A WORD TO THE WISE! The question came from an elderly Patamona gentleman as we walked along during a break in the seminar in Kurukubaru.

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1 Guyana Region of the Society of Jesus Newsletter nd 22 Assembly of CPAL at Puerto Rico A WORD TO THE WISE! Fr Dermot... how old are you? The question came from an elderly Patamona gentleman as we walked along during a break in the seminar in Kurukubaru. I resisted the instinctive straight answer of 53 and turned to face him. How old do you think I am, Brother Cesareo? He stopped & fixed me with his brown-black eyes set in a weathered, rugged face. He stared into my eyes and in those few moments he seemed to me to be searching the deepest reaches of my soul counting the passing cycles of the moon, watching the risings & settings of the sun, counting the heart-beats of my days and weighing my very existence in the delicate scales of Amerindian life... About 70? he speculated. One of the nice things about being moved around a lot by the Jesuits is that you learn that human knowledge comes in many different forms and no one person or group has a monopoly of wisdom. It gives both a degree of confidence and a humility when we really begin to understand that to grow we all need each other... neither consecrating or romanticising the experience of others, nor doing down my own insights. We are all parts of one body, and we all contribute to that one body. Having asked Brother Cesareo about my age I momentarily read-into his enigmatic scrutiny a deeper secret ability that he did not possess. Like the rest of us on the Pilgrim Way he was just giving it his best guess - and I find that very comforting.

2 On Mission for the Life of the World The British Province assembly was held at the Hayes conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire. The theme was On Mission for the Life of the World and was attended by about 180 Jesuits and 40 of our collaborators involved in schools, colleges, spirituality centres and pastoral work. It was graced by Fr General whose presence was inspiring and uplifting. The three day assembly was an overwhelming experience for us. Fr General addressed the congregation with his usual humour and wit by noting that he was nervous speaking English in Britain. He described the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, as the way, the truth and the life respectively. His simplicity and cheerfulness surprised us the most. In his address to the scholastics in London he encouraged us to persevere Building Church on the Rocks of Faith The yearly Lenten Pilgrimage, held on 3rd April at St Anthony's Church Buxton, was inspiring & encouraging to all those who took part in it. The name Buxton sounded frightening to some people when they received the invitation, but the successful pilgrimage-celebration removed all the fear & the day proved to be deeply inspiring and prayerful. i n o u r vocations as Jesuits & urged us to prepare for the unexpected, as the world is truly becoming a global village. He encouraged us to feel the sense of the mission of the Society of Jesus and not merely of the Province. He challenged us to make our language sharp with adequate discernment of the spirit within us. The need to make Ignatian Spirituality a priority in our mission was emphasized. Apart from participating in the Province Assembly, Fr General met the three key figures of the Church in England and Wales: the Archbishops of Westminster, Southwark and the Apostolic Nuncio. He also met with the Anglican Bishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. - Jerry Mewin Dias SJ The theme of the day was "Build my Church". The talk by Fr James, discussion in various groups, reporting and finally the thanksgiving holy Mass by Fr Dermot made the day successful. The community was satisfied with the day's programme and realized how important it is to play one's role in continuing to build up the Church. st The Plaisance youth bagged 1 place in the Diocesan Bible Quiz competition The B.V. church senior group won the 3rd prize & their junior group won the 2nd place in the junior category. All the contestants were awarded certificates. This success among the youth on the East Coast has inspired everyone to be more familiar with the Bible. The Easter joy was doubled when 11 RCIA members were baptized and confirmed in Plaisance. There are many more RCIA members who are in the pipeline to be baptized and confirmed next year. On Easter Monday, the children from St John's Orphanage came for a special Mass for the kites to be blessed. It is a belief among the children that kite-flying on this day is a sign of victory over sin, death and hell and that makes them to rise above everything, to fly to heaven above. - Anil Tirkey SJ

