Flag Hoisting

Vadapatti – In the evening on January 25th St. John de Britto Church feast began. The main celebrant of the ceremony was Rev. Dr. Fr. J. Jaya Raj V.G of the Archdiocese of Madurai. He hoisted the flag of St. John de Britto, followed by the celebration of Mass for the first day of the novena. The concelebrants were Fr. S. Periyanayaga Samy, SdC; Fr. J. David, SdC and Fr. Vanathaiyan, SdC. The parishioners happily and actively participated in holy Mass. After Mass, Fr. J. Jaya Raj released the Novena Book and Parish Family Card. It was a remarkable and joyous day because it was the first year of the parish feast. By the grace of God and the cooperation of the parishioners the event was a success.

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Let us Thank, Appreciate and Celebrate

“I did not change the whole world but I changed the world for a few.”

In 1997, St. John Paul II established the special Day of Consecrated Life to coincide with the Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem (February 2nd). The Pope gave three reasons for his selection of February 2nd as a special day for religious women and men: first, to praise and thank the Lord for the gift of consecrated life; second, to promote the knowledge and appreciation of consecrated women and men by all People of God; and third, to invite all those who have dedicated their life to the cause of the Gospel to celebrate the wonderful ways the Lord has worked through them.
Along with mother Church we thank the Lord as the Divine Providence Province for all the graces we received throughout these years, especially the gift of vocations, hundreds of young men saying “Yes” to follow and serve the Lord in and through the Guanellian Charism and Spirit.
Secondly the Presentation of the Lord invites all of us to appreciate and to assert who we are. What is our identity? In other words we must speak boldly about the goodness of religious life. At times along with the tides of competitive society, people may make a comparison of our religious life with other walks of life and we may fall prey to their calculations saying what is so special in this life? But we all know deep down that this life is the prototype of the heavenly table, the continuation of the early Christian community, the antidote to the divisive world, the real globalization, we go where the Lord sends us and still we own people as our children and others own us as their fathers and mothers. We left one family but we are part of many families around the world.
Thirdly it is a moment of celebration and sharing with others what the Lord has done in and through me. I did not change the whole world, but I changed the world of at least a few people, I was the eye for the blind, I was the hand and leg for the crippled, I was the mind for the intellectually disabled.
At this juncture we thank the Lord in a special way for the special grace that has been given to our confrere. Bro. Praveen, who met with a road accident, has been freed of all charges. We appreciate all those who involved themselves in this process and accompanied our confrere.
Let us celebrate the sacerdotal ordination of eight confreres on February 11th and their first Eucharistic celebrations in the following days. We thank and appreciate all the formators and in a special way the formation team of DGMS for their accompaniment and stewardship in the final phase of their preparation.
Let us welcome and celebrate the presence of the DSMP superiors who are on their Canonical Visit. Let us keep them in our prayers and sustain them.
Fr. Ronald J, SdC
Provincial Superior

Our Lady of the Rosary Feast

Kumbakonam – Guanella Nagar Parish joyfully celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary at the Jebamalaipuram substation. This substation has more than 30 Catholic families. This is the only Church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary in the Kumbakonam Diocese. The feast began on the October 12th with Our Lady of the Rosary flag hoisted by Fr. M. Andrew, CMF, Youth and Vocation promoter, Kumbakonam. Then he celebrated Holy Mass and gave an inspiring Homily on Mother Mary and the importance of praying the Rosary. The culmination of the celebration was on October 13th. Fr. V. Soosai, Sacred Heart Hospital, Kumbakonam, celebrated Holy Mass and preached the homily. After Mass he blessed the car and the faithful prayed the Holy Rosary through the streets of Jebamalaipuram. On the following day, Fr. A. Sundar, OFM, Sivapuram, celebrated the feast day Mass with many faithful attending. In his reflection, he spoke of the current world problems and gave two solutions: the Word of God and praying the Rosary. The flag was lowered bringing the celebration to an end.

