Vol. 16 No.

12, December 2008

from the provincial’s desk...

THE “COMING” AT ADVENT AND THE “BE-COMING” AT CHRISTMAS

The four Sundays in Advent create a mood of expectation and longing in our hearts for the
“coming” of the Lord yet again. For as Tagore rightly says, “He comes, comes, ever comes.”
The Lord’s coming is also a time of challenge and stock taking for each one of us. We are
challenged to tidy up our inner-selves so that we create within us new space for the One who
is to come. Space is created by stripping ourselves of wanton baggage of sin and attachments.
These attachments in a variety of sizes and shapes, puff up our egos disabling us from
welcoming Him who comes in the name of the Lord. Hence, Advent provides us the right time,
the “kairos” to prepare the way for Him by filling the valleys and smoothening the hills of our
personalities.

Christmas with its focus on God “be-coming” human is a fitting finale to the longings and
expectations of Advent. By becoming human, He is Emmanuel, God-with-us! It is this partnership
of the Divine and the human that we share and celebrate most at Christmas. The Divine-
human partnership is also our source of strength and the driving force in all our ministries in
the Province. May this Christmas be an occasion to renew this partnership with God and with
fellow Jesuits in the Province. Already, this year we have had a number of initiatives for
renewal: The Province days in May; an assessment of our four High Schools by the JEA Secretary,
in August; two workshops on GC 35 in October; the Visitation of Fr. Lisbert D’Souza SJ, in
November. We now look forward to the brief visit of our Father General, Nicolas, in March
2009.

I wish each one of you a Christmas filled with the peace and vision of the new born Child
Jesus. While I thank you for your dedication and hard work in serving God’s people, I also
pray that our enthusiasm may continue to grow for the new challenges and works we take up
in the Year 2009. May God bless us all and our efforts in the New Year.

Anthony da Silva SJ
Provincial
APPOINTMENT BY FR. GENERAL PROVINCIAL’S PROGRAMME
With a letter dated November 28, Fr. General has appointed the • December 10: Ratnagiri:
following major superiors to be members of the Permanent Visitation
Interprovincial Commission for the Interprovincial Houses and • December 11: Chiplun: Visitation
Works in Rome (CIP): Eugene Goussikindey, Provincial of West
• December 12: Harnai: Visitation
Africa (AOC); Anthony Da Silva, Provincial of Goa (GOA); Louis
• December 13: Sawantwadi:
Gendron, Provincial of China (CHN); Carlos Palacio, Provincial of
Visitation
Central-East Brazil (BRC); Carlo Casalone, Provincial of Italy
• December 17 – 19: Gadhinglaj
(ITA); Mark Rotsaert, President of the Conference of European
and Ajra: Visitation
Jesuits (EUR); Gernot Wisser, Provincial of Austria (ASR); Thomas
• December 29: Old Goa:
Smolich, President of the U.S. Jesuit Conference (USA).
Ordination of Deacon N e l s o n

In the same letter Fr. Adolfo Nicolás underlined that the purpose Gonsalves

of the Commission is to assist the General and his Delegate in • January 04: Loutulim: Ordination
the governance of the International Houses and Works in Rome. of Deacon Kelwin Monteiro

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHRISTMAS GET-TOGETHER
The Community at XCHR, Porvorim has decided to host the Christmas get-together for the Goa
Jesuits on December 27, 2008 at 7:00 pm. The Superiors of our communities are kindly requested to
get in touch with Fr. Delio Mendonça to inform him about the attendance of your community
members for this get-together. It will be wonderful if we can all keep aside our other engagements
and come together to share our joy during the Christmas season.

PRIESTLY ORDINATIONS
Deacon Nelson Gonsalves will be ordained on Monday, December 29, 2008 at 10:00 am, at the
Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa, followed by a reception at the same venue. Deacon Kelwin Monteiro,
on the other hand, will be ordained on Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 10:30 am, at the Saviour of the
World Church, Loutulim, followed by a reception at the Big Foot. All the Jesuits are cordially invited.

