DIOCESAN BULLETIN : OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2014 OCTOBER 2014 COVER.indd 1 10/18/14 8:17 AM Canonization of Bl. Kuriakose Elias Chavara (1805-1871) 22 – 25 and Bl. Euphrasia Eluvathingal (1877-1952) 2014 November 23, 2014 at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican Prayer Priests’ Conference Priests’ Lord, we thank you for raising Blessed Euphrasia and Blessed Chavara to sainthood. Give us the grace to be inspired by their ardent life of faith to follow you wholeheartedly. Lord, bless all programs happening all over Participants of the of Participants the world over the canonization process. May peace of Christ reign in all hearts as we celebrate this holy occasion. We ask this in held at Techny Towers Conference Centre, IL on September IL on Centre, Conference Towers Techny at held the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen. OCTOBER 2014 COVER.indd 2 10/18/14 8:17 AM St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago My Lord and My God October-November 2014, Vol. 9, No. 2 Published by : Fr. Sebastian Vethanath, Chancellor, DIOCESAN BULLETIN : OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2014 St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago OCTOBER 2014 COVER.indd 1 10/18/14 8:17 AM Bl. Kuriakose Elias Chavara 372 S. Prairie Avenue, Elmhurst, IL 60126-4020 & Ph: 630-279-1386, 630-279-1383 Fax: 630-279-1479 Bl. Euphrasia Eluvathingal email: [email protected] www.stthomasdiocese.org St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago Messages .............................................................................................................................................................................................3 Prayerful Greetings ...............................................................................................................................................................5 Seminarians of the Diocese ........................................................................................................................................8 Pastoral Letter No. 21/2014 .....................................................................................................................................9 Circular No. 21/2014 ......................................................................................................................................................12 Circular No. 22/2014 ......................................................................................................................................................14 Circular No. 1836/2014 ..............................................................................................................................................15 Episcopal Ordination of Mar Joy Alappatt ........................................................................................21 Decree of Appointment ...............................................................................................................................................24 Coat of Arms and Episcopal Motto .............................................................................................................25 Homily by Mar George Cardinal Alancherry ..................................................................................30 News from Chancery.......................................................................................................................................................36 Finance Office News ........................................................................................................................................................38 News from Apostolates of the Diocese ..................................................................................................40 kotdmae-_mÀ Nn¡mtKm cq]-X-bpsS ZÀi-\hpw ZuXyhpw .........................................................57 P]-ame F¶ tdmkm-¸q-ame ............................................................................................................................................61 Gen-bþÉoh-þ-aq-im-¡m-e-§Ä ....................................................................................................................................62 ]Ån-¡q-Zmi¡mew ..................................................................................................................................................................63 Pastoral Letter No. 969/2014 .............................................................................................................................64 {]mÀ°-\m-Zn\w..............................................................................................................................................................................68 Circular No. 19/2014 ......................................................................................................................................................70 Circular No. 20/2014 ......................................................................................................................................................72 Bishop’s Diary............................................................................................................................................................................73 News at a Glance ...................................................................................................................................................................76 4 5 Message onth of October is observed as protect- life month. We are reminded during Mthis month to reflect on the gift of life and understand how great it is. “Human life in any condition is a masterpiece of God’s creation”, says Sean Cardinal O’Malley, the chairman of the Commission on Pro-Life of USCCB. “You are “You are precious in my eyes and honored and I love you”, says the Lord (Is 43,4). Each and every one of us is precious in precious for the Lord, honored and loved by Him. my eyes and What more do we need in our life? honored and How many lives are lost through the inhuman atrocities inflicted by human beings! I love you” This can be prevented. Natural disasters are beyond our control. Human massacre in the name of religion-God is a contradiction in itself since God is love and life. We are here to defend life and protect our fellow beings. We need to pray and work to protect life in any stage whether born or unborn. Abortion and euthanasia are serious sins of our time. Senior citizens and disabled people are to be respected and treated decently. Let us pray and work together to protect life in all its phases. May the Lord, the source of life, may strengthen us to defend life in all its forms. Mar Jacob Angadiath Bishop 5 St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago Dear Friends in Jesus Christ, am delighted to write few words in our Message Diocesan Bulletin this month. This issue of the bulletin comes to you after the appointment I and my Episcopal ordination as the Auxiliary Bishop of St Thomas Syro Malabar Diocese, Chicago. The days gone were very hectic and stressful but filled with excitement and spiritually empowering. I could see many helping hands worked very hard to make this event of my Episcopal Ordination an event of big faith celebrations in our Diocese. Pastors of our parishes and missions really helped to make aware the value and importance of leadership in the church and also cooperated wholeheartedly to raise enough financial support for this event. This was an event that showed great amount of unity and mutual support. I humbly bow my head before the Lord for giving this event for our Diocese. The month of October is a special month spiritually. We remember few of our favorite Saints in this month. St. Theresa of Jesus, Holy Angels, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Teresa of Avila are few of them. Also we dedicate whole month to recite Rosary prayer in a special way and assure the protection of Mother Mary for Church, families and priests of course. Pope Francis is fascinating the World by his graceful presence today. What is special about Pope Francis that he brings a face of compassion to the whole world. The present day world is eagerly looking for this compassion and understanding. It is in this situation more than two hundred Bishops and Archbishops have assembled in Rome to discuss on the theme of Family which is a vital element of our church. Isn’t the words of Pope remind us or challenge us something special from us. He told: “I see clearly the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugar! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds… And you have to start from the ground up… “ Once again thanking you all and looking forward to see in your parishes, Mar Joy Alappatt Aux. Bishop 6 7 Welcome and Prayerful Greetings to Mar Joy Alappatt the Auxiliary Bishop of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago 7 Greetings His Grace Mar George Njaralakkattu the Archbishop of Thalassery Diocese Mar Ephrem Narikulam the Bishop of Chanda Diocese Warm Greetings and Prayerful Wishes to His Excellency Mar Jacob Angadiath on his 69th birthday, entering ‘Sapthathi’, October 26, 2014. SEMINARIANS OF THE DIOCESE Bro. Kevin Mundackal Bro. Rajeev Philip (Bronx, NY) Theology 1st year (Tampa, FL) Theology 1st year Bro. Melvin Paul Bro. Joel Villanasseril Bro. Aljo Abraham (Baltimore, MD) Philosophy Final Year (Detroit, MI) Philosphhy