S NS S DIAIS NS S DIAI

Kristu Jyoti Province - India

NEWSLETTER

One of the first things that any member of Religious order thought and

practice asks is whether a particular Religious order has a Charism. In addition, one of

the first things that one learns in the Provincial chapter is the importance of vision and

mission statements. We have chosen to organize our life for the coming four years as

follows:

It has been found in the past that Religious orders that have lucid, coherent, and meaningful vision and mission statements return more than double the missions in benefits when compared to the Religious orders that do not have vision and mission statements. Indeed, the importance of vision and mission statements is such that it is the first thing that has to be discussed very often.Above everything else, vision and mission statements provide unanimity of purpose to the Province and imbue the members with a sense of belonging and identity. Indeed, vision and mission statements are embodiments of the province's identity and carry the province creed and motto. For this purpose, they are also called as statements of creed. One of the pioneers, planting the faith in the areas of the diocese of Sivagangai, Tamilnadu is Fr Maria Louis Leveil who was born in France in 1884, left for India where he spent the rest of his life as Jesuit in 1908. He died in 1973. He served as a parish priest at Andavoorani and Ramanathapuram and spent his final years in Sarugani. As I was reading his biography, I was struck by his simple prayer but powerful one. Fr Leveil used to write the prayer, “Oh Jesus, King of Love, I put my trust in thy loving mercy,” in Latin on palm leaves, which were also distributed to the people. People experienced miracles in their lives. All along his ministry, he kept this prayer as his vision and went on doing lot of good works among the poor farmers. As we all aware of the history of our Rule of Life, earlier it was called as 'Constitutions', St Peter Julian Eymard, our founder kept on writing and rewriting the constitutions till the end of his life. He took lot of interest to bring the best. Constitutions serve as focal points for members to identify themselves with the Religious order and to give them a sense of direction while at the same time deterring those who do not wish to follow them from participating in the Religious order's activities.

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VISIONNourished by the Paschal meal of Jesus we commit ourselves to breaking of bread in Charity, Justice and Peace.

MISSIONWe pledge ourselves:

*Towards qualitative formation with an SSS Identity*To recognize the face of Jesus in others through our

social projects with the apostolic zeal of St. Eymard

*To establish an economy of communion in diverse areas with self-sufficiency and

*To build Eucharistic communities in collaboration with Lay Associates

Fr. Peter Jayakanthan sssThe Provincial

Fr. Peter Jayakanthan sssThe Provincial

Dear Brothers and Fathers,

I appreciate at the outset the efforts of Fr. Punithan sss in bringing out this news letter. I also affirm our support and thoughtful prayers to Fr. Punithan sss and Bro. Praveen who lost their dear ones in the recent times.

I invite you to look at the words of Fr. Albert Tesniere, from his “In the last days in the life of St. Peter Julian Eymard”. He says, Father

(Peter Julian) wanted to die simply and to do this task with the simplicity of an act of Eucharistic service like the others.

thAs we remember the 150 death anniversary of our founder, we observe from the diary of Fr. Tesniere, the depth of love our founder had for Eucharistic Lord and His constant thought for mission. The act of service was very outstanding even in the last days of his life. He was very weak, all the visitors and our Fathers were willing to offer all the possible help, but St. Peter Julian wished and liked to be by himself. Secondly, his concern was others and congregation mission. When Tesniere was trying to give up a sick visit, founder asks him to go ahead, as it was important than visiting Fr. Eymard.

This act of service flows from Eucharist. As we celebrate ththe feast of our founder, recalling the 150 anniversary of

his heavenly birth, we can renew our commitment to our religious call and community life. We can consciously make an act of service praising our founder, which may be extended to our brothers and sisters in our mission. This act of service is thinking, caring and supporting the other. Pope Francis spells out in his recent exhortation on Holiness “Gaudete Et Exsultate” that Saints are at the next door. It is also spelled out in our mission statement, “to recognize the face of Jesus in others through our social projects with the apostolic zeal of St. Eymard”. Shall we begin our efforts today!

