A New Beginning …

Oct3

30 September, 2020, was a unique and unforgettable day for us at Auxilium, Dum Dum. The much cherished initiative of our dear animator, Sr. Stella, to have a new beginning in the community was put into action. The moment of our coming together as a community began in the evening at 5 pm.  The theme “Community gathered in Love by the Father” was well highlighted. Sr. Stella, first and foremost, had a short and meaningful community encounter where she recalled the Constitution Articles on Community life, thereby reminding each sister of her role and the responsibility for the growth of a good and loving community. She distributed a file for each sister with her name and the responsibilities she carries out for the smooth running of the community.

At 6 pm the whole community had a synodal Prayer Service before the Eucharistic Lord. Sr. Stella, our animator introduced the “Commencement of the new beginning” as a moment of Community Communion: a family founded on the presence of the Risen Christ; a family rooted in the Salesian Family spirit, working with optimism and solicitude for the kingdom of God. At this juncture the altar was surrounded with lights, when each sister and each house girl placed a lighted lamp, while the animator exposed the Blessed Sacrament with great reverence and devotion. This was felt as the highest moment of our communion in the Lord.

The apt readings from the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of St. John highlighted the aspect of a community that should work closely united among ourselves and with the Lord. “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” There followed a moment of thanksgiving for each sister that the Lord has placed in this beautiful community. The prayer ended with the hymn “Bind us together, Lord.”

After the photo session the community gathered at the dinner table for a sisterly agape, rejoicing in the Lord who has gathered us together in his name and enjoyed a sumptuous meal together.

We are grateful to our animator, Sr. Stella Potteparambil for her creativity and enthusiasm and the initiative she takes to make our community active, collaborative and synodal.  God bless us all. Sr. Emilia Vas fma                                              

Jubilee for the Earth celebrated

Sep10

“All Creation sings praise to God”. 0n 1 September 2020 Auxilium Convent Dum Dum celebrated the ‘Jubilee for the Earth’ with a short prayer service.  The globe representing the entire creation was garlanded by the provincial Sr. Rose. The animator, Sr. Stella communicated Pope Francis’s message on this occasion. She highlighted that “Everything is connected”, and the jubilee of the earth (1 September – 4 October 2020) is the month during which we are called to renew the relationship with the Creator and all of Creation through celebration, conversion and commitment to our Common Home. A symbolic reminder is kept below the altar to remind us of our pledge to care for the earth as a gratitude to God for His creation.

Sr. Anima Minj

Provincial Team Meet

Sep9

DUM DUM: On 4 September 2020, 14 team members of Kolkata zone gathered at Auxilium Dum Dum. The meeting was organized by the General Co-ordinator, Sr. Lily Perumpettikunnel in preparation for the online Provincial Team to be held on 6 September. The meeting began with a hymn to the Holy Spirit followed by the Word of God taken from the letter of St. Paul, exhorting us to clothe ourselves with love and compassion. Sr Rose Ezarath the provincial in her message stressed on the Mandate: I entrust them to you, a commitment of relationship among ourselves and the whole of creation. Sr. Lily outlined some of Pope Francis’ major concerns that guide his ministry of service and his invitation to the church: “Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, protect creation… showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, those in need…”.

The aim of the gathering was to chalk out a tentative program for the annual Provincial Community day and to prepare the province calendar for the year 2020-2021. The team members agreed on the day and theme of the Provincial Community day. It was agreed to celebrate it on 28 October preceded by a month-long spiritual practices with the scope of spiritual renewal of the members of the province. Keeping in mind the celebration of 150th foundation of our Institute and the centenary of the FMA Presence in India, the proposed theme is, “Accepting and living the mandate ‘I entrust them to you’ ”.  Sr. Lily then presented a tentative Province Programme which the members accepted with some modifications. The day’s meeting was concluded with a prayer by the Vice Provincial Sr. Teresa Adampakallel.

The online meeting held on 6 September was attended by all the team members except one. All the members agreed upon the proposed theme, the weekly practices and other suggestions, with slight modifications in the plans and programme. Since physical gathering would not be possible due to Covid-19, the members suggested conducting only the Vigil Service online, virtual sharing of good nights by the communities as per the prayer list, as well as the festal greetings. Everyone expressed their satisfaction with the programme. The members then thanked Sr. Lily for her effort in making this meeting a successful one.

