Tribute to Mother Teresa

CHRISTOPHER EVERS

September 5, 1997: Mother Teresa, the Angel of Calcutta, dies at the age of 87. Mother Teresa, the Macedonian nun who dedicated her life to helping the poorest people of the Indian city of Calcutta and those in need across the world, died on this day in 1997. September 5th 2019, death anniversary of our beloved St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa MC) is observed as International Day of  Charity.

Mother Teresa, known for her undying dedication towards the downtrodden people and who devoted her life to work for the poorest of the poor in the slums, The International Day of Charity was officially declared by the UN General Assembly in 2012. This day also got support of the Hungarian Civil Society with the support of the Hungarian parliament and Government.

The Catholic Association of Bengal (CAB) under the Leadership of President, Mrs. Angelina Mantosh Jasnani and Team organized a prayer service on Thursday the 5th of September 2019 to pay tribute to Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta at Allen Park, Kolkata on her 22nd Death Anniversary. His Grace, Most Rev Archbishop Thomas D’Souza, Vicar General, Father Dominic Gomes of the Archdiocese of Calcutta, Sister Prema, the Superior General of the Missionary of Charity, Hon’ble Mayor Firhad Hakim and Hon’ble Minister Javed Ahmed Khan were present for the Prayer Service among other distinguished delegates who paid floral tributes to the Saint.

There were many school children from Park English, Albany Hall, St. Thomas Day School, Harrow Hall, Loreto House, St Aloysius and Loyola High School who participated in the prayer service. The choir of Park English School sang Mother’s favorite hymns ‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and the famous Bengali hymn which our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sang in Italy on the way to Vatican. “Bisho Pita Tumi Hey Probhu’

Archbishop Thomas D’Souza thanked the President of the Catholic Association of Bengal and the members for organizing the prayer service. On Behalf of CAB, we thank each and everyone for taking out time and coming together in honor of St. Mother Teresa. God bless you all.

Interfaith Prayer for Peace on "Inspiration Day"

ISAAC HAROLD GOMES

Kolkata: An Interfaith Prayer for Peace & Harmony was held at Mother House, Missionaries of Charity Headquarters, Kolkata on 10th September 2019, at 4.30 pm, commonly known as ‘Inspiration Day’. In his welcome address and brief introduction to Prayer for Peace, Fr Francis Sunil Rosario, Director of Diocesan Commission for Dialogue & Ecumenism – Archdiocese of Calcutta said 10th September is a historic day, for on this day Mother Teresa received special inspiration to her new mission to work for the downtrodden and the dying destitute. This inspiration gradually resulted into the birth of Missionaries of Charity. The day also coincided with festival of Muharram.

The programme began with Invocation ‘Asato Ma Satgamaya’ by Mrs Paromita Chatterjee, followed by ‘Sangachadhwam’ by Ms. Saswati Basu Mullick and group. This was followed by Lighting of the Lamps around the tomb of St. Teresa of Kolkata, by Archbishop Thomas D’Souza and Sr. Prema, Superior General, Missionaries of Charity. Representatives of various faith communities also joined in lighting the lamps. Mr O.P. Shah - Forum for Peace said, “Peace is much desirable and urgently required.” He said all saints worked for peace and we all need to work hard for promoting peace. For this Indians need to practise Secularism in the true sense. This means respect for all religions and for the sensibilities of each citizen. He said throughout her life, Mother Teresa preached equity and justice to promote peace. Gandhiji said when there is doubt about a particular course of action, if one thinks of how the action will impact the poorest of poor, peace will be promoted automatically.

Mr Irfan Sher, a veteran Muslim spoke on the significance of Muharram in building peace. He gave a biblical interpretation to the celebration of Muharram. Mr Pritpal Singh Bedi, before starting Kirtan said all religions have the same DNA. With his team, he rendered a very inspiring devotional song on peace. Host of others who sang at this Interfaith Prayer were Mr. Dilip Rozario and his choir, Mr. Amitava Dutta, Ms. Sandipta Bhattacharya, Lavinia Girls and Mrs. Paramita Chatterjee. Two significant testimonies were given of the miracles through the intercessions of St. Teresa of Kolkata, a couple Mr. & Mrs. Murray who had their first baby boy after many years of their marriage and Ms. J. Brenger who gave testimony to the miraculous cure of two cancer patients in her family. Both those testimonies were a moving experience for the entire assembly at Prayer service.

Archbishop Thomas D’Souza said Mother Teresa must be very glad to see the afternoon’s reflection on peace by representatives of different faiths taking place at her house. It was on this day in 1946 she heard deep in her heart a very personal call from Jesus to be a light in the lives of the poorest of the poor. Mother said yes to this call and the rest is history. Rev Martin Pakhare, member of Church of North India (CNI) said “Today was the first time he visited Mother’s House and her tomb. Although in his college days he had worked in Mother Teresa’s projects in Madhyamgram, he felt honoured by this invitation to pray for peace.

Representatives from Ahmeida Muslim, Maulana Muslehuddin Saadi and Buddhist monk, Bodhipala emphasised on the importance of peace and that Peace and Mother Teresa were two sides of the same coin. The common strain was the absolute need for all leaders of faith and their followers to sit together frequently so as to promote peace. Sr Prema Superior General of Missionaries of Charity said Mother Teresa must be present in each of us today to fill us all with humility. Let us ask Mother to teach us humility and purity of heart. Archbishop Thomas said the final prayers and gave all his blessing. In today's world, particularly in India, there is an urgent need for more frequent interfaith dialogues and putting the deliberations into practice.