3 PLA s Training Programme at Kurukubaru Everyone was surprised and impressed by the confidence with which they preached. The last of a series of training programmes for PLAs held at Kurukabaru by Fr Dermot th Preston commenced on May 15 and was nd successfully concluded on May 22. In spite of the heavy rains and floods 36 persons from 12 communities participated in the programme. It was a very important and unique training session as he was well acquainted with the background of the Amerindians in the North Pakaraimas due to his continuous presence there over the past few years. He had established a good rapport with the PLAs over the years and so they felt at ease with him. He dealt with the Gospel of John in addition to a number of practical things like teaching them how to conduct prayers, preparing for Mass, Sunday Services, and Homilies etc. Every day the PLAs were divided into groups to collectively prepare a homily. A representative from each group then presented the homily and the best one was selected and preached during the daily Mass by the participants themselves. Every night a different part of a film on St John's Gospel was shown. The participants also made an attempt for the first time to dramatise some of the scenes from the New Testament. It was a thrilling experience for them. An attempt was made to introduce Patamona into the liturgy but it has a long way to go. Br. Sylvester, one of the PLAs has been organizing Patamona reading classes for the past few months. nd The PLAs Training Program was concluded on 22 with Fr Dermot celebrating Mass for the whole congregation and people bidding farewell to him by singing 'God be with you till we meet again. The PLAs benefited a great deal from these training programmes and they will surely miss Fr Dermot. After the conference, he was stranded in Kurukabaru due to inclement weather and was only able to fly back to Georgetown after 6 long days. (A record time waiting for any Regional Superior!!) - Paulose Vellacada SJ Supply s Day Out St Jerome's Chapel, Supply which is located on the East Bank Demerara saw its first ever picnic - after 45 years of its existence- on the 29th of April at Madewini Gardens. This day was planned in order to strengthen the parish communities and build up a bond of friendship among the parishioners. The day began with a prayer invoking God's blessing. Both young and old participated wholeheartedly in the day. Some parishioners played cricket, basketball & volleyball while many swam to their heart's content. There were even a few who enjoyed themselves watching the others having fun. Lunch was the center of attraction for the day. A few families chipped in and prepared a sumptuous meal. Special thanks to Jean Reid, Patricia Chang Yuen, Molly Murray and Jennifer Fitzpatrick who made that possible for us. We are greatly indebted to Sch. Wilson Moras for the love and - concern Anil - Tirkey he has shown SJ us SJ towards our community and we thank him especially for organizing this day. - Ronald Cyuen

4 History beckons us... Christ drives us! Karasabai has a lot to its credit since the dawn of this New Year We had a Jesuit Novice Penn Dawson from New Orleans Province for about 3 months from January 9 to April 5. His involvement in the various activities of the mission was laudable. One of his achievements was to kill about 12 scorpions, 1 per week and people called him 'scorpion charmer' just as Fr Poulose in the north Pakaraimas is known to be a 'snake charmer'!! It has been about 5 months since the arrival of 2 Ursuline sisters - Sr Divya & Sr Serophina. It is a real blessing and their arrival created history in this church of the South Pakaraimas. On March 13, His Lordship Bishop Francis Alleyne blessed the new convent - St Angela House the first convent ever to be built in the South Pakaraimas. Among the guests The season of Lent was a busy and blessed time administering sacraments and youth seminars in Aishalton. Fr Varghese and Fr Ronnie were busy visiting the villages while Novice Letroy and myself were holding the fort at Aishalton. They visited all the villages except Parabara due to the bad weather conditions and impassable roads. Easter celebration in Aishalton was a grand affair. The church team with the help of 15 prayer groups raised enough money to feed the whole community of Aishalton. Ronnie and his team missed the banquet since he got stuck for more than six hours in the other village. It was a nice gathering where different church groups came together