1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity
3. catholicism

No.128
ARCHDIOCESE OF BANGALORE
February - 2015
Dear Rev. Fathers / Sisters / Brothers / Lay Faithful,
1. THE CCBI MEETING
The 27th Plenary Assembly of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) will take
place at St. John‟s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru, from 03 to 09 February,
2015. The theme chosen for the Assembly is: „Liturgy and Life’. I will be attending this meeting.
Please pray for all the Bishops that the Holy Spirit may guide them in their deliberations and
help them to take practical decisions for the welfare and growth of the Church in India.
2. THE PLATINUM JUBILEE CELEBRATION
Two years back, we had celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the Archdiocese, and now we are
privileged to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of the establishment of the Diocese of Bangalore on
13th February, 1940.
We are not planning to have any big grand celebration. But, at the Meetings of the Priests‟
(Sentate) Council and the College of Consultors held on 30th January, the Members proposed that
we organize a Thanksgiving Mass on 13th February, 2015 at 5.30 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier‟s
Cathedral. May I request all the priests, religious and lay faithful to participate in this
Thanksgiving Mass in large numbers.
3. CLOSING OF THE YEAR OF RECONCILIATION
At the above meetings, the Members also expressed their opinion that we officially close the
Year of Reconciliation on the 1st Sunday of Lent, i.e., on 22nd February, 2015 by organizing
Reconciliation Programmes in the Parishes, especially by arranging the Sacrament of
Reconciliation (Confessions) in the Parishes. The Liturgy Commission of the Archdiocese will
send you a Prepared Liturgy for it.
I request the Parish Priest to organize such meaningful Reconciliation Ceremonies in the
Parishes and exhort the faithful and the religious to participate in it. In consultation with the
members of the Parish Pastoral Council, they can also organize other programmes either
on/before 22nd February.
4. MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 23rd WORLD DAY OF THE SICK 2015
Given below is the full text of the Pope‟s Message for the 23rd World Day of the Sick to be
celebrated on 11th February, 2015. The Theme chosen is: “I was eyes to the blind, and feet to
the lame” (Job 29:15). Please read it and share its highlights with the members of your parish
and the community.
“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On this, the twenty-third World Day of the Sick, begun by Saint John Paul II, I turn to all of you
who are burdened by illness and are united in various ways to the flesh of the suffering Christ, as
well as to you, professionals and volunteers in the field of health care.
This year‟s theme invites us to reflect on a phrase from the Book of Job: “I was eyes to the blind,
and feet to the lame” (Job 29:15). I would like to consider this phrase from the perspective of
“sapientia cordis” – the wisdom of the heart.
1. This “wisdom” is no theoretical, abstract knowledge, the product of reasoning. Rather, it is, as
Saint James describes it in his Letter, “pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy
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and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity” (3:17). It is a way of seeing things infused by
the Holy Spirit in the minds and the hearts of those who are sensitive to the sufferings of their
brothers and sisters and who can see in them the image of God. So let us take up the prayer of the
Psalmist: “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12). This
“sapientia cordis”, which is a gift of God, is a compendium of the fruits of the World Day of the
Sick.
2. Wisdom of the heart means serving our brothers and sisters. Job‟s words: “I was eyes to the
blind, and feet to the lame”, point to the service which this just man, who enjoyed a certain
authority and a position of importance amongst the elders of his city, offered to those in need.
His moral grandeur found expression in the help he gave to the poor who sought his help and in
his care for orphans and widows (Job 29:12-13).
Today too, how many Christians show, not by their words but by lives rooted in a genuine faith,
that they are “eyes to the blind” and “feet to the lame”! They are close to the sick in need of
constant care and help in washing, dressing and eating. This service, especially when it is
protracted, can become tiring and burdensome. It is relatively easy to help someone for a few
days but it is difficult to look after a person for months or even years, in some cases when he or
she is no longer capable of expressing gratitude. And yet, what a great path of sanctification this
is! In those difficult moments we can rely in a special way on the closeness of the Lord, and we
become a special means of support for the Church‟s mission.
3. Wisdom of the heart means being with our brothers and sisters. Time spent with the sick is
holy time. It is a way of praising God who conforms us to the image of his Son, who “came not
to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). Jesus himself
said: “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22:27).
