Text Box: C.J.N.L. JANUARY 2008

FROM Fr. PROVINCIAL’S DESK

By the time CJNL reaches you, the delegates will have assembled in the Aula of the Congregation, probably studying the De Statu report of Fr.General. As the Society assembles for this historic meet, be with us with your earnest prayers so that we remain open to the promptings of the Spirit. We trust that the divine impulse that led to the foundation of the Society will lead it forward to His purpose and glory.

The Province Ministry Commission recommended a special session of the various commissions to revisit the Envisioned Future. I urge the animators of the commissions, to hold this session in all earnestness, spending enough time in prayerful silence imbibing the spirit of the core purpose, values and vision. Then focus on one or two elements of the core vision and make concrete plans for the commission to pursue during this year. The superiors and directors of work are urged to go through the same process, picking up at least one aspect of the core vision and giving it a focus and measurable plan of action in the communities and in ministries for this year. The Spirit led us in a palpable way during the process of formulating the Envisioned Future; let us respond to that grace by making it fruitful in our communities and ministries. Let each community, each apostolate, each commission make an Action Plan 2008. The insights we received from the ITC workshop can be very helpful in this regard. ‘Leadership is about people and potential - harmonization of mindsets, practices and processes and the outcome.’

We express our solidarity with the suffering brethren in Orissa and condemn the violence inflicted on the tribal community. We stand for religious freedom and inter-religious harmony. The response to religious fundamentalism is Christmas: peace and good will, and not a re-enforcement of fundamentalism. The ‘good will’ of the Prince of Peace invites us to adopt an inclusive approach, and not to create a monster of the ‘other’; we are challenged to break down barriers and reach out to people in that embrace with which God embraced the humankind.

George Pattery,s.j.

PROVINCIAL’S PROGRAMME

Jan – March GC 35

12 April R. K. Mission Lecture.

14 GC 35 Day/Budget Meeting.

15-16 Prov Consult.

17-20 Visitation: PJG, Kolkata.

22-25 Visitation: Arunoday.

27-5 May Visitation: Dhyan Ashram,

12-13 Prov. Consult.

25-28 Province Days

17-18 June Prov. Consult.

23: RTC Consultative Board

24-26 Visitation: Durgapur

27-30: Visitation: Burdwan.

2-6 July: Visitation: Haldia.

8-9: RTC: Santiniketan.

LOOKING AHEAD: FORTHCOMING PROVINCE EVENTS

] Meetings of the various Province Commissions: Between January 23^rd and 27^th^, the various Province Commissions will hold a full day meeting in order to revisit our ‘Envisioned Future’, to review the implementation of each commission’s vision statement, and to make realistic, time-bound and concrete plans about what is to be achieved in the coming year. The Commission Coordinators will contact the members about the date and venue.

] On Monday April 14, Bengali New Year Day, in the A.V. Room of St. Xavier’s School

1. - From 9 a.m. Information session on GC 35: our Province delegates will give us a feedback on the proceedings and fruit of GC 34. Questions will be answered along with some discussion. All the Province members are invited.

2. – At 2 p.m., Budget Meeting with all Rectors, Superiors, Directors of Work, Province Consultors and members of the Financial Commission, to take up points arising from the budgets. A more detailed agenda of the meeting will be communicated later.

] Province Assembly for the study of GC35: A more elaborate study and discussion of the vision and directives of GC35 will be taken up during the Province Assembly from May 25 (6 pm) to 28 (lunch time). Please make yourself free for these dates. All our Province men then present within the CCU territory are expected to attend.

˜ APPOINTMENTS ˜

˜ By the Vatican

♦ Fr. Benoît Vermander, a member of the Ricci Institute in Taipei, Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue

˜ By the Provincial of South Asia

♦ Fr. K. C. Philip, ADF: Acting Provincial w.e.f. 04.01.08 till the date of his return after the close of the G.C. 35. E-M Id: kcphilip44@rediffmail.com, Mobile: 9868050942.

˜ By Father Provincial

♦ Fr. George Ponodath, Acting Provincial from 05.01.08 until our Provincial’s return

♦ Fr. Chandan Gupta: Dhyan Ashram, retreat ministry, teacher

♦ Fr. Benny Thomas: Acting Director of Boarding & School, Curate, until May 2008

♦ Fr. M. Thomas Varghese: ongoing formation courses, res. in PJG and assists in parish, till the

end May.

