Marching past with heads held high, the Auxilians witnessed their leaders take the pledge on 26th of April, 2018. The day was not only special because of the Investiture Ceremony but also because it is the Feast Day of our dear Mother General who is the head of the Salesian family.
The celebration of the Feast Day began with the lighting of the lamp by Sr. Principal, Sr. Vice-Principal, our Chief Guest Rev. Fr. Leo and Sr. Juliana. It was followed by a prayer for the well being of our dear Mother. Then, two musicians from Class VIII took us on a musical ride which truly mesmerized us. Next, we learnt how Mother is celebrating her Feast Day, also world Gratitude Day at Paraguay, this year. This informative speech was followed by a dance showcasing the talents of Class VII girls. The Feast day celebration was concluded with a PowerPoint Presentation on our dear Mother’s life and works.
The celebration of Feast of Gratitude was followed by the Investiture Ceremony where the school captains, vice- captains, house captains, house vice-captains, prefects, club presidents, class captains and class vice-captains took their pledges and were entrusted with their respective responsibilities by Sister Principal, Sister Vice-Principal, house and club moderators and class teachers. Next, a PowerPoint Presentation on leadership and responsibilities was shown to the students.
Our dear Sister Principal showed us videos on the Feast of Gratitude celebrations in Paraguay. Then Fr. Leo gave us an inspiring speech telling us how lively and capable we are and how we can achieve anything if we believe in ourselves. The ceremony was concluded with the vote of Thanks by one of our School Captains Riti Banerjee.
Oishi Banerjee, XII B
On 26th April 2018, sentiments of deep gratitude filled the air in Auxilium Convent, Gobra as we celebrated the Feast of Gratitude with the Theme “With the young, let the chords of life vibrate, witnessing to the joy of following Christ”. The day started with a well animated Eucharistic celebration and presided over by Rev. Fr. John Puthiyedathuchalil SDB. The Eucharistic celebration was animated with an introduction highlighting the importance of the day. Fr. John in his homily mentioned the importance of community living and the charism of our institute. Each week a practice was taken from the letter of the vicar general Sr. Chiara Cazzuola. Special prayers were offered for the intentions of Mother General. Soon after Mass there was a get together with the Salesians of the parish community. The celebration filled our hearts with joy as we united ourselves with the entire Institute especially with the sisters of Asuncion (Paraguay) We implored Jesus for His choicest blessings on you dear Mother.
A seminar on the current scenario was conducted at Auxilium Dum Dum on 27th April 2018 in the afternoon. It was animated by Fr.Sunny Jacob SJ and participated by 31 sisters from Kolkata zone. It was organized to bring awareness to the participants of the present ethnicity, ideology and patriarchy which create barriers in our education. Father Sunny began his session with the core issues of today’s situation. He said that our country is struggling against multiple injustices that stem from economic inequalities, Caste discrimination and cultural hegemony. He also gave the participants some strategies which are relevant for our educational system. Lastly he exhorted everyone to give Christ like response to the suffering world. In order to make a difference at the earliest, we should all join hands together, dive the problems from the root and work for peace and reconciliation, thus creating a loving and peaceful world.
‘Re-awaken the plan of God in every young person’, the theme proposed by St. Raphael Archangel Province, Paraguay and the slogan: “With the young, we touch the chords of life, witnessing to the joy of following Christ” kindled the hearts of every young and old in the Aspirantate community to appreciate the gift of God’s call to each one and respond to it with great sentiments of gratitude.
A walk with Mazzarello for three days from 11 – 13 April began with selection of names for their group such as Mornese, Valponasca, Nizza and Roverno. They placed these names around the well of Mornese which was displayed in the Hall and prayed for the graces required in order to imitate this humble and enthusiastic saint to grow in holiness. On the first day they started off with the movie on Mother Mazzarello, followed by preparation of skit and poem based on her early life till 1871 and presented the same after the dinner. On the second day they learnt the maxims of Mother Mazzarello reading through her letters and at the end of the day they staged action songs composed by them on her life. The third day was planned with study on the two books of Mother Mazzarello i.e. the Spirit of Joy and She the First. They prepared one act play on her call and life of holiness, and portrayed various personalities related to her in the form of ‘Go as you Like’ and finally ended with a quiz on Mother Mazzarello. They were very delighted to have spent these days with Mother Mazzarello, walking in her footsteps and discovering the life of simple sanctity and cheerfulness.
Don Bosco Days lasted for four days from 17 – 20 April. The statue of Don Bosco along with statues of Sacred Heart and Mary Help of Christians were well adorned with due respect and love for the Founder. The service started from the chapel and in procession, Sr. Leelamma, the animator of the community carried the relic of Don Bosco to the Hall. To start off the day, a movie on Don Bosco ‘Mission to Love’ was viewed by the whole community. The movie helped them to recognize and appreciate the true spirit of the Founder and enabled them to understand better the untiring life and mission of Don Bosco. The following day saw through the study of Don Bosco from two books; Don Bosco father and friend of the young and The children’s priest John Bosco. They got into their respective groups and began to prepare themselves for the rest of the day with competitions such as Tableau and self-composed songs. They also prepared charts on the maxims of Don Bosco. The following day was filled with activities of various types such as composing of Action song and ‘Go as you like’. The third day was started with study of Don Bosco’s dreams. They were asked to prepare themselves for the Quiz and enactment of one of the dreams of Don Bosco. The aspirants and postulants put their whole heart and mind to get ready with all the events. There was a lot of enthusiasm and joy in knowing and learning of the saint with a true competitive spirit.
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