Covid Care Diary: Work Continues Reaching the Unreached

MSJ, Bangalore: 15th April 2020

Covid care kits have been distributed in the villages and near by surrounding areas of our Mount Saint Joseph campus. A number of volunteers and our community members have joined in these efforts.  The real needy are identified and needy are given the ration. The ration includes rice, potatoes, oil, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, capsicum, dal, etc. 

Fr Teyol conducting the meeting with the volunteers

Tomatos for distribution

Onions for distribution

Potatoes for distribution

According to Fr Teyol Machado, SJ, Mount Saint Joseph has been turned into another hub of grocery distribution centre. He is the coordinator of the relief services in this campus. For any information you may contact us at our blog contact form.

- Reported by Olvin Veigas, SJ

16 April 2020

New Website of the Parish www.kalenaagraharachurch.org

New Website of our Parish

MSJ - 10 April 2020: Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Kalena Agrahara, Parish in the Mount St Joseph campus has a new website. The new website has a lot of new features offering Christian resources and live streaming of the liturgical services in the wake of Corona virus lock down. Please visit the website: https://www.kalenaagraharachurch.org
(OV)

Month Retreat and Cassock Day 2020

We the first year novices are in an ecstasy after our Month long Retreat under the guidance of Fr.Jossy Rodrigues, our Novice director.

We were blessed to receive incessant graces from God. This experience of Jesus is indeed the foundation for our future Jesuit life. 

We are truly grateful to God for moulding us and shaping our lives according to his plan and design. To double our joy we got Cassocks on 12th of February, 2020.  With that, we also received our Minor Orders from Fr.Provincial.

 The 1st year and 2nd year Novices with the Provincial

 1st year Novices

2nd year Novices

We had a grand celebration on the same day, our second year brothers wished us with a wishing song. (MJ)

Mission Experiment of the Novices 2020

Novitiate is a lab of experiments and so, in the Month of January we, eleven second year novices went to different Mission places such as Manvi, Bijapur-Sindagi, and Mundgod for our Mission experiment.

It was a time of grace for us to walk with the Lord, among the downtrodden and put into practice the graces we obtained in our Month’s Long Retreat.

After being with the poor and the neglected we have come to realize what it is to love and serve the Lord and to follow his footsteps.

“Friendship with the poor, makes us friends of the eternal king” - GC 34. (MJ)

Mushrooms bloom in MSJ Farm

Mount, January 2020: A new initiative in our Mount farm produced good organic mushrooms. Fr Joyson Vas, the young priest of our community led the cultivation. 

Outreach program of the community

On the 17th November 2019, the senior members of the community spent a couple of hours at the Bala Yesu Bhavan - Children's home and the Lourdes Home -Senior Citizens Home located within the premises of Alverna Bhavana, Kalena Agrahara, Bangalore. The community members enacted short skits, sang songs, and made the children and senior citizens happy. For more about these two homes which do so much good to society, please log on to www.balayesubhavanorphanagebgl.org [OV]

Novices' Patron Day

The feast of St Stanislaus Kostka, which falls on the 13th November was celebrated with much  fervour and fun.  The senior Jesuits of the MSJ community made the Novices happy with songs and skits and everyone had a hearty laugh. [OV]

Parish Celebrates the Mission Sunday

On 20th October 2019, the parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Kalena Agrahara celebrated the Mission Sunday. The Church Campus bore a spectacular look with people and stalls. This Third Sunday of October was devoted to raise the awareness that every baptized Christian is a missionary and everyone has a share in sharing the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

As part of the Mission Sunday, the parishners came together along with their parish priest Fr Arun Kumar SJ in raising money to the missions of the universal Catholic Church. A good amount of preparation was done in order to make this day as a parish day. From Catechism children to seniors in the parish took active part in day's program. Various games were played. Each ward of the parish had its own stall to raise money in a creative way. After each Sunday Mass auctioning was followed. 

A number of parishners took active part as volunteers and bringing things for auction. Mount St Joseph community too contributed from its farm home-grown chicken, ducks, bananas, nati koli eggs, etc. In order to attract children, house horse, Pulsi the labrador dog and a sheep with its little lamb took part in it. Children enjoyed either cuddling these pretty animals or by clicking photos with them. In sum, the days events and activities showed the unity of the wards in particular and as a parish in general. [OV]

Pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Servant of God Rajendra Swami

October being the Extraordinary Missionary Month we were privileged to commemorate the 300th death anniversary of the servant of God, Pujya Rajendra Swami. A zealous  missionary  of the Mysore Jesuit mission.

The whole of the Mount Saint Joseph community travelled to Chikkarasinakere to witness and be part of the celebration. It was a time of grace to pray for his beatification. The spiritual atmosphere was deepened by the presence of the Bishop of Mysore Dr. K. A. Willam.

On this auspicious day we gave thanks to God in the Eucharist. Many religious and faithful were present. Fr. Stanislaus  D’souza SJ  provincial of the Karnataka Province preached over the Eucharist. Indeed the milieu was grace filled talk given by Fr. Freddie D'Silva, SJ. This extraordinary celebrations was witnessed by many Jesuits from various communities.

We still continue to pray for the Beatification of Rajendra Swami and for his intercession.

On our way back we enjoyed the beauty of the Gagana Chukki falls. (Report by Nov. Prakash)