Prabhu Prakash Province of the Pallottines

Dear confreres,

Advent 2007 is here before us. In every Advent, the person with whom I would like to associate myself very closely is none other than Mother Mary. This is because she is the one who gives the best example of preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ. I like to recall her words again and again: “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let what you have said be done to me” (Lk 1:38). Mary expresses her willingness to do at all times what God wants from her.

I recall my own religious consecration and priestly ordination, the solemn moments when I too expressed my willingness to do at all times what God wants from me. But then self interests creep in again and again into my way of life and for a moment I forget what I really ought to be. Availability to God is a requirement for the realization of our vocation and therefore also for contentment in one’s consecrated life.

From my years of life as the Provincial, one of the unforgettable experiences I cherish is the words of a confrere during a transfer consultation: “Fr. Provincial, send me anywhere. If I do God’s work I will be happy and if I do my work I will be unhappy.” We all may have our own personal ambitions, personal preferences in work and area of work, personal likes and dislikes. But then ultimately my consecration should be the standard in accepting my course of life and ministry. Seeking positions and choice of apostolate to fulfill my own self interests not only betrays my consecration, in the long run such attitude among members will destroy the very fabric of the Society.

Let the celebration of Advent this year make me humble and available to God for His work. Advent is truly a season of grace, which will enable me to be more Christ-like in my life. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus.

In its session on November 26, 2007, the General Council has approved the results of the election of the Provincial Council, according to the Law of our Society nn.136 and 376. The Council has confirmed the election of:

Fr. Augustine Varickakal                      - Provincial Rector
Fr. Paul Chandrankunnel                       - First Consultor
Fr. George Madeikkal                          - Consultor
Fr. James Anchukandathil                     - Consultor
Fr. Joy Palachuvattil                              - Consultor

We congratulate the new Provincial Council which takes office during the Holy Eucharistic celebration at Pallotti Bhawan on January 6, 2008. We wish them God’s blessings and success in all their endeavors and pray for every grace necessary for the creative fulfillment of all the obligations of the office they assume.

We appreciate and render our gratitude to Fr.Vincent Thottupatt, Fr. Mathew Thonickal and Fr.Mathew Paraplackal, the members of the Election Commission for the clean job they have done.

Fr. Susayan Sathyanesan                                - Provincial Rector
       Fr. Oswald D’Souza                              - First Consultor
Fr. Thomas Kurusappan                       - Consultor
Fr. Valerian Charles Fernandes             - Consultor
Fr. John Bhaskar Rao Madanu             - Consultor

The new Provincial Council takes office on January 06, 2008. We congratulate the newly elected members of the Provincial Council. We wish them God’s Blessings.

Fr. Joseph Jude Rosario and Fr. Varghese Madan have already begun their Jubilee year, October 2007 – October 2008. Hearty congratulations and best wishes. May the Lord bless them and keep them close to Himself. We do look forward to their Jubilee celebrations.

The Community at Pallottigiri hoisted the Province level Sacerdotal Silver Jubilee celebrations of five of our confreres on October 29, 2007. Fr. George Thattamparambil together with other jubilarians officiated the Eucharistic celebration. Fr. Vincent Thottupatt in the homily acknowledged the role of their formators in moulding them to be men of strength and character and in helping them to be steadfast in priestly vocation. Congratulations to the Jubilarians once again! Many thanks to the community at Pallottigiri which spared no efforts to ensure that the celebration was a grand one.

The annual retreat was held as scheduled from Octrober 09 – 14, 2007 at PILLAR, Madurai and at PAC, Nagpur from November 08 – 13, 2007. 22 confreres each joined in the retreat in both the venues. Fr. Piere Jacob S. J. preached the retreat.

99. Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Khrist Premalaya Regional Theologate, Ashta

Khrist Premalaya Regional Theologate, Ashta completes this year twenty five years of its existence. With its focus on contextualized theology and rural orientation, this Theologate is unique in India. The Lord has blessed this institution richly. In all 425 priests have passed out of this institution serving various dioceses as well as religious congregations and engaged in pastoral work throughout India. We are proud to have run this institution for the past 13 years. To mark the occasion and to thank the Lord for His abundant blessings a jubilee day was celebrated on 28th November 2007. The concelebrated Eucharistic celebration in the morning was attended by 10 Archbishops and bishops and some 225 former students apart from other distinguished guests. The day concluded with a well appreciated cultural programme.