Give the Lord

Kumbakonam – It was a great joy for Guanella Nagar Parish when ten parish children received First Holy Communion. Holy Mass was celebrated by Fr. A. John Bosco. In his homily he said, First Holy Communion is a Catholic ceremony which marks a child’s first reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist refers to Christ’s body and blood present in the consecrated host on the altar, and Catholics believe that the consecrated bread and wine are actually the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ. It was highly spiritual and emotional for them. Fr. Vincent and Srs. Juli and Siron prepared the children spiritually for the past twenty-seven days. Hence, their parents, God-parents, relatives and friends were very happy. The saints in heaven were delighted to intercede for us.

The Church and Homosexuals

Photo by Amber Morse on Pexels.com

A gentleman who calls me his friend, among other questions about the Church asked me: “Isn’t the Church’s teaching discriminatory against homosexuals?” Not at all.
The Church does not discriminate against homosexuals. It revolves around the distinction between homosexual activity and homosexual persons. First is the Church’s belief that Homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. Under no circumstances can they be approved (Catechism, # 2357). The Church also insists, however, that men and women with same sex attractions are valued members of the human family and must be treated with the same respect and love as every other child of God. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. Hatred, persecution, prejudices and ridicule of homosexuals is a grave sin and must always be treated as such.
The teaching of the Church does not intend to offend our homosexual brothers and sisters, and we recognize that for some individuals and their families, especially parents, questions of sexual identity and behavior can be very difficult and emotionally charged. To those individuals and their families we offer our sincere concern and prayerful support
As a society, however, we have to understand the possibility, sometimes the necessity, of loving and respecting their inappropriate or immoral behavior. Parents have to do that with their children once in a while.
What harm is done if the activity is between consenting adults? The fact that two adults consent to an action doesn’t make it morally right or socially acceptable. The “harm” is that such reasoning leads us down a very dangerous and permissive slope to the detriment of the common good and the spiritual impoverishment of the individuals involved. After all, two consenting adults can engage in drug use, prostitution, polygamy or other immoral activity. In other words, the determination of the morality of an action is found in the act itself and not in the consent of the people involved.
Same sex unions affect the family. We should recognize that in every culture and society throughout the ages traditionally defined marriage, as a stable union of one man and one woman, has been normative and has been given protection and respect. The definition of the family’s identity is a priority. Such marital and family stability does not only depend on the good will of concrete persons; it takes on an institutional character of public recognition by the State. The recognition, protection and promotion of this stability contribute to the general interest, especially of the weakest, that is the children.
In other simple terms, marriage as traditionally defined has always been a privileged institution, and that distinction should be recognized, preserved and applauded. Accepting other personal unions as equivalent to marriage undermines the special status afforded to marriage in every society and culture.
Examples of this point: in the classroom if all the students routinely get an “A” on their report card, the work of the real “A” student is devalued. In the Olympics, if everyone receives a gold medal, why bother competing? And if every intimate relationship between consenting adults is marriage, then marriage is nothing.

By Fr. Joseph Rinaldo, SdC

100 Years of Fatima

Legazpi – Throughout history there have been supernatural apparitions and signs that go to the heart of human events. The message of Fatima is still lively evidence to the world of an urgent call to conversion and penance to draw us to the heart of the Gospel. On December 6th, the Diocesan Commission on Youth and World Apostolate of Fatima organized a show named FATIMA@100 for the benefit of the Diocesan Commission on Youth – Legazpi. The show recounted the apparitions of Fatima and helped residents, novices and priests gain a universal understanding of the event. Furthermore, the event helped to strengthen and empower our belief in the power of the Rosary and in the warning of Our Lady’s message to the world.

