TO BUILD A VIBRANT UNITED CHRISTIAN PARISH SHARING AND CARING FOR EACH OTHER SELFLESSLY

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1 Newsletter of the Church of Our Lady of THE Assumption, Kandivli (West), Mumbai July - August 2015 Volume 32.6 Parish Vision: TO BUILD A VIBRANT UNITED CHRISTIAN PARISH SHARING AND CARING FOR EACH OTHER SELFLESSLY As this is the first issue of our Parish Bulletin this New Pastoral Year , a warm welcome to our New Parish Priest, Fr Dom Alves! On behalf of the entire Assumption Family, we welcome you Father as the head of our family, God bless your stay here. Fr Dom in these few weeks has already felt at home and one with the people, his one-liners are a treat to all who have interacted with him! Welcome once again Father! As we gear up for our Novenas and Feast of our Patroness Our Lady of Assumption, we ask Mary our mother to intercede and bless us all. This year we are focussing on the Seven Deadly Sins of the Catholic Church, we have nine preachers for the Novena who will help us reflect on these themes. Please refer to the Novena schedule printed in this issue for other information. Every year at this time of the feast, we wait joyfully for the entire run-up to the feast with the Novena mass in the evenings. Please do come early so that we can practice the singing and give glory to God as we offer the Eucharistic sacrifice. This month for our food for thought I share with you the Tree Analogy by Tyler Perry I have this tree analogy when I think of people in my life, be it friends, family, acquaintances, employees, co-workers, whomever...they are all placed inside what I call my tree test. It goes like this: LEAF PEOPLE Some people come into your life and they are like leaves on a tree. They are only there for a season. You can't depend on them or count on them because they are weak and only there to give you shade. Like leaves, they are there to take what they need and as soon as it gets cold or a wind blows in your life they are gone. You can't be angry at them, it's just who they are. BRANCH PEOPLE There are some people who come into your life and they are like branches on a tree. They are stronger EDITORIAL than leaves, but you have to be careful with them. They will stick around through most seasons, but if you go through a storm or two in your life it's possible that you could lose them. Most times they break away when it's tough. Although they are stronger than leaves, you have to test them out before you run out there and put all your weight on them. In most cases they can't handle too much weight. But again, you can't be mad with them, it's just who they are. ROOT PEOPLE If you can find some people in your life who are like the roots of a tree then you have found something special. Like the roots of a tree, they are hard to find because they are not trying to be seen. Their only job is to hold you up and help you live a strong and healthy life. If you thrive, they are happy. They stay low key and don't let the world know that they are there. And if you go through an awful storm they will hold you up. Their job is to hold you up, come what may, and to nourish you, feed you and water you. Just as a tree has many limbs and many leaves, there are few roots. Look at your own life. How many leaves, branches and roots do you have? What are you in other people's lives? THANK GOD FOR THE ROOTS! I fall, I rise. I make mistakes. I live, I learn. I've been hurt, but I'm alive. I'm human, I am not perfect, but I'm thankful. God bless us all! - Fr. Byron Mendonça

2 Bishop John Rodrigues with Troy Monteiro and the other first year seminarians Catholic SSC topper from our school, Joshua Mendes being felicitated by his Community ( Sts Peter & Paul ) Coordinator, Selwyn Miranda PCOA Induction 2015 Eucharist Ministers Induction 2015 PCOA Induction 2015

