Dear confreres!
My Christmas greetings should have reached you soon in a separate mail. This letter shall update you on things going on.
- I am happy to let you know that Br. Bala Swamy Dande has been accepted for final profession. Fr. Fiorelli, our Superior General will receive them on January 24th. I am happy that with Br. Bala Swamy we have one more brother ready to share his whole life with us. This is uplifting. Thank you for your commitment.
- Along with the approval of Br. Bala Swamy Dande, the Advisory Board and the General Council approved Br. Bruzily A. V. for Holy Orders. His date of ordination has not been fixed yet. We are thinking of sending Br. Bruzily for his deaconate to the diocese Belthangady but have not yet made final arrangements. Pray in a special for Br. Bruzily as the coming year will be important for him and all of us.
- After Christmas we are all ready now to welcome the Superior General and the General Council in India. We also are welcoming Fr. Franz Aregger, the Delegate Superior of the Swiss Community and the Superior of Fr. John Sankarathil. I add to this letter a plan of the most important events. I would be especially pleased to see as many as possible at the feast of St. Francis de Sales in Samarpanaram. We will celebrate the feast with mixed feelings, I believe, since we celebrate the final profession with Br. Bala, but we also wish Fr. Josef Koeltringer off. He will leave India on the 28th of January in the morning. I do take the opportunity to thank him here for all he did for India. Words cannot measure your importance to us; you have been a model, an example, a challenge, a confrere and a friend to us. Thank you.
- I attach also to this letter all the decisions taken by the General meeting at the end of October. Slowly we start to put them into realization. Fr. Shaju e.g. has started the planning of the Building for the hostel in Samarpanaram. Other decisions will follow in the light of this meeting. Let me once more thank all of you who participated in this meeting. It was a good to have an opportunity to share our common vision.
- The ordination and first mass of Fr. Xavier on November 22nd was a blessing to all of us. Our first priest from Andhra Pradesh provided us with the opportunity to discover his country and his family. Fr. Xavier is transferred to Salespuram for the month of January before he will get an assignment for his pastoral year. Fr. (to be) Reji will work in the diocese of Idukki after his ordination to which we are all looking forward to on December 27th. Hope to see many of you there.
- Please do not forget to keep Vocation promotion on the top of your priority list in the months to come. Experience shows that nothing works better in vocation promotion than the efforts of individual confreres. A personal word, an invitation to discern, a time shared, will help young men to make their decision and to consider religious life and priesthood as a possible way for them.
- Finally let me greet all those who don’t have the chance to live in community for this year: Fr. Mathew, Fr. Vincent, Fr. Maichael, Fr. Anthony Ceresko, Fr. John Sankarathil, Fr. Xavier, Deacon Reji, Br. Albert and Br. Santhanam in Puddukottai. Please keep them in a special way in your prayers!
- Finally let me tell you that Fr. Mathew is still keeping fine in Pune. Out of reasons unknown to me he asked me to comment on the Oblate’s motto: Tenui Nec Dimittam. I share with you what I shared with him. Pray for me!
Your brother in Christ Fr. Sebastian
Tenui Nec Dimittam
“I have taken hold and I will not let go”
A reflection
“I”
In a world of individualism and egoism, I still hold onto the “I”. It is “I” who is committed, it is “I” who has taken hold, it is “I” who will not let go. The personal God: “I am who I am,” expects a personal answer: “I have taken hold and I will not let go”. The Oblate gives this answer. I commit myself as Oblate of St. Francis de Sales; it is my commitment. Our common commitment requires individual commitments and relationships with God. Community lives from a group of committed people who are willing, ready, and able to commit themselves individually. I do not hide in community, I do not go with the flow, wait till others are doing it. I am called, I answer! The “I” in the Oblate motto calls exactly for this. It depends on me and my relationship with God.
“Have taken hold”
The present perfect tense is used to describe past events when we think more of their effect in the present than of the action itself. Oblates live in the present moment. I have had a God experience. I have discovered his love for me. I have grasped with my heart, not with my brain, the life giving rope that God has been throwing at me in the waters of life. I experienced it, and I have taken hold of it. But what matters is that now I am connected with Him. To have taken hold shows a firmness and trust. I have caught the rope, the life giving rope, not with my hands, but with my heart. I cling unto it with my heart. My hands are free to work accordingly, connected with God, for God and his projects. The heart of God and my heart are connected, firmly, by his love for me, but also because I have experienced this love and am now answering to it.
