[Mother Teresa]

Sacred Heart Church, Adra : 6^th July, 2003 is a historic day for the Sacred Heart Church, Adra. On this day Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. offered Mass at 8.00 a.m. for the Parishioners of Adra and blessed the new Presbytery in the presence of the whole Parish community . Fr. Chonas Xalxo, the Parish Priest welcomed the guests and briefed the various stages that helped to complete the Presbytery construction. Fr. Edward Saldanha proposed the vote of thanks and invited the people for tea and snacks. This construction was carried out by Sanjay and Bob from Ranchi.

Loyola School, Rerua : Fr. Walter Kongari did invite the clergy of the town for the "ORAK BAPLA" of the new Loyola School building [ "NADI US PAAR"] on 14^th June, 2003. The Chief Guest , Fr. Augustine Vatta , S.J. after having heard about the strong flow of water at the Rerua crossing of ‘Swarnarekha’ prayed for the intercession of Moses and did not take the risk to Rerua. Fr. Hilarius Kongari and Bro. Benji officiated the ceremony and was part of the wonderful family celebration at Rerua. Congratulations to Walter and his team .

Jissu Marsal, Chandil : Fr. Nicholas Kerketta was inducted as the Parish Priest of Jisu Marsal Parish by Dean Fr. Jerome Pereira on 6^th July at 8.00 a.m. at the solemn liturgy. The powerful ‘Mundari’ homily by Msgr. John Bodra inspired one and all to be effective evangelisers though much risk and hardships are part of this vocation . Immediately after the Mass the parishioners welcomed the new Parish Priest and thanked Fr. Puthumai Raj and Sr. Cyrilla with 2-hours of cultural program. This was an occasion for the people to welcome Bro. Dileep Marandi , the Regent to their midst.

Pratiksha, Neeldungri : The new academic session at Pratiksha, our Minor Seminary was inaugurated by Bishop Felix Toppo on 10^th July with a solemn Concelebrated Eucharist at 6.00 a.m. Later Bishop Felix Toppo addressed the staff and students and encouraged them to be firm in their vocation and strive holiness during their training at the Minor Seminary. There are altogether 22 candidates for this new academic session at Pratiksha . Fr. Gyanprakash Topno was welcomed to the community on 14^th July.

Bishop’s House, Golmuri : Bishop Felix Toppo returned from the ‘Ad Limina’ visit to Jamshedpur on 2^nd July. He visited to Fr. Joy Paul in Canada and Fr. Cyril Fernandes in USA prior to the visit to Rome . It is indeed encouraging to know that our men are doing a wonderful ministry in both the places. Bishop Emeritus J.R. Rodericks S.J. returned home on 18^th July by the Jana-Shatabdi. The recollection for the Regents was held at the Bishop’s House on 26-27 and Bishop Felix Toppo guided them. Frs. Vijay Bhat and Gyan were welcomed to Jamshedpur Deanery on 30^th by the Dean and community at the Bishop’s House on 30^th July.

St. Paul’s Parish, Maluka : Fr. Venancius Kandulna was installed as Parish Priest on 13^th Sunday during the solemn con-celebration by Fr. Gyan . Immediately after the Mass, the Parishioners extended a very hearty welcome to their new pastor with traditional cultural items and thanked Fr. Gyan for his six years of service to the people of Maluka. On the next day Fr. Gyan was reached to Pratiksha by the Sisters , Fr. Pascal Minj, Catechists and Parish leaders for a rousing welcome by the Pratiksha community and a sumptuous family meal.

Sacred Heart Convent, Park View Road : The solemnity of the feast of Mount Carmel was celebrated on 16^th July with a solemn Con-celebrated Eucharist presided over by Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. at 6.30 a.m. at the School Hall. Teachers, parents, well-wishers joined the Sisters for the celebration. This was followed by coffee and snacks for everybody. On 20^th Sunday noon the Clergy and the Religious of the town assembled at the convent to share the feast day joy with the Apostolic Carmel Sisters.