3 Community updates Community No 1 - Sts. Peter & Paul Co-ordinator - Selwyn Miranda The traditional celebration of the Feast of our Community patrons, Sts. Peter and Paul was held on Monday, 29th June It commenced with a Thanksgiving Mass at 7 in the church followed by a get together in the hall. About a hundred members of the community attended the programme which began with the initiation ceremony for two First Holy Communion and five Confirmation candidates conducted by Ursula Miranda. Fr Byron addressed the community and gave a brief summary of the lives of our patron Saints. This was followed by a trophy felicitation ceremony for Joshua Mendes, the Catholic SSC topper in our school this year. All the SSC & HSC students were presented with gifts by the community. The Youth enlivened the evening with games, music and dancing. The celebrations ended with dinner and a vote of thanks by Selwyn to the Animators for planning the activities, the Youth for organizing the entertainment and specially Mr. & Mrs. Chandrakant Nirmal for sponsoring the dinner. Nicole Mendes ably compered the function. Community No 16 Don Bosco Coordinator Iris D'souza Never forget your parents Forget everything in this world, but never forget your parents. They have always given us so much, this we should never forget. - Selwyn Miranda On this earth after praying with devotion, We were born to our parents. They have brought us in this wonder land, Before we were conceived, our parents thought about us. These pure hearted individuals should never be hurt. Forget everything in this world, but never forget your parents. Earn as much money you want, Build castles if you like, But, what is the use of all this money? If parents are not happy, They are not money but our eyes, never forget this ever. The calculations of their Love, is beyond our Measure. Forget everything in this world, but never forget your parents. Whatever we have asked they have provided us, Our every want they have fulfilled, Can t express their love in words, We can never forget the sacrifices they do for us and to their best. Never forget the love of these angels in disguise Forget everything in this world, but never forget your parents. - Miss Riana J Lobo 3

4 Community updates Community No 17 St Anthony Coordinator - Sagayaraj Kovilpillai CELEBRATING ST. ANTHONY S FEAST Being a part of St Anthony s community is indeed a privilege, as every year with great zeal, we celebrate the feast of our patron saint on 13th June. Fr Byron Mendonca celebrated the mass and thereafter we all gathered as one family for a lively programme at the Parish hall. Fr Dominic Alves and Fr Byron Mendonca graced the event. We began the festivities with a novena prayer to St Anthony. Fr Dominic, Fr Byron and our Coordinator, Mr Pillai addressed the gathering. Everyone enjoyed the evening that was filled with games, quiz, music and dance. Our community took the opportunity to recongise the hardwork put in by the SSC and HSC toppers by felicitating and presenting them with cash Prize of Rs 500/- each. It was an enjoyable evening for the community members to interact with each other. Special thanks to our coordinator, animators & all who were involved in making this evening a memorable one. - Deepa William Nevis My Fun Filled Summer Camp Hey friends, I am Valencia Vaity! I want to tell you about the Summer Camp which was held for 5 days in April 2015 at the Holy Cross Chapel Bunderpakhadi. The volunteers were very nice and taught us many new things about savings, the environment, relationships and health. We also learnt how to make different articles out of waste. There were action songs, some indoor & outdoor games where we got prizes. All of us were given gifts for participating. It was an very exciting camp and I wish to thank the Holy Cross Mahila Mandal which organized it with the help of Michelle Dabre who is a social worker from the Center For Social action (CSA) and also Fr. Elias D Cunha for his help. - Valencia P. Vaity The Assumption Feast Day Chill Out! The Assumption Family will be having an evening of entertainment for all at 6 sharp on the Feast Day. Come one and all, chill out, laugh a little, relax, meet and chat with the Assumption Family members! Entertainment galore! Rs 100/- per head. Children below 3 years - free. Food and drink items will be on sale. Aunkwari Mariae, Saibini Assumpti Maule! Our Lady of the Assumption invites you all with a smile! Come! 4

