, a messenger of peace and love…”, Mrs. Norton has said. Yes! St.
Albert’s College premises were filled with joy and happiness as our dear Fr. John
Crasta celebrated his Birthday on August 8, 2013.
August 15, 2013 began with the Holy
Eucharist presided over by Fr. Suman Kumar Ekka, the president of the Faculty.
It was the Independence Day and the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. The Indian Flag the ‘Tri-colour’ was hoisted by Fr. Michael
Ignatius, the new minister of the College.
On August18, 2013 the Chotanagpur Munda
Students Association celebrated the
‘Freshers’ Day’ at St. Xavier’s College. It was the initiative by this
association to preserve the culture of the Mundas. On this beautiful day,
Bishop Anand Jojo of Hazaribagh Diocese was the main celebrant at the
Eucharistic Celebration. Fr. John Mundu, SJ also made sure that he was present
for the day. Br. Paulus Jojo and Michael
Deogam were actively involved in the successful completion of the
programme.
St. Albert’s College in collaboration
with Tarunoday, the Regional Theologate Centre, Kanke, Ranchi organized the
Centenary Memorial Symposium to mark the year-long Centenary Celebrations of
the College on August 20, 2013. His Grace ArchbishopThomas Menamparampil and
Fr. Felix Wilfred were the resource persons for the symposium. Archbishop
Thomas Menamparampil addressed the gathering on the topic Our Mission in India:
New Trends in Theologizing.
Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil
categorized the topic on: - i) Be a Force for Good in Society ii) “We also
Speak because We Believe” (2 Cor4:13) iii) Rescuing Cultural Values. Fr. Felix
Wilfred addressed us on the topic Indian Theologies in the Post-Vatican II
Period. Some of his keynotes were – i) National and Socio-Political Concerns in
the Formation of Indian Theologies ii) Theology of Religions and Dialogue iii)
Transition to a Plurality of Theologies iv) Indian Mission Theology v) Dalit
Theology and Its Significance vi) Budding Feminist Theology vii) Indigenous
Theology (Tribal Theology) - The Third Wave of Indian Theology. There was a
very good response to the symposium from the religious men and women of the
town and also from the Christian Denomination of the other Churches. The
selfless service rendered by the staff and students made the day beautiful and
successful.
(Bro. Michael
Deogam)
PRAYERS REQUESTED
HAPPY BIRTHDAY- SEPTEMBER
07
|
Fr. Emmanuel Horo
|
09
|
Fr. A. Alphonse
|
11
|
Fr. C.R. Prabhu
|
13
|
Tobias Kujur
|
19
|
Vijay Bhat
|
21
|
Edward Saldanha
|
22
|
Benedict Minj
|
30
|
Bipin Kishore Barla
|
