JAMSHEDPUR DIOCESE

                                                 

 

                                           Into a world oppressed and torn,

                                           Of boundless hate and forces wild,

                                           Where men were hungry, lost, forlorn,

                                           God sent a child. (John Morrison)

                                                          

Christmas Wishes that your Heart be Merry, and you and your loved ones be filled with peace, good health and joy.

 

 

 

St. Mary’s Church, N. Road :  Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. was the Chief celebrant of the Eucharist at the Beldih cemetery  on November 02 at the commemoration of all the Faithful Departed at 3.30 p.m. Fr. Edwin Coelho preached an inspiring homily for 15 minutes in Hindi-English mixing in spontaneity as of last year. Mr. Moti Kispotta conducted the choir with the support of Loyola candidates and Sacred Heart Hostel girls. Immediately after the Mass, Priests went around and blessed the graves and prayed for the departed ones. The cemetery was looking clean and beautiful. This year there were no crackers to disown the sanctity of the place. Congratulations to Dr. Raymond D’Souza, the honorary General Secretary of the Board for the meticulous job to the satisfaction of one and all.

 

St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Golmuri :  The Mass for the commemoration of the Faithful Departed was celebrated at the Babudih cemetery at 3.30 p.m. on November 02. Fr. Bipin Pani presided at the Eucharist assisted by Frs. Jerome Pereira and Cyril Tigga. Over one thousand faithful gathered for the Mass and blessing of the graves. There were numerous people outside looking for help in the name of the dear departed ones.

Fr. Cyril Tigga went to Atmadarshan for his annual retreat on 14^th and returned on 27^th.

Fr. Jerome took the area leaders out to Maluka for a mission experience on November 6. The group returned on 7^th with rejuvenated wisdom and faith experience. The mela committees are busy in planning for a successful ‘Purnema mela’ soon at the campus.

 

Jisu Marsal, Chandil :  Bishop Felix Toppo’s  pastoral visit to  Jisu Marsal ,Chandil  on October 31  was a memorable event. During the Mass 72 members of the parish received the sacrament of Confirmation from the Bishop. There were more than 300 faithful present. Soon after the Mass the community welcomed the Bishop with songs and dances. The singing in Mundari and Santhali was devotional and meaningful. Later all shared the meal prepared by the people with the support of Fr. Nicholas, Bro. Bipin, Sisters , Catechists and the Parish Council Members.

 

Christ the King Eucharistic procession :  The Jamshedpur deanery Eucharistic procession was held at Jisu Marsal Parish, Chandil on November 21 . The faithful from all the town parishes as well as from Vijayagiri gathered at 1.00 p.m. at the Tuidungri chowk. Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. carried the blessed sacrament on a decorated jeep and the procession marshaled by Fr. Edwin Coelho moved on slowly towards the Jisu Marsal grounds. The Blessed Sacrament was then placed on the special podium erected for the occasion. Fr. Edwin Coelho offered the prayer of consecration and the Bishop gave the benediction. The solemn Mass began with an introduction by Fr. Nicholas Kerketta. Bishop Felix exhorted the people to follow the path of our King to bring peace, joy and love in our lives and of others who are among us. Immediately after the Mass the parishioners of Jisu Marsal led by the mahila sangh came on stage to felicitate the Bishop on his 58^th birthday. All enjoyed tea and snacks that were on sale at the grounds before the return journey. This year there were over 2500 faithful participating in the celebrations.

 

St. Xavier’s Church, Chaibasa : On  Sunday, October 31 Fr. Alex Misquith S.J. in the company of 3 catechists, Sr. Sabrina M.C. , Mr. Augu and 2 teachers celebrated 38 new baptisms at Torlo, beyond Tanthnagar  and while returning in the parish Jeep met  with an accident. One Mahindra Jeep dashed against the Jeep driven by Fr. Alex Misquith at Kioli village. The passenger jeep fell off the road and couple of people got badly injured including one child who later died in the hospital. The fury of the passengers fell on Fr. Alex Misquith , Sr. Sabrina and the teachers. All of them were badly man-handled by the maddened crowd. The arrival of the police rescued them and got them all to the Sardar Hospital, Chaibasa. Later Fr. Alex and Mrs. Lucy were shifted to TMH for further check up and observation for a day and got released the next morning. Frs. Alex Dodrai and  Tome Nelli  worked together and got the Jeep back at the Parish House.

