Mother Yvonne Visits Auxilium –Promotional Centre, Barasat
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Rev. Sr. Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General of the FMA visits Province of Mary Help of Christians, Kolkata
INC AYM Youth Fest 2018 at Auxilium, Barasat at a glance
Rev. Sr. Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General of the FMA visits Province of Mary Help of Christians, Kolkata
A New Beginning – Inauguration of ADMA (Association of the devotees of Mary Help of Christians) at Auxilium, Provincial House Dum Dum
Mother Yvonne Reungoat, encounters various groups of Sisters at Auxilium, Provincial House Dum Dum
Mother Yvonne Reungoat, meets Provincial Fr. Nirmol Gomes and the Salesians at Provincial House, Kolkata
Rev. Sr. Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General of the FMA Visits Auxilium Convent School, Bandel
On 29th January 2018, Auxilium Bandel witnessed the history created on the soil of Auxilium as Rev. Mother General Mother Yvonne Reungoat set her footsteps in Bandel. It was an auspicious day marked with honour and pride to be able to welcome Rev. Mother General, Sr. Rose Ezarath Provincial, Sr. Runita Borja, General Councillor for Youth Pastoral and Sr. Alaide Deretti, General Councilor for Mission, to Auxilium which was decked radiantly in glory and bliss for the event.
As the chilly winter morning transitioned into a lukewarm midday, Mother made her gracious and loving presence felt with a warm smile. Sisters, teachers and students of ACB were already present at the blue gates of the school to give her a hearty welcome. Sr. Elizabeth Valliyil, the Animator of the community garlanded her amidst the sound of blowing conches, all of which reminded the serene and pure tradition of Bengal. The students of Classes IX & XI adorned themselves in ethnic Bengali attire making a passageway for the dignitaries. They were at first escorted to the school chapel, ACB guides group marching to the beats of the drum. On her way to the chapel, Mother met the tiny tots of the Primary school who received her with waving of balloons.
After a brief encounter with God in the Chapel together with the Catholic students and some refreshments she was escorted to the open stage by Rev. Sr. Superior and community and was welcomed by the Sisters with bouquets and Uttorio. Sr. Superior delivered the Welcome Address and the students greeted her with a melodious song. The programme then continued with an exuberant and colourful performance by the classical dancers. It was followed by a vibrant show of mass drill by the students of the middle school.
Mother General in her message to the students said, “You are the joy of our life. You fill my heart with great hope for the future”. She spoke words of appreciation and encouragement for the Sisters, Educators and students of the school. She inspired the students to be happy and in the process spread happiness following the footsteps of our Founder St. John Bosco and co-foundress St. Maria Domenica Mazzarello. Provincial Sr. Rose Ezarath, Sr. Eizabeth Valliyil, Sr. Regina Joseph, Teachers and school captains accompanied Mother to the far end of the field, where she planted a sapling which symbolized life and hope for the days to come. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by the Principal Sr. Regina Joseph.
As the day progressed, the teachers of ACB felt honored and blessed to share a few moments with Mother General in the School AV Room. On behalf of the teaching faculty, Ms. Kamal greeted her heartily with words of welcome. The Teachers joined in singing “Anonda Loke, Mongola Loke…”, a brilliant composition by the Nobel Laureate, the Bard of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore. Mother Yvonne Reungoat spoke words of motivation saying that education is the base of the present and future and it is the greatest mission that exists in the world. Before bidding goodbye, Mother gifted every teacher with a bookmark and a key chain and embraced everyone with a warm smile. The teachers were served delicious food packets for lunch.
During the family meal, Sr. Soumya and Sr. Nancy of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC) expressed their joy in encountering Mother Yvonne with bouquets and Uttorio.
In the afternoon, Mother Yvonne accompanied by Provincial Sr. Rose Ezarath, Sr. Runita Borja, General Councillor for Youth Pastoral and Sr. Alaide Deretti, General Councilor for Mission, Sr. Elizabeth Valliyil, Sr. Annie Thevarkunnel and Sr. Regina Joseph, the Principal visited the Don Bosco Seminary and the Shrine of Our Lady of Bandel. On her arrival she was welcomed by the Rector of the Don Bosco Seminary Fr. Antony Earathara SDB, the Salesians and the Seminarians. Mother General was accorded a warm welcome with songs and bouquet of flowers. Mother Yvonne spoke to the boys on the importance of the call and exhorted them to encounter Jesus and to keep alive the gift of the call. She reminded them of the importance of being always cheerful. “Be open to the formators and let the formators guide you”, she told them. After a sumptuous, high tea, Fr. E.J. Antony the Rector and Fr. Francis Thathhenkery the Prior accompanied her and others to the Shrine and explained the history of the Bandel Church and the story of Our Lady of Happy Voyage. With a note of joy, at the close of the day Mother said: “I had a beautiful day and I experienced the warmth of the Salesian Family Spirit”.