5 Report on Parish Council of Associations activities (PCOA) Training Session On 15th June, a training session was held in our parish for all the Heads and assistant heads of various associations and cells. Former Secretary Archdiocesan Parish Council, Ms Rowena Luis of Mount Carmel Church, Bandra conducted the session. Ms Luis began the session by appreciating the efforts of the associations and cells for organizing many activities within the parish. She said that each and every PCOA member is extraordinary and chosen by God. And that we should allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in everything we do. Each head of the association got an opportunity to share their views about the ministries they had been entrusted to and in what way they could help the Assumption family as a whole. At the end of the training session, few members were elected to the PPC as representative of the PCOA including the current ones. Prior to the training session, I was in a dilemma, with so many family commitments would I be able to fulfil all my responsibilities within the designated association or cell. Once the session was over all my doubts were cleared. I am sincerely grateful to the parish and Ms Luis for organizing such a detailed insight on the functions of the PCOA. Commissioning of all the Heads and assistant Heads On Laity Sunday, 28th June our parish priests, Fr Dominic Alves and Fr Byron Mendonca commissioned all the Heads and the Assistant Heads of various association and cells with special prayers and blessing. In all we have 28 associations/cells in our parish, which are as follows: SCC Steering Committee Lydia Carvalho Bible Cell Hazel Alphonso Sunday School Coordinator Fatima Pereira Glenn D'souza Pre Baptism Coordinator StannyD'souza Hemla D'souza RCIA Coordinator Joaquim Godinho Parish Youth Movement To be elected Parish Youth Animating Team Connie D'souza Parish Liturgical Team Sharon D'souza Carol Fernandes Extra-Ord. Min. of Holy Communion Genevieve D'souza Jean Godinho Coordinator of Choirs Hazel Alphonso Ushers Clive Rodrigues Richard D'souza Catholic Charismatic Renewal Hilda Fernandes Judy Rodrigues Legion of Mary Coordinatior Sr. Macrin D'souza Iris D'souza Legion of Mary Coordinator Jr. CrenaD'costa Rita D'souza Legion of Mary Coordinator Tamil Bapila Michael Mercy Angela Poor and Needy &Helpage Gerry Miranda Aurelius Pereira Parish Media Team Coordinator Newsletter:Joe Kuriokose Bombay Catholic Sabha/Civic & Political Cell Website: Basil Martyres Ronald D'souza Joylan Andrade Art & Décor Merlyn Parmar Ms. Deepali Ohol Family Cell To be elected Divine Mercy Genevieve Fernandes Edna Dhillon Perpetual Adoration (PEACE) Melwyn Monteiro Lectors Vijaytha Ail Bandar PakhadI Liturgy Coordinator Mahesh Voity Priya Voity Senior Citizen Association George Kattuvalil Lia Sathe Friends of Mission To be elected Altar Servers Nachiket Borse Riccardo Daniels Assumption Cultural Team (ACT) Joylan Andrade Tina Rebello 5

6 6 NOVENA AND FEAST DAY SCHEDULE 6th August to 15th August 2015 The schedule is as follows: Day Theme Preacher Sermon Time 6th Aug Day 1 Introduction to Sin Fr. Glasten Fernandes Marathi 7:15 Thursday in general 7th Aug Day 2 Sin Pride Fr Baptist Viegas Marathi 7:15 Friday Virtue- Humility 8th Aug Day 3 Sin Envy Fr Albert Pegado ofm Marathi 7:15 Saturday Virtue- Kindness cap 9th Aug Day 4 Sin- Gluttony Fr Prashant Saldanha Konkani 6:30 Sunday Virtue - Temperance 10th Aug Day 5 Sin Lust Fr Daniel Fernandes Konkani 7:15 Monday Virtue- Chastity 11th Aug Day 6 Sin- Anger Fr Avin Franklin Konkani 7:15 Tuesday Virtue- Patience 12th Aug Day 7 Sin Greed Fr Jude Ferreira English 7:15 Wednesday Virtue- Charity 13th Aug Day 8 Sin- Sloth Fr Nigel Barett English 7:15 Thursday Virtue - Diligence 14th Aug Day 9 Conclusion of series Fr Lester Vaz English 7:15 Highlights: The themes will be based on the Seven Deadly Sins of the Catholic Church with an introduction to the series on the first day and the conclusion on the last day of the novena. The Novena prayer will be recited at all masses and a special sermon based on the above themes will be preached by 9 preachers at the evening mass. Please note weekdays special sermon at the 7:15 mass and Sunday at 6:30 mass. The mass will be in English with the sermon for the first three evenings in Marathi, the second three evenings in Konkani and the last three evenings of the Novena in English. On Sunday 9th August at the childrens mass there will be the traditional showering of flowers at the statue of Our Lady of Assumption. As last year, we will be making our individual cash offerings on all nine days during the Novena instead of the foodgrains. At the offertory you are requested to come in an orderly way to drop your cash offerings in the boxes provided for the Poor and Needy of the Parish.

