November 2010 Newsletter

Vol. 25 No. 11

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Appointments by Father General

• Fr. Colin Tan Chin Hock, of the Malaysia-Singapore Region, as the new Superior of the same Region.
• Fr. Joseph Pham Thanh Liem as the new Provincial of the Vietnam Province.
• Fr. Bogdan Lesniak, of the Province of Upper Poland, is from September 23 the new secretary for the Assistancy of Central-East Europe, east section.
• Fr. Michael Lewis, of the Region of South Africa, as the new president of JESAM (Jesuit Superiors of Africa and Madagascar).
• Fr. Varkey Perekkatt as the new Provincial of the Province of Delhi.

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Sch. Samuel Simick has applied for Ordination to Diaconate and eventually to Priesthood. If anyone has any relevant information regarding him, please give it in writing to the Regional Superior.
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AROUND THE REGION

St. Xavier’s, Jawalakhel

Some lack of details this month are due to a key contributor on a loose leash, other reporters missing, local holidays observed and a full schedule in the school of work days, holidays and test days.

Fr. Boni left sometime during the month to round up future Nepal Jesuits from various places in India and to participate in a renowned  seminar organized in Jamshedpur, India. Showing a developed sense of timing, he will return to his local labours in time for Tihar holidays and just after a really full schedule of Primary, Middle and Secondary School term tests, pre-send up tests for Class ten and regular Higher Secondary level class eleven classes and SQC (Student Quality Circle) International Convention preparations.

In the month just past, Br. Tek got out for a few days of trekking somewhere near Muktinath.  He was back in the city to welcome relatives and visitors from Okaldunga and complete some of the corrections left over from earlier.

Fr. Augustine got his retreat accomplished at Godavari School and back to Jawalakhel in time for the holiday celebrations and also in time to get a running start on coordinating Class eleven.  SXJ may be the only institution in Nepal running a +1 higher secondary schedule at this time . . . and doing a good job of it, to boot.

October also saw the end of visitation to the community and the school by Region Superior Fr. Lawrence.  Maybe more on that after the memorial of visitation is published.

Looking to the future, forces are at work planning a blessing for the “new building” in the first week of December and also a school mela within the first three weeks of that month.  That will leave the school tower clock and basement-to-top floor lift to be inaugurated when they are ready. Maybe a name for the new building will be found and applied, leaving the term “new building” for a possible next building.

GAA organized Old Boys’ Day at the very end of the month, and it promises to be a grand affair, news of which may be available next month.

The results of water harvesting seem to be soaking away, and water tankers are seen once again on the grounds.  A good number of visitors were wined and dined and watered and washed during the month.

Prayers please for Marty Coyne’s nephew, Shawn  -  36 years old, wife, daughters in class seven and ten and once again with an inoperable cancer in his brain. –– Marty

Loyola Parish, Baniyatar

October was a rather quiet month for the parish as most of the youth and children went to the village to be with their families for Dasain. The youth had various activities like prayer meetings planned for the village faithful while they were in the village. The reports and details of the activities are awaited. We were graced by visitors on every Saturday of this month; Daniel and Gemma from Korea, E.C and his guest Sharon, Srs. Gemma and Chrispina of St. Pauls and Sanctius from Maheshpur. We hope to resume all the regular activities once every one is back from Tipling after Tihar.

St. Xavier’s, Godavari

Our month began with 2nd term revision followed by the exam. On the last day of the exam, SXG staff had Dasain Celebration. Though a few of our staff left early, the celebration was fun and enjoyable still. All the hostellers and the candidates have gone home for the Dasain Holidays. Fr. Juel attended the South Asian Jesuit Delegates meeting in Jamshedpur. Fr. Victor is back from a long tour of India, after attending the PCF meeting and visiting all the Scholastics studying there. Fr. Augustine and Sch. Basant stayed with the community as they were making their retreat. Br. Clarence’s sisters with their husbands and children visited us. A group of Protestant youth from Thiba had a three day conference in the school premises and another group of about 250 youth is expected in the first week of November for a similar program. –– Tej

