AMDG

The MSJ community celebrated the FEAST OF ST. IGNATIUS with the faithful of the IMMACULATE HEART CHURCH, KALENA AGRAHARA on 29 July, 2012 through a meaningful  liturgy.

LORD TEACH US TO PRAY!



Fr Anto CMI, The Resource Person



“Prayer is the key of the moring and the bolt of the evening” opines Mahatma Gandhi.



We were greatly enriched in our prayer life by the inter-novitiate programme conducted by Fr Anto CMI at Alverna Bhavan from 9 -12, July. 34 novices from four different novitiates attended the course. The classes were indeed very lively as we shared with one another of our own prayer experiences. The course deepened the understanding of prayer.

The Participants





FRESH SOLDIERS FOR CHRIST

On  5^th of July, the Mount St Joseph community was sparkling more brightly with the arrival of nine new twinkling & charming stars. Nine of our brothers  successfully journeyed through the First Probation. When a child stands on its own feet for the first time every member of the family feels happy & there is a lot of joy in the family. In the same way the MSJ community shared the happiness of our brothers as they enter into their second probation to form themselves for the mission of Christ. During the Second Probation a novice goes through various experiements to come to know what the Jesuit life is all about. It’s also a time for him to know and love God, oneself, neighbors, the Church by imbibing the spirit of St Ignatius of Loyola.

JUBILEE OF FR. JB

The MSJ community celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Fr John Baptist Mendonca in the Society of Jesus with great pomp. The celebration began with a meaningful Eucharist presided over by the Jubilarian and followed by a meaningful felicitation programme. The house was full of guests - sisters from the neighbouring convents, relatives of Fr JB and the Jesuits. The Novices left no stone unturned to make the day a memorable one for Fr JB.  

Golden Words – Interview with Fr John Baptist

Fr John Baptist Mendonca is a brand new member of the 50-Years-in-the-Society club. Affectionately known as Fr JB, he is the administrator of Dhyanashrama Retreat House. He has a passion for preaching, spiritual ministry (also teaching children as he reveals here) and specially gardening, where he finds His Lord and master actively at work. On the occasion of his Golden Jubilee as a Jesuit, we bring you the excerpts of the interview with him

Father, 50 years in the Society of Jesus – Another feather in your cap! What are your feelings on this day?

I never thought that this great day in my life would arrive. I am very happy grateful to God. It seems to me that it was just the other day on June 28, 1962 that I joined the Society of Jesus.

Genuine commitment is rarity nowadays. Your life is a beautiful testimony to commitment to Jesus. What has fuelled your commitment?

It is my Jesus. He met me. I saw Him. I heard His voice. I still see Him and hear His gentle and loving voice encouraging me to love Him and follow His ways.

Which part of your life as a religious do you cherish and treasure the most?

 The whole of my religious life to this moment, right from my Novitiate is beautiful. I have loved it and I continue loving it. 

During Holy Mass, we often hear you say that if we open our hymn books to sing, we give praise to God. Could you elaborate this thought? 

Yes, definitely. I am convinced of it. When we open the hymn book, even if we are not good singers, we praise and thank God that day, at that moment for the gift of life and energy. What a sad thing it will be if we while attending a birthday party refuse to sing the birthday song with the rest. What would the host feel?

What thoughts are foremost in your mind regarding you ministry in Dhyanashrama retreat house?

 I have spent 27 years of my Jesuit life teaching children. I miss it now. Now, for ten years I have been involving in the retreat ministry. I enjoy it. My 30-day retreat in Novitiate was a thrilling experience, from where I got a personal taste for preaching retreats. It is a fulfilling and satisfying ministry. The feedback given by retreatants encourages me. Their struggle in their spiritual lives makes me more human and compassionate.

“Shepherd me o Lord beyond…” “You are with me wherever I go…” – I am listing here your two favourite hymns. Can you tell why you like them ? 

These hymns, especially “You are with me,” are very close to my heart. I give a copy of the latter to each retreatant at the end of a retreat. I request them to carry it wherever they go to remind themselves that they are not alone and that Jesus travels and works with them. The text of the hymn summarises Psalm 139. 

Final question. What imagery of God do you like the most? 

God is my father and mother. Before I was conceived in my earthly mother’s womb, I was conceived in my earthly heavenly mother, Yahweh’s mind (Psalm139:13) My heavenly mother is always with me, showering tender love and care on me.

A Religious is a person very close to God

He or she gives to God everything without any reserve

Beyond giving one’s wealth, possessions or service to God 

A religious offers one’s self completely to God

“I am yours, you are mine”

 (Quoted by Fr JB in reply to the third question)

Come on and Celebrate

29 June 2012 was a great day for the Novitiate community as it was a day to rejoice and thank God for the gift of life to Fr. Willie, our beloved Novice Director.

Noel’s experience with Fr Willie

My experience with Fr Willie has been very positive. Father has been generous to guide me in the novitiate. Having Jesus as his role model he has been effective in his ministry. The imagery that comes to my mind when I see Fr Willie is of a mother embracing a child. Fr Willie has guided me like a mother when I  failed to make progress in the novitiate. He  has helped me to grow in every aspect of life in the novitiate. Fr Willie through his simple and humble nature has been my role model.