109th Birth Anniversary of Mother Teresa

Mumbai (AsiaNews): On 26th morning Abp. Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta, presided over a mass in memory of the 109 years since the birth of Mother Teresa, the saint of the poorest of the poor. Father Dominic Gomes, vicar general of the archdiocese, told AsiaNews: "It was a splendid celebration. The 109th anniversary of the birth of our beloved Saint Mother Teresa was a moment of thanksgiving through prayer and joy. The chapel was packed with people of all social origins.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje (ex-Yugoslavia, now Macedonia), to an Albanian Catholic family. At 18 she decided to enter the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto. She left for Ireland in 1928, the following year she was sent to India, where in 1931 she took her first vows taking the new name of Sister Mary Teresa of the Child Jesus.

The turning point of her life dates to September 10, 1946. Sister Teresa is on the train, headed for Darjeeling for spiritual exercises, when she hears her "second call": the cry of Jesus on the cross who says "I am thirsty!" It is the call to dedicate oneself to the poorest of the poor, whom she sees in those who die every day along the streets of Calcutta. In 1948, on August 15, she left the sisters of Loreto to become Mother Teresa. On 7 October 1950, the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity obtained diocesan approval.

Mother Teresa died in Calcutta on the evening of Friday 5 September 1997, at 9.30pm. She was 87 years old. In the mass for her canonization, which took place on September 4, 2016, Pope Francis called her "a model of holiness for the whole world of volunteering," declaring her the patron saint of volunteering. This morning the Archbishop of Calcutta recalled in his homily: "Jesus invites us to love one another. Mother served the poorest of the poor with selfless service and passionate love, giving them to Jesus through her work."

Later, Abp. D’Souza lit a candle on the decorated tomb of Mother, then those present sang a greeting song. Sister Mary Prema, current superior of the congregation, said: "Mother always repeated that we are called to be faithful, not to be successful." Today is also the Archbishop's birthday. At the end of the function in honor of the saint, Abp. D’Souza was celebrated by the staff of the diocese in the archiepiscopal house. In the garden, in front of the statue of Mother Teresa, he paused for a brief recollection in prayer together with the faithful.

ICYM National Youth Sunday 2019

JOVITA J. TIGGA & ALISHA D’CRUZ

“The Lord works out everything to its proper end – even the wicked for a day of disaster” –Proverbs 16:4 was the most fitting verse that all participants would relate to on a day of rain and thunder. The premier event of ICYM Calcutta – National Youth Sunday was celebrated in St. Patrick’s Church, Dum Dum on the 18th of August, 2019. Around 330 plus youth from 23 parishes across the Archdiocese came be a part of the extravaganza. It is noteworthy that the youth came despite the uncertain weather, some even wading through flooded streets.

The day started with animation team from Our Lady of Vailankanni Church, Picnic Garden, making the youth jump to their feet with action songs and games. After setting the tone for the day, the guests for the day were felicitated with a token of appreciation. The youth were blessed by the auspicious presence of Fr. Upendra Nayak, Fr. Joy Mondal, Sr. Teresa Adam, Sr. Esther Abraham, Br. Charles D’Souza, Sr. Joyful Mary, Sr. Shanti, Sr. Cyril, and Brothers from the Sacred Heart Congregation and Morning Star College.

Post felicitation the youth were given the main session of the day on“Christus Vivit” – a post-synodal exhortation by the Holy Father to the young people. The four speakers Mr. Jibin, Mr. Jovita, Miss

Sabrina and Miss Preza, tried to highlight the importance of the document and lovely message from the Holy Father. Following a short snack break, the 330 odd youth headed towards the Church to

celebrate the Holy Eucharist. The main celebrant for the mass was His Grace Archbishop Thomas D’Souza who is ever willing to be with the youth. In his homily, he spoke about Prophet Jeremiah

whom the Lord chose despite his young age. Citing the Christus Vivit he insisted how the youth of today are agents of change.

After a scrumptious lunch it was time for some fun. The parishes were segregated and the various events took off. The events were namely Non-fire Cooking, Dress Making out of Newspaper, Best out of Waste and Triathlon. The instructions were given to the youth who were restricted to a stipulated time period. The various competitions saw the active involvement of the participants with great zeal and enthusiasm. Meanwhile the judges were on their rounds doing their part. The perfect icing on the cake was the DJ evening. The youth danced to the thrill and brought down the curtains on a successful NYS 2019.

Finally the moment arrived for which everyone was waiting – the prize distribution. After competing in good spirit the following parishes made it to the medals tally: Dress Making:1st - St. Teresa’s Church, Moulali; 2nd – St. John Bosco Church, Liluah; 3rd – Mother Teresa Church, Mathkol and Rupantor Community Centre. Non-fire Cooking:1st- Mother Teresa Church, Matkol; 2nd – St. Patrick’s Church, Dum Dum; 3rd – Infant Jesus Church, Behala and Stella Maris Church. Best out of Waste: 1st – St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church; 2nd – St. Damien’s Church; 3rd – Auxilium Church, Gobra. Triathlon: 1st – Our Lady of Vailankanni Church; and 2nd – Christ the King, Park Circus. Teaser-making Competition: Winners - Stella Maris Church. Mother Teresa Church was judged as the overall Winner for NYS 2019.