to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord by sharing a delicious meal. were, Sr Roshini, the Ursuline Provincial of Ranchi Province and Sr Clara one of her consultors who came all the way from India. Present also were Fr Tony D'Souza, Fr Varghese, the Ursuline sisters of Aishalton and Sr Mary Peter from Georgetown who all added joy and colour to this significant event. Sr Seraphina, a trained nurse from Karasabai went to assist Fr Varghese & Sr Leonarda in taking care of Fr Britt. She then proceeded to Georgetown along with Sr Divya to renew their work permits. Sr Divya managed to return, but Sr Seraphina is still in Georgetown doing her annual retreat with Fr Bob. A seminar was organized for all the youth of the village. Fr Paul Martin, Sch. Britto and the two sisters all gave talks on the values, meaning and importance of the sacraments, feasts and festivals. Some of our early school leavers wrote CXC examinations last month in Lethem. We thank Fr Joachim for being so accommodating and hospitable in housing our children at St Ignatius during their exams. We thank Sch. Britto for his selfless service in organizing special classes for the less fortunate. Julian Filochowski visited us for just 2 hours, after journeying for about 9 hours to and fro. Right now we have Sch. Stefan Garcia of the British province together with Dr Sarah Chitty, both are students of University College London (UCL) and are here for a Research. They are being assisted by the villagers. We wish them well. Shepherding the Sheep Christ s Way Soon after the Easter celebrations, The Aishalton Jesuit team traveled to Georgetown for the Regional conference. Fr Varghese stayed back to take care of Fr Britt. Fr Malcolm visited Fr Britt after the regional meeting. Fr Britt is recovering slowly. It is good to see him making people smile with his sense of humour. He is well cared for by Sr. Leonarda. Fr Edwin Thadheu spent two weeks with us for a youth seminar. He helped them in building up their self confidence with his sessions on Self- Esteem and Leadership skills. Fr Steve Patterson is here to finish the electrical work that he started last month. The highlight of the month of May was the graduation of eight students from the CRS course. They were able to share with the audience some of what they had learnt. Aishalton Catholic Church will soon witness the First Holy Communion of 50 children who are being prepared by the PLAs. - Edwin Antony SJ

5 SEARCH RETREAT An Emmaus Experience The members of SEARCH participated in a Lenten retreat at St Paul's Retreat Centre from of April. There were approximately twenty four youths. The aim of this retreat was to strengthen the relationship of the youths with God, to allow them to have a more meaningful Easter reflecting on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and to be able to discern God's call in their lives for the youths in life. The schedule for the weekend included movies, vocational sessions, art and craft, fun activities, prayer sessions, and an Emmaus Walk. Silence was practiced regularly throughout the two days since it is through silence that God is encountered. Everyone was given a platform to share their thoughts after an activity or a session. This allowed me to open up since it was like one big family. The vocational sessions included life stories shared by Sr Claudette Jones OSU, Fr Stephen Patterson, and Bishop Francis Alleyne. Apart from their own vocational stories, they also spoke briefly about their Religious Congregations. The young people were therefore enlightened about the Jesuits, the order of Saint Ursula, and the Benedictines. Saturday's Gospel passage was 'The Call of the Disciples.' One of the characteristics of SEARCH is to help youths realize their calling, and these sessions definitely contributed a great deal to that goal. To re-enact the Gospel reading on Sunday, the youths went on an Emmaus Walk. This was a journey from the retreat centre to the seawall. Everyone was given a partner to whom they must confide in. They were to imagine that it was Jesus they were talking to. Silence was an important aspect of this exercise and other exercises in the retreat. These included 'The Big Silence' a documentary that opened our eyes to the beauty of silence in our prayer life and this was a very moving prayer moment for all of us and specially to me. This refreshing retreat came to a close with a word of thanks for the person who masterminded this day - none other than Fr Steve Patterson. The Search Lenten Retreat did achieve its objective and the Search group continues to strengthen the faith of youths within the Catholic Church. - Shekeila Ramsammy Until We Meet