Funeral of Claudius' dad tomorrow

The funeral of Mr Egbert Misquitta, Bro. Claudius' dad, will take place at 1600 hours tomorrow, 28 July 2006, at the Juhu Church.

Bro. Claudius has obtained permission to come down for the funeral, and is on his way down as we write.

Let's continue praying for Mr Misquitta, and for Claudius, his mother, and his brother Egidio.

Lucy D'Souza being operated tomorrow

Mrs Lucy D'Souza (mother of of Bosco and Keith) will undergo a cataract surgery tomorrow. Let's keep her in our prayers. Get well soon, Lucy! We are praying for you.

Birthday of Bro Leon Cruz

Today is the birthday of Bro. Leon Cruz, who hails from our own parish, and used to help as sacristan for many years before joining the Salesians.

Bro. Leon is currently teacher and 'assistant' at Divyadaan.

We wish him many happy returns, every blessing, and we pray and hope that more youth from our parish follow his footsteps!

Parish notices, Sunday, 26 July 2009

Today is 17th Week of the Ordinary Time of the Year. The feast days in the coming week are as follows: 28th St. Alphonsa, 29th St. Martha, 31st St. Ignatius of Loyola (feast of Jesuit Fathers) and 1st Aug. St. Alphonsus Liguori (feast of the Redemptorist Fathers).

July 27th is the birthday of Bro. Leon Cruz, the assistant at Divya Daan. July 30th is the birthday of Fr. Robert Pen – Principal of Divyadaan and on August 1st we celebrate the birthday of Fr. Savio D’Souza – Rector of Divyadaan. We ask God to bless them in their delicate ministry as formators and professors with His choicest graces. We express our gratitude to them for their pastoral services in our parish.

With the meeting of the zonal and area leaders which was held on 22nd July we have launched the BCCs. The priests and sisters in-charge of the zones are as follows: Zone A – Fr. Ivo & Maria Vihar Sisters; Zone B – Fr. Nelson & Kilbil Sisters; Zone C – Fr. Diego & Nirmala Sisters. The Fathers and Sisters will visit the homes either of the full zone or areas of the zones and meet in one of the houses for sharing on the Word of God and prayer.

The Parish Council Meeting will be held on Saturday 1st Aug. at 5.30 pm. All the heads of the various institutions and both the zonal and area leaders are expected to attend the meeting.

The new families are welcomed to register their names in the Parish office.

The Sunday Animation of the various masses should be prepared in advance and done well. We are in need of musicians for accompaniment for the Sunday evening masses.

The Brothers of Divya Daan will be staging a three-act comedy play – “Uncle’s Walking Stick” which will be staged on 14th (religious institutions) and 15th Aug. (DB parishioners) at 6.30 pm at the Divya Daan Auditorium. Entry passes will be available from next Sunday onwards.

Bible Diaries with daily readings of the whole year are available at the parish office at the rate of Rs. 50/-.

The forthcoming events are as follows: 9th August Marian Academy for which each zone and each religious institute is expected to give a marian item; the youth of our parish have taken charge of organizing the Marian Academy; 15th Aug. to 15th Sept. the Marian Month; on 17th Aug. Monday, the three statues will start moving zone-wise; 22nd August Vocation Sharing Day for the youth of our parish.

Thank you for your generous contribution towards last Sunday’s collection which amounted to Rs. 2,518-.

Demise of Bro. Claudius' Dad

We received the sad news about the death of Mr Egbert Misquitta, father of Bro. Claudius Misquitta. Some of you will know Bro. Claudius, who was here in Divyadaan first as a student, and then as a teacher. Since the last couple of years, he is a missionary in Hungary. He came down recently to see his dad who had been ailing with cancer. He returned to Hungary barely a week ago.

Nothing is known yet about the funeral, as the family is awaiting news whether or not Claudius will be able to come down.

As we entrust Mr Misquitta to the Lord, let's pray for him, and let's keep the family in our prayers.

Twenty sentences about Mary...

Some 16 young people of the parish turned up yesterday for a session on Our Lady. They had been given a homework to write twenty sentences on Our Lady. The youth had come well-prepared; one even had not twenty but some fifty or sixty sentences. Besides saying that Our Lady was Mother of God, Mother of Jesus, Queen of Heaven, our Mother, etc., we learnt also that Mary was respected and esteemed also by the Orthodox Christians as well as by Muslims. In fact, her name appears more often in the Koran than in the Bible.

After this sharing, it was time for questions. Why do Catholics worship Our Lady? Three were selected: Why do Catholics worship Our Lady? What was the difference between Assumption, Ascension, and Annunciation? How can Mary be the Mother of God?

What followed was very brief attempts to answer these questions.

Catholics do not worship Mary. Worship is an act reserved for God alone, Father, Son and Spirit, and to no other, not even Mary. We venerate Mary, just as we venerate the saints and indeed all holy people and even our parents. But Mary has a very special place in God's work and plan, and so we give her a very special veneration...

Ascension: a word reserved for Jesus ascending to his Father after the Resurrection.
Assumption: a word used about Mary being taken into heaven. It is her sharing in the Resurrection of Jesus - just as all of us also hope to share in his Resurrection. As scripture says: Christ the first fruits, and then all of us. (See the second reading for the feast of the Assumption: 1 Cor 15, 20)
Annunciation: the Angel Gabriel coming to Mary and telling her that Jesus will be born of her.

Mother of God: the Church decided to use this title not so much to honour Mary, as to answer the question: Who is it that was born of Mary? Was he only a man, or also God? 'Mother of God' is not a Mary doctrine so much as a Christ doctrine: it safeguards the mystery that the second person of the Holy Trinity was born in time of a woman, as scripture says.

It was wonderful to see how reflection on Mary leads inevitably to Jesus. There is no competition between Mary and Jesus! Her soul glorifies the Lord, her spirit rejoices in God her saviour! She is the dawn that gives way to the Bright Sun that is Jesus!

Felicitation of priests and parish leaders

We celebrate the feast of St John Mary Vianney on 4 August 2009. St John Mary Vianney is the patron saint of diocesan priests and, I suppose, of parish priests in general. We thought it would be a fitting thing to felicitate all the priests who serve in our parish - those residing in STI and in Divyadaan, besides those in Don Bosco - and also some parish leaders, especially those who have completed many years of service. This will be done during the Marian Academy on 9 August 2009. So do make sure you come for this Academy and honour these men and women with your presence.