Diocese of Jamshedpur
Vol. 47 No. 6 Private Circulation
Only June – 2017
The Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Most Holy Trinity,
“Alleluia, alleluia! Glory be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Spirit; the God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Alleluia! (Revelations 1:8 )
This year in
the month of May, the Universal Church celebrates four major solemnities. Those
are – Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi and the Most Sacred Heart of
Jesus. I would like to present to you my contemplations on the solemnity of the
Most Holy Trinity that falls on Sunday, 11 June this year. The mystery of the
Holy Trinity is the most fundamental of our faith. On it, everything else
depends and from it everything else derives. God is One in nature and Three in
Persons.
God
is one. But the term Trinity is employed to signify the central doctrine of
the Christian religion —
the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there
are Three Persons, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being
truly distinct one from another. It is because of this unison we pray, “Through
Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is
Yours, Almighty Father, for ever and ever”. God is eternal, Alpha and Omega. He
is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Above all, He is our Loving Father. God, infinitely perfect and blessed in Himself, in a plan of sheer
goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this
reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man
to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength.
Nevertheless, man because of sin, separated himself from
relationship with God. But God in his infinite goodness, when the fullness of
time had come, sent His Son as Redeemer and Saviour. And Jesus with his life,
death and resurrection reconciled the humanity with the Father once again. Jesus
is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity. God the Father and God the Son
are one in nature; when apostle Philip asks Jesus, “Show us the Father” Jesus answered “ He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you
say, ‘Show us the Father’? “Do you not believe that I
am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? (John: 14:9-10). After his ascension into heaven, Jesus, the
Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, is seated at the right hand of God the
Father as Judge.
As promised,
Jesus sent the Paraclete after his ascension into heaven. Holy Spirit, the
Paraclete, (John 14:16) is the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. God the
Holy Spirit is equal to the Father and to the Son because they are One in
nature.
"The
Father is God,
the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." In this Trinity of Persons, the Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and
the Son.
Yet, notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal:
all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. God calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the
unity of his family, the Church. In his Son and through him, God invites men to
become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed
life (Prologue, CCC).
In the preface of
the Mass to the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church proclaims the Sacred Mystery
of the Holy Trinity; “ For with your Only Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, you
are one God, one Lord: not in the unity of a single person, but in a Trinity of
one substance. For what you have revealed to us of your glory we believe
equally of your son and of the Holy Spirit, so that, in the confessing of the
true and eternal Godhead, you might be adored in what is proper to each Person,
their unity in substance, and their equality in majesty. For this is praised by
Angles and Archangels, Cherubim, too, and Seraphim, who never cease to cry out
each day, as with one voice they acclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy”.
In the Holy
Eucharist, we can see the mention of the Holy Trinity from the beginning to the
end. Every Mass begins invoking the name of the Holy Trinity. In the Kyrie, we
beseech the mercy of God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit
separately. So the does the glory of each Person in the Trinity is expressly
stated in the Gloria. In every mass, the celebrant blesses the people of God in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of
the Holy Trinity is so deeply enshrined in our Catholic Faith that every prayer
start and end with the name of the Trinity.
Let us be grateful
to the Trinity for the innumerable gifts we have received through the
invocation of the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Let us
be aware of the Trinitarian presence in our life, and respond to the promptings
of the Trinity. May almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
+ Felix Toppo, S.J
Bishop of Jamshedpur
Guidelines
for the celebration of the Bible Sunday by the CCBI Commission for Bible.
Introduction
The
Holy Father, Pope Francis spoke about the importance of the word of God
enshrined in the Bible in his recent Apostolic Letter “Misericordia et misera”.
(No 7) He is encouraging us to take creative initiatives to promote the word of
God by especially allotting one Sunday of the liturgical year. The CCBI has not
fixed “Bible Sunday” as such on the national level. Some of the regions
organise Bible Sunday but not all. It is an opportune time to introduce Bible
Sunday where it is not celebrated and encourage regions and diocese where it is
celebrated.
Purpose:
To
renew the Christian community’s efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better
known;
To
appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in the Bible;
To
help the faithful become living vessels for the transmission of God’s word;
To
promote Biblical Pastoral Ministry.
Proposed dates: Second
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last
Sunday of August
Guidelines and Material:
These
guidelines and material are meant to serve, where needed, as a source of
inspiration and model to plan the Bible Sunday celebration:
i.
Parish
Priests and heads of institutions be informed sufficiently in advance of the
date of the Bible Sunday.
ii.
A
pastoral/circular letter by the Bishop regarding the Bible Sunday celebration
to be read in all the churches and institutions at least on the Sunday prior to
the Bible Sunday.
iii.
On
that day, wall-posters/ flexes to be put up.
iv.
A
pre-planned programme in broad outlines be announced at least on that day
v.
Handbills
announcing the celebration of Bible Sunday to be distributed.
Celebration:
1. On the Bible Sunday: In order to create a festive
atmosphere, singing of religious hymns on Biblical themes and reading of
selected passages from the Bible through the public address system are to be
encouraged before and/or after the Eucharistic celebration.