 

Our Lady of Khuntpani :  The solemnity of Our Lady of Khuntpani  was celebrated on November 08 with great fervor and devotion. The prayers and rosary began at 8.00 a.m. and the special guests, Mrs. Vasula Ryden , from Switzerland and Cardinal Telesphore P.Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi arrived at the podium at 8.30 a.m. to a rousing welcome by the devotees. Mrs. Vasula addressed the faithful in English and was simultaneously translated into Hindi by Fr. Igance Tete S.J. The procession began at 10.30 a.m. led by the dancers from Chaibasa. The celebrants first paid tribute at the stone representing the forefathers and then to Mother Mary at the Grotto. Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo presided at the Eucharist. The singing was solemn and at the same time devotional. Cardinal Telesphore in his homily cautioned the people to follow the faith path of our forefathers who welcomed Jesus, the Word into their lives. Immediately after the Mass the special guests , Vasula Ryden and Cardinal Telesphore were presented with token gifts and flower bouquet by Bishop Felix Toppo.  Fr. Romanus Kerketta, S.J. summarized Vasula’s message and Fr. Joseph Surin, S.J. that of Cardinal Telesphore into Ho. The Scouts in attention saluted the guests before leading them in security cordon up to the main road. Fr. Camille Hembrom [Ho] and Miss Kiran Guria [Hindi] were the commentators for the day.  Congratulations to Frs. Alex Misquith, Alex Dodrai, Tome Nelly, Valerian Lobo, volunteers, choir, Parish Council members and all the others who helped out in making the annual Khuntpani celebrations meaningful and memorable. This year over 16000 faithful gathered for the  celebrations.

 

Fr. Peter Arrupe Centre, RERUA: Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J.  had his maiden pastoral visit to Rerua on November 06. Bishop came to the Subarnarekha river-bed in the company of Frs. John Nag and Bene Soreng of Chaira . The Marsal Samiti welcomed them into the boat and rowed across The Bishop and party walked the 4 kms to a rousing ‘daram dak’ welcome by the school kids. After the traditional ‘janga dak’ Bishop Felix inaugurated the 25’x 80’ multipurpose air-conditioned ‘Jhamda’ and blessed the Peter Arrupe chapel which was built in a record time of 8 days. The swagat that followed had variety of Santhal dances and Hindi items for the delight of the guests. Later in the day the Bishop addressed the school children and had meals with the Pastor , Fr. Walter Kongari, S.J. and his school staff. Once again the Samiti members escorted the guests back to ‘Swarnareka es par’ to the waiting Chaira ambulance.  “Kumbaya Bishop Felix, Kumbaya” {Walter]

 

Little Flower School, Jamshedpur: The 39^th Annual Sports – 2004 was held at the Sumant Maalgaakar Stadium on November 6 at 1.00 p.m. The events began with a spectacular march past. Mr. Binod Kumar, Assistant General Manager, Tata Motors was the Chief Guest and Mrs. Neelima Kumar gave away the Trophies. The stadium was packed with parents, Guardians and guests.

Congratulations to Fr. Sahay Thason, Staff and Students of St. Robert’s. The Jamshedpur deanery Krus Vir rally was held at St. Robert’s from 12-14 and 280 children from the various town parishes took part. This year’s theme was “Prayer is the foundation of my life ”. Fr. Shay Thason presided at the solemn Eucharist on the 1^st day and Fr. Joseph Surin at the concluding day. Various competitions on the theme were conducted during the rally. The program was video graphed and it was most interesting for the children to watch themselves on a color - screen.

 

St. Mary’s Church, N. Road :  It was a day of celebration for St. Mary’s Parish on November 14 . On this day 53 youngsters were given the sacrament of Confirmation by Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. during the solemn concelebrated Eucharist at 7.00 a.m. at forecourt of the school campus. The choir sang prayerfully and devotionally for the Holy Spirit. It is great that the youngsters were well prepared to answer the questions Bishop had put to them during the homily. 38 children received  ‘ First Communion’ during the Mass. Soon after the Mass the CAJ{M} ushered all those who received the sacrament of Confirmation and the First Communion  for breakfast . All were given token gifts as they left for home celebrations by the CAJ[M} .The Bishop gave sufficient time to all for photo sessions.

 

St. Xavier’s English School, Purulia : Five boys and two girls from St. Xavier’s School participated at the 8^th National Sports Meet of ICSE Schools from November 04 –08 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur. Though it was for the first time they competed at the Nationals, it was an excellent exposure for them. Their performance was far superior to those athletes who came from Kolkata . Abhisek Dutta stood fourth in the Discuss Throw, fifth in Shot Put and Samsuzzman fifth in High Jump. Paritosh Mahato of the school was the captain of West Bengal contingent, while Mr. S.K. Abutaleb , our P.T.I. was the team coach and Fr. Hilary Lobo , the team Manager.