St. Mark’s , Toklo : On 13^th July, Sunday , Fr. Camille Hembrom was inducted as the priest –In-Charge by Fr. Nicholas Kerketta. This was followed by hours of cultural events to welcome the New pastor and to thank the out-going one. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J.was the Chief Guest for the cultural function and was given a very warm welcome by the people of Toklo. Later all shared the meal prepared for the occasion. After having taken the charge of the centre, Camille got admitted to St. Angela’s Hospital for Malaria and Typhoid. He is back home and taking rest.

Vidya, Jyothi, Siadih : On 13^th July a medical team consisting of Dr. Mohanty , Sr. Elsy Cherian SCJM , Bro. Jacob DDS reached Siadih for the much needed medical camp .The hostel children, parents and villagers totalling 145 came for medical check-up and was given free medicines. Fr. Manu Horo co-ordinated and made easy the language barrier. Thanks to the medical team and all the helpers for this great service to the children and people of Siadih.

Loyola School, Kumardhubi : The registration of 1.92 acres of land behind the School building at Kumardhubi is a great achievement for Loyola School. It had been the dream of all the former Principals. Frs. Amatus and Robert has managed even to get the compound wall done up within a short time. Fr. Gerry made many trips for this great work to Dhanbad and Kumardbhi and consulted many experts before the final deed was signed.

Little Flower Convent, Telco : The feast of Blessed Anne Marie Javaohey, the Foundress of Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny was celebrated on 15^th July with a solemn Con-celebrated Eucharist presided over by Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. at the School Hall at 11.00 a.m. The theme of this year’s celebration was Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey, the liberator . This was followed by meal for all the invitees at the Telco club at 12.30 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Golmuri : The Mercy Panchayat had a high level meeting organised on 13^th July after the Mass to discuss on the possibility of extending the present Church building. It has been agreed to take the matter to the concerned civil and Tisco authorities for immediate action.

The Convocation Day of St. Joseph’s Welfare Centre was on 19^th July and Mr. Charles Varghese, Chief Executive, Tisco gave the convocation address and Major D. Prakash presided over the concluding ceremony. Congratulations to Fr. Leo D’Souza, Staff and Students for the well organised function.

The 54^th birthday of Dean Jerome Pereira was celebrated on 25^{th –} 27th July with much jubilation, love and simplicity.

St Anthony’s Dhanbad.: Dean Fr. Edward Kongari [9835356131] has organised the Parish youth and entrusted them to Vernon. They have daily Basketball games at the Church campus. The youth has opted to teach catechism to the Parish children on every Sunday. Fr.Norbert Kindo is seen guiding lots of people how to plant saplings at this season and he himself is at work planting super quality Chrysanthemums. He has the knowledge of herbal medicines for any sickness and for everybody .The construction work of the Hall and classrooms are at the completing stage and we can expect the inauguration soon.

Jisu Jaher, Tundi : Frs. Sushil Jojo and James Bara are relaxed and much busier with the construction work of the new Church and Presbytery building at Gadi Tundi. The whole parish community is happy that their dream Church is off the ground now.

St. Joseph’s Church, Charbandia : Pastor James Quadros has started visiting his parishioners and getting to know them before preparing a master plan for the Parish evangelisation work. The Parish community celebrated his 54^th birthday on 25^th July. On 26^th the Parish Mahila Sangh celebrated the feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne with solemn concelebrated Mass and cultural program. On the same day immediately after the Mass Fr. James Quaros blessed the newly constructed girls hostel and handed over to St. Anne’s Sisters. Within hours the girls got settled in the new hostel.

St. Mary’s Parish, Omra : Pastor Fr. Paulus Bodra is seen daily supervising the Presbytery – School construction work at Omra. Though the terrain and roads are non-supportive he reaches ahead of everybody. The people of Omra are very supportive of all the Parish programs and ever ready to help.

St. Xavier’s Church, Chaibasa : Bishop Felix Toppo presided over the solemn concelebrated Eucharist in honour of St. Anne on 26^th July at St. Xavier’s Church, Chaibasa at 7.00 a.m. Immediately after the Mass the hostel girls felicitated the Sisters of Anne’s. This was followed by cultural programme and a family meal .