St. Xavier’s College

The much awaited Dasain Holidays have come and gone.  The breathing space thus granted was used well by all in the community.  Some of us had our annual retreats lined up on those days to make a quick journey with the Lord hiking the Mount Calvary and hoping to complete it preferably some time later in life.  Fr. E.C. Sebastian seemed to have the 6th week of the retreat being carried out by visiting the abode of the gods in the holy places of Nepal with his friend, Ms. Sharon from the States.  Meanwhile, he had completed all the preliminaries with Jet Speed before dashing to Bangalore-Goa to partake in the forthcoming COJET meet.

Fr. Kurian K.C., S.J. and team had three Charismatic Retreats in a row during the Dasain Holidays.  The first one was in the Ashram for 77 youth from the three parishes in the Valley.  Bishop A. Sharma, S.J. shared a few encouraging words and lofty thoughts with the youth on the 3rd day of the retreat.  Fr. Benjamin, SDB and Sr. Deepa, C.J. were the nerve-centre behind the success of the whole program. Unfortunately, some of the students were turned back due to lack of space for accommodation.  The second retreat was for the laity conducted in the Pastoral Centre, Kitnee, and the last one was for the parishioners of the Little Flower Quasi Parish in Birganj.  Two Lay Missionaries from the Divine Retreat Centre Muringoor, South India, were the star attractions.  All the three retreats were well attended.

Bro. Clarence spent his holidays hosting his family members from India. He was also the night guard at the “Louis Chauvet House” at Maitighar, the convent of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres (SPC).  Frs. Arul, Arock and Mani along with the BSW staff were busy with the October Camps for 123 BSW students in three different far fetched locations in Nepal, namely Dharan, Baglung and Lele.  They are expected to be back to the college latest by the 4th of November.   — Paul K.C

Kamal Niwas, Sanepa

‘Alone with the Alone’ was the theme of our Community for October. Basant, guided by Fr. EC, Merlin, guided by Fr. Masillamani, and Ajit, guided by Fr. Bill made their annual retreats at Godavari, Campion House and Deoniya, respectively. Narun made use of the vacation to visit his family for 10 days. In all the comings and goings, Jomon found himself grounded. After overcoming adversaries within and without, one of our rabbits has littered and the four bunnies are already hoping around. Our ‘ferociously loving’ black Alsatian had no such luck though with the gates closed and the rest.

Jhapa

Fr. Bill is back from Canada with renewed energy and enthusiasm for the Jhapa Mission. We welcomed Bill back with a cultural evening performed by our hostel boys. The boys entertained the Fathers and Sisters, including Fr. Amal and his team who were visiting, with well displayed songs, dances and skits. Everybody appreciated their efforts and skills.

The Schools have finished their 2nd term exams and the process of evaluation is underway. During the holidays that followed St. Xavier’s Class 10 students had a whirlwind study tour of Kathmandu, Pokhara and Gorkha. Initially planned for four days, the tour lasted six days after the bus broke down near Pokhara. Fr. George requested Fr. Sanny to send his school bus to fetch the students. Later they found out that the bus was too small to bring all the students and the staff. So Fr. Sanny got a bigger bus and drove the bus all by himself and reached the staff and students to Deoniya safely. We are indebted to Fr. Sanny for his extraordinary kindness and generosity.

The Dasain break was put to use differently by different community members. It all started with a wonderful Community outing to Dhomukha. ‘The youngest man’ of the community Fr. Bill led the 3 hour hike and the card games that followed. During the days following the outing, Fr. Bill directed retreats to Schs Paul Robson and Ajit separately. Fr. Ignatius and Fr. Mathew Das went on home visits. Br. Hermon grabbed the opportunity to have a free ride with the Adoration Sisters and Fr. Sanny, CST, to Birgunj and from there flew to Kathmandu to oversee the brewing of mass wine. According to Hermon, the priests will have a better tasting mass wine for their Eucharistic celebrations soon. Fr. Sanctius made his annual retreat, staying at St. Xavier’s Jawalakhel. Frs. Roy and George attended the Jamshedpur meeting.