 

Amit Mahato of Class IX A, who left the house in September has not returned home. Prayers are solicited. Fr. Emmanuel Horo was admitted to mercy Hospital for five days for suspected Malaria. He is now back in Purulia. The presence of a ‘ mad  monkey’, which bit many policemen at the police lines caused lot of fear and disturbance among the students in the campus. The large contingent of police force and forest men summoned to the school could not catch the clever visitor but it gave a slip to all including the principal.

 

Preparation for the 3^rd Annual Sports Day which will be held on December 11 at 8.30 a. m is in full swing. All are invited and welcome. The students of Stds. IX and X were invited at the inauguration of LAC at the District Science Centre, Purulia. In compliance with the Government and the Council directives a second exit route is under construction. Br. Stephen made his retreat last week at Kirpa Sadan and Fr. Hilary Lobo at XLRI. The Purulia Deanery meeting was held  by Frs. Chonas, Charlie and Emmanuel Horo in the Catholic Ashram on November 19. The school had its successful second Art and Science Exhibition and it was inaugurated by Mr. T.K. Sengupta, the District Science Officer, Purulia. The response of the parents was overwhelming. [ Hilary Lobo, S.J.]

 

Catholic Charities – Samket Jan Vikas Kendra :  The month of November was an important month both for CC/SJVK and the stakeholders. There were two important reviews by two different funding agencies. Mr. Ralf Tepal and S.Roy of the project “Socio Economic Development” in 36 villages of Tonto Block visited the office and the target areas. They stayed with the villagers for a couple of days and saw the result of the social development programs. In another review Ms. Eva of DKA of Austria visited the target groups. Besides these, Agricultural trainings, AIDS awareness, Herbal Medicine preparations and Capacity building programs were held. CHABIJ conducted three days workshop on ‘Herbal Medicine’ in the beginning of the month. BIJHAN Social Service Forum conducted a workshop on ‘ Strategic planning for Bhijan Social Service Forum. Eleven dioceses were represented. Mr. Munish Kaushik of ASK, Delhi and Fr. Varghese of Caritas India were the resource persons. Mr. Vincent Athaide joined the administration as a consultant on November 01. Director, Fr. Bipin Pani flew to Thaiwan on November 27 to present a paper at the workshop on “Resource based Development for the Agri-Rural World” organized by the International Catholic Rural Association. The paper presented by Fr. Bipin was based on Indian and in particular Jharkhand Agricultural produces.  [R.F. Crasta]

 

St. Anthony’s, Dhanbad : The Dhanbad Deanery Krus Vir rally was held at St. Anthony’s School from 17-20. Fr. Valerian Lobo assisted Fr. Ajay to organize the sessions. Fr. Walter Crasta presided at the inaugural Mass. There were 260 children taking active part in the sessions. Dean Fr. Edward Kongari made sure that the children enjoyed the rally and received much faith formation.

 

Bishop’s House, Golmuri :  PRO, Fr. Joseph Surin , S.J. attended the PROs and Spokespersons meeting in Okla, Delhi on  November 6.  On November 19 he took sessions for the Adivasi College boys and girls at Torpa on personality development, aim in life and planning for career. Fr. Gerry D’Souza left November 12 for Varnasi for retreat-spirituality course and returned via Kumardhubi on 29^th. The 58^th birthday of Bishop Felix Toppo, S.J. was celebrated on Saturday, 20^th[21/11] November with a special meal for the clergy of the town and   solemn Mass at the Cathedral on 21^st morning.

Fr. Lancey D’Souza of Morning Star College, Barrackpore came in on November 24 to visit Jamshedpur with the 3^rd year philosophers numbering 24. Sr. Helena arranged the visit to Tata Motors. On 25^th they visited most of the important institutions and places in the town before boarding the midnight train for Kolkata. Fr. John Crasta arrived at Tatanagar railway station on November 28 at 9.40 p.m. to a joyful welcome by the Bishop’s House community. Msgr. John Bodra extended him a very warm welcome at his arrival at MTN. Bishop Joe Rodericks continues to pack up his belongings of the last 34 years. It looks that he may need years to shift to his official residence - Lupita Hall with all  ‘samans’.

 

Holy Family School, Rahargora :  The 2^nd  “ Father Savari Raj Reddy Memorial  Football Tournament” was held in the school grounds on November 25,26. Frs. George Manna and Jeome Pereira were the special Guests to inaugurate the Finals at 9.00 a.m. on 26^th. The ground was filled with guests, parents and neighbors to witness the tournament. Congratulations to Fr. Sahay Thason, Staff and Students of Holy Family School.