A long awaited dream is coming true. On December 1, 2007 Very Rev. Fr. Mathew Panakal, Provincial, blessed the foundation stone for the New Presbytery at Aulia, and it was laid by Rev. Fr. Greg Serwa, Milwaukee. Our confreres from Indore and Ashta, several priests and religious of the Diocese as well as some people of Aulia parish graced the occasion. We wish Fr. George Thattamparambil and Fr. George Kavukatt all the best and pray for the speedy completion of this project with the help of generous donors and the Society.

An Ongoing formation gathering was held at Maria Rani Centre, Trivandrum on 21st to 24th of November, 2007. This gathering was held for the two batches of priests who were ordained in the years of 2004 & 2005. Rev. Frs. Matthew Thonickal and Louis Tete animated the gathering efficiently.

The gathering was greatly enriching as all the four days were spent in fruitful celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the morning, followed by a training session on ‘Counseling’ given by Dr. Gireesh during the day, alongside the Group Sharing of individual life experiences as a priest in the evening. A fruitful recollection in the morning and an outing to Kovalam beach in the afternoon of the fourth day marked a grand finale to the whole gathering.

A special word of mention here of the training session on ‘Counseling’ conducted by Dr. Gireesh, a reputed pyshotherapist. He enlightened us about the ways and means of being a good counselor in our ministry. As an evaluation, both the batches of priests expressed their willingness to look forward to such gatherings of this sort in the future.

Fr. Irudaya Rajesh Johnson

The Congress of the Pallottine Mission Secretaries of our Society is scheduled to be held at PILLAR from December 08 - 16, 2007. All the Mission Secretaries of different Pallottine Provinces and Regions are expected to participate in this Congress. Very Rev. Fr. Friedrich Kretz, SAC, the Rector General, will be present at the Congress. Fr. Mathew Thonickal, Mission secretary of our Province, will be representing the Province at the Congress. It is for the first time such a Congress is held in India.

Though from the very beginning all the educational institutions under our Province followed certain norms and regulations in their administration as to ensure value added education, it was a commonly felt need in many of the Education Board Meetings to codify these rules and regulations, that all the institutions may benefit from it and all have a common standard of administration. As an answer to this felt need the Education Board has codified these rules and regulations into a handbook namely: “Rules and Regulations of the Prabhu Prakash Province of the Pallottines for the Management of Its Educational Institutions”. This handbook is aimed at to aid our institutions to systematize their administration and to cater to the needs of the people with efficiency and commitment.

A word of sincere thanks to all the members of the Education Board in working out and codifying these rules and regulations for the smooth running of our institutions.

The Mission Secretariate is bringing out a Calendar with a view of keeping our families, Parish Priests, well wishers and faithful under our pastoral care informed about our life, activities and challenges. These calendars might promote more vocations as well as collaborators for our Society. We were able to accommodate only a few activities, stations, institutions and parishes. The actual price of each calendar is Rs. 20/. Those who are interested please approach the Mission Secretariate. A very special thanks to Fr. Roychan for over seeing the designing and printing of the Calendar.

On Sunday, 2nd December 2007, the First Sunday of Advent, the Episcopal Ordination of Monsignor Séamus Freeman, as Bishop of Ossory, will take place in St Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny. The Principal Consecrator will be Most Reverend Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, and the co-consecrators will be His Excellency Most Reverend Giuseppe Lazzarotto, Apostolic Nuncio, and Most Reverend Laurence Forristal, former Bishop of Ossory.

The ABVM Province, Bangalore has now a New Provincialate building namely Assumption House. On December 4, 2007, Rev. Fr. Wolfgang Dutzi will inaugurate the building and Most Rev. Bernard Moras, the Archbishop of Bangalore will bless it. At this happy occasion we congratulate and convey our best wishes to Very Rev. Fr. Vensus George and other fathers of the Bangalore province.

You knock at my door, I open not.
You stretch out your hand, I recoil.
You bid me carry you, I shy away.
Yet Godson, you come, ever come.

Why knock when my inn is filthy?
Why reach to hold my stingy hand?
Why cry, when you see me asleep?
Why come Godson, to this nobody?

Alas, you entered, and saw my stable,
Your warm body ignited my cold soul,
As Your soft voice vibrated, violin-like,
Calling me ‘Godson’ – baptizing me me!

Stay with us, O Godson, we need You!
Be our Guest, Clean our messy manger!
You made us for yourself, and restless
Will we be, till we find our rest in You.