In the meantime, Fr. Sanjay organized a retreat for the Parishioners. It was preached by Fr. Benjamin from Damak and was attended by over 200 people. The Boys’ football team of our parish won the Fr. John Prakash Memorial Cup at Sirsia. They defeated the Sirsia parish team in the finals.

We were glad to have Bishop Sharma visiting us. Fr. Victor also spent a day with us on his way back from India. A group of Adoraion Sisters also came to visit our schools. George acted as a guide for them on their on day trip to Darjeeling and back. –– Boby

Pokhara

After recovering from the fall last month, Fr. Cap now goes to teach English songs to the children in a Tibetan hostel on Friday afternoons that he enjoys very much. Recently, he had a trek with Fr. E.C. to Gandruk and has joined him again for a visit to Lumbini with an American friend.

Fr. Norbert represented the community at the inauguration of the new house of St. Paul Sisters in Kathmandu. The local CRN had a meeting with some sharing from each congregation, its mission and goals. We ended with a Mass and lunch to celebrate the silver jubilee of Sr. Lilian and Fr. Mathew.

Koreans Daniel and Jemma are here again with their cute dog. Recently they visited Mustang for distribution of medicine. The St. Paul Sisters’ new Provincial and ex Provincial were also here for a visit and we were happy to host a dinner for them at the candidates’ house.

The big event of the last month was the medical camp in Hemja village by the Korean doctors and volunteers. Norbert was very much involved with the Korean sisters in planning and executing the five days’ camp. Our candidates also helped with crowd-control and odd jobs. Every day there were some three to four hundred patients and the camp was a grand success. On the last night of their stay, the medical team was entertained by our parish youth with cultural dances and the dinner was at Shishu Bikas Kendra.

The Dashain holidays saw many students visiting Pokhara and we accommodated the Deonia and Bhairahwa students with their staff. Parish had a three days’ C.F.C. meeting with the team from Kathmandu. Fr. Arul was busy with a 8 days’ retreat for the St. Anne’s and C.J. Sisters from Kathmandu. When the holidays started Mathew took off to Jomsom- Muktinath for a trek with two other friends. As I write this, Arul, Norbert and the Candidates are out for a trek and they hope to experience the cold of Annapurna base camp and return safely in five days.
— Mathew A.

St. Xavier’s Social Service Centers

At the beginning of the month, SXSSC organized a parents’ meeting in which parents of 10 boys were present. In the meeting, different issues related to children’s education, health, day-to-day activities, etc were discussed. Similarly, a staff meeting was also called on the same day.

The boys from SXSSC actively participated in various activities organized in different locations on different occasions. They participated in an Essay Writing & Art Competition and scored first and second position in Art competition and got third position in Essay Writing competition. The boys also attended two programmes organized on the occasion of the World Children’s Day and International Peace Day in Freedom Center and Maitighar Mandala respectively. Similarly, two boys from SXSSC participated in “Real 4th Kathmandu Marathon” under wheel chair category. Some of the boys also sat for their second terminal examination during this period. After the examination, most of the boys left for vacation.

All the staff and boys of the center happily observed Dashain. On the day of Ghatastapana, Jamara was established in the center. On the day of Tika, all the staff and boys put tika on their foreheads and celebrated Dashain cheerfully. –– Arulanandam

Prayers for the Sick

Please pray for Fr. Marty Coyne’s nephew, Shawn, 36 years old who has been diagnosed once again with an inoperable cancer in his brain.