With lively faith let us ask the Holy Spirit to grant us the grace to appreciate the value of our
often unspoken willingness to spend time with these sisters and brothers who, thanks to our
closeness and affection, feel more loved and comforted. How great a lie, on the other hand, lurks
behind certain phrases which so insist on the importance of “quality of life” that they make
people think that lives affected by grave illness are not worth living!
4. Wisdom of the heart means going forth from ourselves towards our brothers and sisters.
Occasionally our world forgets the special value of time spent at the bedside of the sick, since we
are in such a rush; caught up as we are in a frenzy of doing, of producing, we forget about giving
ourselves freely, taking care of others, being responsible for others. Behind this attitude there is
often a lukewarm faith which has forgotten the Lord‟s words: “You did it unto me‟ (Mt 25:40).
For this reason, I would like once again to stress “the absolute priority of „going forth from
ourselves toward our brothers and sisters‟ as one of the two great commandments which ground
every moral norm and as the clearest sign for discerning spiritual growth in response to God‟s
completely free gift” (Evangelii Gaudium, 179). The missionary nature of the Church is the
wellspring of an “effective charity and a compassion which understands, assists and promotes”
(ibid).
5. Wisdom of the heart means showing solidarity with our brothers and sisters while not judging
them. Charity takes time. Time to care for the sick and time to visit them. Time to be at their side
like Job‟s friends: “And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one
spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great” (Job 2:13). Yet Job‟s friends
harboured a judgement against him: they thought that Job‟s misfortune was a punishment from
God for his sins. True charity is a sharing which does not judge, which does not demand the
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conversion of others; it is free of that false humility which, deep down, seeks praise and is selfsatisfied about whatever good it does.
Job‟s experience of suffering finds its genuine response only in the cross of Jesus, the supreme
act of God‟s solidarity with us, completely free and abounding in mercy. This response of love to
the drama of human pain, especially innocent suffering, remains for ever impressed on the body
of the risen Christ; his glorious wounds are a scandal for faith but also the proof of faith (cf.
Homily for the Canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II, 27 April 2014).
Even when illness, loneliness and inability make it hard for us to reach out to others, the
experience of suffering can become a privileged means of transmitting grace and a source for
gaining and growing in sapientia cordis. We come to understand how Job, at the end of his
experience, could say to God: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees
you” (42:5). People immersed in the mystery of suffering and pain, when they accept these in
faith, can themselves become living witnesses of a faith capable of embracing suffering, even
without being able to understand its full meaning.
6. I entrust this World Day of the Sick to the maternal protection of Mary, who conceived and
gave birth to Wisdom incarnate: Jesus Christ, our Lord.
O Mary, Seat of Wisdom, intercede as our Mother for all the sick and for those who care for
them! Grant that, through our service of our suffering neighbours, and through the experience of
suffering itself, we may receive and cultivate true wisdom of heart!”
5. ASH WEDNESDAY AND THE HOLY SEASON OF LENT
On 18th of this month the Holy Mother the Church invites her children to solemnly enter into the
holy season of Lent by celebrating the Ash Wednesday and to unite ourselves throughout this
season to the suffering and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ in a spirit of prayer, meditation,
reflection, penance, fasting and alms-giving. This season is also a moment of unique grace that
will lead us to the joy and privilege of celebrating Easter, a feast of hope of new life in the Risen
Lord. may this Lenten season find the whole Church ready to bear witness to all those who live
in material, moral and spiritual destitution the Gospel message of the merciful love of God our
Father, who is ready to embrace everyone in Christ.
We can do this to the extent that we imitate Christ who became poor and enriched us by his
poverty. Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can
give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty
hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs
nothing and does not hurt”. May the holy season of Lent draw us closer to the cross and poverty
of Christ so that spiritually enriched through our life of prayer, fasting, self-denial and sacrifice,
we may fittingly celebrated the joy of Easter
In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the season of preparation
for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. While Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day
of Obligation, all Roman Catholics are encouraged to attend Mass on this day in order to mark
the beginning of the Lenten season.
The fasting and abstinence, during the season of Lent, are not simply a form of penance;
however it is also a call for us to take stock of our spiritual lives. As Lent begins, we should set
out specific spiritual goals we would like to reach before Easter and decide how we will pursue
them - for instance, going to daily Mass and approaching the Sacrament of Confession more
often.