Lupita Church, Telco : Pastor Cyprian Lobo was well prepared to welcome his successor Fr. Vijay Bhat to Telco on 28^th night. The Parish Council has well planned agenda to officially welcome Fr. Vijay to the Parish community on 1^st August and then to thank Fr. Cyprian Lobo for his presence at Telco for the last two years.

St. Robert’s Parish, Parsudih : The School is busy in preparing for the "Father Marcus Topno" memorial football Match which will be held at the school grounds in the 1^st week of August. Pastor Gualbert is on an extended sick-rest and helping out for the recognition work of the School with Fr. Sahay Dhason. The St. Anne’s Sisters celebrated their feast on 26^th with Mass, cultural programme and a family meal for all the clergy and religious of the town..

St. Anthony’s Parish, Kutkudungri : After having trained at for Charismatic retreats Pastor Vijayan has started charismatic prayers at the Parish. They have the perpetual adoration with the help of Sr. Ann Thomas SSH from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. daily. The parishioners are present all through the adoration and it has brought in much change in the faith life of the people. The group prays for the various needs of the area and people are encouraged to present petitions for prayer.

St. Mary’s Church, N. Road : The Catholic Association of Jamshedpur [M], had its Annual General Body Meeting held on 29^th July at the St. Mary’s Hindi School Hall. During the meeting the executive body has been elected and they will have one day training at Jesu Bhavan on 3^rd August. Meantime, Fr. Michael Raj attended the training course "Stewardship skills for Priests" at XLRI from 21^st to 26th together with Frs. Leo D’Souza and Manu Horo. 27 Priest from the various diocese of Bijhan attended the course. The Parish youth has now special identity cards and it will help them to be at the service of the parish and the needy always.

Christ the King Parish, CKP : On 24^th July, Fr. Herman Tigga blessed the foundation work for the much awaited Church building at Rajaporam in the presence of Mr. Ephrem Kispotta, Mr. Gopal , Fr. George Manna and the whole village community. All were given sweets as a mark of good beginning. On the same day Fr. John Otto celebrated his 59^th birthday with felicitation in the School and a meal with the clergy and religious of the Parish at 7.30 p.m. Fr. Herman was twice admitted to Chandmari hospital with high blood pressure. He is advised to take things easy and discipline with eating-drinking habits.

N A T I O N A L – I N T E R N A T I O N A L - R O U N D – U P :

Community Colleges – The need of the hour : "Education is not simply creating graduates. It is the process of making a person fit for life and employment". With these words, renowned educationist, Dr. Xavier Alphonse, former Principal of Loyola College, Chennai introduced an enthralled audience to the concept of community colleges. He was speaking at the Conference on "New Paths in Higher Education" organised by the Forum of Principals at St. Xavier’s College Hall on April 25, 2003.

Elaborating, he described it as alternative system of education aimed at empowering, the disadvantaged and underprivileged . It is rooted in the community and promotes job-oriented, work-related, skill-based education. Through cost effective course, an attempt is made to address the requirements of the local community. The system tries to impart both knowledge and skill. The student has the liberty of knowing or leaving the system at any time. The courses are run in association with industry. The diplomas or certificates are highly acceptable to industry as the courses are designed in a manner that makes the students fit for employment immediately. Making a strong plea for the establishment of such colleges in Goa, Dr. Alphonse urged the de-linking of excellence assessment from marks. "We need to discover the latent potential and talent within each of us", he added.

Priest shot to death in Pakistan : A Catholic priest was shot dead by assailants last Saturday in Renala Khord, in a attack police say was a robbery but others say was terrorism. According to local police sources, six armed individuals entered Fr. George Ibrahim’s residence, shooting him fatally and wounding his assistant, Pervez Masih. Renala Khord is near Okara, around 120 kilometers southwest of Lahore.

Catholic Teachers play crucial role of spreading tolerance in India : Catholic teachers in India have an important role in social context : can help create a national conscience based on the values of harmony, tolerance and solidarity. The above was affirmed during a meeting for Catholic school teachers organized by the commission for Education and Culture of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India.