Happy Birthday

19 November: David Minj
23 November: Mathew Assarikudi
26 November: Anil Beck

Communication from the Curia

Letter to the Provincial of Spain. On September 10 Father General sent in response to the Provincial of Spain a letter in which he confirms the process of the integration of the 5 Provinces into only one, as it was stated in the document that was given to him. This document communicates in several chapters the following issues: the revitalization of the life and the mission of the apostolic body of the Society, the structures of governance for the period of transition, the structures for the new Province, the Apostolic Project, etc.

Commission for Practica Quaedam. Practica Quaedam is the manual of instructions on the way to handle the correspondence with Father General. The last edition was in 1997. In conformity with what the last General Congregation indicated in number 15 in the Decree on Governance, some months ago the Secretary of the Society asked the Provincials and their Socii to send suggestions in order to update the manual. Father General has constituted an international working group in order to carry out this task.

The New Curia Website Is Online

Beginning October 15 the www.sjweb.info web site has evolved into the web site of ‘The Jesuit Curia in Rome - The House of the Superior General’.

The homepage contains fresh colours and an attractive layout. Top left is the new Jesuit Curia Logo, designed by Elías López. Under the navigation toolbar system (in three languages: English, French and Spanish) you see at the left side our “Visiting Card” with a reference to a key expression of last General Congregation 35: ‘Sent to the frontiers, following Jesus, a fire that kindles other fires’.

At the right side of the home page you see an image of Father General, welcoming you on his homepage. Clicking will open the home page of the ‘Jesuit Curia’ part of the web site (the first part of the navigation bar) and you will get a welcome page from Father General and an overview of the Curia. In this website you can find a complete presentation of our Curia:  the different offices, services and secretariats, with many pictures of who they are, and what are they doing.  Also, there is a complete page concentrated on the texts of Father General with speeches, interviews, slideshows (and in the future audio excerpts).

The International Committee for Jesuit Higher Education has met at the Curia in Rome from Friday, October 15th to Sunday, October 17th.  The committee was made up of the heads of the higher education associations in each Assistancy plus representatives of the intellectual apostolate. After reports of the higher education activities in each Assistancy, the committee has taken up the main agenda item of this meeting: ways to implement the outcomes of the higher education conference in Mexico City last April. Also on the agenda was a discussion about higher education initiatives in the two geographical priorities of the Society: Africa and China. Finally, committee members have suggested names for Fr. General to consider as the permanent secretary of higher education replacing the late, Fr. Paul Locatelli.

Jesuits at the Synod. Being held in Rome the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod  of Bishops on the topic: The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness. There are 10 Jesuits involved with the Synod. A full member is Mons.Antoine Audo, Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo (Syria). Representing the Union of Religious Superiors is Fr. Victor Assouad, Provincial of the Middle East.

Jesuitica

Paraguay, the Guaraní played soccer. The Paraguayan team was vs. Italy at the first football match of the world champions league in South Africa and played very well brushing the semi-final, beaten by Spain which was the world winner. In those days Gianpaolo Romanato wrote in the Osservatore Romano that soccer in Paraguay is very old.  Here is a testimony: “During feast days, after evening mass, men organize a fictitious struggle in the square, throwing arrows towards a target (…). They also used to play soccer, and, even if of full rubber, the ball was light and quick and once received the stroke, bounced back many times without stopping, pushed by its own weigh.  They do not push the ball with their hands, as we do, but with the upper part of the naked feet, passing it over and receiving it with great ability and precision.” This is what wrote Spanish Father José Manuel Peramás. Born in 1732 he worked for some years among the Guaraní of the Paraguayan Reducciones, until the decree of expulsion forced him and his brethren to leave the Spanish colonies in America. He died in Faenza, Italy, in 1793. But this is not the only testimony.  Another missionary of the Reducciones, Fr. José Cardiel, who died in exile in Faenza in 1781, speaks about the same topic.  Another Jesuit historian of theReducciones, Peruvian creolo Father Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, wrote around 1639-1640 that soccer was practiced by guaraní even before the arrival of the Spanish missionaries.(Courtesy: Electronic News Service)