again... Our Prayers... Your prayers are requested for Fr Britt Compton who was taken ill in April, with suspected Dengue Fever. We pray for his speedy recovery and that the Lord will continue to be with him at this time. The community of Navet, parish of St Therese, Rio Claro (Trinidad & Tobago) bade farewell to their beloved shepherd on the 29 of May. In his four years tenure as parish priest he found a warm home in this community. There are many things that can be said about Fr Eddy but the one thing we held in high esteem about him was like the Good Shepherd, every third Sunday of each month he would leave St Augustine for Rio Claro to celebrate Holy Mass and bring Jesus to us. Luke 15: 3-7 reminds us of the Good Shepherd leaving the 99 sheep behind and going in search of the one lost sheep. This parable was clearly exemplified in his service to God's people. Fr Eddy, we will miss you your smiling, jovial and funny disposition. May Christ Jesus keep you in His grace and love until we meet again. - Christi Abdool

6 Regional Meeting The Annual Jesuit conference held at Arrupe fine dinner. In his homily, Fr Joachim attributed his source of nd th House from 2 May to 6 May was attended by strength to the formation he received as a Jesuit and thanked all 23 Jesuits and 2 lay collaborators. It began with a those who were responsible for what he is today. prayer service that focused on the challenges at On the third day all the participants came together for a morning of the frontiers followed by a social which recollection. Fr Peter McIsaac (Regional Superior of Jamaica) & Fr provided the opportunity for all the participants Chris Llanos (Novice Director of Jamaica) steered the morning to acquaint themselves with each other. with their reflections on the Mission. The latter part of the morning The second day was a day of sharing on our was spent viewing the DVD of Fr General's address to the British respective ministries. We were made cognizant Province. This was indeed a great moment for us all. of all the good that is taking place within our A number of talks followed in the afternoon. Fr McIsaac gave a apostolates. This allowed us to focus on our brief outlook on the Jamaican Region. It was an opportunity for us future with vision and integrity. to have a sense of universal mission of the Society of Jesus. Mr Fr Joachim D'Mello, Fr Anil Tirkey and Fr Julian Filochowski, (former Director of CAFOD and presently a Varghese celebrate 25 years of dedicated service collaborator of JM) opened our eyes to the world of advocacy and to the Priesthood in The occasion was reiterated the need for us to stand up for the vulnerable in our celebrated with a thanksgiving Eucharist and a society. On Thursday morning Fr Dermot Preston updated the gathering on the recent developments in the Region and its future initiatives and Fr Bob Barrow briefed us on the financial status of the Region. The conference ended with a fellowship meal, after which everyone sang lustily he is a jolly good fellow for Fr Dermot thanking him for all the blessings he has brought to this Region, as this was his last conference as the Regional Superior. To be Alive in Christ... Lent was a time of prayer and reflection for all the parishioners of St Francis Xavier's church Port Mourant. A day of recollection was organized by Fr Tony D'Souza for various age groups of the parish on three different Sundays of the month. nd About 12 men gathered on the 2 Sunday of Lent after Mass. The day began with a prayer asking for guidance for their personal lives. After the opening address, there was a reading of a passage of scripture and everyone shared what it meant for them to be men in our society today as Christians and especially as Catholics. There followed a lively discussion where each of us was able to voice the various challenges that face us as Christians. rd The 3 Sunday of Lent saw about 22 women who participated in a day of recollection after Mass. It was a great feeling to see women coming out in large numbers. The day focused on the role of women in our community. Most of them felt kinship with Martha's role and a few felt that they came close to Mary's, but it was difficult as they could only find time when the children were out of the home. The morning was fruitful and they called for more events of this kind to be held in future. On the following Sunday, the Youth Retreat was very ably conducted by Sch. Wilson who, with his audio visual skills steered the retreatants towards a group discussion on the topic Retreating into the wilderness with Jesus. This was followed by faith sharing which cemented the bonds of friendship as a youth group.