Hypocrisy Hurts the Church By Fr. Joseph Rinaldo, SdC

If you wish not to damage the Church and others, be truthful and never hypocritical. Pope Francis gave this recommendation during his daily morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta a couple of weeks ago, while speaking to a group of pilgrims from the United States. He warned that hypocrisy isn’t the language of Jesus, nor of Christianity.
Drawing inspiration from the Gospel, where some Pharisees and Herodians tried to ensnare Jesus in his speech, the Holy Father observed: “The hypocrite always uses language to flatter.”
Jesus, Pope Francis reminded, uses the word “hypocrite” often to describe the doctors of the law, because, as their title illustrates, they claim to have higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case, they give opinions and issue judgments, but are false.
Hypocrites, the Holy Father warned, always begin with adulation, exaggerating the truth, feeding into one’s vanity.
However, Pope Francis underscored, Jesus makes us see reality which is the opposite of hypocrisy and ideology. Pope Francis underscored that, as we see with the doctors of the law in the Gospel, flattery is triggered by bad intentions.
The Holy Father warned that they had put Jesus to the test, flattering him first and then asking him a question with the intention of making him err, namely that: “is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
Pope Francis stresses that the hypocrite is two-faced, but Jesus knew their hypocrisy. Jesus always responds to hypocrites and ideologists with reality: everything else is either hypocrisy or ideology. In this case Jesus said: “bring me a coin”, and He answered with the wisdom of the Lord: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” The reality was that the coin carried the image of Caesar.
The language of hypocrisy, Pope Francis also said, is the language of deceit, the same language the serpent used with Eve. While it starts with flattery, it ends up destroying people. It tears to pieces the personality and the soul of a person. It destroys communities, Pope Francis stated. Warning all Christians who at times are hypocritical, Pope Francis stressed how problematic this sin is for the Church. The hypocrite is capable of destroying a community. While speaking gently, he ruinously judges a person. He is a killer, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis concluded, giving two pieces of advice: Respond to flattery only with truth, and respond to ideology only with reality and prayer. Pope Francis concludes his talk: “Let us ask the Lord to guard us from this vice, to help us be truthful, and if this is not possible to keep silent, don’t ever be a hypocrite.”

Be Grateful in all Things

Legazpi – Fr. David Stawasz was a brother in the Legazpi community nine years ago. He paid a visit to share his own vocation story with the novices. God’s love calls many to step out of their own way to follow His way, the way which He has prepared. We don’t know what will happen in this life, but we do know that we must trust in His call and do our best to follow it. This call can only be found through prayer. Moreover, through prayer we trust in God little by little and believe that God will help us to realize His call and to keep forming us according to His will. Sometimes, we might not know where God is. These are the times we need to pray harder and to keep ourselves from getting lost in this life. To stay on the right track keep in mind Who you belong to. Time has passed since Fr. David was here, but he did not forget how much he loves HKSF and its people. The heart of love is tireless and full of gratitude and faithfulness for the people of God.

Fourth Provincial Chapter

Pondicherry – The Divine Providence Province’s Fourth Provincial Chapter began as the chapter fathers gathered at Prsahanth Vanam on November 20th. Fr. Alphonso Crippa, Superior General, enlightened the confreres with inspiring thoughts during his recollection talk. He highlighted three important points: Wisdom of God, Guanellian Simplicity and Mission. He underlined the fact that we are gathered here not merely just to make some governing proposals or administrative rules, but to seek what the Lord wants from us. He stressed the importance of dialogue and fraternity. The chapter continued until the evening of the 24th. The chapter fathers went to St. Joseph’s Seminary for the Silver Jubilee of their presence in India and Golden Jubilee celebration of Fr. Joe.

Upcoming Jubilee Celebration

Celebrating fifty years in the priesthood is a huge milestone for anyone who has dedicated a lifetime of service to others through his faith. But two priests celebrating 50 years together from the same ordination class in Chiavenna, Italy would be even more remarkable. On Saturday, December 16, 2017, Fr. Joseph Rinaldo and Fr. Fortunato […]

via Upcoming Golden Jubilee — stlouiscenter