THE OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION ON FR PEDRO ARRUPE, SJ

Those of you who have known or read or heard of Fr Pedro Arrupe would certainly remember that he was a holy man, obedient leader in the most turbulent times of the Catholic Church and especially within the Society of Jesus.  He has been declared already as a servant of God by Pope Francis, while many Jesuits have considered him as a saint in their hearts and have been praying through him.

On 22nd of August, 2019 on the diamond jubilee of Mount St Joseph, we the members of this community are delighted to showcase all his works, all his words and many captivating pictures and especially gripping photographs of this holy man who hailed from Basque country, the place of St Ignatius of Loyola. 

The Archbishop Peter Machado opened the diamond door ceremoniously for us to enter.  Thus the visitors could have glimpse of this great Jesuit, who visited this very Aula 53 years ago on 2nd January1966. [AK]

SHALOM Listening Centre at MSJ

As we celebrate 60 years of the existence of Mount St Joseph, the community members have come forward to help the faithful in listening to them.  The yearning to be heard, the need to be understood, sacred space to share the confidential matter, to reveal the struggles of faith, the worries of life and thereby be healed, to grow in one’s faith, maturity, integrity are some key features of this Listening Centre.

The essence of good listening is empathy and it helps relationships.  Through depth dialogue the deeper aspirations of life send their roots deep and spread their wings wide.  Spiritual conversation has become our way of proceeding in all our ministries and initiatives.  Besides, one of the Universal Apostolic Priority approved by Pope Francis and promulgated by the Superior General Arturo Sosa, is “to show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment”.   The Listening Centre is a new venture to bring wellness, a discerning attitude and wholeness and ultimately peace and reconciliation among our target groups.  We are grateful to Anthony Joseph our Rector and the members of Mt St Joseph community for allotting rooms 14 & 15 at MSJ for this purpose. 

The listeners’ list as of now is five. 

Fr Clarence D’Souza -Spirituality & Scripture 

 Fr Jossy Rodrigues -Psychology & Spirituality 

 Fr John Pradeep -Spirituality & Psychology 

 Fr Olvin Veigas -Theology & Scripture & Research 

Fr Arun Kumar - Counseling & Pastoral concerns 

The Beneficiaries of this listening centre are; Parishioners, Schools and College staff members, parents and students. [AK]

A New Website for Dhyanashrama - Jesuit Retreat House in Bangalore

Dhyanashrama is the only Ignatian retreat house in Bangalore run by the Jesuits in Karnataka.  The new website of the house was inaugurated on the 22nd of August 2019 when Mount St Joseph celebrated its Diamond Jubilee of its existence. The URL of the website: https://dhyanashrama.in  [OV]

New addition: Kempi Horse

Perhaps as a coincidence, MSJ farm has a new horse in this Diamond Jubilee Year of the house (1959-2019). It was baptized recently with a name, Kempi, reminding us the memory of our beloved Italian Jesuit Fr Faustine Corti (1856-1926), who also owned a horse in his travels in South Canara  with a name Kempi.  As the oil prices are skyrocketing, the farm manager thought that only way to cut down the cost of travel is by owning a horse.  This is also in view of the caring for our common home.  We, as MSJ community will be helping the Mother Earth in reducing the carbon footprint. At least a good beginning!  A small step but a precious idea, indeed. [OV]

Jesuit Mission parishners - Siddis - come to the City Jesuit Parish

16 Siddis from Mainahalli, Mundgod, where Jesuits of Karnataka Province run a mission visited our parish "Immaculate Heart of Mary" in Bangalore on 4th of August 2019.  They were accompanied by their priest in-charge Jesuit Fr Sujay Daniel. They were here to raise funds for the construction of their new church building in Mainahalli.  The Siddi parishners participated in three Sunday Masses, doing the traditional entrance dance as well as lending their melodious voices for the Masses.  

Siddis also performed some of their traditional cultural dances for the parishners in the church premises.  The parishners of our parish were very generous and contributed digging deep into their pockets for another Jesuit Mission, which needs a lot of financial help from outside.  Jesuit Fr Arun Kumar, the parish priest, who is also the Co-ordinator of Province Pastoral Work and Secretary of  JEPASA planned this inter-parish level collaboration. 

Siddis are originally from Africa. They were brought into India by the Portuguese and British as slaves.  They worked mainly in Goa in the 16th century. Later on most of them entered the territory of Karnataka and made jungles/forests of Uttara Kannada district as their home.  Since 1980, with Fr Mathew Lewis, Jesuits of Karnataka Province started the Siddi Mission with great dedication and zeal.  Today there are two substations attached to the Mundgod parish. The two substations are Mainahalli and Ugginakeri. These two substations are made of up of Siddis exclusively.  Jesuit Fr Lawrence Pinto started a school for them in Mundgod in 1991.  Today, this Loyola School is a sprawling institution with various additions and Siddis are getting their education. They are also helped with various welfare schemes and Christian faith formation programs.  [OV]

Inigo Dominus and Basketball Matches among the Jesuits of Bangalore Communities

As part of the celebration of the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, our founder various competitions were held for students and teachers in our Jesuit educational institutions across the Karnataka province.  To add the excitement among the Jesuits, Inigo Basketball Tournament and Dominus championships were held at the indoor stadium of St. Joseph's College of Arts and Science at Museum Road, Bangalore on 28th July 2019.  Five Jesuit Communities participated in this exciting event. 

Mount St Joseph Community had its own Basketball team consisting of both Fathers and Novices.  MSJ team went up to finals and played a wonderful game.  However, Jesuit Nivas team won the title. Our team ended up bringing home runners up trophy.

Our Duo, Frs Francis D'Almeida and Godwin Serrao clinched the champions trophy in Dominus defeating the Dronacharya of the Dominus game of our province, Fr Richard Sequiera and team. [OV]