7 Prayer...Reflection... & Action... WELCOME Stefan Garcia SJ is a British scholastic of Filipino-British extraction. He is currently completing a year of special studies after philosophy, studying for a Masters of Science in Anthropology, Environment and Development at University College London (UCL). He is in Guyana to conduct some original research in egalitarianism in Amazonian Amerindian tribes, especially how notions of equality relate to the management of communal resources. The main thrust of his work will look at how well the village and church cattle are managed and shared. This is Stefan's second visit to Guyana, his first being in 2007 when he was a Jesuit Novice in Kurukabaru. We wish him all the good luck in his research in Karasabai. Sarah Chitty a junior medical doctor from the UK. Her principal interests in Medicine are infectious diseases and global health. So with this in mind she will be spending this year studying for an MSc in Medical Anthropology at UCL prior to commencing her specialty training in general medicine. She is in Guyana for her dissertation project, to take a qualitative look at the ways in which malaria is managed and perceived in the interior by Amerindians. She will be in Karasabai along with Sch. Stefan Garcia. Rose taker is from Liverpool, England. She is a qualified social worker in children and families. She previously worked with the Columban Fathers as a lay missionary for 6 years in the Philippines. When she returned to the UK, she did a Pastoral leadership course at Hope University Liverpool for two years. She has been missioned to work in Aishalton for a period of one year. We wish her all success as she embarks upon this mission. For about four months now the Brazilian Catholic community has been gathering each Sunday afternoon for the celebration of the Eucharist. These occasions have been slowly becoming a part of larger Catholic community of the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima. This has been good, but the group wanted more. The group felt that they be in close communion with the Lord and hence they began a weekly prayer meeting in their respective houses. This has helped them pray, reflect and to share insights with each other and more so this has strengthened their bond even stronger. But still, the group wanted more. Knowing that faith is accompanied by actions, the group readily accepted to join with the larger parish group for the parish fair. Food was prepared, volunteers gathered to sell the snacks and a great spirit of cooperation was felt by all. This has helped to raise money to redo the electrical system in the church and freshen it up with a coat of paint. It was great opportunity to remind the group that even though there is not a large crowd at the Portuguese/Brazilian Mass, we are part of a larger parish, a diocese and the universal church. But there was still a desire for more. Fr Chris Primo suggested a change in the structure for our prayer meetings with an ongoing retreat in daily life. The group was very receptive to the idea and in the middle of June they will be initiated into this process. There is a great hope that this will give the group a chance for living out the faith-life that is desired and will motivate the people to reach out to service in the larger community. - Beverly Trach

8 The feast of the Sacred Heart will not be celebrated in the traditional month of June. Since Easter was late this year, st so the feast will be celebrated on July 1. This feast honours Jesus for his compassion, his abundant love and suffering for us all. The heart is our accepted symbol of love and so it is fitting we celebrate the Love Jesus has for us as the devotion to his Sacred Heart. This devotion received its official form after the appearances to a visitation nun. In 1674, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was asked to foster a love of expiation. The devotion however, can find its origin in the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. At the Last Supper, the beloved disciple was close to the heart of Jesus, as he shared the secret sorrow of Judas betrayal and the command of Jesus to love with no limits. At the crucifixion, the heart of Jesus was pierced with a lance. Valentine Day cards, Wedding Anniversary pictures, memorials to loved ones who have died are often encircled with a heart. It is right and just that we should at all times honour our God who came in flesh with a Heart. Jesus came to show us the love of the Father and we gratefully acknowledge this gift with devotion to his Sacred Heart. But it cannot stop there, can it? Jesus' love in a tangible form reached out to tax collectors and prostitutes, to lepers and the gentiles in a word those un-loveables. Our devotion today consists in the exercise of frequent communion especially on First Fridays and a Holy Hour; but in tangible form it must reach out to those who are considered beyond our field of love. To be at the Service of the Lord & its People Sch. Godfrey Veerasammy (GUY), Sch. Bart Beckers (NER), Sch. Mathew Malone (NEN), and Elil Rajan (SRI) were ordained deacons at Corpus Christi Church, Brixton Hill by Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith. In his instruction the Archbishop expressed the need for more vocations to the priesthood which is crucial during these times. He also thanked the Jesuits for their dedicated service in the Diocese of Southwark. Brixton Parish was the place where Godfrey has been resident for three years. The day was well-attended by parishioners, friends & Jesuits. I was moved when an emotional hug of Godfrey's sister that clutched Godfrey intensely for several minutes. Godfrey rounded up the ceremony with his scintillating and heartfelt vote of thanks. We enjoyed a small celebration afterwards with other Jesuits linked with Guyana including veteran of Guyana Fr Derrick Maitland. We wish Godfrey & all the new Deacons great joy and a fruitful ministry! - Jerry Melwin Dias SJ & 99going... Mrs. Agnes Beatrice Benjamin of Silvercity, Linden, celebrated her 99th birthday on Monday, May 30th with her church family including Fr Jaime and PLA Desmond Clement. For many years she generously supplied Sunday meals for Jesuits at Linden. The photo shows Mrs. Benjamin cutting her birthday cake with Fr Compton Meerabux, who worked in Linden and whom she adopted as a son. For the last 12 years she is blind but she still enjoys cooking.