NEW MISSION STATION

Swami Prabhudhar has moved to his new residence and mission station at Yaddalagudda, Ankalgi.
He will be looking after the missions around and will keep himself busy with the intellectual apostolate.
He has also shifted the girls’ boarding from the Madwal mission. His address is: Arulanandar Virakta
Math, At. Yaddalagudda, P. O. Ankalgi, Tal. Gokak, Dist. Belgaum – 591101.

THE IGNATIAN SEMINAR 2009

Fr. Paul Coutinho has scheduled an Ignatian Seminar at Vinayalaya, Andheri from May 15 till
July 15, 2009. The Seminar is an in-depth study of the basic writings of St. Ignatius: the Mysticism
of the Testament (Autobiography) and the Spiritual Journal, the Dynamics of the Spiritual
Exercises and the Spirituality of the Constitutions. There will be no lectures. Each participant first
studies the Ignatian text and supplementary sources that will be provided. The participants then
meet in their study groups to pool in personal findings, reflections, questions and clarifications.
The Director of the Seminar will do a final summing up. For more information and registration
kindly contact Fr. Paul at coutinhosj@hotmail.com The total cost for the seminar is Rs. 19,500/-.

The Provincial encourages the province members to participate in this Ignatian seminar. The Province
will cover the entire cost of the seminar for 5 participants. Kindly contact the Provincial if you wish
to attend.
SOUNDS OF THE EARTH 2008

Sounds of the Earth 2008 is a project

organized by the German and Swiss Jesuits
in collaboration with other Jesuits around
the world. Chernoll Mendonça and
Sancha Pereira were chosen by the Goa
Jesuits to represent India along with four
other musicians from Gandhi Ashram
School, Kalimpong. It is a music school run
by the Darjeeling Jesuits. The main
programme of this project included
concerts in Germany, Switzerland and some other European countries from October 27 to November
17, 2008. It aims at bringing youth together from different countries and enabling them to play
together in an orchestra. This orchestra unlike other orchestras plays regional music from different
countries. This year we had 9 concerts and we played music from India (also Goan), Tanzania, and
Paraguay. Before each concert we had Mass and some parts of the Mass were sung by the choir in
Guarani - the official language of Paraguay. The concerts were in Nürnberg, Munich, Buren, Osnabruck
(Germany), Luzern, Basel (Switzerland), Innsbruck and Vienna (Austria). The participants were from
Paraguay, India, Germany, Tanzania and Italy.

For me it was a great experience and opportunity to be a part of this project. It is amazing how
people without knowing each other’s languages can interact through music. The Jesuits really need
to be commended for their marvellous work in the field of music and culture. I hope this project
continues in the years to come so that young people from all over the world can come together and
get to know each other and make music together.

Sancha Pereira
TSKK, PORVORIM

Eminent musician Fr Charles Vas, SVD was presented the TSKK - Carvalho Ghorannem
Kolakar Puroskar 2008 instituted by the Carvalho family, Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr,
and Mandd Sobhann, on Sunday, November 2, 2008 at Kalaagann, Mangalore. Fr Charles
bagged the ‘Kolakar Puroskar-2008’, for his outstanding contributions in the field of
Konknni devotional music. The award consists of Rs 25,000 in cash, a memento, a
citation, a shawl and a fruit basket. Fr. Pratap Naik presented the history of Goa and the
history of the Society of Jesus in Goa to the Tertians on November 20 and 21, 2008.

TSKK organized an English course for twenty-six primary teachers from November 3 to
5, 2008. Mrs Marion Valladares from USA was the resource person. TSKK has extended
its activities to reach out to the neglected migrant workers of Porvorim who attend the
Government High School. Students from V to VIII stds. are taught to speak, read and
write simple English. These classes are held from Monday to Friday from 4 to 5 pm.
Singing, dictation, reading, power point presentations, films, and language games are
used to teach English. At present 46 students are attending this programme. Due to
lack of volunteers to teach, TSKK has decided to limit the number of students to 50.