I recommend to you the text forwarded from General team thand use it for your novena in commemorating the 150

anniversary of our founder St. Peter Julian Eymard.

I wish you all a fruitful preparation and joyful celebration of the feast of our beloved saint, the Apostle of the Eucharist.

Feast day wishes to all

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Signs of Holiness in Today's world Pope Francis has written the third apostolic exhortation, titled Gaudete et exsultate “rejoice and be glad”. In this Pope Francis' goal is to invite the people to live a holy life, which is very down to the earth for today's world. Fourth chapter of this exhortation is 'Signs of Holiness in Today's World'. Here Pope Francis describes signs and spiritual attitudes that are, in his opinion, necessary to live a Christian people. Pope Francis says…. “I will not pause to explain the means of sanctification already known to us: the various methods of prayer, the immeasurable sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, the offering of personal sacrifices, different forms of devotion, spiritual direction, and many others as well,”. 1). Inner strength from the Lord: Perseverance, Patience, Meekness (112-121) “The first of these great signs is solid grounding in the God who loves and sustains us,” Pope Francis.

Ø Perseverance: Love of God is the foundation and the source of our inner strength that enables us to persevere, our daily life struggles and the indifferences of human life. Our perseverance finds its inner strength in the love of God even among the fast –paced, noisy and aggressive world to give witness of holiness through patience and constancy in doing good.

Ø Patience: “God is slow to anger but great in power” (Nah 1:3). “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts...” (Phil 4:6-7).

Ø Meekness: Christians too can be caught up in networks of verbal violence through the internet and the various forms of digital communication. Inner strength, as the work of grace, prevents us from becoming carried away by the violence that is so much a part of life today, because grace defuses vanity and makes possible meekness of heart. Humility can only take root in the heart through humiliations. Without them, there is no humility or holiness. The holiness that God bestows on his Church comes through the humiliation of his Son. He is the way. Humiliation makes you resemble Jesus; it is an unavoidable aspect of the imitation of Christ.

2). Joy and Sense of Humor (122-128) The Christian life is “joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). Mary, recognizing the newness that Jesus brought, sang: “My spirit rejoices” (Lk 1:47), and Jesus himself “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” (Lk 10:21). After his resurrection, wherever the disciples went, there was “much joy” (Acts 8:8). Jesus assures us: “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy... I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (Jn 16:20.22).

3). Boldness and Passion (129-139) Holiness is also parrhesía: it is boldness, an impulse to evangelize and to leave a mark in this world. To allow us to do this, Jesus himself comes and tells us once more, serenely yet firmly: “Do not be afraid” (Mk 6:50). “I am with you always, to the end of the world” (Mt 28:20). These words enable us to go forth and serve with the same courage that the Holy Spirit stirred up in the Apostles, impelling them to proclaim Jesus Christ. Boldness, enthusiasm, the freedom to speak out, apostolic fervor, all these are included in the word parrhesía. Parrhesía is a seal of the Spirit; it testifies to the authenticity of our preaching. It is a joyful assurance that leads us to glory in the Gospel we proclaim. God is not afraid! He is fearless! He is always greater than our plans and schemes. Unafraid of the fringes, he himself became a fringe (cf. Phil 2:6-8; Jn 1:14). So if we dare to go to the fringes, we will find him there; indeed, he is already there. 4). In Community (140-146) Growth in holiness is a journey in community, side by side with others. Each community is called to create a “God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the risen Lord”. Sharing the word and celebrating the Eucharist together fosters fraternity and makes us a holy and missionary community. The common life, whether in the family, the parish, the religious community or any other, is made up of small everyday things. This was true of the holy community formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, which reflected in an exemplary way the beauty of the Trinitarian communion. Let us not forget that Jesus asked his disciples to pay attention to details. The little detail that wine was running out at a party, little detail that one sheep was missing, little detail of noticing the widow who offered her two small coins, little detail of having spare oil for the lamps, should the bridegroom delay, little detail of asking the disciples how many loaves of bread they had, little detail of having a fire burning and a fish cooking as he waited for the disciples at daybreak. 5). In Constant Prayer (147-157) We should remember that holiness consists in a habitual openness to the transcendent, expressed in prayer and adoration. I do not believe in holiness without prayer, even though that prayer need not be lengthy or involve intense emotions. Meeting Jesus in the Scriptures leads us to the Eucharist, where the written word attains its greatest efficacy, for there the living Word is truly present. In the Eucharist, the one true God receives the greatest worship the world can give him, for it is Christ himself who is offered. When we receive him in Holy Communion, we renew our covenant with him and allow him to carry out ever more fully his work of transforming our lives.