♦ Fr. Salvator Murmu: Acting Parish Priest, Kalna, till the end May.

♦ Fr. Eric Tigga: planning for English Medium School in the Santal area, and ongoing forma-

tion courses till the end of May

♦ Sch. Masillamani will continue his regency in Chamrusai till the end of the academic year,

helping in the school and parish.

With the approval of Fr. General, w.e f. 04.12,07

♦ Fr. Arul Joseph, Superior, Bankura-Mirga-Jhantipahari dispersed community

♦ Fr. Charles Pollet, Superior, Parasmani, Santiniketan

♦ Fr Peter Samikannu, Superior, Prabhu Jisur Girja

♦ Fr. T. J. Thomas: Superior, Raghabpur residence

----------------------------

Corrections in the 2008 catalogue:

Fr. Arjen Tete: Phone: 001-510-549-1114

Fr. Jean Englebert: E-Mail Id: jeanenglebert@gmail.com

Fr. Gaston Roberge: E-Mail Id: gaston.roberge@gmail.com

OPENING OF GC35: FROM OUR MEN ON THE SPOT

From Fr. Provincial: This morning (07.01.08) we had the opening Mass at the Gesu presided over by Cardinal Rhode, President of the Congregation of Consecrated Life. In his homily he highlighted three points a reminder to the Society - rather gentle (expected a harsh one) : I) Religious families seem to distance themselves from the Church hierarchy; ii) We should proclaim the unique truth of the Gospels without diluting it or relativizing it; iii) The Society should be at the forefront of the divide between cultures and faith etc. The liturgy was well planned, and the singing great.

The first session of the Congregation began at 4 p.m., presided over by Fr. General, for various formalities and elections: of the Secretary for the Congregation (Fr. Orlando Torres) and

his Assistant (Fr. Eharte) and of the deputation for the preparation of the De Statu report (from our Assistancy, Fr. Devadoss, provincial from Madurai).

Fr. General formally tended his resignation. The Congregation will take up the De Statu before proceeding to accept or not his resignation. Meanwhile we have work in the assistancy/linguistic groups.

Keep us in your prayers.

a From Fr. Jeyaraj V.: “A word about my Xmas ministry in South Italy: I had 13 days to meet my Italian friends in the parish of Monteiasi in the diocese of Taranto. The people were happy to see me after a gap of seven years. The Parish Priest too was happy to get my help during the Xmas times. He was a seminarian when I formerly used to come down to this parish. This is a small remote parish, and the people are very religious and church going. I had to sit through confessions for hours! I also spent time giving counselling to couples and families as used to do here in 1997- 2000.

Back in Rome; I am put up at Collegio San Roberto Bellarmino, where I stayed during my studies. I am happy to find some of my old friends here, some of whom are provincials or delegates.

a Where can you get updates about what goes on in GC35? On the Internet:

In the Society’s official website: http://www.sjweb.info/

In the S. A. Assistancy website: at www.jcsaonline.com . The site features a) Documents from Rome, b) Documents from the Assistancy, c) Day-to-day from GC 35. Your comments are welcome.

Also in the Wisconsin Province website: creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/GC35/ quite elaborate and professional.

The Socius will send by E-mail all communiqués from our own delegates and other significant ones to all our communities and to all our E-M-linked men who express the desire.

FOUR NEW PRIESTS IN THE LORD ‘S HARVEST.

Arulappan R. : The small village Ulagampatti looked gorgeous on Sat. 08.12.07 as it was getting ready to offer one of its sons for the priestly service of the Lord and of His people. The ordination ceremony was held on a huge platform raised in front of the grand old traditional church glittering with colourful lights. The entire village turned out for the event. Arulappan’s parents accompanied him to the altar. Rt. Rev. Antony Pappusamy, Bishop of Dindigul, laid his hands on him in the act of consecration. Afterwards Fr. Arulappan was felicitated by all. A beautiful bharatnatyam dance by the girls was the main attraction. Fr. E. Kurian thanked the parents for giving their son to the Calcutta Jesuit Province. Many priests, including Jesuits from Calcutta and Madurai, and Sisters joined for this memorable day. The entire congregation was then served delicious mutton biriyani. The next day Fr Arulappan celebrated his first High Mass in the parish. Now there is a long list of places which clamour for his visit Fr. Joseph Pulickal