Called to Love and Serve

“Love is shown more in deeds than in words” - St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Dear

Calvin George Michael

Nithin Lisbon Coelho

                                  Leston Baptist Lobo

  Albert Vasanth

  Joyal Sandeep

Jaison Lobo

Sudeep Pinto

Sameer Francis

Sharun Roy D’Souza

Vincent Vijayakumar

Praveen Kiran Martis

Vinod Mathias Saldanha

were united with the mind and heart of Christ by pronouncing the vows of Poverty, Chastity and obedience and thus committing themselves to the Lord on 21 June 2012. Our twelve brothers, like the twelve apostles have responded to the call of Jesus to love and serve the lost, least and last of the society, without counting the cost like our founding father St. Ignatius did. Let us earnestly pray that our brothers may grow stronger in their personal conviction, commitment and courage and forever be united with God’s love and dedicate their entire life for the service of God’s people.

Inspired by the Missionary – Fr Paulose

When we listened to the adventures of Fr Paulose, it seemed as if we were listening to another St Francis Xavier. The Novitiate community was privileged  to have Fr Paulose Vellacada SJ to celebrate the Eucharist in the Novitiate chapel on 29 May. He is a Jesuit of our province serving as a pastor in British Guyana. We were gripped by the narration of his experiences, struggles, joys, challenges and the miracles experienced by him in the course of his pilgrim journey. Each and every word carried the force of inspiration that a missionary possesses due to his hard life in the frontiers. We are grateful to Fr Paulose for sharing his experiences with us. We silently wish that many of us would follow his path to serve Christ in the needy. “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

An occasion for bonding

The novitiate community opened the doors of its heart to welcome a special group of guests this weekend on 27^th May. The residents of Asha Niketan – centre for mentally challenged came to Mount St Joseph for an outing which gave us an opportunity to interact with them. During this friendly encounter, we came face to face with the life-struggles of the mentally challenged persons. We were also entertained by their song and dance. After a couple of relaxing  games, we accompanied our guests to have our campus darshan. All this was a rich experience for us. The programme was planned by novices Sharun, Vinod and Vincent who served in Asha Niketan for almost a month this April for their Hospital Experiment. Novice Sharun would like to share his experiences of the day.

Sharun: For my Hospital Experiment, I was placed in Asha Niketan – the centre for mentally challenged. L’Arche is the international symbol of the organization founded by Jean Vanier in France in 1964. Its mission is to make known the gifts of the disabled people. Asha Niketan is a home of hope for all those who are born as mentally challenged. These people may be weak mentally but are very rich at heart. During my three-week stay, I experienced the warmth of their love intimately. Here I need to consider the assistants who served them as their own family members. Through them I learnt to love, be patient and accept them as they are. Since my experiences were very rich, I wanted my community to experience it. Their coming here on the feast of Pentecost was a unique experience for all of us.

Experiences of the Work Camp Shared

Noel: “Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” The experience to be with the poor was an aid for me to grow in the vow of poverty. It was the Spiritual Exercise graces that boosted me to belong to the people. My own learninds from this experience are 1. To be happy with what I have 2. To love until there is nothing left to love.

A Sudeep: I joyfully emerged into the camp with love and convictions. My inward journey of the retreat strengthened my relationship with the Lord. Humility and selflessness lit the fire of love in me and led me to understand my companions and the Society.

Cannon: Truly the world became my home in Pannur. I was evangelised by the life and the faith of the poor.  I became one with them and could see God in my daily activities. Moreover, I was inspired by the works of the Jesuits and it brought within me the burning zeal for missionary work.

Roydon: St Teresa of Avila says, “Our God does not care so much for the importance of our work as far as the love with which they are done.” After being energized with the power of the Risen Lord this Easter I went to my work camp to be the message and the messenger to the people of Pannur. I was touched by the life of the people, their hospitality and love for others.  

Kiran: Fr Jerome Nadal said, “The world is our home. The same thought came into my mind when I went with my companions to work in Pannur mission station. Personally I enjoyed each moment of the camp. I experienced the love and the care which the people and the children showed us. It is true that all of us need love. With love we can do anything. I thank God who was my strength to work.

Joseph: Work camp was a golden opportunity for me to integrate spiritual life and physical labour and to grow personally. Spiritual life was the only means with which I could continue my work, especially during the trying times. The times of emptiness, tiredness and humiliation helped me to feel how Jesus must have felt during His passion

Labouring with the Creator - Work Camp 2012

Work camp 2012 was a breathtaking experience. The first year novices went for the work camp to Pannur, a tiny village in Raichur District from April 13 to May 7. They were accompanied by the Assistant Novice Director, Fr John Pradeep SJ. The camp coordinator was Scholastic Joyson Vas SJ. It was a time to integrate prayer and action, to evangelize and to get evangelized by the people, to know the Jesuit mission well and moreover to be strengthened in our vocation and to grow into a united group. The work consisted of building foundation for a water sump, shifting bricks and stones for foundation. To relax for a day from fatigue, we a historical picnic to Hampi was organised. Truly it was a time of grace for us and we have profited a lot from this camp.

“Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you.” (Psalm 55:22)

A Praying Family - Province Retreat

Beacon of Prayer

The Jesuits of our province have come back to their mother house for a week of prayer and stay with the Lord. Fr Tony J D’Souza SJ of Bombay Jesuit province is guiding the retreatants and ensuring the re-load of their spiritual batteries. Mount St Joseph has again become a spiritual powerhouse by supporting 54 province members this year in the retreat. The 8-day retreat commenced in the evening of 15 April and it is scheduled to end on 23 April. We join the retreatants in praying that the power of Jesus may empower every work of our province.

“The family that prays together stays together”.