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b. Lenten Fasting and Abstinence
This year Ash Wednesday falls on February 18. It is a day of fasting and abstinence. The
Regional Catholic Bishops call for all Catholics 14 years and older to abstain from meat on Ash
Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to
fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten.
Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full
meal per day.
The following suggestions are proposed by the Episcopal Conference:
1. Attending Mass
2. Making at least a 15 minutes visit to the Blessed Sacrament
3. Reading the Bible for 15 minutes
4. Meditation on the Passion of the Lord for 15 minutes
5. Making the Way of the Cross
6. Missing Breakfast or any one meal
7. Making strictly vegetarian meals (avoiding fish and egg as well)
8. Giving 10% of one's daily earnings in Charity
c. In our Archdiocese
i. The days of fast and abstinence are - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On these days of fast
and abstinence, the faithful take only one meal and also abstain from meat.
ii. The days of abstinence are all Fridays of the year. On days of abstinence the faithful abstain
from meat or do some works of piety or charity determined by the Episcopal conference as given
above.
6. MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR LENT 2015
The abridged version of the Pope‟s Message, based on the Theme: “Make your hearts firm”
(James 5:8)
“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Lent is a time of renewal for the whole Church, for each communities and every believer. Above
all it is a “time of grace” (2Cor 6:2). God does not ask of us anything that he himself has not first
given us. “We love because he first has loved us” (1 Jn4:19). He is not aloof from us. Each one
of us has a place in his heart. He knows us by name, he cares for us and he seeks us out
whenever we turn away from him. He is interested in each of us; his love does not allow him to
be indifferent to what happens to us. Usually, when we are healthy and comfortable, we forget
about others (something God the Father never does): we are unconcerned with their problems,
their sufferings and the injustices they endure.
When the people of God are converted to his love, they find answers to the questions that history
continually raises. One of the most urgent challenges which I would like to address in this
Message is precisely the globalization of indifference.
The Church is like the hand holding open this gate, thanks to her proclamation of God‟s word,
her celebration of the sacraments and her witness of the faith which works through love
(cf. Gal 5:6). But the world tends to withdraw into itself and shut that door through which God
comes into the world and the world comes to him. Hence the hand, which is the Church, must
never be surprised if it is rejected, crushed and wounded.
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God‟s people, then, need this interior renewal, lest we become indifferent and withdraw into
ourselves. To further this renewal, I would like to propose for our reflection three biblical texts.
1. “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26) – The Church
The love of God breaks through that fatal withdrawal into ourselves which is indifference. The
Church offers us this love of God by her teaching and especially by her witness. But we can only
bear witness to what we ourselves have experienced. Christians are those who let God clothe
them with goodness and mercy, with Christ, so as to become, like Christ, servants of God and
others. This is clearly seen in the liturgy of Holy Thursday, with its rite of the washing of feet.
Lent is a favourable time for letting Christ serve us so that we in turn may become more like
him. This happens whenever we hear the word of God and receive the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist. There we become what we receive: the Body of Christ. In this body there is no room
for the indifference which so often seems to possess our hearts.
And since we are united in God, we can do something for those who are far distant, those whom
we could never reach on our own, because with them and for them, we ask God that all of us
may be open to his plan of salvation.
2. “Where is your brother?” (Gen 4:9) – Parishes and Communities
All that we have been saying about the universal Church must now be applied to the life of our
parishes and communities. Do these ecclesial structures enable us to experience being part of one
body? A body which receives and shares what God wishes to give? A body which acknowledges
and cares for its weakest, poorest and most insignificant members? Or do we take refuge in a
universal love that would embrace the whole world, while failing to see the Lazarus sitting
before our closed doors (Lk 16:19-31)?
The Church in heaven is not triumphant because she has turned her back on the sufferings of the
world and rejoices in splendid isolation. Rather, the saints already joyfully contemplate the fact
that, through Jesus‟ death and resurrection, they have triumphed once and for all over
indifference, hardness of heart and hatred. Until this victory of love penetrates the whole world,
the saints continue to accompany us on our pilgrim way.
We share in the merits and joy of the saints, even as they share in our struggles and our longing
for peace and reconciliation. Their joy in the victory of the Risen Christ gives us strength as we
strive to overcome our indifference and hardness of heart.
In the second place, every Christian community is called to go out of itself and to be engaged in
the life of the greater society of which it is a part, especially with the poor and those who are far
away. The Church is missionary by her very nature; she is not self-enclosed but sent out to every
nation and people.
