Advent Wreath-Waiting, Watching and Burning.

A familiar symbol of the Advent season, the Advent Wreath rings the reminder of the imminent coming of the Lord. Made out of evergreen leaves, it portrays life and enthusiasm, signifying the eternal life that the Saviour shall bring. The four candles set up like pillars at the centre of the wreath, remind us about the four weeks of Advent, a time of “waiting and watching”. One candle each is lit every passing Sunday of Advent. Two Advent Wreaths prepared and decorated by the Novices are placed in the Main Chapel and the Novices' Chapel to remind everyone to await the Lord and to burn within to welcome the Lord on Christmas Day.

"Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" Isaiah 40:3

God's Love for You and for Me!

In his poem, Novice Chethan Anil Pinto mulls and muses over the incomparable love of God. The words which strikingly show the poet's touching experience of the incomparable Love of God almost immediately take us along in its sway. Relish it!

People say, God is 'Love', 'Mercy' and 'Kindness'
He is everywhere, even in a tiny atom
They say He is above all, mighty and eternal
No one can compete with Him.
All say God's Love is unconditional
He is an endless ocean of 'Love'
His mercy is everlasting,
wide enough to embrace all generations.
Everything is true and acceptable.
But if we sit with this truth
We will have nothing of it and
No fruit will emerge out of God's bounty.
It is like fetching water from a river
with a full jar refusing to be empty.
Unless we go with an empty heart
We will not be filled at all!
A humble, open and sincere heart
will overflow with the Love of God
The heart which is kind and generous
will receive much more than needed.

Interview with Fr Denis Coelho SJ

We got a good opportunity to talk to the otherwise shy and soft-spoken Fr Denis Coelho. Apart from the many ministries he has taken up in his long serving life as a Jesuit, he has also been the Rector of Mount St Joseph. Currently residing at Dhyanashrama, the veteran Fr Denis is actively involved in directing retreats. Here are the excerpts of the interview with him.

Father, how would you like to describe your life at present? What are your present involvements?

I am attached to the retreat house. So my main work is directing retreats. Time permitting, I also teach English to the II year novices and write the house diary. So it is a peaceful life, regular life and I can be faithful to my spiritual life and community exercises.

We come across you as a person charged with positive energy. Can you tell us the secret?

It is an attitude I have cultivated from the earliest days in the Society. I have had many Jesuit models in this. There have also been some who have been negative and they have irked me.

What fires your passion for teaching?

Teaching has interested me from my Regency onwards. I had opportunity to interact and learn from exemplary teachers in Juniorate, Philosophy, Theology and in schools I have worked in. I see it as an apostolate and greatly like it.

Of all ministries you have undertaken, which one do you like the most? Why?

Most of my life after Theology and Ordination has been spent in schools. But I had the unique opportunity to work as a parish priest in a small parish of Bellary Diocese. (Now it is a part of Gulbarga Diocese). Those 6 months in Chittapur were the happiest of my life as a Priest.

You are person who likes change and innovation. How have you seen the Society change over the years? Has this change been for the better or for the worse?

I firmly believe that the change in the Church and the Society is inspired by Vatican II. It is the response to the call to “See the signs of the times.” With the Church, the Society too has been responding to the call of Vatican II, to go back to the sources and heed the signs of the times. St Ignatius himself called for a change, an ongoing change, a “MAGIS” – don’t stop, keep on doing better.

What is 'the important thing' that the Society of Jesus has taught to you as a life lesson?

It will take long to enumerate what the Society has taught me. We have to be torch-bearers. We have to work for promoting faith that does justice. We have to love the poor.

If you are given a second chance to live, what will be your choice?
Hard to say. The choice for me would be schools or distant missions like Afghanistan, Guyana or even Bijapur and Pannur-Manvi. Thank You Father.

O Man, Where are you?

Novice Leston Baptist Lobo has employed his creative energy in composing a short poem about 'he' which means the human person and 'He' who is God. In a symbolic and crisp style, Leston tries to portray the ill effects of abusing God's creation. Creation is more than an artwork - it is God's gift to us. We have failed to protect it. It is high time that we do something about it.

He dreamt an impossible dream,
Risking a creation of another 'He',
Had trust in the skies and hope in the clouds,
Still, He did create a 'he', a problem.
He thought, "How good 'he' would be?
How great 'he' will become?"
But in the end, 'he' failed to be another 'He'
to fulfil 'His' plans for 'him'.
'he' stamped all that 'He' created,
he coloured in dark hues 'His' naturality,
he repeatedly stepped backwards.
Still, 'he' feels that 'He' did it all!