Zenith William was ordained on 28.12.07 at Vettavalam,Vellore Diocese in Tamil Nadu, by Bishop Soundra Rajan. Zenith was the 28^th priest from this village, the 4^th Jesuit one, the 1^st Jesuit to be ordained in the village. 15 Jesuits from Calcutta and Madurai provinces participated in the three-hour well-organized liturgy. First Deacon Zenith along with the Bishop was brought in procession to the church through the Catholic streets of the village in a well-decorated open jeep. Then the mother and the elder brother of Zenith offered him to the Bishop to be ordained a priest in the Church. His mother was specially thanked by the Bishop for her dedication in

bringing up the family and offering Zenith to the Society. Many diocesan priests, religious sisters and the people of the village and neighbouring ones attended. A beautiful felicitation

program and a good dinner followed. All of us were well taken care by the family members.

The next day Fr. Zenith celebrated his first mass. Five of his nephews and nieces received the first communion from him. At the end of the liturgy Fr. Zenith thanked the people for their supporting, encouragement and for walking with him. It was a great experience for all of us to witness the faith of the people and the fine organization of the whole ceremony by the villagers and especially by Mr. Selvanathan, our former companion in the Calcutta Province Fr. Dominic Savio

Reports about the priestly ordinations of Deacons Kajol Purification and Shaju Joseph will in the next issue.

UPDATE FROM KALNA

The inter-village Fr. Babul Beckers Memorial Challenge Cup Football Tournament was organized on 02.12.07. Sixteen teams participated with great enthusiasm. One of the finalists was from a village where Christians were persecuted. Now the runners’ cup with the photo of Fr Babu Beckers decorates their club house. They were so much taken up that, when they received the trophy, they gave three cheers to the Christian church.

T This year’s Christmas began with a float going around Kalna town with the hostel girls singing carols and with the hostel boys’ band. This year the celebrations attracted a record number of people. At the last minute we had to change the venue of the Mass to accommodate all those who turned up to celebrate with us the birth of Jesus. This time the villagers came with drums and other traditional instruments for the inter-village competition of Santal traditional dance. The whole of Kalna was in our campus on the 25^thwith their kids to pay homage to Baby Jesus. The parable of the Good Samaritan was displayed on flex in the campus.

T Udayani at Kalna, Pandua and Gurap took the opportunity of the Christmas gathering to sensitize people to their rights. There was an exhibition on Self Help Groups, the Right to Information Act, National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, superstitious beliefs, etc. at all the three places. Udayani Gurap organized a drama competition among the SHG groups. It was heartening to see the new groups less than 3 months old, putting up dramas based on socially relevant themes. Special congratulations to the Udayani team at Gurap for this wonderful event.

FROM THE SCHOLASTICS' COORDINATOR

On Nov. 24, all the Scholastics - collegians and regents - converged on PJG to celebrate the feast of St. John Berchmans, their patron, and for the monthly recollection. The well prepared liturgy began with a rousing talk by Sch. Roshan Tirkey, highlighting the different turning points in our Patron’s life, and the different ways he can live up to his inspiration. Fr. Peter Samikannu presided over the Eucharist and exhorted us to be ardent followers of St. John. The brief program concluded with a fine dinner prepared by Br. Christuraj and team.

The next day Fr. Augustine D’Souza gave us a thought-provoking talk, followed by personal prayer and Eucharistic celebration. Thanks to Fr. E. Kurian, our PCF, for looking after all the details and making the program a grand success. Sch. Markus Hembrom

LTS NEWS

l LTS Workday for Plus-Two LTSers: The Executive committee of the Plus-Two Units of Kolkata organized the second Zonal Workday on 02.12.07. Loreto House hosted the programme. 96 LTSers from 8 schools participated. They made blankets (Ketha) from sarees they had collected. While the girls demonstrared a better finishing touch, the boys showed interest in learning a new skill and did their best. The blankets were later distributed among the needy.

l LTS Annual Meet - 2007: The LTS National Centre organized an Annual Meeting of the Animators and the Alumni/ae members from 28 to 31.12.07 at Dhyan Ashram. They evaluated the LTS movement and its impact in Nation building over the last 49 years of its existence. Fr Joseph Pulickal, expert in management skills, helped the participants to identify the deeper dynamics of the Movement. Afterwards the challenges ahead were discussed, and the planning process for the forthcoming Golden Jubilee Celebration of the LTS was initiated.

l Christmas-New Year Get-together: on 30.12.07 seventy LTS family members – Alumni/ae, young adults, and a few specially invited school-going LTSers along with the Principals of various schools – spent 4 hours together with games, carols and songs. The spectacular event was held on a launch on the Hooghly River. This new initiative helped members to strengthen the LTS family spirit.