The Church follows Jesus Christ along the paths that lead to every man and woman, to the very
ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8). In each of our neighbours, then, we must see a brother or sister
for whom Christ died and rose again. What we ourselves have received, we have received for
them as well. Similarly, all that our brothers and sisters possess is a gift for the Church and for
all humanity.
3. “Make your hearts firm!” (James 5:8) – Individual Christians
As individuals too, we have are tempted by indifference. Flooded with news reports and
troubling images of human suffering, we often feel our complete inability to help. What can we
do to avoid being caught up in this spiral of distress and powerlessness?
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First, we can pray in communion with the Church on earth and in heaven. Let us not
underestimate the power of so many voices united in prayer! The 24 Hours for the
Lord initiative, which I hope will be observed on 13-14 March throughout the Church, also at the
diocesan level, is meant to be a sign of this need for prayer.
Second, we can help by acts of charity, reaching out to both those near and far through the
Church‟s many charitable organizations. Lent is a favourable time for showing this concern for
others by small yet concrete signs of our belonging to the one human family.
Third, the suffering of others is a call to conversion, since their need reminds me of the
uncertainty of my own life and my dependence on God and my brothers and sisters. If we
humbly implore God‟s grace and accept our own limitations, we will trust in the infinite
possibilities which God‟s love holds out to us. We will also be able to resist the diabolical
temptation of thinking that by our own efforts we can save the world and ourselves.
During this Lent, then, brothers and sisters, let us all ask the Lord: “Faccor nostrum
secundumcortuum”: Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this
way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is
not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference.
It is my prayerful hope that this Lent will prove spiritually fruitful for each believer and every
ecclesial community. I ask all of you to pray for me. May the Lord bless you and Our Lady keep
you.”
7. HOLY CHILDHOOD DAY
The Holy Childhood Association was founded in France in 1843 by Bishop Charles de Forbin
Jansen. Its purpose is to encourage all children to be aware of the needs of children living in
mission diocese through the world. Bishop de Forbin Jansen always had a keen interest in the
missions. He was a great preacher and traveled throughout France preaching the Gospel. He
received letters from missionaries in China requesting his financial help to save starving and
abandoned babies there. He did not know how to begin to raise these funds so he met with
Pauline Jaricot who had already began her work to raise funds for mission dioceses. She advised
him that no one could understand the needs of children better than children. She gave him the
idea to start a children‟s charity.
In 1843 he called upon the children of France to help save the children of China. He asked them
to become Missionary Children, helping to spread the Good News. He asked them to say a Hail
Mary every day and give a small coin every month to help feed the Chinese children.
Their motto was “children helping children”. The French children took up this great work and
from then on the work of missionary children has spread across the world. Today it is in 110
countries and helps make Jesus known to children all over the world. Under its banner “children
helping children”, monies raised through schools are directed towards self-help programmes
involving the building of schools, the provision of health and nutrition programmes and
medications, school fees, and teaching and learning resources.
Children in communities, orphanages, homes for the disabled, refuges, and those living on the
streets are assisted by the generosity of children who wish to make the love of Jesus know
everywhere.
The Holy Childhood Day will be celebrated on Sunday, 8th February, 2015. As usual, the
collections made at all the masses will be sent to the Holy Childhood Society. The parish priests
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are requested to send the Holy Childhood Day collections to the Archdiocesan Finance Office by
the end of the month.
8. PASTORAL HAND BOOK
The much awaited Pastoral Hand Book is ready. It will be released on 13.02.2015 on the
occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of the creation of the Diocese of Bangalore. I request all the
Priests and Religious and Institutions in the Archdiocese to have copies of Pastoral Hand Book
for effective pastoral planning and execution of pastoral duties to the people of God in the
Archdiocese. The directives promulgated in the Pastoral Hand Book will come into effect from
1st March, 2015. Consequently, all the previous directives given with regard to the
administration of Parishes / Institutions / Organisations, Celebrations of the Sacraments and
Sacramentals, and maintenance of temporal goods, etc. have been superseded.
All the Parish Priests working in the Parishes/Institutions may collect a copy free of charge from
the Archdiocesan Finance Office. Copies of the Hand Book will be available from 1st March,
2015. It is priced @ Rs.200/- per copy.
9. a. LETTER FROM VATICAN
Prot N. 5114/14
11th December 2014
Your Excellency,
I would like to acknowledge receipt of the Financial Report of the Archdiocese of Bangalore for
the year 2013-2014 which you forwarded to this Missionary Dicastery through the Apostolic
Nunciature in India dated 24th November 2014.
