CELEBRATING DON BOSCO - 30 JANUARY 2009

We had a great feast of our father and founder, Don Bosco after a novena of reflection and prayer. The attendance was good at the novena and the animation by the different zones and communities were prayerful. On 30 January we had the traditional academy and once again it was a touching moment to pay homage to the Father of Youth. This year special note must be made of our Sunday School children who enacted scenes from the life of Don Bosco.

The smallest among them provided the chorus to link the various scenes enacted. Here is a photograph of that...

And another of the older children enacting the dream at the age of nine...

GROTTO - 29 JANUARY 2009

The blessing of the grotto is scheduled for our parish feast - 31 January - on the day our Archbishop is in our midst and celebrates the mass. We are nearly there. Here are some final pictures of the grotto. The next we post will be of the blessing on the Feast Day.

GROTTO - 24 JANUARY 2009

We are arriving at the finish....this should be done a few days from now. Thank you Mother Mary...

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 25 JANUARY 2009

• Today is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.
• We are in the novena of Don Bosco and it is so nice to see many parishioners making this a moment to reflect on “St. John Bosco and Christian life today” helped by the different preachers and animating groups. Let us continue to attend and grow in our faith. Details regarding the theme, the preachers, and the animating groups are available on the notice-board. Please collaborate with your zonal leaders when they approach you for your assistance.
• The novena mass will be at 7 pm every evening except on Sunday 25 January and Friday 30 January when the mass will be at 6:30 pm.
• Please note that there will be no morning mass this Sunday 25 January.
• After the novena mass on 30 January we will have an Academy in honour of St. John Bosco. All of you are invited to be present. If any of you would like to stage items please get in touch with Fr. Vinod as soon as possible.
• The feast day mass next Saturday 31 January is at 6 pm.
• The next parish council meeting will be held on Sunday 1 February at 10 am. All parish council members are requested to attend.
• Also next Sunday 1 February STI is staging a three-act comedy “Paradise Villa” at 6:30 pm in the Divyadaan auditorium. All of you are invited. Hence, the evening mass next Sunday will be at 5 pm.
• On Saturday 7 February we will have a parish family get-together after the evening mass with games and dinner. The charges will be Rs. 70/- for adults, and, Rs. 35/- for children 12 years and below. Please collect your passes from your zone leaders. It will be a great sign of belonging if as many as possible get involved and participate in the celebration of the novena and the feast.
• Regular scripture classes will resume on Monday 9 February.
• We have begun collecting Church support through volunteers who sit outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass. Thank you for your support of the various Church projects through the amounts you give in Church support.

OUR PARISH NOVENA BEGINS

Dear friends,

We begin our parish novena on Thursday 22 January. Here is a glimpse of the themes and other details:

NOVENA IN HONOR OF ST. JOHN BOSCO 2009

"ST. JOHN BOSCO AND CHRISTIAN LIVING TODAY"

ANIMATING GROUPS, THEMES, PREACHERS

22 JANUARY, THURSDAY - SACRED HEART TRAINING CENTRE - EUCHARIST AND UNION WITH GOD - Fr. Ashley Miranda
23 JANUARY, FRIDAY - SALESIAN TRAINING INSTITUTE - PRAYER AND RENEWAL - Fr. Matthew Coutinho

24 JANUARY, SATURDAY - ZONE B + KILBIL - OPTIMISM AND JOY - Fr. Savio D’Souza

25 JANUARY, SUNDAY - SUNDAY SCHOOL - PROMOTION OF VOCATIONS - Fr. Ivo Coelho

26 JANUARY, MONDAY - ZONE C + NIRMALA CONVENT - INVOLVEMENT OF THE LAITY - Fr. Diego Nunes
27 JANUARY, TUESDAY - TANMAY - WORK AND TEMPERANCE - Fr. Wyman Gonsalves

28 JANUARY, WEDNESDAY - YOUTH + DON BOSCO BHAVAN - SOLIDARITY WITH THE MARGINALIZED - Fr. Nelson Falcao
29 JANUARY, THURSDAY - ST. JOSEPH NOVITIATE - ROLE OF MARY AND THE SAINTS - Fr. Solomon Rapol
30 JANUARY, FRIDAY - DIVYADAAN - SPIRIT OF INITIATIVE AND COMMUNION - Fr. Valerian Pereira

31 JANUARY, SATURDAY - FEAST OF ST. JOHN BOSCO - ZONE A + MARIA VIHAR - Archbishop Felix Machado DD

• The daily mass with the novena prayers will begin at 7 pm (except on Sunday 25 January and Friday 30 January when the mass will be at 6:30 pm).
• On Sunday 25 January there will be no morning mass.
• On 30 January there will be an Academy in honor of St. John Bosco after the mass.
• The Feast Day mass will begin at 6 pm.
• The rosary will be recited everyday 20 mts before the mass. Confessors will be available every day half an hour before the mass.

GROTTO - 22 JANUARY 2009

So here is what the grotto looks like - its moving and God willing we'll soon have it ready...

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 18 JANUARY 2009

• Today is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
• There will be regular scripture class on St. Paul on Monday 19th January at 7:30 pm. It will last half an hour.
• Our collection for our Christian brothers and sisters in Orissa amounted to Rs. 12,000/-. It has been suggested that we target a bigger amount and then send it to the “Bishop's Kandhamal Relief Fund”. If you have any suggestions on this matter please meet Fr. Matthew personally.
• We have begun collecting Church support through volunteers who sit outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass. We trust that each family will be able to contribute at least Rs. 100/- per month. Thank you for your support of the various Church projects through the amounts you give in Church support.
• We begin the novena of Don Bosco on Thursday 22 January. Our theme this year is “St. John Bosco and Christian life today”. The themes of each day will help us discover how Don Bosco offers us ways to live our Christian life more fully. The novena is a grace God offers each of us to grow in our faith. Details regarding the theme, the preachers, and the animating groups are available on the notice-board. Please collaborate with your zonal leaders when they approach you for your assistance. From 22 to 29 January the novena mass will be at 7 pm every evening except on Sunday 25 January and Friday 30 January when the mass will be at 6:30 pm. Please note that there will be no morning mass next Sunday 25 January.
• On 30 January we will have an Academy in honour of St. John Bosco after the evening novena mass. If any parish groups wish to present items please contact Fr. Vinod.
• On Saturday 7 February we will have a parish family get-together after the evening mass with games and dinner. The charges will be Rs. 70/- for adults, and, Rs. 35/- for children 12 years and below. Please collect your passes from your zone leaders. It will be a great sign of belonging if as many as possible get involved and participate in the celebration of the novena and the feast.