FROM CHITRABANI

v The 4th Kolkata Short Film Festival (KSFF) was inaugurated by Dr. Murtuza Hossain, Minister, W.B, on 02.12.07. Seventy-one films were screened. This year the seven-day festival - 2 to 8 December 2007 - went online in the newly launched portal www.cinebazar.in which was launched at the inaugural function by Mr. Saheb Chatterjee, cine actor.

There were also two special sessions – one on scripting from dreams by Dr. Ganesan from Madras University, and another on ‘Marketing of Films’ by Arijit Dutta, film distributor. Amar FM and NE Bangla were the media partners. Several cinema theatres in Kolkata have shown interest in showcasing the film festival. Offers are received also from Burdwan and Santiniketan. It was also decided to have a one-day screening of short films every month at Nandan. Chitrabani will organize the screening.

All the Juniors of Dhyan Ashram came to view films on 5^th December.

v JESCOM South Asian Assistancy Meet 2007 was organised by Fr. P.J. Joseph at Loyola College, Chennai, Dec. 14 to 16. Coordinators from 10 provinces and regions participated, including Fr. George Ponodath, our own Province Coordinator. In spite of the sudden illness of the local host, Fr. Freddie (MDU), the meet went well. A very big thank you to the Rector and community of Loyola College for their generous support.

v A meeting of the Directors and Producers of the short films that had been screened at the 4^th KSFF was held at Chitrabani on 11.12.07. Participants expressed appreciation of the festival, especially of the launching of the website and of the festival online. They also made suggestions for improvement.

COURSES OFFERED

z Jesuit Artists’ Workshop v (jaw v) - Gurjarvani and JESCOM South Asia invite all Jesuit Visual Artists of the S.A. Assistancy to Gnanmata Sadan, Talaseri (Bombay Province) Apr. 24 to May 04. We shall create art with the Warli Adivasi artists of Talaseri area, well known for their

paintings. Write/email with your address, tel. no. and email id to: JAW V, Gurjarvani, SXC, Ahmedabad-380 009 Tel. (079) 26300127, 26303114 Mobile: 09426304943 E-Ml:gurjarvani@g

z A seminar for personal and group sapiential reading, reflection and sharing on the challenges the ministry of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises in our times, .April 21 (pm) to 29 (pm). Shanthidhara Retreat Centre, VALVAYAL P.O. Wyanad Dt. 673596 Kerala - Contact Fr.Varghese Malpan, E-Mail: vmalpan @gmail.com Phone: 04936-289762 J.

z A REQUEST FROM OUR BRTC, SANTINIKETAN, would be very happy to get Herbert Vorgrimmler's 6-volume set on the Documents of Vatican II, mow out of print. If any of our houses has got it and is not keen to keep it, may please inform Fr. Joe Kallarangatt.

X UNLESS THE GRAIN OF WHEAT FALLS INTO THE EARTH X

X Fr. Vincent D'Silva (BOM) 17.12.07 Vinayalaya 88/68

X Br. Mathew Parackal (KER) 04.12.07 Trivandrum 71/46

X Br. Peter Prabalam (KAR) Arrupe Nivas 77/42

X Fr. Mathew Lewis (KAR) 01.01.08 Bangalore 90/65

FR. GENERAL’S PRAYER AT THE OPENING OF GC35

After the opening Mass of the 35 General Congregation, January 7, a lamp was lit at the altar of Saint Ignatius in the Gesù Church. This lamp will be burning during the time the Congregation meets. Similar lamps will be lit in Jesuit chapels all over the world as symbol of the continuous prayer for the success of the Congregation. The prayer that Father General l then recited could may be xeroxed and used from time to time in our communities.