Conclusion of FMA PCI -TRIENNIAL EVALUATION
The last and the final day of the Triennial Evaluation was lived with mixed feelings. On the one hand everyone was extremely happy and delighted at the wonderful experiences of these five days, on the other hand they were faced with pain and loss of Sr. Geraldine Barratt. Mother General aptly said: “The death of Sr. Geraldine reminds everyone to live on the essentials of life”.
The morning session had three objectives: the first one was to come to a consensus with regard to the formulation of themes for the General Chapter XXIV; the second was to identify two or three areas of transformation which can be carried out by the PCI; and the last was to pinpoint the modalities for the transmission of the Triennial Evaluation to Sisters.
In her concluding talk, Mother General proposed a few practical points: give priority to vocation pastoral in all the provinces, revive the Past Pupils’ Movement, organise a Congress for the Past- pupils who are teachers on Preventive System, accompany young people so that they feel at home with the Sisters and be joyful always, for a joyless community is meaningless. Finally, La Madre expressed her desire that each Sister realizes that she cannot be substituted by anyone unlike the role or position she occupies in life.
The requiem Mass for Sr. Geraldine was held in the afternoon in which all the participants took part. There were many Sisters, past-pupils and well-wishers who attended the service. Much was spoken in appreciation of her life of Dedication and Commitment for the Poor and the Marginalized.
The Triennial Evaluation came to an end with a sumptuous dinner and a brief get-together. The air was charged with love and gratitude. Everyone felt proud of being a part of the great big Salesian Family.
R.I.P. – Sr. Geraldine Barratt FMA
FMA PCI -TRIENNIAL EVALUATION – 27 January 2018
The liturgy of the day centred on the theme, “courageous enough to do prophetic things together with Mary’. Fr. Varghese Kalluvachal SDB who celebrated the Holy Eucharist said that the Beatitudes can certainly give directions to arrive at this. As usual everyone awaited to hear from the Mother who spoke so forcefully on the importance of forming themselves with the laity.
She emphasised the power of the Preventive System in the mission as educators of the young people. Mother added that Education according to the preventive system can humbly contribute to a cultural change necessary for regenerating society beginning with the young.
The laity and the young people shared with the FMAs their problems, expectations and areas to venture and proposals to follow. While they were highly appreciative of the services extended by the FMAs,they expressed their aspiration and determination to join hands with Sisters in all that they do. They also pointed out several areas where the Sisters can make use of their expertise.
Sharing in the pain and loss of the host province at the unexpected demise of Sr. Geraldine Barratt the participants decided to cancel the long awaited outing and anticipated the sessions of the following day so as to participate at the funeral.
The afternoon session had the purpose of proposing the theme for the next General Chapter and finalizing the modalities for transmitting the Triennial Evaluation in their provinces. The evening prayer organized by the Province of Shillong centred on the 140th year of the missionary expedition of the FMA triggered in every one love and gratitude towards Missionaries.
Reported by Sr. Margaret Mathai
FMA PCI – TRIENNIAL EVALUATION KOLKATA, 26-01-2018
“Into that heaven of freedom my Father, let my country awake”. The prayer of Rabindranath Tagore echoed in the minds and hearts of everyone on this 69th Republic Day as we entered the place of prayer. With the ambient decorated with tricolours, we invoked the blessings of Almighty God on our nation blessed with diversity of languages, religions and cultures. The morning prayer and the Holy Eucharist focused on the significance of the day and on the theme, ‘Missionaries of Hope and Joy.’
Fr. Joseph Pauria SDB, the Vice Provincial of Kolkata, in his homily spoke about the early missionaries equipped with hope and joy. ‘A joyful holiness is more convincing’, he said, quoting the words of Pope Francis and invited the participants to be missionaries with an attractive smile.
The participants took part in the Republic Day celebrations hosted by Auxilium school, Dum Dum. Rev. Sr. Lucy Rose Ozhukayil the visiting councillor unfurled the tricolour and delivered the Republic Day message. She spoke about the tremendous growth achieved by the Nation in various fields and invited the audience to grow in tolerance and non-violence by developing a spirit of accommodation towards all.
Referring to the forthcoming Synod on young people, Mother General stated that our specific field of work is in the Church. She invited the participants to spend quality time with the young in order to serve them better. She insisted on the importance of joyful accompaniment of young in their search for place in the family, in the Church and in the society.
We then had the synthesis of question III: How do we express in our real life the renewed assumption of the Constitutions and Regulations of the Institute. This was followed by lively discussions from participants and the members of the General Council. At the end La Madre intervened with her words of wisdom and helped us understand that our Constitutions is the base of our personal life, community life and mission and it is very much in keeping with the teachings of the Church. She emphasised that we should not compromise with the formation of Sisters due to lack of financial and human resources.