The Financial Report under examination, formulated in a concise and orderly manner, closes
with a positive balance. I highly appreciate the efforts of the Archdiocese in properly
administering the temporal goods of the Local Church.
In thanking you for transmitting the Report, I extend assurances of respectful esteem and I
remain,
Yours devotedly,
b. Letter from Vatican
Prot.N. 1/2014
14 January 2015
Your Excellency,
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I write to acknowledge receipt of the sum of Rupie 1,806,064.00 which has been taken up in
your ecclesial community for the year 2013 as a contribution to the needs of the Church in the
Holy Land.
Expressly willed by the Roman Pontiffs, the Good Friday Collection unites the entire Church in
fraternal charity while manifesting her universality.
It is my particular honor to communicate to you the paternal gratitude of Pope Francis for the
generous response which you have shown this year. Together with your priests, men and women
religious, and all the faithful you have come to the need of the Christian communities and the
Holy Places, which Pope Francis has so recently visited.
Thanks to this annual Collection it is possible to maintain various pastoral, social, educative,
health and welfare initiatives for the good of the very poor in the motherland of Christianity,
expressing at the same time an authentic ecumenical and interreligious spirit.
Assuring you of a fraternal remembrance before the Lord and of my most cordial best wishes, I
remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Leonardo Card. Sandri
Prefect
+Cyril Vasil‟, S.J.
Archbishop Secretary
10. APPOINTMENTS
Sl.No.
1
Name
Fr. Som Vechoor, cmi
Place
St. Francis Assisi
Church
Lingarajapuram
2
Fr. Augustine
Kochuvelikkakathu, cmi
St. Francis Assisi
Church
Lingarajapuram
11. INFORMATION
i. Hearty Felicitations
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Designation
Parish Priest
Date
Installation
01.02.2015 V. Rev. Fr.
A.S.
AnthonySwa
my
Assistant Parish 01.02.2015
Priest
Hearty congratulations to Most Rev Dr Alphonsus Mathias, Archbishop Emeritus of Bangalore
who celebrates his 51st anniversary of his Episcopal Ordination on 5th February. Kindly pray for
him. May Jesus the Eternal High Priest, bless the former prelate of our Archdiocese and give him
good health and peaceful retirement.
Ad Multos Annos!
ii. SANYASA - Day of Consecrated Life
The Archdiocese of Bangalore is blessed with a large number of religious personnel who belong
to different religious congregations and institutes. They will be celebrating the Day of
Consecration - Sanyasa Sangamam on 1st February, 2015 at St. Joseph‟s College, Lalbagh Road
from 9.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. There will be Orientation Talks and Discussions on the Year of
CONSECRATED LIFE. On behalf of the Office bearers of the CRI Unit and KRCR of
Bangalore, I exhort all the professed religious, members of the secular institutes, novices and all
the priests of the Archdiocese to participate in this programme.
iii. 40 Days Intercession
The Bangalore Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (BCCRS) and Proclamation &
Evangelization Commission of the Archdiocese were led in the past by the Holy Spirit to
conduct 40 days Intercession. During this Lenten Season, the Holy Spirit has once again inspired
the members to organize and conduct a unique Intercession event by using the theme “PRAY –
FAST – PRAISE – for My Church, My City, My Nation, My World”.
This 24 Hours Intercession event will be held at the Bridgettine Convent (Brunton Road,
next to Sun TV Office) from 18th February, 2015 (Ash Wednesday) to 29th March, 2015
(Palm Sunday)
The Intercession by the Lay faithful will be from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. and thereafter the
Religious from different Congregations will intercede from 8.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m.
