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Cir.11/11 1st November 2011 Dear Fathers, Brothers & Sisters, I wish you all a very happy feast on the occasion of the Feast of All Saints on 1st November. May the Saints in heaven intercede for us to be saints here on earth and reach heaven to enjoy their fellowship. As you are aware, the month of November is dedicated to remember the dead. Please attend to various ways of remembering the dead, like Masses for the dead, visiting cemeteries, blessing the graves, etc. I regret very much that I had not given a write up on Mission Sunday in the October Circular. It was to be celebrated on Sunday 23rd of October. I do hope that you had meaningful celebrations of this event and awakened the faithful of their mission to be evangelizers. I am sure that you have made good collection for this cause. Please send the collections to the Archdiocesan Office before 31st December definitely, so as to send it to the Pontifical Mission Office in Bangalore. The Youth Fest on 29th-30th of October was well organized. A good number of Youth from different parts of the Archdiocese participated in it. The number of youth from remote mission stations was very encouraging. I sincerely thank Fr. Joseph Polishetty and other members of the Youth Commission for their serious efforts to make the program a great success. We need to build on this positive spirit. As we celebrate the Feast of St. Charles the Patron of our Diocesan Major Seminary, we wish a happy feast to the Rector, staff and students and benefactors of the seminary. We assure them of our prayers. I would like to remind the Fathers of the annual retreat from Sunday evening 6th November to Friday evening 11th November. It will be preached by Rev. Fr. Sebastian Annaikandathil the former Provincial of MSFS Nagpur. All the diocesan clergy should make it a point to attend this retreat, unless prevented for a very serious reason. Please, please bring the RSV Version of the Holy Bible for the Retreat. As announced earlier, the Diocese of Nagpur is to celebrate 125 years of its foundation in the year 2012. From the records we have found that the Diocese was created on 29th July 1887, and the first Bishop was Msgr. Alexis Riccaz. We plan for a meaningful and simple celebrations with a view to spiritual Renewal in keeping with our Vision Mission Statement. Various committees are being formed and are at work already. The formal inauguration of the Jubilee year will be done on 20th November at the end of the Eucharistic Celebration on the Feast of Christ the King. Your suggestions are welcome. The Sisters of the Cross of the Chavanod are celebrating 125 years of their arrival and services in India. We congratulate them and wish God’s blessings upon them. The main celebration will be in Amravati. We congratulate Sr. Nihitha Paul SMMI for obtaining Doctorate in Theology defending the Thesis on “Formative Missionary Spirituality for Religious, a Salesian Perspective”. I was fortunate enough to be present for her defense in Indian Institute of Spirituality Bangalore on 28th of September 2011. The practice of 40 Hour Eucharistic Adoration prior to Christ the King Feast will be held as usual this year too from Friday Nov. 18th eve to Sunday 20th noon. The faithful, religious and priests are asked to come prepared for the Adoration at the slot allotted to you. Remember that silence is also a part of Adoration. New English Translation of the Text of the Mass will be effective from 1st Sunday of Advent i.e,27th November. We hope to get the new texts by then. “The new translation offers us a fuller expression of the content of the original Latin texts. It also brings out more clearly the underlying scriptural allusions and the rich biblical imagery embedded in these prayers. The publication of the new English Translation of the Missal is a special moment of grace in the life of the Church. The new translation is not merely about changing words; it is a new phase of liturgical renewal. It offers an opportunity for catechesis and reflection on the nature of liturgy and on the interior attitudes necessary for the fruitful participation in the Eucharist” (from the letter of Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, President of CCBI). We should explain to our people on the meaning of these changes. Rev. Fr. Justus Paul OP is appointed the Coordinator of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in our Archdiocese. Preachers from outside the diocese are to be invited in consultation with him only. I wish him all success. I would like to inform you in advance that the next Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting (over due) will be held on 6th December (public holiday for Moharrum). The responsible people are requested to prepare for it. Some of my Engagements for November Wishing you God’s abundant blessings, Yours sincerely, Archbishop A. Viruthakulangara |