7 FEAST DAY 15th AUGUST 2015 Time Program CELEBRANT & PREACH- ER 7:00 am Mass in Marathi Fr Sandip Koshav ofm cap 7:45 am Flag Hoisting (School grounds) :00 am Mass in Tamil Fr Chinnapa Swamy CPPS 9:30 am FEAST MASS IN ENGLISH Bishop Dominic Savio Fernandes 6:00 Cultural Program in the Hall ---- Please note that there will be coffee and cake served after the Feast Mass. The Assumption Family is invited to take part in the festivities followed by the mass as we meet and greet one another. 7

8 Induction of Fr Dominic Alves Here I am Lord, I have come to do your Will Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ He chose us to be holy and faultless before Him in love (Ephesians 1:3) Fr Dominic Alves was officially inducted as our parish priest at the 09:00 am mass on 12th July. His eminence Cardinal Oswald Gracias was the main celebrant and Fr Gerald Fernandes, our former parish priest; Fr KT Emmanuel, Secretary to the Cardinal; Fr Byron, and Fr Dominic Alves were the concelebrants. Prior to the commencement of the Holy Mass, Fr Emmanuel read the Letter of Appointment. After the readings, the Word of God was handed over to Fr Dominic by his eminence Cardinal Oswald Gracias. Fr Dominic then administered the Word of God from the gospel of Mark 6:7-13. In his homily, his Eminence mentioned how Jesus sent his disciples to preach the Word of God. Similarly, he explained that Fr Dominic and Fr Byron have been appointed to preach the Word of God in our parish and draw all parishioners close to God. After the homily, Fr Dominic recited the Apostles creed signifying his belief in God, which he would impart to his parishioners. After Holy Communion, Fr Dominic was led to the Tabernacle by his Eminence the Cardinal where he took the oath of office and promised to lead the flock entrusted to him through Jesus. He was then taken to the Baptismal font where he would be administering the Rite of Baptism, the Confessional, and the cemetery where he prayed for the dearly departed. He then signed the Oath of Office and was symbolically handed the keys of the Parish and the Register. The Mass finally ended with His Eminence, Cardinal Oswald Gracias blessing the congregation. We the parishioners wish Fr Dominic the very best and pledge our support in all his endeavors. May the good Lord bless Fr Dominic and Fr Byron! - Glenn Saldanha FR DOM, FR BYRON TOGETHER WITH THE SISTERS WISH THE ASSUMPTION FAMILY A VERY HAPPY FEAST AND A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY 8

9 Kids Corner Over the years, we ve been told of Mary s many great qualities. To be like her in all things might be a herculean task, but perhaps we could take a tip or two from her. Do what you know is right, irrespective of the consequences When the angel asked Mary to be the mother of God, Mary said yes just like that. She didn t ask to think about it. She didn t stop to wonder about the consequences. She knew it was the right thing to do and she did it. If she did stop to think though, she might have wondered about Joseph leaving her. Certainly, no one would judge Joseph for leaving a woman with a child that wasn t his, and this could have been a genuine cause for concern for Mary. Further, it wasn t just her reputation at stake; I wonder if her family would have chided her for her rash decision. I wonder if they might have asked if she thought about their reputation. What would people say to an unmarried girl being with child? But I don t suppose she let the consequences influence her decision. She knew that saying yes was the right thing to do, and she did just that. And that decision changed the way the world functioned forever just because she did what she knew was right. Trust that things will work out in the end One would imagine that saying yes to God would make the rest of our lives a bed of roses. Well, that might be true, but not in the sense that we ll never have problems, like we re often tempted to believe (God, I studied 4 hours a day all year round like I knew you wanted me to, and yet I wasn t in the top 10 of my class! Why didn t you do something?). It s easy to consider that, since God asked Mary to be the mother of Jesus, He should have ensured that she had a nice, comfortable bed with the best doctors to tend to her at the birth of her baby He was God after all. But all Mary had was a manger. That must have been difficult to swallow, even for the blessed person that she was. Yet, I doubt she threw a fit about it. I doubt she questioned God. She just had faith in His plan. Even more so when she had to watch her son be humiliated and put to death on a cross for no fault of his did she wonder if God had abandoned her? I doubt it. I guess it s just important put your trust in Him till the end. Our parish celebrates its feast day on August 15. Complete the following passage to test your knowledge about our parish. The feast of Our Lady of the Assumption was first celebrated in. Our parish, dedicated to Our Lady, was founded in the year, with as our first parish priest. In, the new church building was consecrated under the guidance of our then parish priest,. To date, parish priests have served us. There are Small Christian Communities and associations. Currently, our parish priest is, who is assisted by and by a Brother from the seminary,, who comes to our parish on weekends. If I had one wish for our parish, it would be. 9