    Sr. Prema Francis

    AUXILIUM CONVENT SCHOOL, DUMDUM -AUXI MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2020

    Sep2

    The corona virus pandemic has a lot of dark sides. As the youth of today’s world, it is our duty to look at the brighter side of life. Keeping this in mind, we the students of Auxilium Convent School, Dum Dum with the guidance of our dear Principal Sr. Esther Rani and Teachers organised the 4th edition of AUXIMUN’20. This 2 day event was held on online platforms on 30th August, 2020 and 31st August, 2020. The forms were open for the students of Auxilium Convent School, Bandel and other individuals as well.

    UNEP: “I have been witness to the insurmountable energy of first time delegates.” said Dimitri Mallik the chairperson of the UNEP committee. This committee was considered to be very helpful for research development, writing, public speaking and problem solving skills. The delegate of Oman stated that “Coming up with solutions that are acceptable to a majority of the representatives also inculcated my negotiation skills, conflict resolution and cooperation.”

    UNGA: “These two days were productive for all the participants. The members of the Executive Board were very cooperative.” – Delegate of Nepal. The delegates in this committee learnt a lot about many countries and their cultures. Srija Dutta, the chairperson of UNGA said that “UNGA was a very active and interesting committee all throughout. As the chairperson of the committee she had a wonderful time moderating the debates in the committee.”

    WHO: The Delegate of Israel (Sriparna Nandi, a student of Auxilium Convent School, Bandel) believes that “The experience which we all gathered is priceless. Through this MUN we came to know about the global scenarios regarding the current Pandemic and the measures required to be taken.” The committee was very helpful and it helped all participants and eb members get an idea on how to win over the Covid19 crisis. “This was my first mun. The eb really helped me to learn exactly what a MUN is and how it works…they were friendly and really cooperative” – Delegate of Lebanon.

    Lok Sabha: “Despite being a first timer, I had a very enriching experience in the committee.” The delegates learned about a lot of things that happened in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A.” – Delegation of Sanjay Raut. The Lok Sabha committee was very interactive and interesting. It was considered to be a very real committee. The delegation of Pinarayi Vijayan mentioned that “The 2020 AUXIMUN has been a real and great experience. The committee was well researched and even the first timers had tried their level best to keep up with experienced and polished delegates. The eb was phenomenal and had recognised all the delegates.”

    The Secretary General of AUXIMUN’20 Dimitri Mallik, Past Pupil appreciated the efforts of all the event organizers. She especially thanked Sr. Principal for giving her this wonderful opportunity to come back to her school as the Secretary General for this 4th edition as well as the chairperson for the UNEP committee. She thanked Chehak Agarwal, who in her words was “the backbone of the entire MUN”. Concluding ceremony came to an end by singing ‘O Give Thanks to the Lord for He is good…’

    Student Co-ordinators

    Chehak Agarwal  XII B & Sukham Kaur Sidhu, XII A

    Installation of New Animator at Auxilium Dum Dum

    Aug21

    On 18th August 2020, Auxilium Dum Dum had the ceremony of installation of new animator Sr. Stella Potteparambil. The community gathered at the house entrance to inaugurate the function. The out going animator Sr. Teresa Adampakallel welcomed the incoming animator Sr. Stella with a beautiful garland. In the presence of the community Sr. Rose Ezarath our  provincial handed over the house key to Sr. Stella who symbolically opened the main gate as a sign of authority given to her by God. With the hymn: Enter his gates with thanks giving in your heart… the whole community entered the Chapel led by Sr. Stella. In the Chapel the gesture of placing the key at the feet of Our Blessed Mother with same sentiments of Mary Mazzarello. The community sang a hymn to Mary promising her to be her faithful daughters. A Scripture Passage was read from Ephesians 3:16-21, which highlighted the community as root and foundation of Christ’s love. Sr. Provincial gifted the new animator with a statue of Mary and prayed that she may be always guide and protectress, she also recommended the community to be open and docile to the new animator. At the end like the wedding feast of Cana the new animator poured symbolically the wine of joy, peace and forgiveness in the cup of each Sister, and community sang give thanks with the grateful heart.

    Welcoming New Animator at Auxilium Provincial House, Dum Dum

    Aug21

    The community of Auxilium Dum Dum kept themselves busy preparing for the arrival of new animator. Day after day and week after week the preparation went on till it occurred. Finally on 17th August 2020, we had the joy of welcoming our new animator in the person of Sr. Stella Potteparambil, coming from Auxilium Barasat. The community gave her a solemn welcome at 4.00 p.m. At the entrance of the house a star symbolizing her name, was solemnly placed. Sr. Stella stood in the middle of the star while the significance of this meaningful star was interpreted. The star that illumine the path, that points out towards holiness, the symbol of a leader who directs and the symbol of one who mentors and facilitates. After expressing these virtues of the animator Sr. Stella, was given a star shaped lamp in her hands. She was then accompanied by the Sisters with their rhythmic steps to the altar. Prayer of intercessions for our new animator was animated by Sr. Emilia Vas responding: This is our prayer today may the Lord guide and pave your way…The House Staff concluded these intercessions by the Hail Mary sung in Hindi. The new animator was led to the refectory where the community Sisters sang a welcome song of gladness, everything was geared around the shining stars. The House Staff added to the joy by their melodious rhythmic welcome song and all had sumptuous tea and snacks.

    Jubilee Celebration

    Aug21

    On 9th August 2020, Auxilium Dum Dum solemnly celebrated at Provincial level, the Diamond Jubilee of Sr. Rose Mathew and Sr. Philomena Chirammal from Barasat, Golden Jubilee of Sr. Juliana Rozario from Kalyani and Silver Jubilee of Sr. Jancy Pulickathottiyil from Bandel and her companion Sr. Pushpa Lakra who was in Geyzing and could not be present. The celebration started with the Holy Eucharist presided over by our Parish Priest Fr. Irudaya Raj and co-celebrants Fr. Sudhir Nayak (SS.CC) and Fr. Upendra Nayak the Assistant Parish Priest. Two Sisters each from the nearby communities came to double their joys since it was lockdown due to COVID19 all the Sisters could not attend the celebration. The entrance dance was performed by Sisters and the House Staff leading the joyful and glorious Jubilarians before the altar to their beautifully decorated seats.  The celebration started with an introduction given by Sr. Lily Perumpettikunnel on behalf of all present. She highlighted the wonders the Lord has done for these Jubilarians in their Consecrated Religious life. In his homily, the celebrant stressed on the jubilee saying: “Jubilee is the glorious time when you find God in the silence of your heart, walk with Him in faith and when you walk on the Holy Ground”.

    After the homily the Jubilarians renewed their Religious Profession followed by a solemn felicitation with a garland by Sr. Rose Ezarath our Provincial. The prayer of the faithful was solemnly sung by Sr. Emilia Vas. After the communion, the jubilarians were crowned after the singing of “Veni Sponsa Christi” (come Bride of Christ). Later followed the photo session of the Jubilarians in front of the beautifully decorated altar.  

    In the refectory, the Jubilarians were again felicitated with the cutting of the jubilee cake. Sisters and House Staff congratulated them with their melodious songs. Sr. Provincial gifted them with a statute of Mary and other gifts and the different communities presented various gifts. The celebration ended with a fellowship meal. At the end of which the Jubilarians expressed their overflowing joy and thanked the Lord and all those who made their day a memorable one.

    148th Foundation Day of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Silver Jubilee celebration of Sr. Jancy Pulickyathottil FMA

    Aug16

    BANDEL: The community of Auxilium Convent Bandel celebrated two great events on Wednesday 05 August 2020. During the Morning Prayer the community officially inaugurated the 148th Year of the Foundation day receiving the mandate: “I entrust them to you”.

    The second reason for our celebration was the Silver Jubilee of our dear Sr. Jancy Pulickyathottil, the economer of our community. The community raised voices in thanks to God for her beautiful vocation as an FMA to the Institute and to the church through a well animated and prayerful morning prayer with fitting hymns and videos. She was felicitated soon after the prayer moments by the community with festal wishes, greetings and gifts.

    The peak of the celebration was at 11.00 am with a thanksgiving Eucharistic celebration. Though we were in the lockdown period due to Covid-19 pandemic and having no Educating community present for the celebration, the sisters took up the challenge of making the day a memorable and realistic experience for Sr. Jancy. As invitees we had only six Salesians from Don Bosco and Basilica communities of Bandel. The celebration comprised of appropriate introduction, renewal of Vows, prayers of the faithful, crowing the jubilarian and significant photo session at the end.

    In his homily the chief celebrant Fr. E.J. Anthony sdb, Rector of Don Bosco Bandel invited the assembly to recall and thank God for the Silver Jubilee of three “C’s” – Call, Consecration and Commission. He brought out this theme as ‘Pay it forward’ through a series of anecdotes. Paying forward is a wonderful way in which we can network with others and pass on God’s goodness and love. He gave a new meaning to the word CORONA that is a Crown for God. C – for Community, O – for Obedience (vows), R – for Rosary, O – for Oblation, N – Nun and A – for apostolate. He concluded his inspiring homily inviting everyone with the following words: “Today as we thank God for the special Call He has given to Sr. Jancy, and for the gift of her faithfulness for the past 25 years, let us ask Him through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, to enable us also to become his CORONA VIRUSES in today’s world, not bringing about death and destruction, but it’s opposite: life, and life in its fullness, of which the Wine of Cana is a symbol”.

    This was followed by a Salesian style of sumptuous meal which was prepared by our sisters and house staff. Sr. Jancy was congratulated with a melodious song composed and sung by the sisters. The Salesians too exchanged their greetings with the Jubilarian. Sr. Jancy expressed her gratitude with a few words of appreciation for their brotherly presence and cordiality.

    The memorable day came to a conclusion in the evening with an hour of Eucharistic adoration where all thanked the good Lord for the gift of our institute, our vocation and especially for the Jubiarians of our Province particularly Sr. Jancy. She too thanked the community generously with her words of indebtedness and gratitude for the beautiful day celebrated in her honour.

    Auxilium Dum Dum celebrates Foundation Day and Diamond jubilee Celebration of Sr. Rose Mathew

    Aug5

    On 5th August 2020, community of Auxilium Dum Dum marked the day of Foundation of our Institute, through meaningful celebration of the Morning Prayer. The Sisters who made their first profession on 5th August were given privilege to carry the symbolic lily and place it at the feel of our Blessed Mother.

    On this day we begin the 2nd year in preparation for the 150th year of our Institute. To mark this important events the theme to accept the mandate: “I ENTRUST THEM TO YOU”, Sr. Rose our Provincial carried this symbol and placed it at the feet of Mary entrusting the whole Province to her Motherly care.

    The simple yet unforgettable   celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of our dear Sr. Rose Mathew was another landmark for our community and for Sr. Rose. With the Diamond crown on her head and beautiful garland around her neck the joy knew no bounds. The Junior Sisters and the House Staff doubled the joy of Sr. Rose through their songs and dance. The day was spent in the company of Our Blessed Mother giving her a guard of honour by all the community members.

    A step closer to Jesus: Postulancy medal

    Jul24

    On 20 July 2020, fourteen of us commenced our spiritual retreat at Auxilium Aspirantate Bamunmura. The theme of the retreat was “God’s call and our response”. The Holy Eucharist and the talks were on line, preached by Fr. Augustine VC. It was based on Love for God, purpose in life and the precious call of God. We were indeed enriched by the talks of Fr.Agustine which has helped us to know and understand deeper the call to religious life. The time spent in adoration and personal prayer boosted our spiritual life to be more passionate and enthusiastic in following Jesus.

    On 24 July 2020, seven of us received the postulancy medal from the hands of Sr. Rose Ezarath the Provincial. The ceremony was held in the morning integrated with the Morning Prayer which was followed by on line Mass. Sincere thanks to Mother Provincial, Superior Sr. Leelamma P., sisters and all the communities who have supported us with your prayers.

    Kalpana Lakra (Postulant)