HONOURING TEACHERS
5th September is one day in the academic year when we honour our Teachers.
As per Indian tradition, teachers were considered to be “gurus” or mentors, and they were highly respected. Parents left their children in the hands of these teachers to be trained in various skills and personality development. But education was only imparted to the royalty.
Today, with the Government trying to wipe out illiteracy, the system of education is changing. Each classroom has not less than 60-70 students, and trying to gain the attention of students becomes all the more difficult for the teachers. A teacher once told a little child who was trying to get her full attention: “Your mother has only one child, I have 50 children.”
If our child fails to know something in the learning process, we blame the school teachers, and if they do not know their religion, we blame the Sunday School teachers.
We get annoyed with our teachers when they make us repeat our dictation words or sums. But as we progress in years, we realise that repetition is a method of memory retention and enhancement. We detested getting remarks from our teachers, for fear of being thrashed by our parents. All that the teacher was trying to do was bring to the notice of our parents our repeated faults and mistakes, and suggesting corrective measures to be taken. Since parents are at work, children are under the care and supervision of teachers for a major part of the day. We have to appreciate that.
Teachers are also given “nicknames”, if we do not like them or they do not let us have our way. When we bump into them after we have completed our education, we are totally embarrassed because we have forgotten their real names, while they remember our names or our place in their classroom.
Realization of the importance of our teachers only dawns on us when we embark on our careers. By then, some of our teachers may have left this world for their heavenly abode or are sick and infirm.
On Teachers Day, let us make it special by lifting our teachers up in prayer to the good Lord Jesus. Our teachers, we salute you!
Maria Pinheiro
Danda – 3
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The Parish Fathers thank all our parishioners for their wishes, prayers and gifts on Vianney Sunday (9 August). The PPC had organized some games and lunch for the priests after the PPC meeting.
Hell of an Angel
Her little heart fell for a dream
A nun to be, she thought
She put her right foot forward and thought
With Christ all out herself she deemed.
With such a vocation she did land
A stranger to this motherland
In her long hours of teaching
She found a new vocation simmering.
She gave this vocation a thought
Single hand all odds she fought
To give boost to this simmering imagination
And her own life, a new dimension.
Slums of Calcutta saw a lone ranger
A white middle-aged lady, a total stranger
Soon she found on the footpath a dying sick
Her hand had lifted her vocation’s first pick.
She became widely known as Mother
Living Saint was conferred on her by Holy Father
Titles and awards she was ceremoniously conferred
Never once from her work she had differed.
No longer a strange figure was she with time
Picking up destitutes in their life prime
Perpetually she prays, Lord fulfil their needs
Let them pass through this life with a smile, she pleads.
She would carry them to her own dwelling
Washing them and wiping their tears
These have known to pass away through life exclaiming,
“What a hell of an angel is Mother Teresa!”
Stanislaus Louis
(Mother Teresa’s death anniversary is on 5 September)
AN APPEAL ON THE FEAST OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
As we celebrate the Feast of our patron St. Vincent de Paul, our hearts go up in prayer for our benefactors without whose generosity, we would not be able to continue with our work of reaching out to the poor and needy of our Parish. We have 27 adopted families who are provided cash, material and/or medical aid. The donations from our benefactors and the second collection on the second Saturday and Sunday of every month does not suffice to meet the expenses, and we have been left with no alternative than to reduce the amount doled out to the adopted families. To continue this work of Christian charity, we appeal to our parishioners to kindly give generously.
Bread is distributed to the poor on Tuesday evening and on Sunday morning. Those interested in donating bread for the poor may kindly place it in the basket at the entrance of the church. Hampers are distributed to the adopted families at Easter, Parish Feast and Christmas through your generosity.
We would also be very happy if more members join our Association. All you need is to have compassion, humility and zeal to work for the poor and marginalized. The SVP Conference meets every Friday at 7.45 p.m. in the Meeting Room. Regular visits are paid by the members to the homes of the adopted families. We also visit the EFA Niramay Niketan Home for leprosy & AIDS patients at Trombay & Shanti Bhavan Home for the Aged at Kalyan once a year. To help the members grow spiritually, a Holy Hour is conducted on the 2nd Saturday of every month at Prarthanalaya. We have Festival Meets in parishes, where we get an opportunity to meet other SVP Conference members and learn from their experiences.
Happy Feast and God Bless you all abundantly.
Members of the SVP Conference
YOUTH NEWS - This is just the beginning!
Independence Day 2009 saw around 70 youth from St. Vincent de Paul gather in the school hall for a day of fun and games along with an interactive session on relationships that kept everyone wanting more!
The function was organized by the PYAT (Parish Youth Animation Team) along with the priests. The day began at 10:30 am with a short prayer session that concluded with the song ‘Heal the World’. This was followed by a couple of games that made sure everyone mixed around, and met other youth. Following a short break during which snacks and cold drinks were served, the parish priests conducted an intriguing session based on human relationships. This was supported by a PowerPoint presentation, and some highly captivating facts based on the book: Why men lie and Women cry. A question-answer session based on this presentation preceded a sumptuous ‘chicken biryani’ lunch which ensured that everyone was re-energized for the rest of the day.
But the fun didn’t stop there. The PYAT members were determined to keep us up and about with the games that followed. Most of the games required group participation, thus encouraging the teams to function as one unit. For example, the simple act of passing a coin from one team member to another required great coordination and teamwork. Another game of recognizing the caricatures of famous people right from Hollywood stars to our very own Indian ‘netas’ kept teams engrossed and abuzz. Some more games were in store that kept us running about; the teams had to dance to some crazy tunes as a forfeit. The day ended with a prayer and a vote of thanks, after which tea and snacks were served, thus allowing youth and animators to mingle. Cheers to the PYAT members!
Aim far and aim high; the NYG is just the beginning.
Aylmer Mascarenhas
St Andrew NYG
YEAR OF THE PRIEST - “a time to focus upon the mystery of the ministerial priesthood and the great gift it is at the heart of the Church." Pope Benedict XVI
At the altar which is the epicentre of the priesthood, the priest speaks words which are not his own: ‘This is my body given for you; this is my blood poured out for you’. Archbishop Mark Coleridge
"O, how great is the priest! ... If he realized what he is, he would die."
St. John Vianney
“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God” Mother Teresa
“Mother Teresa is the one non-sportsperson I admire the most.” Sachin Tendulkar
“I only feel angry when I see waste”
The character of a man is known from his conversations.Menander(342 - 292 BC)
If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.Margaret Fuller