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Cir.9/09 1st Sept. 2009 “Oh, how great is a priest! If he understood this himself he would die… God obeys him; he speaks two words, and Our Lord comes down from Heaven at his voice, & shuts Himself up in a little Host.” St. John Vianney ==============================================================
Dear Fathers, brothers and Sisters Greetings from Nagpur! In the month of September, we celebrate the nativity of Blessed Mother Mary. It is generally celebrated with great Bhakti and warmth. The faith and devotion expressed to mother Mary by ordinary faithful and others are to be admired. I do hope that all our efforts in preparing for the feats by meaningful novenas and other programmes will direct to a meaningful celebration of the birth of Mother Mary leading us all to her Son Jesus. I wish all of you a very happy Feast. September 8th is also celebrated as Girl Child’s Day and CBCI has chosen “Do not be afraid a child is born to you…!” as the theme for this year. In spite of being part of a progressive age, women continue to be oppressed and their individuality repressed. And girl child still continues to be the victim of prenatal and postnatal death. Female foeticide is one of the extreme manifestations of violence against women. Many in the society today consider the birth of a girl child as a curse and she is perceived to be an economic and social liability. But the birth of every child, girl or boy is a sign of great joy and liberation from all types of fear. The birth of a girl child is a restoration of a promise that an Emmanuel is born to us. It is a celebration of a hope that "God is with us”. Let us give due place and dignity to women and be aware of the preciousness of girl child as beautiful and capable as boy child, and both are created in the image and likeness of God. My visit to Europe in the 3rd week of August was a successful one. I had to travel quite a lot attending Conferences and meetings. Meeting some donor Agencies were tiring and demanding, and involving lot of travelling, the attitudes of people were encouraging. I thank all of you who prayed for me during my visit. The next recollection will be on Wednesday-Thursday 9-10th of September (for all). Elections to Maharashtra Assembly are around the corner. All Catholics should consider their right to exercise their votes, and vote for candidates who believe in secularism and serve the people the progress of the State and Country. Let us pray for a peaceful electioneering leading to good turnout at voting day and desired result.
Keep Praying For the Priests (Year of Priests). The daily Prayer in Hindi and English is already distributed For The Indian Mission Congress from 14-18th October in Mumbai For The Diocesan Clergy Retreat from 18th to 23rd October. For the Charismatic Retreat here at Nagpur from evening of 29th October to 1st November noon. This retreat will be preached by Rev.Fr. Augustine Vallooran VC and Team from Muringor.
SOME OF MY PROGRAMS FOR SEPTEMBER 1st Meeting of the CBCI Re-Structuring Committee in Mumbai 2nd Evening Program in St. Charles to bid farewell to Fr. Glen Morris 5th Mass in Missionaries of Charity Mohan Nagar 6th Mass at the Convent of Dominican Sisters 7th Mass at St. Martin’s Parish Jeripatka 8th Mass at Lourdes Matha Grotto 10-11th Recollection days 13th Pastoral Visit to Ghoradongri Parish. (M.P.) 14th at 10.00 a.m. induction of the Prabhu Dasi Sisters Jeripatka Parish Evening Mass at Holy Cross Provincialate Kushi Nagar (Congregational Feast) 15th Mass at St. John’s School (Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows) 18-19th Kerala 20-26th At Bangalore, St. John’s Governing &, General Body CCBI & CBCI Meetings 29th Mass at St. Michael’s School (Patronal Feast) Meeting at 4.00 p.m., CCI Planning Committee meeting scheduled for Feb 2010 at NGP. 30th National Meeting of SCCs at PAC, Anant Nagar
Soliciting your prayers for me, and praying for you, Yours fraternally,
Most Rev. Abraham Viruthakulangara Archbishop of Nagpur |