–

Fr Ruban sss

“Christ will come again” to sum up all things in himself, to “judge the living and the dead.” Only then will he complete the work of creation and redemption; and “God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15:28). For in the Eucharist we also receive the pledge of our bodily resurrection at the end of the world: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day”. (John 6:54) This pledge of the future resurrection comes from the fact that the flesh of the Son of Man, given as food, is his body in its

glorious state after the resurrection. With the Eucharist we digest, as it were, the “secret” of the resurrection. (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 18)The participants in the Eucharist are sent forth to undertake works of justice and peace. The Epistle of James warns: “If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep

warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?” (2:15-16) This is what we exactly do in our 'Eymard Food Bank' – we make every attempts to give food to the hungry, homeless and those who are in need. The Eucharist both nourishes a Eucharistic Self and promotes a Eucharistic Ethic. The account of the Last Supper in the Gospel of John does not contain a narrative of the institution of the Eucharist, as the other gospels do. In its place we find, instead, Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and instructing them: “For I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you.”(13:15). Therefore, the loving command of Christ, “Do this in memory of me,” repeated at every celebration of the Eucharist, embraces both the breaking of the bread and the ongoing service of others. Both these Eucharistic actions are performed for the life of the world, for the fuller realization of Risen Lord's Presence in all.

We are all walking on that Road like the disciples of Emmaus. There are so many things which impede our spiritual vision, making it hard to recognize that we are not alone. The Lord accompanies us on the Road of our own life. In the light of the encounter with the Lord in the breaking of the bread, the eyes of those disciples were opened. So it is meant to be with each one of us.

Rev. Fr. Martin Peter Raja SSSGaunsavaddo, Goa

RISING FROM THE DEAD AND BREAKING OF THE BREAD

Eucharist is the Risen Lord. If Christ had not risen from the dead, we would not have the Eucharist. The Eucharist and the Resurrection point to the same reality - the Risen Lord! The Good News that the disciples proclaimed after the Resurrection is that Christ is ALIVE! He is Risen! This truth of Rising from the dead PRECEDES the Breaking of the Bread. Christ in the Eucharist is now the Risen Saviour who is seated at the right hand of His Heavenly Father and will come on the last day to judge the living and the dead.The Eucharist is also referred to as “the memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection”. At the Last Supper, when Christ instituted the Eucharist He pronounced the words, “This is my Body” and “This is the chalice of my Blood,” he meant about the Body and Blood that were to be nailed to the Cross and shed on Calvary and to rise from the dead. Our Lord also commands His apostles to repeat His actions and words “in remembrance of me”. It is by this action [breaking of bread] that his disciples will recognize him after his Resurrection” (CCC, n. 1329). After journeying to Emmaus with the intention of stopping for the night, and as Jesus “was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight” (Luke 24:30-31). At the central point of the celebration of the Eucharist, the priest announces to the congregation: “The mystery of faith.” And the congregation exclaims: “We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your resurrection until you come again.” In doing so, we trace the proof for our faith. “We proclaim your death.” The Eucharist re-presents the once and for all sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. Christ descended into the abyss of death and attained new and everlasting life by transforming death. Thus as Christ's followers, the call is not to deny death in its many forms, such as disappointment, hardship, failure; but to transform the power of death like Christ. “We profess your resurrection.”“I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever... ” (Revelation 1:17-18). The Christ present in the Eucharist is the living Jesus and the disciples live through him and with him and in him. He is not a dim figure of the past to be studied at a distance, but the living one encountered in our day-to-day life in faith.