2. Liturgy: A special Mass approved by the
CCBI for Bible Sunday to be celebrated with solemnity.
3. Bible Orientation Programme:
Apart from the
Liturgy and cultural programmes on that day, Biblical formation programmes
would also enhance the scope of the Bible Sunday.
- Talk on the Bible/Biblical themes, Biblical prayer etc.
- Bible Study Sessions (for special groups/Associations in the parish
- A Bible exhibition.
- A stall where the Bible, extracts from the Bible, and other literature on the Bible be made available for sale.
4. Enthronement of the Bible: During the
day the Bible could be enthroned in the homes by the head of the family.
5. An evening with/on the Bible: An
evening with/on the Bible may be organized according to local conditions and
convenience to present the Biblical message for the people of today.
Some of the
following items would be helpful:
Public meetings with one or two
speeches; Recitation of key passages; Elocution; Bible Quiz; Debate; Biblical
competition involving children and their parents; Bible songs; Bible one-act
play/drama; Dance on Biblical themes; Bible videos, feature films; Any other
local cultural forms of communication.
A pastoral/circular letter by
our Bishop regarding the Bible Sunday celebration will be sent to all the
parish and institutions; it will have to read on the Bible Sunday during the
Eucharistic Celebration.
Sacred Ordination of Rev. Dn. Fabian Toppo
Rev. Dn. Fabian Toppo was ordained a priest on 10th
May, 2017 for the Catholic Diocese of Jamshedpur in his home parish, Sacred
Heart Church, Kurdeg, Simdega. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J elevated him to the Order
of Priesthood in the presence of many priests, religious and laity. There were
10 priests from our diocese, including Rev. Fr. David Vincent, the Vicar
General to witness this ceremony. The priests, sisters and the parishioners of
Sacred Heart Church, Kurdeg, left no stones unturned to make this event a
memorable one. There was a felicitation
programme soon after the Ordination ceremony. Congratulations to Rev. Fr.
Fabian and wish him all the best in his future ministry.
Brothers get together in Adra
On 14th to
21st of May Jamshedpur diocesan brothers get together was arranged
in Sacred Heart Church, Adra. 42 brothers from different places came
enthusiastically to participate in this program. For this program many resource
persons had come to share on various topics. These are the topics in which
resource persons had spoken about, like motivation and self- awareness taken by
Fr. Peter from Asansol Diocese, the importance of English language taken by
Mrs. Pritisa, importance of communication taken by Fr. Gyan Prakash, theme on
family life taken by Mrs. Jacky, on leadership taken by Mrs. Sonia Francis.
Along with this, the computer classes were taken by Mr. Srinivas. By these
various topics, brothers are enriched and benefited for future ministry. Apart
from these we enjoyed fishing and eating very sweet mangoes. We are very
grateful to Frs. Linus and Gyan Prakash for arranging this program. (Br. Sameer Panna)
Santhali
Language Course at Maluka
It
is said that “Without Language Man is Like a Beast”. This year Santhali
language course was held from 1st
of May to 13th of May , in Maluka Parish . We were welcomed by Fr. Deelip
Marandi, the Parish Preist of Maluka. There
were 29 brothers for this course. Fr. Dileep Marandi was the resource person. He
taught us very systematically that all brothers could follow him. After
attending this course, I can say with full confidence that many brothers will
be able to read Santhali Bible Easily. Other than Santhali Laguaage course we
were given opportunity to visit the nearby families and recite the rosary. It
was a pleasant experience that we spent some time with them and came to know
their difficulties that they experience in their life. We were
very much taken up by their devotion to Mother Mary and simple faith. We are
very grateful to Fr. Dileep Marandi for the success of this programme, who in
spite of his busy schedule took the task of teaching and arranging everything
for us on time. We also thank Fr. Manoj
Tigga, the assistant Parish Priest, Regent,
Bro. Sheethal Lakra and Catechist Mr. Junas Purty who gave their valuable time
and helped us in many ways. (Bro. Cornelius Orea )
Priestly Ordination of Rev. Fr. X. Darwin Alex at Pallam
On 20th
May, 2017, Rev. Dn. X. Darwin Alex was elevated to the Order of priesthood by
His Lordship Most Rev. Lawrence Pius, Bishop of Dharmapuri. He was ordained in
St. Matthew’s Parish, Pallam, Tamil Nadu, in the presence of his family
members, near and dear ones. Frs. A. Alphonse, Sahayadasan, Edward Saldanha and
Puthumai Raj represented our diocese at the ceremony and prayed for him. The whole village was in a festive mood as
they witnessed the ordination of Rev. Dn Darwin. The whole ceremony was very
well arranged.
Fr. Darwin Alex
celebrated his first mass on 21st May, 2017 in the same parish. We
congratulate him and wish him all the best as he takes up on the divine
mandate.
Confirmation at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Golmuri
21st
May, 2017 was a memorable day for St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Golmuri as 63
candidates received the sacrament of Holy Confirmation. The wonderful choir and
the prayerful faithful added a celestial experience to the whole ceremony. The
children were very well prepared for the reception of the Holy Confirmation.
