Diocesan Bulletin December 2017.Pdf
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DECEMBER 2017 Loving Father, You have blessed our diocese with the gift of the Diocesan Youth Apostolate. We pray that you guide and lead us during the Year of Youth to step forward in our faith. To cater to the young people and fill their souls to contin- ue Your mission. Help us to be united to know, love, and serve the church. Fill us with the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit to revive our parishes. Young people of this world are faced with many temptations. Although we may fall, You greet us with open arms and embrace us with Your mercy. Help our church to extend endless love to young people in the model of Your Father. Lord God, You understand us more than anyone else. You began your public ministry during the days of your youth. The road before us may be difficult, but it is in our weakness that You provide us with the strength we need. Strengthen us to rely on your faithful and for- giving love. Mother Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, help us to be the instrument that God has created us to be. We ask for your intercession and protection over your children. St. Thomas, our father in faith, pray for us Blessed Frassati, patron of Year of Youth, pray for us. FAITH CONFESSION OF ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE The faith confession of St. Thomas the Apostle, “My Lord and My God”, stands in history as the most profound confession on Jesus’ true identity. ‘Lord’ and ‘God’ are the equivalent words for the Greek terms ‘Kyrios’ and ‘Theos’ respectively used to denote the Hebrew words ‘Yahweh’ and ‘Elohim’, two expressions used to Loving Father, address the Almighty One. Making You have blessed our diocese with the gift of use of these words to the Resurrected the Diocesan Youth Apostolate. We pray that Lord, Thomas equates Jesus to the you guide and lead us during the Year of Absolute Deity. He connects the Youth to step forward in our faith. To cater to Old Testament and New Testament the young people and fill their souls to contin- understanding of God in the person St. Thomas Syro-Malabar ue Your mission. Help us to be united to of Jesus Christ. know, love, and serve the church. Fill us with Catholic Diocese of Chicago the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit to revive St. Thomas Syro-Malabar our parishes. Young people of this world are Catholic Diocese of Chicago, by living faced with many temptations. Although we and experiencing the faith confession My Lord and My God may fall, You greet us with open arms and of her patron through the celebration embrace us with Your mercy. Help our of her liturgy, aims at the deepening church to extend endless love to young of the identity and heritage of Syro- people in the model of Your Father. Lord God, You understand us more than anyone Malabar Church in the United States else. You began your public ministry during of America. the days of your youth. The road before us may be difficult, but it is in our weakness that You provide us with the strength we need. Diocesan Curia Strengthen us to rely on your faithful and for- giving love. Mother Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, help us to be the instrument Bishop that God has created us to be. We ask for Mar Jacob Angadiath your intercession and protection over your children. St. Thomas, our father in faith, pray for us Blessed Frassati, patron of Year of Auxiliary Bishop & Protosyncellus Youth, pray for us. Mar Joy Alappatt December - 2017, Vol. 13, No. 2 Syncellus Rev. Dr. Augustine Palackaparambil Published by : Rev. Fr. Thomas Mulavanal Rev. Fr. Johnykutty George Puleessery, Chancellor, Chancellor St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago Rev. Fr. Johnykutty George Puleessery 372 S. Prairie Avenue, Elmhurst, IL 60126-4020 Ph: 630-279-1386, 630-279-1383 Fax: 630-279-1479 Finance Officer email: [email protected] Rev. Fr. George Maliekal www.stthomasdiocese.org Contents Congratulations and Prayerful Greetings ....................................................................................................... 06 Silver Jubilee Greetings ...................................................................................................................................... 08 Homage to Mar Kuriakose Kunnacherry ........................................................................................................ 09 Christmas Message: Mar Jacob Angadiath .................................................................................................... 10 Christmas Message: Mar Joy Alappatt ............................................................................................................ 12 Pastoral Letter No. 27/2017: Family as training ground for Faith Formation ........................................ 14 Pastoral Letter No. 27/2017: Family as training ground for Faith Formation (Malayalam) ................. 18 Pastoral Letter No. 26/2017: Healing in a Wounded Culture ................................................................... 22 Pastoral Letter No. 26/2017: Healing in a Wounded Culture (Malayalam) ............................................ 27 Circular No. 49/2017 Chicago Social Ministry ............................................................................................. 33 Circular No. 48/2017 4LIFE Sunday -2017 ................................................................................................... 34 Circular No. 47/2017 National Year of Youth Summit ................................................................................ 36 Circular No. 46/2017 Extend Helping Hands to those affected by Hurricane ..................................... 38 Circular No. 45/2017 Invitation for Presbyterium ....................................................................................... 39 Circular No. 44/2017 Invitation for Priests’ Retreat.................................................................................... 40 Circular No. 43/2017 Announcing Year of Youth ......................................................................................... 41 Circular No. 14/2014 Guidance on Conducting Retreats in Chicago Syro-Malabar Diocese ............ 42 Pastoral Letter of the Major Archbishop on Sabhadinam Prot. No. 1027/2017 .................................. 44 Circular of the Major Archbishop on Mission Varacharanam Prot. No. 1937/2017 ............................ 48 Circular of the Major Archbishop on the Beatification of Sr. Rani Maria Prot. No. 1701/2017 ........ 50 Circular of the Major Archbishop on Yuvajana synod Prot. No. 0918/2017 ......................................... 53 News from Chancery .......................................................................................................................................... 59 Finance Office Report ......................................................................................................................................... 60 Financial Statements and Independent Auditor’s Report .......................................................................... 64 Updates on Seminarians ..................................................................................................................................... 74 Department of Catechism: Faith Formation .................................................................................................. 76 Office for the Protection of Children and Youth ........................................................................................... 78 Diocesan Youth Apostolate ............................................................................................................................... 81 4LIFE Ministry ...................................................................................................................................................... 83 Marriage Preparation Course ............................................................................................................................ 84 Syro Malabar Catholic Congress ...................................................................................................................... 85 Report of the Pastoral Council 2017-18 ........................................................................................................ 86 Report of the Presbyterium ............................................................................................................................... 90 Church Consecrations ........................................................................................................................................ 92 News from Parishes ............................................................................................................................................ 94 Bishop’s Diary: Mar Jacob Angadiath .............................................................................................................. 99 Bishop’s Diary: Mar Joy Alappatt ....................................................................................................................105 Sr. Rani Maria, a member of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation, who died as a martyr on 25th of February, 1995 was beatified by Pope Francis. The ceremony proclaiming her a blessed martyr took place in Indore on 4th of November, 2017; she is the first blessed martyr of the SyroMalabar church. Let us all hope and pray for the canonization of Sr. Rani Maria She was born on Jan.29, 1954 at Pulluvazhy as the second child of Vattalil Paily and Elizabeth. She joined the Ernakulam Province of the Franciscan Clarist Congregation on June 3, 1972. She made her final profession