10 Be kind even if you have nothing to gain from it If at a wedding party the host runs out of wine, an immediate reaction today would be to whisper about it to everyone else at the party. It might even become the talk of the town for the next few days. After all, the host should have thought things through and ensured that the wine was sufficient. If you aren t close to the host, there s no compulsion to help out because you don t have to or you haven t been asked. Well, no one at the Cana wedding asked Mary to help either. She sensed the anxiety that I m sure her host was feeling. She thought of a plan, and she made it happen. She didn t do it for a favor in return or for any kind of thanks or fame. She did it simply because she wanted to help just that. - Christine Miranda congratulations!! The Catholic SSC topper of our Parish's St. Joseph High School is Joshua Mendes, who scored 89.8 %. We wish him and all the SSC and HSC students the very best for the future! In order to defray our expenses, we are accepting advertisements for the Assumption Link. You may send the Ads. on assumptionlink@gmail.com and payment to be made in advance by cheque only to our Parish Office in favour of Our Lady of Assumption Church The revised advertisement rates from July 2015 are as follows : Size Color Black & White Last Page Full Page (Inside Front and Back Cover) Half Page Quarter Page

11 KNOW US BETTER Sr Cecilia D Mello Joined the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of Our Lady 1962 Hails from Vasai Nanadakhal Parish Inspired by God fearing parents and priests in the parish She has worked in different parishes and schools in Maharashtra, Goa and Bhopal She has retired as the Principal from St. Aloysius Primary School, Yavatmal in Amravati She was very active in Assumption parish from 2009 to 2012, visiting the families at Bunder Pakhadi Presently, due to her health problems she is inactive She keeps herself busy in the convent at Gaurav Garden and prays for the parish Sr Dollyrose D Souza Eldest born in the family of three. I have my parents and two brothers, both of them are married and busy with their families. Completed schooling in Goa and Mumbai Joined the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of Our Lady 1984 Worked in different parishes in Mumbai, Vasai, Goa, Bhopal, Yavatmal, and Aurangabad Completed Ministry of the Word course in March, 2014 from St. Pius Seminary, Goregaon (East) Worked as a teacher in Bhopal, Amravati, and Vasai Worked as the Headmistress of the Secondary Section in St. Francis De Sales High School, Aurangabad from 2001 to 2006 Worked as the Headmistress of the Secondary Section in St. Thomas Academy, Goregaon (West), Mumbai from 2006 till 14th June 2015 Appointed as the Headmistress of the Secondary Section in St. Joseph High School, Kandivli (West) from 15th June 2015 I want to work for the Assumption Parish and Holy Cross Bunder Pakhadi. Like to work with children and the youth, visit families, and counsel children. I am interested in working for the underprivileged.

12 FAREWELL FR. ELIAS! WELCOME FR. DOMINIC! Published by : Rev. Fr. Dominic Alves, Parish Priest - Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Kandivli (West), Mumbai Website: Tel : / assumptionlink@gmail.com Media Team Editor - Fr. Byron Mendonça Sub Editors : Harold Mendes, Delphine Estibeiro, Christine Miranda & Bernadette Mendes Co-ordinator & Public Relations : Joe Kuriakose Photography - Roy Michael Patrick & Martina Pinto Designing - Royden L. Gomes, John D Souza & Rupert Sequeira Website - Basil Martyres The Assumption Media Team is not responsible for the claims made in the advertisements published in this issue. THE EDITOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ARTICLES AS PER EDITORIAL POLICY. FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.