Bishop Charles Soreng of Hazaribagh, head of the commission, said: "Through our Catholic schools we are able to reach out to numerous families in our country. If teachers are aware of their mission, the effects on students will soon be seen. Our teachers will only be appreciated if their lifestyle is in keeping with that of Jesus, the greatest teacher of all ".

Official says People want fidelity in Mass, not novelty : People want fidelity at Mass , not novelty, Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Vatican’s top liturgy official, said at an international liturgy forum in Washington May 16. "What most of the people who come to Mass are asking for is simply that the Mass is there, according to the approved books. The primary thing they are asking for is not something new", he said. Cardinal Arize, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, stressed that liturgical renewal in the Church calls for "ongoing formation for all of us". [CNS]

The Holy Father cautioned the Bishops : [1] Remain beacons of courage and hope inspiring clergy, Religious and lay faithful to take heart and continue to preach Christ. [2] Have well trained Laity equipped to be teachers of the faith. The mission of training the faithful to respect and proclaim the Gospel falls to parents, teachers and Catechists of today. For this reason, a fundamental task of every Bishop is to ensure that he has well trained laity . [3] Foster inter-religious dialogue without religious indifferentism.[4] Guarantee a solid theological training in your seminaries and a sound continuing formation for your priests, thus rejecting "the temptation to reduce Christianity to a merely human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being".[5] It is disheartening to see the work of the Church often compromised by a lingering tribalism in certain parts of India . Tribal or ethnic difference must never be used as a reason for rejecting a bearer of God’s word. Consecrated men and women make a particularly valuable contribution to your local Church. [6] One of the hallmarks of apostolic service to the Church is the bold proclamation of the Gospel

Tribals hold traditional wedding rites for nuns : ‘Happy Wedding . Ekka family welcomes you’, read a cloth banner fluttering before a decorated mud house. The ‘wedding’ was of an Indian Catholic nun who had just taken her perpetual vows. Franciscan Sister Celestina Ekka , a member of the Oraon tribe, went back to her village for the rites after her final profession to attend the ‘wedding ceremony’ traditionally held in their culture when a priest is ordained or a nun makes her final commitment.

Prayer for our Priests :

Almighty and Eternal God our Father, for the love You bear for Jesus Christ Your beloved Son, the Eternal High priest, bless all the priests in our Diocese. Remember, Lord, that they are but weak and frail human beings. Stir up in them the grace of the priestly charism which has been given to them on their ordination day by the imposition of the Bishop’s hands. Protect them against the assaults of the evil one, so that they may never do anything unworthy of their sublime vocation.

Lord Jesus, I pray for Your anointed ministers; for those who are faithful and fervent and for those who are tepid or in sin; for those who are tempted, lonely or desolate; for those who are young and those who are retired; for those dying and for the souls of priests in purgatory.

Above all, I commend to You the priests dearest to me; the priest who baptised me, those who absolved me from my sins, those whose Mass I have assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion, those who taught and instructed me or helped and encouraged me by word and example; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any way.

Dear Jesus, keep all priests close to Your Sacred heart and bless them with an abundance of spiritual consolations here on earth and forever in heaven. Amen

" I have been keeping too busy with my studies recently. I go to the University at 9.00 a.m. and come home at 3.00 p.m. Most of the time I am in the College. To make things worse, I have too many assignments. Sometimes you won’t believe that I have to spend sleepless nights preparing the assignments. Besides all these I have to concentrate on the Parish work. I have a building project of 4 million dollars – a school building and Parish Hall. We have to raise all this money and committees are formed to raise the fund".{Cyril Fernandes, Fort Wayne]

Attention : Kindly submit to the Diocesan Treasurer[9875084633] the subscriptions for "Tarang Bharati" and "Meshpal".

Parish Priests and Heads of Institutions are requested to give short reports of their activities/news items to the Bishop’s House by the 25^th of every month. This will help us prepare the newsletter.