Pratap Naik SJ
ST. BRITTO’S, MAPUSA

Children’s Day Celebrations were unique at St. Britto’s. The Staff showed their talents in an exceptional
way by coming up with wonderful items like dance, songs and even a skit. The students enjoyed the
programme to their heart’s content. At the recently concluded Camp for the N.C.C. students, held at
Quepem, a Britto student bagged the best cadet award. Back home at Britto’s our Staff members
have become resource persons. On Saturdays, each Staff member gives a small input on ‘education
topics’ to the others, which is followed by group discussion or a general session. Recently the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan has asked our Staff to be resource persons to give short seminars to the Primary
and upper Primary Staff members of some schools in Mapusa.

Two of our Staff members, Ms. Yvette and Ms. Genevive, took part in a 3-day School Environment 1st
Educators Conference in Gurgaon, Haryana. The participants included teachers from India, Asia,
Commonwealth Countries, NGO’s and government heads. Ms. Yvette presented a paper on ‘Impact
on Climate on Coastal Zones.’ The school has launched a programme of ‘Say No to Plastics,’ in the
school. We hope that the students will take this message to their homes and neighbourhoods.

Our students took part in dawn to dusk ‘Invitational Crosan Cup’ football tournament organized by
Holy Cross High School, Bastora. Eight schools participated. St. Britto’s emerged champions. The
Boxing team of the school was runners-up in State level boxing competition held recently.

The Consumers Club had Consumer Awareness Camp for the club members. The Sessions included
power point presentation on Consumer Rights. The programme was organized by the Department of
Civil Suppliers and Consumers Affairs. The History Geography Club organized two field trips. One group
visited the State Museum of Art and Culture at Pato, Panjim. The exhibits also included exhibits of Art
and Culture by the Jesuits. The second group visited the Naval Academy at Chicalim, Vasco. The
students found these visits very enriching. Fr. Pedro Rodrigues and Sch. Anand D’Souza accompanied
the students. An Art Exhibition was held on the Open Day for the parents by Mr. Oswald, the Art
Teacher. The exhibits included some of the best works by the students.
Apolinario Cardozo SJ
DNC, PUNE

This semester was hectic for the
scholastics at DNC. We were
preparing for two important
events: the official visit of POSA
(Provincial of South Asia) and the
Bal Mela. During the visitation Fr.
Hector D’Souza (POSA) shared
with us some plans and major
concerns of the Society. He
appealed to all of us, to prepare
ourselves for the universal
Society of Jesus.
BTC, PUNE
The Bal Mela was organized on
November 29, 2008. This one-day
event was organized for the poor
children of the locality. Around
1,700 children participated in
various games, science exhibition
and the cultural programme. Sch.
Orville de Silva was one of the
main coordinators and the others
were part of the other
committees of the programme.
There is a change of offices at
DNC. All of us are providing our
services in different committees.
Sch. George Menezes is the
kitchen coordinator and Sch.
Solon Fernandes is in charge of
the choir. Sch. Vicky Crasto has
had a great experience staying
in the slums. He will return to DNC
in the month of January 2009.
Augustine Trindade SJ

If you are planning a trip to Ajanta or Ellora, don’t worry about a guide. Take a Junior from BTC and he
will do the job for you. We had a fabulous outing combined with a visit to a water shed project which
lasted a week.

Our Dean and staff members are trying their best to give us solid formation. We have recently finished
public speaking and film appreciation courses. These days while watching movies the Juniors hardly
pay attention to the plot and the story. They are more interested in where the camera is placed and
what type of a shot it is. Thanks to Sch. Biju Jacob for sharing his expertise with us. We also had a lot
of input sessions on journalism and creative writing. Well, if you plan a trip to BTC, hold on. The
Juniors are busy preparing for their Christmas concert which will be held on December 20, 2008.

Johnson Fernandes SJ
BASILICA OF BOM JESUS, OLD GOA

Francis the messenger of faith, spreads the Jesus glow. This theme was splashed
across the mind and heart of thousands of pilgrims who came here and lined up to
pay homage to the relics of the Basque saint. While masses had commenced right
from dawn scores of pilgrims and faithful arrived and camped here the previous
evening itself. Archbishop Blasco Colaço, former Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus of South
Africa, was the main celebrant of the Feast Mass.