9 Feed My Lambs Fr General has appointed Fr Paul Martin SJ as the next Superior of the Guyana Region. Paul Martin was born in Crosby near Liverpool in the north of England and, following a degree in Mathematics, entered the Jesuit novitiate in Birmingham in He completed a degree in philosophy in Heythrop College in London and then came to do his Regency at St Pius and in the Pakaraimas. With the view of continuing his service in Guyana he was sent to Brazil to complete his theology studies in Belo Horizonte and was ordained a deacon at St Ignatius Church in the Rupununi in 1995 and for a year he was involved in teaching integrated science in a secondary school at Santa Rosa. He was ordained a priest in the UK in 1996 and since that time he has been working in the interior of Guyana: for 12 years based in Kurukabaru in the north Pakaraimas Mountains and then in 2008 he re-established a permanent presence at Karasabai in the plains of South Pakaraimas. With his vast experience, Paul has been missioned to lead the Region and all its work. We wish him all success and God's abundant blessing upon him. Thanks Fr Stephen Patterson is returning to the UK before heading to Berkeley, California, for further studies in theology. Steve has been here for about two-&-a-half years, almost exclusively in Georgetown with the occasional sortie into the Interior! Steve has been a mainstay of ministry in the Pastoral Area and 'SEARCH', but he also put his professional skills to work with overseeing the renovation that transformed the CCY into Arrupe House! Bon voyage! After 3 years pastoral ministry in Berbice (both in Guyana Human Development Center in Port Mourant and in the various parishes along the Corentyne coast), and as unflappable local superior, Fr Gilburt Camillus is returning to Madurai Province in south India. He will be helping in the administration & teaching in the Department of English of St Xavier's College, Palayam Kottai. We keep him in our heart-felt prayers! A class on Self-esteem at Aishalton Fr Anil: Now children always remember external beauty is not important rather it is the inward beauty that matters Children: Then Fr.... why do you dye your hair?

10 A Big Thanks... My many visits to Guyana over the past five years have shown what a gift Dermot has been to the Church and the Society in Guyana. His dedication to people to Jesuits, those who work with us and those for who we work - has been outstanding. I know he will be a fine Provincial and will continue to support Guyana in that way. But I know too how much you will all miss him! Be sure your Region has a special place in the affections of the British Province. - Michael Holman SJ Fr Dermot A good example is a good sermon one can preach. This quote summarises my personal experience with Dermot. I have seen him carry out his responsibilities cheerfully always accompanied by his personal prayer. Dermot, continue to cheerfully labour in the Lord's vineyard as you have always done. - Ramesh Vanan SJ I love the way Dermot interprets the world through stories- usually with enormous laughs interspersed! His completely contemporary parables somehow cast pools of light. His listening is also a great gift- utterly concentrated, full of spirit and breathing life. - Sarah Broscombe I value my friendship with Dermot over the last five years. Most impressive was his reaction to me when we disagreed. He listened patiently and always heard me out. - Bob Barrow SJ Dermot Preston is a Burnley man, a proud Lancastrian. His life revolves around Christ, Ignatius and films. Great sense of humour; smiling eyes; slightly zany! Knowing Guyana & South Africa well he'll undoubtedly be a mission-oriented Provincial, inspired and inspiring. - Julian Filochowski The biggest gift that God has given Dermot is the gift of humility. He is a man of high thinking and a simple living. - Epifanio Barbosa SJ Fr Dermot has been an invaluable support given to me personally and to the mission of the Diocese. I will always remember his unique perspective and advice on pertinent issues and can much appreciate the confidence of the Province in selecting him for leadership. - Bishop Francis Alleyne