Prabhu Yesu Mahotsav or Mission Congress
11-13 October 2013, Ranchi
Dignitaries and participants from fourteen dioceses
of BIJHAN for the Yesu Mahotsav
arrived on 10th October. The participants were boarded in various
houses such as: Albert’s college, Ursuline High school, St. Ann’s High School,
SDC, St. Aloysius High School, ASPUNJ, JHARNA and other houses. In the evening at 6. O'clock. Very Rev. Ignace Topno,
the Vicar General of the Ranchi Archdiocese Celebrated the Eucharist. This was
followed by the Supper in the Albert’s College ground.
11 October 2013
Theme: “I am the Light of the World”
His Eminence
Telesphore P. Cardinal Toppo celebrated inaugural Mass at 7 O’Clock in the
morning along with several other Bijhan Bishops: Very Rev. William D’Souza
S.J., the Archbishop of Panta, Very Rev. Felix Toppo S.J., Bishop of
Jamshedpur, Very Rev. Anjelus Kujur, Bishop of Purnea, Very Rev. Kurien
Valiakandathil, Bishop of Bhagalpur, Vey Rev. Vinay Kandulna, Bishop of Khunti,
Very Rev. Paul Lakra, Bishop of Gumla, Very Rev. Vincent Barwa, Bishop of
Simdega, Very Rev. Anand Jojo, Bishop of Hazaribagh, Very Rev. Julius Marandi,
Bishop of Dumka, Very Rev. Sebastian
Kalapurackal, Bishop of Buxur and over 200 priests. Cardinal Toppo in his homily exhorted the
faithful to be the disciples of Christ. He said, “to be the disciple of Jesus
is the greatest gift of God.” By living as sons and daughters of the light we
exhibit ourselves as light to others, that others may see the light of Christ
and glorify God.
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H.E. Telesphore P. Cardinal Toppo,
breaking the Word of God |
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H.E. Telesphore P.Cardinal Toppo
Lighting the Lamp |
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Archbishop William D'Souza
Lighting the Lamp |
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Archbishop William D'Souza
Honouring the Word of God |
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Bijhan Bishops and
Fr. Prasad Pinto Ofm Cap |
The formal inauguration was done soon after the
breakfast. All the dignitaries were
honoured with a flower bouquet and a badge by the Youth of Ranchi Archdiocese.
Mahila Sangh assisted in lighting the lamp. Delegates of Church Hierarchy were
invited to light the lamp. Accordingly, Cardinal Toppo and Archbishop William
D’Souza as Bishops’ Delegates, Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Prasad Pinto OFM Cap as Priest
delegate, Sr. Kirti of Bhagalpur from Religious delegate, Mr. Rajan of Patna as
Men delegate, Mrs. Mariam Mark of Betiah as Women delegate, Mr. Kuldeep Tirkey
of Ranchi and Miss Teresa Murmu of Dumka as Youth delegate lighted the lamp. This
was followed by “Bible Procession.” After the enthronement and veneration of
the Holy Bible in a decorated place on the dais, Bishop Kurien Valiakandathil
hoisted the flag of Bijhan Mission Congress. Bishop Paul Lakra then released a
bunch of Balloons.
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Bishop Paul Lakra
releasing baloons |
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colourful cultures
and dioceses of Bijhan |
Ursuline Novitiate sisters came up with a prayer
dance and Konka Siram Toli Youth Welcomed the gathering with a Nagpuri Dance. This
was followed by welcome address by His Eminence Telesphore Cardinal Toppo.
Reiterating the message of Pope Benedict XVI, he said, “We want this Year to
arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and
with renewed conviction. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the
celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist. At the
same time, we make it our prayer that believers’ witness of life may grow in
credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed,
celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task
that every believer must make their own, especially in the course of this
Year.”
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Albertine Brothers
Praising God in the Choir |
Bishop Vincent Barwa delivered the presidential
address in the charismatic style. In his address he exhorted the people to be
the light of the earth. He said, the purpose of the light is to dispel the darkness.