Volunteers, Novices, the various committees, religious houses and government

organizations saw to the varied needs of the faithful. Fr. Savio Barreto’s
organizational acumen was put to the test and nothing fell short of the expectations
as this was like a village as well as a fortress. We
had masses organized by different centres, for
differently abled people as well as in different
languages. Sch. Varun Rodrigues did the reading
for the Mass in Portuguese. There was an Inter-
Religious Meet which witnessed people and
scholars from different faiths who shared their
insights. The Mass dedicated to the Goa Jesuits saw
an influx of St. Francis Xavier’s younger brothers.
Fr. Anthony da Silva, the Provincial, delivered a
powerful and heart-stirring homily about our
mission of strengthening communal harmony
everywhere. All this once again reverberated that the feast of the Goencho Saib is indeed the feast which
is at the heart of every Goan and pilgrim alike.

Varun Rodrigues SJ
MILAGRIS H. SCHOOL, SAWANTWADI

Fr Cecil Fernandes organised a one-day orientation course

for the English teachers at Milagris School, Sawantwadi. Fr
Savio Rodrigues was the resource person. 50 teachers from
7 different schools participated in this programme. The
topics covered were Parts of speech, Construction of
sentences, pronunciation, and appreciation of poems. The
programme was highly appreciated by the teachers.

The teachers put up a very good entertainment programme

for the students to celebrate the Children’s Day. The students
were thrilled to see the teachers dance and sing so well. The
principal too got into the act and was the master of
ceremonies. Sch. Cedric Mascarenhas enthralled the
students with his guitar and the mouth organ. Fr. Joaquim
D’Mello was the guest of honour for this programme. We
concluded the day with a friendly basketball match between
the students and the staff. Fr Cecil was the referee and he
was generous enough to let the students win the match. In
the end the teachers themselves enjoyed every bit of the programme!

Cecil Fernandes SJ
TERTIANS AT KANDY

Having polished the halos and overhauled the spiritual engine during BIRTHDAY WISHES
the Long Retreat in October, we are now in the process of learning
the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises, preparing 8-day retreats in DECEMBER
groups and presenting them before the class. When the studying 16 - Jacob Carvalho
and discussing 20 - Charles Borges
becomes too - Romuald D’Souza
heavy, Kandy 24 - Rui de Menezes
has much to 27 - Audrick D’Mello
offer to relax 31 - Menino Gonsalves
with misty hills
and warm JANUARY
sunshine. The 01 - Sebastian Pereira
God-experience 02 - Joseph Nazareth
has become - Kustas Lima
more tangible
05 - Basil Vago
for each one of us as we share, reflect and integrate it.
06 - Epiphanio Dias
08 - Vasco do Rego
Br. Victor Campos spends his free time honing his computer skills
15 - Shawn D’Souza
and has become quite tech-savvy! His email identity is
campossj@gmail.com. During the month of December, all the Tertians
will be out ‘experimenting’. The exposure will then be evaluated and THE DEPARTED
serve as an aid when we study the Constitutions. And just to remind
you - if you are feeling well and doing good work - it’s because we’re
praying for you!
• Sister of Fr. Vasco do Rego,
Mrs. Celestial Saldanha
Roland Coelho SJ 17/11 88
• Fr. Varkey Cheruvallil (KER)
LOYOLA, MARGAO 22/11 (80/58)
• Brother of Fr. Justin Borges,
October was a hectic month for everyone in the community and Mr. Leon Borges 27/11 72
the school. It was exam season. This kept all the teachers on their
• Sister of Fr. Agnelo Pinto,
toes; some busy setting question papers, others busy completing Mrs. Telma da Silva 03/12
the portion. To showcase the talents of the boys in the school a 67
Social Science exhibition was held from November 22 to 25, 2008.
Many parents took the opportunity to appreciate the work put in by their children. Various schools
came to have a glimpse of the exhibits.

Fr. Lisbert D’Souza visited the community on November 5. He met all the members personally
including the Scholastics. In the evening the PAI and the Loyola communities came together for a
common meeting with Fr. Lisbert. Fr. Erwin Lazrado, the JYMSA secretary, was here for a meeting
with the youth commission and lay collaborators, which was held on November 24 at Jesuit House,
Panjim.
Raul D’Souza SJ

WE WISH ALL OUR

READERS
A MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND
A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009