 

St. Mary’s Parish, Digwadih : This year’s Eucharist procession of the Deanery was held at Digwadih at 10.30 a.m. on November 21 . The procession ended with benediction and Mass. Fr. Norbert Kindo was the Chief Celebrant and homilist at the solemn Mass at the Carmel grounds. Faithful from Dhanbad ,Tundi, Gomoh , and Sindri Parishes participated in the procession and  Mass. Congratulations to the Dean , Religious Communities, Parish Councils, Mahila Sangh, Youth and all the pastors of Dhnabad Deanery for the well arranged procession in honor of Jesus Christ the King of the Universe .

 

Sacred Heart Church, Adra : Christ the King Eucharistic procession on November 21, Sunday began from the Railway Institute and ended in the Church. Fr. Leo D’Souza gave benediction and presided at the solemn Mass. The parish community dared the hot sun and took active participation in the procession.

 

St. Theresa’s School, Maluka :   St. Theresa’s School organized ‘ Sarva Dharma Sabha’ on November 10 in the campus. Parents, guardians and guests came in big number to participate in this program. Fr. Joseph Surin, S.J. spoke on Christianity and there were others speakers who spoke at length on Islam, Hinduism and Sarna. The main attraction of the event was the exhibition on religions. The BDO of Jagnathpur was the Chief Guest. {J.Surin]                                

 

 

Pratiksha, Neeldungri : Fr. Casmir Vas has taken up the minister-ship of the Minor Seminary from the 1st week of November .  Rector, Fr. Roque Cardoza, after having entrusted Rector-ship to Fr. Gyan left for Fort Wayne, U.S.A on November 27 via Mumbai . He will substitute Fr. Cyril Fernandes at St. Patrick’s Church for 6 weeks and return after visiting some benefactors/friends. The minor seminarians will be in ministry at our many parishes in the month of December- January.  

 

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 S ;

 

 

“I am okay and busy with my works on DAP. I am trying to leave the place on 15^th December and so most probably reach Tatanagar on 15^th itself. I have opened a new e-mail Id after attending a course on Earth and Environment and I have become a supporter of earth and lover of it “. [[email protected] ]

 

 

Celebration of the Eucharistic communion : The theme of the pastoral year (2004-2005) “ As fellow Pilgrims, nourished by the Eucharist, sent to build communion”, is centered around the celebration of the Eucharist. In his encyclical letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, John Paul II says, “The celebration of the Eucharist, however, cannot be a starting point for communion, it presupposes that communion already exists, a communion which it seeks to consolidate and bring to perfection”. [EE 35]

 

Unwanted Motives for participation:  For many and sundry reasons, Christian faithful participate in the celebration of the Eucharist.

1. Social compulsion : The neighborhood will consider me a ‘non-Sunday Mass’ going catholic. I might not be given a proper Christian burial when I die.
2. Sunday obligation : I fear God’s punishment, if I do not fulfill the obligation. I         commit a sin if I do not fulfill the law.
3. Procure a benefit: God will grant me what I ask if I attend the mass. I attend mass in order to acquire a benefit from God.
4. Social gathering : At least once a week, we are able to meet our friends. After the mass, is the time to gather and share information about the happenings of the week,

 

 

 Communion before the celebration. The Eucharistic celebration does not begin with the entrance procession or song but with the gathering of the community. Those who come to participate in the mass are not a group of individuals but a community of brothers and sisters. This pre-supposes an atmosphere of love and relationship among those gathered.

 

Participation in the celebration : There cannot be anyone who attends or hears the mass. Everyone and each one has a role to play to make the mass a joyful celebration by means of responses, singing etc. Besides some are called to play specific roles like the readers, ushers, choir, extra ordinary ministers of communions, altar servers, etc. All contribute towards a participative and vibrant celebration of the Eucharist.

 

Celebration on the “Altar of the World”: The mass does not end with the final greetings of the priest or the concluding hymn. The celebration of the Eucharistic communion flows into our day –to- day life. Those who have celebrated the mass continue to build communion in the family, neighborhood, work place, parish, etc. Participating in the broken body of Christ, we continue to break ourselves for others. [ Daily Flash, Nov.04]

 

“ I am absolutely fine. My studies are going on very well. We have our exams of the first semester in February. There are always activities which keep us occupied apart from the classes. May times we have to go down to St. Peter’s Basilica for the Mass with black cassock and red sash. Outsiders call us “piccoli vescovi” [little bps]. The weather is very interesting, sometimes bitter cold , other times hot, but inside the rooms it is hot enough because of the heater. I met Fr. Joseph Xavier. I didn’t know that he was a Tundi Regent. We had supper together. We meet once in a while as it is 15 minutes walk. He is busy with his thesis and he is planning to defend in January. Yesterday we had a “Santhal Mission” gathering. We are 7  from Bhagalpur,Dumka,Purnea and Bangladesh. My regards to all”. [ [email protected] ]

 

 

   

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