“I will not let go!”
Experience calls for a resolution. What I experienced cannot remain without consequence in my life. Once the heart is full, it starts overflowing, abundantly, sincerely, strongly and unconditionally. The resolution not to let it go doesn’t sound very psychological. How often do I have to let go things? I can let go everything but Him, God, his Love. Not letting him go implies availability for everyone else, for everything else. His love doesn’t restrict, it widens - mystery of Oblate Life. The decision to stick to Him frees me. I become available, I can offer myself, I become an Oblate, and I live. I have taken hold and I will not let go. Never. DSB
Plan for the visit of the Superior General and Council
All are invited to come to Samarpanaram on the 24th of January to celebrate with us and to wish Fr. Josef off.
All are invited for the installation of Fr. Shaju as new Superior of Samarpanaram on January 20th 2005.
Thursday, January 6 |
Arrival Fr. Leoclides
at 0:40 AM in Bangalore from Frankfurt
Sebastian comes to Samarpanaram with day bus |
Friday, January 7 |
Arrival Fr. Esser and Fr. Aregger
at 0:40 AM in Bangalore from Frankfurt |
Saturday, January 8 |
|
Sunday, January 9 to
Saturday, January 15 |
India Tour by Bus/Car/Plane
Fr. Esser, Aregger, Leoclides, Koeltringer and Sebastian |
Saturday, January 15 |
Arrival of Fr. General and Fr. Mealey in Chennai. |
Sunday, January 16 |
Arrival Fr. Fiorelli and Fr. Mealey in Bangalore |
Monday, January 17 |
General Council Meeting in Samarpanaram |
Tuesday, January 18 |
GC Meeting in Samarpanaram –
Evening Fathers meets GC |
Wednesday, January 19 |
GC Meeting in Samarpanaram –
Supper Out for Fathers |
Thursday, January 20 |
Backupday GC and GC meets Samarpanaram Community –
Evening: Fr. Shaju is introduced into his office as the new Superior of Samarpanaram by Fr. Fiorelli |
Friday, January 21 |
General Council travels to Salespuram by bus |
Saturday, January 22 |
Saint Francis de Sales Feast in Salespuram –
Main Celebrant/Preacher: Fr. Fiorelli |
Sunday, January 23 |
GC to Mysore by Jeep/ Overnight in Mysore |
Monday, January 24 |
GC returns to Samarpanaram from Mysore by train
SFS Feast cum Perpetual Profession Main Celebrant/Preacher Fr. Fiorelli
Farewell of Fr. Josef |
Tuesday, January 25 till Thursday, January 27 |
Departure Fr. Fiorelli and Fr. Mealey for Chennai
Fr. Esser, Aregger, Leoclides and Fr. Sebastian travel to Hyderabad |
Friday, January 28 |
Departure Fr. Esser and Fr. Aregger
to Frankfurt at 2.30 AM
Departure of Fr. Josef Koeltringer to the Philippines early morning. |
Saturday, January 29 |
Sebastian returns to Salespuram |
Sunday, January 30 |
|
Monday, January 31 |
Departure Fr. Leoclides at 04:00 to Frankfurt |
Decisions taken at the General Meeting at the end of October 2004
Decision 1
It is proposed that Samarpanaram community makes its ‘cowshed’ available for a hostel of about 15 boys who fulfill certain criteria (see below), attend classes at public schools and are trained in a holistic way from the academic year 2005 - 2006 onwards.
Rationale:
1. As society we are established to serve especially the poor and the uneducated (charitable & educational society). The rooms in our former cowshed could serve as a hostel for poor boys of all faiths with the goal to promote the intellectual, spiritual, athletic, and social development; in one word: a holistic formation.
2. Following criteria for boys would be applicable at all times:
- Very poor family background
- highly motivated and intelligent.
- Fully committed to the educational program
- Show kindness and respect for others at all times.
