Ring out the Old and Ring in the New (New Year 2011)

It seems that 2010 was just whisked away by time. Ring out the Old and Ring in the New (New Year 2011): The arrival of the New Year spiced up the joy of Christmas season and brightened our hopes for the new experiences to come. We welcomed the year by gathering together with the congregation for the midnight Mass in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish. Frs Francis Noronha, Sunil Fernandes, Dion Vaz and Francis Menezes led the celebration. The jubilant mood in the community the next day was very infectious. The arrival of guests, the warm wishes from the brethren, the community gatherings and the pleasant aroma of cakes added a unique flavour to this day which increased our gratitude to God and the love He has poured on us.

The Jesuit community (Mount St Joseph) wishes you a very happy, prosperous and joy-filled New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011

The Jesuit community of Mount St Joseph wishes you a very happy, prosperous and joy-filled New Year.

Christmas - Love From Heaven Born In Us

Dear Friends,

We, the Jesuit community at Mount St Joseph, wish you all a Merry Christmas. May the birth of our Saviour bring abundant joy and happiness in your life!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Gingery Success in the Gardens!

It’s ginger bumper crop in Mount St Joseph Novitiate - The novices who had gingered up the activity in St Stanislaus garden by growing ginger, have finally tasted success. The ginger roots were planted at the fringes of the four plots of St Stanislaus garden in the month of June. A lot of sweat and toil went into the work which seems very sweet now. The novices themselves took delicate care of the plants after taking in advice and suggestions from many in the community. The total output has come to around 300 Kilos. We are grateful to the sisters of Holy Spirit Convent who provided us the ginger roots to begin with and also to everyone for their enthusiastic support.
"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought" - A. S. Gyorgy

"Alone with the Alone"

Greetings from Mount St Joseph Novitiate, Bangalore. We, the Sixteen First Year Novices, are deeply joyful to inform you that we are beginning our Month’s Retreat on 01 November 2010 under the guidance of Fr Dion Vaz, our Novice Director. We humbly request you to pray for our inner journey as we walk with the Lord to be deeply rooted in His love and service.
Please do remember to pray for our Twelve Second Year Brothers as they are going for their Mission Experiment, an outward journey in faith. During this grace-filled time, we too assure you of our prayers for your Mission.

Seeking Your Prayers and Blessings,
Yours in Christ Jesus
First Year Novices

On We Go.....Pilgrimage to Anekal

The morning of 29 October saw the first year Novices leave to the Anekal Mission on a pilgrimage prior to the Month’s Retreat. After alighting from the bus at Bannerghatta, we took the long road to Anekal on foot. The trees along the road and the cool weather helped very much. The pilgrimage was done in silence and reciting the Rosary personally. We reached Anekal after a long walk of over twenty kilometers which we covered in a little over than three hours.
We were warmly welcomed by Fr Anil D'Mello and the community members. The Eucharist for the novices was celebrated by Fr. Jerome D’Souza. After Lunch, we proceeded towards the Parish - St. Joseph’s Church. Fr. Benedict warmly received us and we prayed the Rosary together. We returned to Mount ST Joseph in the evening spiritually strengthened, renewed and enriched.

Intensive Journal - A Journey into Oneself

The course on Intensive Journal helped us in our inward journey to integrate the Body, Heart, Mind and Spirit. Surely, the inner journey has enriched our lives!

The first year Novices who are gearing up for the Month’s Retreat were given a course on Intensive Journal from 25 to 27 of October by our Rector, Fr Francis Menezes. The course was adapted according to the needs of the novices as they are preparing for the Long Retreat. For three days there was silence in the Novitiate as the course required an atmosphere of silence and recollection. Despite the silence in the house the entire house was abuzz with activity, which brought a lot of liveliness and silent joy in the house.

Mother Mary – Our Lady of the Rosary

Mother Mary is a perfect model for us to imitate here on earth. Thomas A Kempis writes, “Mary is the friend of poverty, the way of humility, the model of patience and perfect in all things.” Therefore we must fix the gaze of our soul constantly on her for our spiritual interests and imitation. For us, Mary’s children, the Rosary should be the most loving, prayerful turning, a most tender appeal to our mother, convinced that her help and support is an absolute necessity in our lives. The Church is ever presenting to us for our contemplation, study and our imitation, Mary our mother and model. If we wish to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to imitate him, we must model ourselves on Mother Mary.