Bishop in his sermon explained the importance of Holy Spirit in our daily life
and our commitment towards the Christian way of life. Congratulations to Frs.
Camille, Alphone and Charles for making this day a memorable one in the life of
63 children.
Catholic Charities, Sundernagar
Catholic
Charities organized a 3 days Training for Adolescents on RTI and STD at Vikas
Bharti, Sundernagar Jamshedpur from 21 – 23rd May 2017.
47 girls and 33 boys from different parts of West Singhbhum and Saraikela-
Kharswan districts attended the training.
The focus was
given on Adolescent Health Behaviour in Jharkhand. 10.2 million Adolescents are
engaged in work, instead of being in schools, in India. It matters their health
a lot. About 2 million girls marry early every year in India. The legal age for marriage is 19 for a girl
and 21 for a boy. Our aim is to protect every adolescent from all forms of
violence like physical, sexual or emotional violence by their relatives,
partner or husband.
Qualitative
discussion with adolescents revealed their knowledge, beliefs and practices
related to health and hygiene. A
platform was created to gain health related information such as reproductive
tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases and resolve their doubts.
They are motivated to have adequate nutrition and access to adolescent friendly
health and nutrition services.
We are grateful
to Dr. Nilu Bara, Dr. Nilima and Dr. Sarda and all the Sisters who are involved
in the health Ministry of the Diocese in these two Districts.
St. Xavier’s English School &
Junior College, Chaibasa
Board
Exams (ICSE / ISC ) successfully got over on 17th April, 2017.
“Parents – Teachers Meet” was held on 29th April, 2017. This was the
first meeting with parents for the session 2017-18, where teachers spoke about
their pupils’ progress. Though X Std students are awaiting for their results,
their session for Std XI began on 1st May, 2017. Due to
excessive heat and as per the order of Deputy Commissioner (D.C), the students
from LKG to Std VIII went for an early
summer vacation starting form 6th April , 2017. The school went for
the school tournament and the final match was between St. Xavier’s English
School & Junior College, Chaibasa Vs S.P.G Mission School, Chaibasa where
our school was the winner defeating all other teams. A proud moment to behold!!
Congratulations
Congratulations to Rev. Frs.
Vijaj Bhat, Jerome Pereira and James Quadres as they celebrated their Sacerdotal
Ruby Jubilee on 26th May, 2017. We thank the Lord for their gift of
Priesthood and pray that the Good Lord may continue to assist them in their
ministry. They were ordained on 26-05-1977 by his Lordship late J. R. Rodericks,
S.J. at Kanajar, Mangalore.
We congratulate the principals,
the staff and students of all the educational institutions in our diocese who
have secured 100% success in their 10th and 12th Board
Examinations.
Sad Demise
Mrs. Johani Tigga, beloved
mother of Fr. Manoj Tigga, passed away in the Lord on 21st May, 2017.
The funeral was held on the next day in her native village. Fr. Manoj is from Tamra Parish, Simdega. We
express our sincere condolence to Fr Manoj Tigga and the grieving family and
extend our prayers. May her soul Rest In Peace!
Prayer Request
We humbly request you to pray for Fr. Jerome Pereira who is
admitted to Mercy Hospital. We also request you to pray for Fr. Puthumai Raj’s
mother who is also sick and is admitted in the hospital in Tamil Nadu.
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
JUNE
|
|
Date
|
Name
|
14
|
Fr. Prince Dibash
|
16
|
Fr. Halan Bodra
|
16
|
Fr. Baldeo Hembrom
|
22
|
Fr. Georage Ekka
|
24
|
Fr. Michael Jojo
|
30
|
Fr. Roque Cardoza
|
Please participate in the Bible Written Quiz for all.
1. Bible Written Quiz and 2. Rewriting the Holy Bible
1. Bible
Written Quiz
Syllabus for
Logos Bible Quiz 2017
1-
Book of Numbers : Chapter 22
– 36
2-
Book of Proberbs: Chap. 21 –
31
3-
Mathew: Chap. 1 – 9
4-
Book of Revelation: Chap 4-9
Language:
English and Hindi
DIOCESAN LEVEL
EXAM :
Sunday, 10th September, 2017
Participants
are requested to register their names as early as possible
2. Rewriting the Holy Bible:
Syllabus for
Bible writing Competition - From the Book of Genesis to Ruth. Participants
must follow NRSV Bible for English, And Bulke Translation for Hindi; Written
Copy to be submitted by the end of September 2017. 1st Prize Rs
10000 X 5 persons; 2nd Prize 5000 X10 persons; and 3rd
prize 2500 X 10 persons.
Director
Divya
Bharati Pastoral Centre
Near Mudhra
Hospital
Chaibasa,
Jharkhand – 833201
Bishop will be unavailable in the diocese in the month of June 2017. Fr. David Vincent, the Vicar General, will be taking care of the Ordinary affairs of the diocese in the absence of the Bishop.
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