The theme, “light of the earth” is taken from Sermon on the Mount. This
teaching has been accepted by everyone in the world irrespective of culture and
creed. Christ’s mission and vision is for everyone. Today, in India we are threatened by several
antisocial elements such as terrorism, consumerism, poverty, violence and
corruption. In such situations, Jesus tells us, “Let your light shine.” Quoting
Bible he said, “I have made you light of the world so that through you the
message of salvation would reach to the ends of the world.” There is light in
everyone’s life. Let everyone through their good works take their shining light
to the people who are suffering and fill their life with faith, love and joy
and become ‘light to others.’ When we think good of others, when we live
Christ’s value in this corrupted world our light shines more.
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Bishop Vincent Barwa,
exhorting the people |
Mr. Oli Minj then read out the Hindi Translation of
the letter of the Archbishop Salvatore Pennachio, the apostolic Nuncio. In his letter, the Nuncio congratulated the
entire church of Bijhan for organizing this event.
Archbishop William D’Souza S.J., the chairman of the
Bijhan Bishops, expressed his joy and welcomed all the participants and prayed
for its success. This was followed by a short tea break. After this, the youth
animated in theme song and a few action songs.
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| Front View |
Mr. A.V. Jose, a lay person from Patna Archdiocese
was the resource person for the first session. He is the present national
director of the “Couple for Christ India,” and a Charismatic preacher in Patna
Charismatic group. He spoke on the
theme, “I am the light of the world.” In his speech he said, that Jesus was
invited in the Marriage feast at Cana. He went there and fulfilled their needs.
In the similar way, if we do not invite him in our daily endeavour, we become
his enemies. If we invite him, he will come to us and pour ‘grace upon grace.’ We are the salt of the earth. Christians are
minorities in India. Still this minority is sufficient to bring saltiness in
India. When we accept Jesus in our life, we will receive his grace and become
channels of grace for others. Every moment of our life we are called to be in
union with Jesus Christ as we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
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| Mr. A.V. Jose |
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| It's the Meal time |
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| Sumptuous Lunch |
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| Line for Food |
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Mothers' Love:
distributing Lunch |
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| Queue please!!!! |
A sumptuous lunch was followed by witness session.
Mr. Vijender from Patna shared his faith experience. Through his experience he
stressed that ‘there is nothing impossible for God.’ Mrs. Lucy Singh, a
Buddhist convert from Jamshedpur through her heart-touching experience gave a
powerful witness to Christian faith. After
this session, the whole house was divided into 64 different groups. Basing on
the inputs given on the day, they were asked to share their faith experience
and give witness within the groups. When this was done, the reports were co-ordinated
by their respective dioceses. Representatives shared their report thereafter in
common.
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| People behind the scene |
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| People behind the scene |
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| People behind the scene |
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| People behind the scene |
Eucharistic adoration along with the Sacrament of
Reconciliation was conducted before the supper. Thereafter, diocese-wise
cultural programme was conducted on the theme, “how the light is shining in
your diocese.” Seven dioceses participated in this event.
12 October 2013
Theme “You are
the light of the world”
As
yesterday’s was theme, “I am the Light of the World”, and today the second part
of the theme was taken, “You are the Light of the World.” The day began with Morning
Prayer led by the Ursuline Sisters of Ranchi. After the breakfast, the session
began with the action song, “Cast your burden Unto Jesus.” The youth and choir
animated this session. Then, Sr. Eva Justin OSU, Provincial Superior of
Ursuline sisters, Ranchi elegantly summed up the activities of previous day
with a short reflection.
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| Cast your burden Unto Jesus |
Then
began the input-session. Fr. Vinay Guria CDF, was the main speaker of the day. Rev.
Fr. Cyprian Kullu, the Vicar General of Gumla Diocese, and the moderator of the
session introduced the speaker and the theme of the day. In his introduction he
emphasized the words of Fr. Lievens, “Fire Must Burn.”