May I request all the Priests Religious & Lay faithful to join this Intercession prayer in large
numbers every day.
iv. Theme for the Year 2015 -16
At the Meetings of the Priests‟ Council and the College of Consultors held on 30th January, the
theme to be chosen for the Year 2015 -16 was discussed. Since Pope Francis declared this year
as Year of Consecrated Life with a call – „Wake up the World‟, and also the Bishops would
discuss on the theme: “The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and in the
Contemporary World” at the forthcoming Synod to be held in October in Rome, the members
expressed their opinion that these two themes could be connected as they are interdependant;
and, hence, they proposed the Theme: Consecrated Life and Family.The Members also felt that
the year could be officially inaugurated on Thursday, 26th March at the Chrism Mass. A small
committee has been constituted to design the logo, to draft the theme prayer and also to prepare
the inaugural liturgy.
v. Pastoral Consultation
The Annual Pastoral Consultation will be held on Thursday, 26th March, 2015 from 9.30 a.m.
to 4.00 p.m. at Paalanaa Bhavana on the theme for the Year “Consecrated Life and Family”.
The details of the day‟s programme will be mailed to you shortly.
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The Pastoral Consultation will conclude with the Chrism Mass at St. Francis Xavier‟s Cathedral
at 5.00 p.m. Please mark this date in your diaries and make it convenient to participate in the
Pastoral Consultation. The Archdiocesan Clergy and the Religious Priests working in our
parishes and institutions are expected to participate in it.
vi. Chrism Mass
This year the Chrism Mass will be offered on Thursday, 26th March at 5.00 p.m. at
St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral. I request all our Archdiocesan Priests and Religious Priests
working in our parishes and institutions to concelebrate with me to express our solidarity and
participation in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. I also request the religious and the lay faithful to
come for the Chrism Mass to pray specially for the priests of the Archdiocese.
vii. Annual Clergy Retreat
The priests' annual retreat is really a very special time in the priest's life, a spiritual spring board,
a time for prayer and reflection and priestly solidarity, a special time of grace for the priests and
for the Church. Please make a note of the dates of the annual retreat so that you can make
yourself free to attend the same without any engagements fixed during those days. I cordially
invite all our Archdiocesan clergy to actively take part in the annual retreat. The retreatants are
requested to register their names with my Secretary, Fr. Anthony Mahendran, at their earliest
convenience.
The annual clergy retreat will take place at St. Camillus
I Batch from April 13th to April 17th 2015
II Batch from April 20th to April 25th 2015
viii. Personal Mass Diaries
The copies are available at the Archbishop's House @ Rs.50/- per copy.
ix. Annual Statistical Returns
Annual Statistical Returns for the calendar year 2014 (Jan 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014) need
to be submitted on or before 28.02.2015 in enclosed formats. I request all the parish priests and
religious (men & women) to kindly mail them to the Chancellor well in advance to enable us to
forward the same to Holy See on time.
x. The 50th Birthday
Rev. Fr. Uday Kumar Stanislaus, Parish Priest of St. Anthony‟s Church, T.C. Palya and Dean,
T.C. Palya Deanery, will be celebrating his 50th Birthday on 18th February. While wishing him a
Happy Golden Birthday, I request you to pray for him very specially on 18th February. It is also
an occasion for us to gratefully acknowledge the good work he is doing for the Archdiocese.
May the Lord grant him good health and a long life. Ad multos annos!
xi. The Nicene Creed
Every Sunday we make a solemn profession of our faith by reciting the Nicene Creed. It is a
summary of faith expressed by the Councils of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and the Council of
Constantinople (381 A.D.). It has been an essential element of the Sunday Liturgy since the Sixth
Century. The purpose of this Profession of Faith is to allow the gathered people an opportunity to
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respond to the Word of God that was proclaimed in the readings. It also calls to mind the great
mysteries of our faith that we will celebrate in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The New translation
of the Nicene Creed contains a few new words. One of those words is “consubstantial” which
professes that Jesus and the Father are of one substance, One God. Another word that will in the
Creed is “incarnate”; this too reveals that Jesus the Son of God was given a human body through
the motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You will also notice when we begin the creed we
use the singular pronoun “I” instead of “We”. This change is calling us to make a personal
profess our faith.
The Celebrants are asked to recite only the Nicene Creed, and not the Apostles’ Creed at the
Masses on Sundays and the Solemn Feast Days.
12. THE 18TH ANNIVERSARY OF MY EPISCOPAL ORDINATION
I will be completing 18 years as Bishop on 25th February, 2015. I sincerely thank the Almighty
God for all his bountiful blessings showered upon me and the care shown to me. Kindly pray for
me on that day that I may continue to serve the Lord in accordance to his holy will. I will
specially pray for all of you at the Holy Mass on that day.
With best wishes and God‟s blessings,
Yours sincerely,
Bernard Moras
Archbishop of Bangalore
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