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THE SACRED MINISTRY OF ACCOMPANIMENT!“HAVE you not heard his silent, steps? He comes, comes, ever

comes. Every moment and every age, every day and every night he comes, comes, ever comes. Many a song have I sung in many a mood of mind, but all their notes have always proclaimed, "He comes, comes, ever comes." In the fragrant days of sunny April through the forest path he comes, comes, ever comes. In the rainy gloom of July nights on the thundering chariot of clouds he comes, comes, ever comes. In sorrow after sorrow it is his steps that press upon my heart, and it is the golden touch of his feet that makes my joy to shine.”

For the past one year in Prema Nilayam, at Nalgonda, my experience was like that of Tagore in his poem given above. Though it is said that the formators facilitate and accompany the students, I find it the other way. As a novice in this new adventure of formation ministry, it is the Lord who accompanied me. It was He who facilitated me and taught me to be in touch with Himself through my accompaniment in the formation. Indeed it was very nourishing, cherishing and of course challenging one. I discovered a lot. This write-up is to share some of my experience with you on excellence and expectations of “E-Students” we have in our initial year formation house particularly at Prema Nilayam. Let me just list out some of the Excellence that I found in them.Pious PracticesOur students excel in all the pious practices be it Holy Rosary or Examination of consciousness and so on. Their keen interest with some sort of reverential fear toward God is explicitly seen in their routine prayers and other spiritual activities of the formation house. Basically, each one feels that he has been called by God to become a priest. So the foundation is good and it is up to them to build up and grow in the vocation accompanied by the Lord Himself. What inspired me was the vocation story of some of the students who through the atrocities of Hindu fanatics and financial instability made their way to reach us! They have faith in God.Academic ExcellenceMost of the students work hard and prove themselves in terms of speaking in English and securing decent grade in the Junior College. The weaker ones do approach the seniors and some take refuge in the notes or grammar book of their own vernacular languages. One can find here what it means, “the survival of the fittest.” Extracurricular activities add beauty to their academic life. Excellence in Dance, sports-football, paintings, and cooking is lucid. Community LifeThe usual and normal resistance to new change gradually gave way to efficiency in the programme of the community thus I found the purpose of the programme was accomplished through their active involvement. The better they involved, the greater the fruits they reaped in inter-personal communication and in the rest of the programme. All that needed was just to prepare and ignite the process. At the end we had colourful outcome. To some extent, sense of belonging was seen in deeds among the students. Their initial attachment based on the language vanished and their effort to mingle with all was achieved through 'Emmaus-Walk” Programme. Expectations

Hear ten ing d iscovery in my accompaniment of the students is they take effort and work hard if not all at least many of them. The process of theirs is slow but steady. There are students who do come with ulterior motive which harm the process very much. Now and then weeding out is done without harming the wheat by the community. Though their faith and spiritual background is reasonably rich, their financial stability is beyond our comprehension. My recent visit to their homes enlightened me that they are very happy with bare minimum. In nut shell, the accompaniment is nothing but process of the ever loving Lord who calls his labourers to his Vineyard not only at the early but also last minute. He comes, comes, ever comes to call men on fire like our holy founder St. Peter Julian Eymard. This destination will soon be realized by the students as they live the formative years accompanied by our SSS formators. The reason for me to rejoice is He found me too in this accompaniment for my spiritual journey to proclaim the Richness of the Eucharist to all.I end my sharing again with the poem by Tagore:THAT I want thee, only thee ⎯ let my heart repeat without end. All desires that distract me, day and night, are false and empty to the core. As the night keeps hidden in its gloom the petition for light, even thus in the depth of my unconsciousness rings the cry ⎯ I want thee, only thee. As the storm still seeks its end in peace when it strikes against peace with all its might, even thus my rebellion strikes against thy love and still its cry is ⎯ I want thee, only thee.