Feedback: An ongoing Process of Growth

A life unreflected is not worth living. God speaks to us through events, persons and things. Feedback was the time when God spoke to us through our companions. We got a chance to be personally involved in the growth of each other. Two of our Brothers are happy to share their experience with us.

Joyal Sandeep: Feedback is a time to know more about my own life. It is a time to look at the lights and shadows i.e., positives and negatives of my life. It is a time to give and to receive an authentic feedback. It challenges us to work on our negatives and improve on our positives. It helps us to deepen our relationship with everyone and to be a person of discernment and consistency. This process is very important as it increases our self-awareness. I realized that I can become a better person and bring in the necessary changes in my life through the feedback session.

Calvin George: "An unreflected life is not worth living" said the great philosopher Socrates. Feedback is a process where we look into our lives from the point of view of others. It is an instrument from which we can look into our own past lives deeply and improve in our future life. By becoming aware of our strengths and weaknesses, we can be better persons and grow in our religious life. Truly, feedback is an ongoing process which leads to growth.

Given to God’s Service - Final Vows

This Sunday was indeed special to the Karnataka Jesuit Province, when Frs Roshan Lobo and Manoj Joseph D’Souza knelt in front of our Lord to pronounce their final vows on 29 August 2010 in the chapel of St Joseph’s Boys' High School, Bangalore. The choir by the Novices and the presence of the Province family enhanced the joy and brotherhood during the Eucharist celebrated by Fr Francis Serrao, the Provincial. There were wishes galore during the felicitation programme which was in the auditorium of the school. The newly Professed Fathers shared their experiences and joy with all the invitees. Fr Dion Vaz raised the toast on the occasion. As Frs Manoj and Roshan thank the Lord for the gift of their vocation and ready themselves to the new phase as Jesuits, we wish them success and contentment in their future.

“By birth I am an Albanian, by citizenship an Indian; I am a Catholic sister. By my mission I belong to the whole world, but my heart belongs to Jesus alone.”- Bl. Teresa of Calcutta

Do Re Mi... Sing Along With Me – Singing Classes

Starting from July 5 every Friday afternoon will see Mount St Joseph echo with the melodious voices of the Novices. Guiding the novices to take the right jump along the staves is none other than the maestro Fr Thomas Quadros (Fr Tom Q). The focus of these classes is to enable the Novices read and grasp the music notations. It will also help in picking up some basics in musical theory. To make the Novices' voices heard, exercises are selected from the beautiful collection of hymns and notations, “Cantate Domino.” With the help of the expert Fr Tom, we have set out sights on gaining mastery in music.

“Let us hear our voice in Him and His voice in us” St Augustine.

Enter into the Lord’s Courts! Entrance Day 2010

We were glad to formally welcome sixteen new novices into the community of Mount St Joseph on their Entrance Day on June 30. During the Entrance Day Mass in the morning, the 16 freshers received a copy of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus from the Novice Director Fr Dion Vaz. The Socius, Fr Sunil Fernandes, gave them a picture of Jesus to remind them forever their life commitment as they took their very first steps as Jesuits. Fr Francis Menezes, the Rector, in a very fitting homily spoke about the implications of living as Companions of Jesus. After the Holy Mass, the community gathered in the refectory to felicitate the new Novices and the seniors gave them handmade greeting cards. The hard fought basketball match in the evening and common recreation after the supper relaxed us and increased our joy.

“Home is where the heart is” – Pliny.

Navataranga 2010 on the Speedway

On the background of the Vows day on 21 June, the Annual magazine of the Novitiate , Navataranga saw the light of day. The title of this years issue is "God's Love Made Visible". The lift-off took place during the short felicitation programme following the Vows Day Eucharist in the evening. Fr Vijay Prabhu, the Rector of St Joseph's College, inaugurated the volume which has reached to its 33rd issue. Here are the modified excerpts from the speech of the vovent, Ryan Rodrigues, the editor of the issue. "God, the author of life's journey has become part of us. Nature reveals to us the magnanimity of God's love. The modern world stresses on experience. If we have not experienced His love, we have experienced nothing. Navataranga 2010 radiates to you all our lived experience with the Triune God. We pray that our spiritual experience may be yours too". We wish that Navataranga 2010 may inspire in you a greater love for Jesus and His work. 
"If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others." T Edwards