3. The boys could easily attend classes in one of our neighboring schools: MSFS, Nazareth-sisters, Attibelli, etc. However, the goal would be that the rather small beginning with a hostel develops over the next years into our own school which would continue its beginning by offering free education for poor boys who fulfill certain criteria.
4. The setup of the hostel (later school) should be used for intensive fund raising in the west, either by looking for sponsors for individual kids or for the hostel itself.
The General Meeting of Final Professed Members of OSFS Asia encourages its regional leadership to send young OSFS to be trained in psychology, (Eastern) spirituality or any other secular studies (beyond our traditional field of education), in order to be better able to meet the challenging and changing needs in different parts of India, to ensure financial income and financial independence, and to get easier in touch with church - distant people.
Rationale:
1. It goes along well with our call as Religious in the Church: to see, understand and give appropriate answers to the signs of the time. There is an increasing need for psycho-spirituality, especially among the religious. They are on the look out for trained, able psychological counselors, clinical psychologist, …, who are religious, for helping them to reach emotional wellness. They are looking for professional religious with whom they could share their emotional and personal difficulties, who in turn can do something to help them out of their impasse.
2. Our young confreres would not only get prepared for priesthood but all of them would additionally study another subject and become in one or the other profession real ‘professionals’. Though it could be anything like medicine, civil law, …, an emphasis is given to education and psychology with its related subjects.
3. A good guide in this regard are the so-called “Works of Mercy” – the Corporal Works of Mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to visit those in prison, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, and to bury the dead; and the Spiritual Works of Mercy: to admonish sinners, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, to pray for the living and the dead.
4. It would go along very well with one of the statements in our “Declaration - Vision Statement” for De Sales Oblates in Asia: “We engage in respectful dialogue with people of different Christian Churches, religious traditions and secular ideologies. We seek to find common ground with them and where possible, share in solidarity with them a commitment to justice, peace, the integrity of creation, and the search for God.”
We propose to start an English Medium School with Boarding Facility, which would generate income for the Oblates in India. The first school year shall start in June 2008 under the leadership of Fr. Baiju Puthussery and team.
Rationale:
Objectives
- School is meant to be self-supportive in the future and supportive for the Oblates in Asia.
The premises for the school should be chosen under following aspects:
- Cost of Land
- Local people’s income
- Legal
The team members will propose a place for the school by 2006 for approval.
The amount of pocket money for temporary professed members should always be kept low; it is part of formation and Religious life that the concerned superior / treasurer should be asked or at least informed about any additional expense for which bills have to be produced.
Rationale:
Pocket money is understood as ‘petty-cash’; it covers only small, personal expenses within a certain period of time and for which bills don’t have to be produced.
Decision 5
Deacons / fathers don’t get pocket money in the ordinary sense. Each deacon / father gets a certain amount (Rs 500/- to Rs 1000/-) for which he has to produce bills before the amount will be reimbursed.
Rationale:
As religious we should justify all our expenses before our superiors. However, smaller amounts can always be added together and shown as a single voucher.
Decision 6
Each community enjoys a certain freedom to decide about the expenditure of its provided annual budget. However, any single amount beyond Rs 20,000/- has to be ratified by the Delegate Superior / Advisory Board.
Rationale:
This was decided by the Advisory Board some time ago.
Decision 7
The Delegate Superior with his Advisory Board should develop a salary scheme for all internal jobs in our region (like Novice master, scholastic master, treasurer, …
Rationale:
1. It will help to avoid a ‘two-class society’ of confreres who would be divided by those who earn and those who don’t earn money; those who have and those who don’t; those who are able to buy something for themselves and those who are not.
2. It will give internal jobs more ‘worldly’ value and will make them more attractive.
Each community decides about the number and usage of its vehicles; however, the Delegate Superior / Advisory Board has to be consulted before purchasing a vehicle and they also have to approve it (see Proposal 7.)
Decision 9
All personal and communal Indian or foreign initiatives of fundraising have to be agreed upon by the Delegate Superior and his advisory board.
Decision 10
The Delegate Superior and his advisory board shall assign one member of the staff in Samarpanaram as archivist of the DeSales-Oblates in Asia.
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