Fr. Christopher Ephrem SSSThe Director

Free Health camp, Sunday School Teachers, St Antony’s Feast at Kamarajapuram

Fr Ruban at Tembipada

Procession at Velappanchavady

Newly ordained priests

Frs Dennis & Ruban

(Extract from “SACRAMENTINE MEETING OF THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION IN LATIN AMERICA”)(Source: www.ssscongregatio.org)

THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD AND MISSIONAccording to the testimony of the New Testament, the early Christian Communities expressed their faith by a central celebration.

This celebration has two different names:A. Breaking of the BreadActs of the Apostles: 2, 42; 2, 46; 20, 7; 20, 11; 27, 35.Luke: 24, 35.1 Corinthians: 10, 16.

In the broad sense, the Breaking of the Bread refers to the concrete action of sharing the food received with the brethren.

In the Lord's Supper there exists the conviction not only that it is the risen Christ himself who presides at the celebration but especially, from the fact that it constitutes the characteristics of this symbolic Supper, Jesus manifests himself with all his intentions and his plan for salvation, placing the participants in the dynamics of the utopia of the Kingdom.In the celebration of the Lord's Supper:

- There is a great awareness of God as Messiah and Lord. He who, by his Messiahship and Lordship, died for us, to defend the essential justice of the Kingdom. The Kyrios is the same Jesus of Nazareth, who died, rose again and was glorified by the Father.

- It is for this same reason that the celebrating community keeps the glorious memory of Jesus of Nazareth as a historical person. In fact, it is by this celebration of the Lord's Supper that the Christians first met the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, his preaching of the Kingdom and, after a second reading of these events, discovered themanner in which they were to live this commitment concretely, in relation with the life and proclamation of Jesus. By the Lord's Supper, they truly remembered all this; but for them, to remember was to live a paschal experience where the action of the past became the present, acting in their own lives in the proclamation and commitment. It is by the celebration of the Passover that they witnessed to Jesus, living the paschal mystery and announcing the Risen One.

Thus the Lord's Supper became a privileged moment to express, in gestures and words, the whole meaning of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth, of Christ in his Paschal mystery and Lord in his resurrected condition, present among them.

- In a way, in spite of the difference, this paschal Supper was closely linked to the historical Jesus, sharing his table, eating and drinking with the poor and sinners.

- Already, in the Old Testament, the fact of sharing one's table with another was not only a sign of hospitality and friendship, but it meant also to commune with all those who together ate in the name of God. We read repeatedly in the Prophets, for example, that they prefigured the Kingdom of God by a banquet, a Supper.

The Supper is not only a momentary representation of an action of the past: it is a dynamic action, active, continuous. There is a whole internal dynamics in the Lord's Supper. To better grasp its meaning we must deepen the study of the following capital texts:The pilgrims of Emmaus - Luke: 24, 15-36The Lord's Supper - 1 Corinthians: 11, 17-34In fact, Paul reminds us that the very fact of gathering to eat together does not necessarily mean celebrating the Lord's Supper. For a meal to be raised to the rank of Supper, it must encompass other experiences, for example, that of unity among Christians, responding to their own ethical demands. The experience of unity was actualized by concrete gestures, for example, by the fact that they put everything in common. The universality of the invitation to the Lord's Supper entails truly living this unity; a unity which abolishes all frontiers and all differentiations that are against God's plan and the project of the Kingdom.In this perspective, we ask ourselves:What does celebrating the Lord's Supper mean for us today in India?

B. The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians: 11, 20; 10, 21.

Resource for the monthly Reflection