Eco Treasures at Mount St Joseph

Finding God in all things Mount St Joseph is an abode of rich flora and fauna, awash with a variety of plant and animal species. A spider spotted in one of our gardens and captured in frame by Novices Noel Dias and Nithin Coelho shows this very vividly. Every creature and every plant in our campus tells 'a fascinating news...God still loves the world!' Noel writes about his experience with his 'friend, the spider' as follows

Noel Stephen Dias: I was walking across the natural gardens of Mount when I spotted a huge spider hanging over my head. I was wonder struck to observe God’s creation so beautiful and unique. Every creature teaches me something or the other to cherish for life. Likewise, the spider was patient enough to wait for its food and that’s the value I learnt from my new friend – PATIENCE. To remind me of my new friend, I decided to keep its memory and the value of the lesson it taught me forever in a photograph. I want to thank God for His wonderful creation. “Everyone is created unique. It is we who learn something from others and make the best of our lives."

Retreats (January - May 2012)

Retreats - Dhyanashrama (Mount St Joseph)

03-11 Jan: Come and rest awhile (Fr Hilario Fernandes)

13-21 Jan: God is my Shepherd (Fr John Baptist)

23-31 Jan: Walking with the Lord (Fr Simon Furtado)

02-10 Feb: Lord, let me see your face (Fr John Baptist)

12-20 Feb: Called to be a disciple of Jesus (Fr Francis Menezes)

21-29 Feb: Call to Conversion (Fr Denis Coelho)

02-10 Mar: Walking with Him to Calvary (Fr Hilario Fernandes)

12-20 Mar: Love of the suffering Lord (Fr Denis Coelho)

22-30 Mar: “Behold the Wood of the Cross” (Fr Tom Quadros)

01-08 Apr: Body Broken, Blood Shed (Fr William Sequeira)

11-19 Apr: Walking with the Risen Lord (Fr John Baptist)

22-30 Apr: ‘then their eyes were opened’ (Fr Tom Quadros)

02-10 May: Relishing His presence (Fr John Baptist)

12-20 May: Basking in the Lord’s love (Fr Simon Furtado)

12-20 May: Eco-Spirituality retreat (Fr Leo D’Souza)

MONTH’S RETREATS

02-31 Mar: 30-Day Retreat (Fr John Baptist)

For further details, contact:

The Director
Mount St Joseph (Dhyanashrama)
IIMB PO, Kalena Agrahara,
Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore - 560 076.
Tel: 080-26580441, 26585464
E-mail: dhyanashrama@gmail.com
Blog: www.msjnov.blogspot.com

The Depth of my Being

From the depth of his heart Novice Rohan Prakash D'Souza has penned a touching poem which might well be his encounter experience with the Lord. It is amazing to see how God who resides in the depth of our being brings a change of heart once we become convinced of His presence. Let us get into deeper waters with the sentiments expressed in this work of love.

The uncountable stars of the sky,
The expanse of the vast sea,
The unrelenting dryness of the desert.
All these show me the depth of my being.
I was amazed to see my own life.
The empty desires of my heart,
I understood that my love for God was distant.
How difficult it is to surrender to Him!
I lived with my many disquieting questions.
My fears and struggles were without answers.
I was not satisfied or clear about my life journey.
My heart, still, desired for the Truth.
The mystery of God had remained as history,
The burden of life still a burden.
Then He called me in the depth of my being,
To see the wooden cross at Calvary.
He left me surprised and speechless,
And let me see Him carrying my burden.
Now, I just trust Him in the depth of my being,
Because it is the only place where I "Rest in my Being."

ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ - ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡು

ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ - ಈ ದಿನವು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರಿಗೆ ವಿಶೇಷವಾದ ದಿನ. ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡು, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಹೊಗಳಿ ಗೌರವಿಸುವ ದಿನವಿದು. ನವಶಿಷ್ಯ ರೋಹನ್ ಈ ದಿನದ ವಿಶೇಷತೆಯನ್ನು "ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡು" ಮುಖಾಂತರ ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿ ವರ್ಣಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ.

ಕನ್ನಡದ ವೀರ ಪುತ್ರಪುತ್ರಿಯರೇ, ಭರತ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ವೀರಪ್ರಜೆಗಳೇ, ಬನ್ನಿ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಸೇರಿ ಹಾಡೋಣ "ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ." ಕಾಡು, ಜಲ ಸಂಪತ್ತು ಬೆಳೆಸಿರುವ ನಾಡಿದು, ಮಲೆನಾಡು, ಆಗುಂಬೆಗಳಂತಹ ಭವ್ಯ ತಾಣವಿದು, ಕನ್ನಡ ಮಾತೆಯ ಪೂಜಿಸಿ ಆರಾಧಿಸುವ ದೇಗುಲವಿದು, ಭರತ ಲೋಕದ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಯ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಕಣ್ಮಣಿಯಿದು. ಬೇಲೂರು, ಹಳೇಬೀಡುಗಳಂತಹ ಶಿಲ್ಪಗಳ ದೇಗುಲವಿದು, ಸಮುದ್ರಗಳ ಅಲೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಜೀವನ ನಡೆಸುವ ಬೆಸ್ತರ ನಾಡಿದು, ಕವಿ ಋಷಿಗಳು ಬೆಳೆಸಿ, ನೆಲೆಸಿರುವ ಪುಣ್ಯಕೋಟಿ ಕವನದ, ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಹೋರಾಟದ ಫಲವಿದು "ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ."