Can words suffice to spell gratitude to a person who had pilgrimaged with the province for almost 3 months sharing her life with each member of the communities?  Words will surely be inadequate so the province had recourse to the most sublime sign of thanks, The Holy Eucharist.

On 17^th May 2019  the province of Mary Help of Christians Kolkata organized a  gratitudinal Eucharistic celebration at 7 am at Auxilium Dum Dum  attended by a good number of FMAs of the province. The celebrant was Fr. Jose Chunkapura SDB from Diamond Harbour.  The Holy Eucharist commenced with an entrance dance by the aspirants  who brought in the sisters with  symbols  of their communities’ service  for the locality , Sr. Lucy Rose the visiting councillor , Provincial Sr. Rose Ezarath and the celebrant.

The entire Eucharistic celebration had the note of solemn thanksgiving right from the start with a an introduction delineating the  fruits of the canonical visit, the prayer of the faithful, the tuneful choir intoning meaningful hymns, the celebrant  solemnizing it with melodious   singing of the mass.  He in his talk urged all to decipher the sacred space where one find meaning, joy and fruitfulness.  Jesus said I have come that you may have life- life in abundance.  Each one of us is called to give ourselves totally and unreservedly for the service of the Lord and help our youngsters to discover their Sacred space .  The finale of the celebration was in storing in the history a memorable portrait with Sr. Lucy Rose and  of all present.    The ceremony came to a close with a thanksgiving speech, a song and  breakfast for all.

Sr. Stella P & Sr. Elizabeth Makil

On 12^th May 2019, 58 sisters gathered for the important event of the conclusion of the General Assembly of Canonical Visitation in Dum Dum Provincial House. In this important event Sr. Lucy Rose Ozhukayil fma the Visiting General Councillor presented the copy of the concluding Reflections of Canonical Visit to Provincial Sr. Rose Ezarath. The General Assembly commence with a short PPT  Presentation by briefing the  canonical Visitation of each house and  prayer invoking God’s Grace that always amazing us.

Through the concluding Reflection of the Canonical Visit Sr. Lucy Rose the Visiting General Councillor  expressed her deep Gratitude and appreciation  for having being  privileged to enter into the sacred space of our lives both  individual and as communities. Through her talk she spurred us to the importance of contribution of our best to relationship and co- responsibility in our life and mission as well as the Tabor experience as the icon of consecrated life.

Finally the assembly ended with interacting on the Reflection, were the sisters expressed their views and opinions. It escorts us with many challenges individually and community level to form authentic prophetic Salesian Communities.

In the end sisters thanked Sr. Lucy Rose and Sr. Veronica Kamei her Secretary for their untiring service that they rendered to our province.

Sr. Karuna Bara

On 29^th April, 2019 the Sisters, teachers and students of St. Mary’s Convent School joyfully welcomed our Sr. Lucy Rose the visiting Councilor from Rome and Sr.Veronica her Secretary. The Clarion call of the bugles announced the joy of her arrival around 4.15 pm. Sr. Lucy Rose was given a traditional welcome with the dances and the sahnai of Sikkim. The Students welcomed them with their melodious welcome song and dance and later they were ushered to the Chapel for a moment of prayer.

On 30^th April, the Past Pupils paid their respect by offering Khadas. She was happy to meet them and said that they are very dear to the Institution and assured them prayers. In the evening the community members together with Sr.Lucy Rose reflected on the passage of wedding Feast of Cana.

1^st April 2019, was the day of celebration in the School. Sr. Lucy Rose was escorted to the school hall by the School brass band accompanied by Scouts and Guides. She was given a warm welcome at the entrance of the hall. The Students showed their love, gratitude and appreciation through their amazing performance on the stage. The hall echoed with the melodious welcome song. It was followed by different traditional dances, skit, poem enactment etc. She enjoyed and appreciated the sparkling performance of the students. Sr. Lucy drew message from the skit and said   “three things which will make you happy are LOVING, CARING and SHARING. She encouraged the student by giving them the positive stroke. Soon after the fantastic performance of the students Sr. Lucy Rose met the parish Cruizsbeer children. At 11.00 am Sr. Lucy Rose met the Teaching staff. She thanked them for being the first collaborators in the School. In the afternoon she met the supportive staff. She thanked them for what they are to the community. In the afternoon community enjoyed the company of dear Lucy Rose and Sr.Veronica as we went to the Sky walk capturing the beauty of nature.

On 1^st evening during community moment we reflected the story of Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath. The reflection Calls us to open ourselves daily to be “Transformed by the Encounter” of Christ. She invited us to be attuned to the voice of the Lord and be generous.Around 7.00pm boarding girls and boys showed their love and gratitude through short program. She thanked them for making the evening beautiful.  After the short program the boarding boys and girls were given the fellowship meal. The day was ended joyfully.

On 2^nd May the community members echoed the prayer of thanks and praise to the Lord for the gift of Sr. Lucy Rose. The thanksgiving Eucharistic celebration was being celebrated by Rev.Fr. Moni Clement Lepcha, the Parish priest of St. Mary’s Geyzing. Soon after Mass the boarders thanked Sr. Lucy Rose for her motherly presence and assured her of their prayers. The community members expressed words of love and gratitude and offered few gifts to Sr. Lucy Rose and Sr.Veronica as a gesture of our love and gratitude. They left for New Chumta at 9.00am accompanied by Sr. Nirmala and Sr. Prisila. The presence of Sr. Lucy Rose brought forth many blessing upon the Sisters and upon our mission. It was really a grace filled moment which we will relish it for the days to come.

Sr. Sandhya Minj

The visiting councillor Sr. Lucy Rose was warmly welcomed by Sr. Rose Kureekattu, the superior of Jaigaon community on 22 April 2019 at the airport, Bagdogra at 6.30 p.m. On the following morning the welcome ceremony was performed. During the prayer moments, Sr. Lucy was invited to pour water from her jar to the containers of the sisters, which symbolized the total abandonment of the sisters to receive the grace of God and be transformed, with the theme of “Do whatever he tells you”. This was followed by the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

On the second day of her visit, different groups of the recipients of our mission in the school, oratorians, evening study centres, mahilas, youth and the boarders had a chance to greet Sr. Lucy Rose.  Each group presented colourful short programmes as they greeted her.

In the evening hours, Sr. Lucy Rose met the community and offered various Gospel passages such as “wedding at Cana” and “the widow of Zeraphat” for reflection with powerful messages for us to live by. The visitation was concluded with thanks giving Eucharistic celebration and the community thanked her for her benevolent and graceful stay with us. The two day visit passed very quickly yet the memory of our encounter with Sr. Lucy Rose lingers on.

The Canonical Visit of Rev. Sr. Lucy Rose Ozhukayil, the Visiting Councillor, to Auxilium Dum Dum coincided with the Holy Week celebrations and she indeed came as a harbinger of holiness and joy along with her secretary Sr. Veronica Kamei on 16^th April 2019. When they arrived at Auxilium, Dum Dum they were given a ceremonial welcome by the Sisters and house staff. Sr. Lucy Rose along with the other Sisters then proceeded to the Chapel for a short thanksgiving prayer.

Sr. Lucy Rose was accorded a very unique welcome by the community when she entered the residence. This was in keeping with the spirit of the holy Week. During the Holy week Jesus went to the house of Bethany and Sr. Lucy Rose was welcomed just as Jesus was at the house of Bethany. A beautifully decorated gate with the words “WAY TO BETHANY” on it was prepared and Sr. Lucy Rose was helped by two ushers to walk on the footprints of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello. The whole ambience was made more joyful by the hymn: “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news….” As Sister reached “BETHANY”, the sisters’ refectory, Martha, Mary and Lazarus welcomed her with a dance “Bless the Lord, O my soul”. Mary anointed Jesus’ feet, Martha served and Lazarus sat at table; Sr. Lucy Rose was attended to in the very same way by the whole Community that joined that for tea.

“Your presence gives us joy.”- the essence of these words that adorned the bright backdrop of the hall of Auxilium Convent School, was earnestly expressed through the programme presented by the students in honour of Sr. Lucy Rose on the 17^th  April, 2019, the day on which Rev. Sister visited Auxilium Convent School, Dum Dum. The entire school prepared intensely to host a grand celebration that unfolded in the form of tableaus, karate, colourful drills and a cultural programme. Sr. Lucy Rose along with Provincial Sr. Rose Ezarath, Sr. Veronica, Superior Sr. Teresa A., Principal Sr. Esther Rani Abraham and other Sisters were escorted from the convent to the school hall by a solemn guard of honour. Her way to the hall was well decorated on both sides by beautiful tableaus and still presentations of various inter-school events. Sr. Lucy Rose entered the hall amidst the blowing of the auspicious conch shells and a thunderous applause.

The programme started with a welcome song presented by the Middle and High school. This was followed by the reading of the Annual School Report read out by our school captain, which recapitulated the highlights of the year 2018-19. The stage was then taken by the folk dancers of Auxilium who displayed the vibrant hues of West Bengal in the form of a rhythmic dance. The western dancers thereafter portrayed the spirit of togetherness through their performance. A skit portraying the tussle between vice and virtue was then presented by the students of High School. It reflected the importance of goodness and the need to abstain from all vices. The programme was brought to a graceful end by the presentation of various classical dance forms of India. The real highlight of the programme however was the inspiring message of Sr. Lucy Rose in which urged the students not just to dream while asleep but also to dream of one’s goals while awake. She focussed on the need to work hard to realise one’s aspirations and refrain from being lazy. Apart from hard work she also inspired the students to be prayerful and grateful.

Thereafter Sr. Lucy Rose met the teaching staff who welcomed her with a bouquet and gifts. She inspired the teachers to be active collaborators in the Salesian mission of the education of young. Quoting the words of the famous poet, Maya Angelou, she requested the teachers to become rainbows amidst the clouds in the lives of their students. The meeting with the teachers was followed by a meeting with the Volunteers of Don Bosco (VDB). She encouraged them to carry on their prayerful lives and continue their reach out activities.

Sr. Lucy Rose also made it a point to meet the Parallel School students, the Evening School students and the Oratorians. In her meeting with each of the groups, she interacted with the young and spoke to them about Don Bosco’s vision for them. Thereafter Sister interacted with the members the Past Pupil’s unit of Auxilium Dum Dum and told them that they had been invested with great responsibility as Salesian pupils and asked them to continue to collaborate with the FMA to uplift the youth. Sister Lucy Rose’s series of formal meetings for the day came to an end with her meeting with the Salesian Cooperators and the ADMA members of the Dum Dum unit. In her message to them she spoke about the desire of Don Bosco to have dedicated lay people to assist the priests and religious in their mission to educate and empower the young. She stressed on the need for a strong family spirit which would help in making the youth of today responsible and prayerful citizens of the country.

On 21^st April 2019, the community went for an outing to Koardha River bank. It was a time to recoup, relax and revive the community spirit. The community gathered at 7.00 pm for a thanksgiving prayer service after a day of relaxation. The altar was well decorated and lit with Easter hues. The prayer was conducted with appropriate thanksgiving hymns, scripture reading and symbolic offerings. Sr. Lucy Rose carried the statue of Mary help of Christians as the community thanked the Lord for the gift of the vigilant presence, accompaniment and revitalization of Sr. Lucy Rose through meetings and conferences. Again the symbolic lamp, representing the FMA and the young people, a chain of strengthening bonds of union, a new wine of enthusiasm and the Chapter theme were all offered at the altar. The community thanked God for the enriching experience during these five days of Sister Lucy Rose’s Canonical Visitation. On 22^nd April 2019, a holy Mass was offered for the intentions of Sr. Lucy Rose and after breakfast the community thanked her and wished her a safe journey. At 9.00 am, Rev Sr. Left the portals of Auxilium Dum Dum and set off on her journey to North Bengal leaving behind a lot to reflect upon and renew.