Sr. Runita Borja gave us a glimpse into the Guidelines for Management of Goods in the FMA Institute which helped us understand the document more clearly. In the end the participants watched with great interest the creative presentation of the Mumbai Province on the Encyclical ‘Laudato sì’. Joining St. Francis we say Laudato si Signore !
TRIENNIAL EVALUATION FMA – PCI
The second day of the Triennial Evaluation began with an experiential morning prayer set in Indian style with the traditional lamp lit representing the presence of the Risen Jesus in our midst. The Indian bhajans known for its immense power to lead one to contemplation and an inward journey led the participants to get in touch with the indwelling presence of God. The Holy Eucharist began with the depiction of St. Paul narrating his story of conversion and inviting the participants to be passionate in our commitment to Jesus and in our option for the poor and those at the periphery. We cannot but marvel at the transformation of St. Paul from being a fierce persecutor of Christ to an ardent apostle.
Fr. Mathew George SDB in his homily dwelt at length on the theme of the day, “Together with the young”. He invited the participants to go through a paradigm shift from working for young people to working with the young. We have examples par excellence in the life of Jesus who became flesh and blood and lived among us and Don Bosco who made radical option in favour of the poor and the neglected. He stressed that if we are one with the young people of the periphery, we will see the reality from their perspective willing to let go of our comfort zone.
The gracious presence of our beloved Mother General a symbol of great tenderness and affection adds beauty and grace to our gathering and we look forward to listen to her words of wisdom. Right at the outset Mother appreciated the effort of the PCI to put together the reflections of the seven provinces and remarked that it is a great sign of unity as FMA India. In her conference titled, ‘Community in continual conversion capable of prophetic gestures’, she pointed out that the pastoral conversion is the foundation of an outgoing Church. Speaking about migration as a new challenge for FMA India she drew the attention of Indians spread all over the world who are in need of missionaries and lay volunteers to reach out to them in love and service. She reminded the participants about the need for renewed reciprocal trust, family spirit, circular style of animation and the communion of goods at the service of animation. It was wonderful to listen to her as she spoke with a heart of a mother inviting her daughters to have clear identity, while we enter into dialogue with people of other faiths and venture into new areas on behalf of the poor and the marginalized.
The participants then continued with the sharing of mid-chapter journey Choice III, that initiated dynamic interactions among the members. There were differences of opinion with regard to the mission: while a few highlighted the contribution we offer through formal education a few others emphasised the need of the hour- to open up new vistas in favour of the poor and the marginalized responding to the call of Pope Francis. Discussions revealed the great desire in everyone for renewal and growth.
The prophetic gestures in action in the provinces was another topic of interest for all. We marvel at the great contribution made by FMA India towards the youth of today through a number of institutions and variety of services. We were asked by Mother General to reflect on how these prophetic gestures change our life; how it is affecting our personal and community life and how it influence our mentality. This was followed by vivacious interactions on the quality and efficacy of our mission after which we tuned our ears to listen to Sr. Phyllis Neves who shared with us the news of the FMA Family. The animation carried out in the province of Shillong to promote vocations was presented as part of good night. We thank God for his providence and infinite love towards us.
Reported by Sr. Margaret Mathai
Arrival of Mother Yvonne Reungoat FMA in Kolkata
Mother Yvonne Reungoat arrived in the Province of Mary Help of Christians Kolkata, the city of joy, the city of Don Bosco’s 4th missionary dream along with Sr. Phyllis Neves, at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 7.40 am, for the FMA PCI, Triennial Evaluation. She was welcomed with bouquet of flowers by Provincial Sr. Rose Ezarath, Sisters, Students of Auxilium Dum Dum, Parents and Past pupils.
Around 80 students assembled at the school premises and the Provincial House, Dum Dum bubbling with excitement to welcome Mother Yvonne Renugoat. The students greeted Mother with smiling faces as they happily swayed to the tune of ‘Anando loke’ along with other children showering her with rose petals and greeting her with pom poms. Mother was ushered into the chapel by the sisters.
Sr. Lily Perumpettikunnel welcomed mother on behalf of the Province and led the moment of prayer and asked the Almighty to bless her with good health and assured all that mother’s presence would light up the lives of the sisters and transform them into a better Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. Later she was invited to light the Indian traditional lamp, symbol of God’s presence in the person of Mother Yvonne. The chapel was filled with the melodious hymn “Shine, Jesus, shine”. Mother Yvonne expressed her gladness at being a part of the Province. She was overjoyed to meet the sisters and teachers especially the children and brightened up our lives with her glorious presence.
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