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| Fr. Vinay Guria CDF |
Fr.
Binay Guria in his speech emphasized on three aspects of faith: renewal, living
and sharing one’s faith. He then explained the concept of YESU MAHOTSAV, a
concept internationally known as Mission Congress. The six main goals of this Mission
Congress are: 1. Strengthening one’s faith, 2. Understanding the rights and
duties regarding evangelization, 3. Becoming aware of the needs of Mission, 4.
Witnessing Christian Faith, 5. Life in union with the Catholic Church and
spreading the gospel of Christ in the whole world, 6. Strengthening the Local Church. Fr. Guria based himself to
his booklet which was published for Year of faith, “Vishvas Varsh” which contains an explicit description of strengthening
one’s faith.
After
the tea break Rev. Sr. Sudha Lakra SJT, shared her faith experience. She
belongs to the congregation of St. Joseph’s of Tarbs (SJT) and at present
working in Jamshedpur Diocese. She narrated a number of events from her life,
when she experienced the divine love and care. She narrated her vocation story
and how she re-evangelized herself when she realized the divine providence in
her life. When God intervenes, He topples-down our life and situation. Whatever
is given by god, is given with love. Whatever God does, He does it for good. Narrating
an incident from the life of Late Sr. Elisaba, her vocation promoter, she said,
“In our Defeat Lies our Victory.”
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| Action planning |
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August gathering
praising God |
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August gathering
praising God |
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August gathering
praising God |
At.
11.45 a.m, began the Holy Mass. Very Rev. Felix Toppo, the Bishop of Jamshedpur
Diocese presided over the Holy Eucharistic Celebration. Very Rev. Anjelus Kujur
S.J., the Bishop of Purnea proclaimed the Gospel. Bishop Toppo broke the Word
of God. In his sermon, he emphasized the truthfulness and love of Jesus. The
life, death and the sacrifice of Jesus is true. Jesus is thirsty for our love.
To know Jesus we have to live a holy life. There is a need to develop our moral
standards today. There is an urgent need to put an end to the consumerist
attitude which prevents us to go ahead on the way to God.
Afternoon
session was dedicated for the Diocese-wise group discussion and action planing.
Mr. Benjamin Lakra presented some points for the discussion. Before the
discussion could begin, there was a heavy rain which obstructed the session.
But, St. Albert’s College proved its generosity by providing class-rooms,
refectories and auditorium for the success of the event. After an emergency
meeting of the administrators, it was decided that the further proceedings of
the Mission Congress would be held in the Albert’s College and Cathedral.
Volunteers rushed to the seminary and with the help of seminarians classrooms,
refectories and auditoriums were made ready. The scheduled ‘action plan
session’ took place without any trouble. Soon after this session, all gathered
in the Cathedral and under the guidance of Mr. Benjamine Lakra, the
representatives of each diocese presented their ‘action plan.’
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group discussion
and action planing |
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group discussion
and action planing |
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group discussion
and action planing |
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| group discussion and action planing |
The
evening cultural program was held in St. Albert’s College Auditorium due to the
bad weather and wet ground.
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| evening cultural program |
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| evening cultural program |
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| evening cultural program |
13 October 2013
Theme “You are the light of the world”
Due to torrential rain, scheduled programme could not take place in Loyola ground. Therefore, it was held in the Cathedral. After the breakfast, Sr. Linda Mary summarized yesterday's programme elegantly. This was followed by the Eucharistic Celebration, presided over by His Grace William D'souza, the Archbishop of Patna and Concelebrated by Cardinal, other bishops and priests. Thus, three day's Mission Congress was a grand success.
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SAC Football ground
as food court |
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SAC DARPAN team
Documenting |
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SAC DARPAN team
Documenting |
Blog prepared by: SAC DARPAN team
Photography: Raju Felix Crasta
