Platinum Jubilee - By Fr.Lawrence Lobo

Platinum jubilee

Fr Pablo Gil’s 70 years in Religious life was celebrated with gusto! The first celebration was at the Good Shepherd Seminary with Seminarians and a few priests and Sisters of the neighbourhood. Bishop Godfrey was by his side at the concelebration. Fr Provincial joined in for the entertainment programme, which was followed by a delicious dinner. The second celebration was held at Rosary community with a few Jesuits from the district communities. Both the Celebrations were simple, as Fr Pablo wanted them to be, but the warmth and the spirit that accompanied them were mighty strong and exuberant.  

Jesuit Education & Global Networking - Fr.Charles Aruldass

Jesuit Education & Global Networking

For the first time in the history of the Society of Jesus, with the encouragement of Father General, an International Colloquium on Jesuit Secondary Education was held from 29 July through 2 August. It was organized by the International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education, for the leaders of our secondary schools from around the world, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Its purpose was to strengthen our global network by providing a venue to share ideas and resources and to discuss our strengths and challenges in the light of our Jesuit mission and identity as contained in the documents of GC 35.

At the conclusion of the meeting the delegates were convinced that the new “signs of the times” warrant a change in our way of proceeding. This includes on-going communication and collaboration through a continued development of our international network of schools. The goals of our collaboration will be to better serve the faith, justice, and care for the environment, to build bridges between youth and their faith communities, to develop stronger Jesuit/Ignatian Apostolic communities, and to provide our students with opportunities for a truly global education.

Our international network of schools is uniquely suited to educate global citizens who will be able to participate in a globalization of solidarity, cooperation, and reconciliation that fully respects human life and dignity, and all of God’s creation.  Our commitment to networking as a universal body, and our call to the frontiers, comes from our awareness of the world and our desire to effectively help students face global challenges. (Charles Aruldass, PCE)

Ignatian Spirituality in everyday life - Mrs Beulah Saldanha

Ignatian Spirituality in everyday life

The parish priest of St Xavier’s College Parish, Navarangpura offered parishioners a unique opportunity to make the Ignatian 19^th annotation retreat over a period of 8 months, from November 2011 to June 2012. It was conducted by Fr Ornellas Coutinho every Wednesday, for an hour, after the evening mass. Many made their annotation retreat and profited immensely from it. (Mrs Beulah Saldanha)

Union-State Relations Seminar-Jyothi Xavier

Union-State Relations Seminar

The nation today is passing through critical times and more so in the arena of Indian polity. Today, more than ever, there is a renewed interest in the discourse on Union-State relations. The Centre for Culture and Development (CCD) organized a National Seminar from 24-25 August, titled “INDIAN FEDERALISM: Intergovernmental Relations Revisited: Towards a Fresh Balance of Power”. Fr Lancy Lobo, the Director of CCD in his introduction ignited sparks for an intellectual engagement during the seminar. The seminar was organized to initiate a discussion and debate among academicians, social activists, research scholars and organizations that are committed to federalism and to create a platform to bring about a restructuring of Union-State relations. Fr Jose Changa along with other dignitaries inaugurated the two-day seminar with the lighting of the lamp.

Dr Subash Kashyap, a renowned constitutional expert delivered the Keynote address.  The seminar was structured into six sessions dealing with topics such as Indian Federalism, Federalism and Decentralization, Fiscal Federalism, Regionalism and Federalism, Indian Security and Federalism and Natural Resources. There were 24 papers presented by some of the leading academicians and activists from all over the country. The two Jesuit speakers were Cedric Prakash and V Sebastian.  At the end of each session, there was an interesting and engaging discussion among the participants. The local, regional and national media gave coverage to this seminar. The concluding address was given by Dr Shrimati Kamala, the Governor of Gujarat. She also released a book titled “Economy and Society in Globalizing Gujarat” edited by Lancy Lobo and Jayesh Shah. (Jyothi Xavier)

Golden qualities - Sch Pelevito

Golden qualities

To celebrate 50 years as a religious is certainly a treasured gift from God. On the 9 August the Premal Jyoti Community witnessed the rare dual jubilee celebration of Br George Karekatt and Fr George Ukken. Archbishop Stanislaus presided over the Holy Eucharist. It was a solemn and grace-filled ceremony wherein, the simple yet profound life of Br George was beautifully shared by Fr Provincial. He singled out one pillar of Jesuit identity very much evident in Br George, namely “Availability”. Everyone who participated in the joyous and thanksgiving ceremony was inspired by the spirit of both the jubilarians. (Sch Pelevito)