Mill Hill News Letter March 2020 email · 23 hours ago · Americans. The Society’s Superiors thought it more advantageous, if they were ordained in the United States. It would

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ContentsEditoral; ............... 3

A Jubilee that raises a challenge ............... 4

Ordination and Appointment to India ............... 7

Overcoming Challenges ............... 9

My Story ............... 11

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EditorialDear MILL HILL Dear MILL HILL Dear MILL HILL Dear MILL HILL Dear MILL HILL FFFFFamily Members,amily Members,amily Members,amily Members,amily Members,

Greetings for a grace filled Lenten season!

As we journey through a new season of lent (40days), we become more aware of the true purposeof our Christian calling.

I greatly rejoice when I hear your testimony about the spiritualgifts you have received for your family and personal life fromJESUS CHRIST our LORD, through the powerful intercession of ST.JOSEPH, the head of THE HOLY FAMILY.

As St. Joseph was a man of faith, he was able to recognize THEPRESENCE OF GOD in all his life situations.

This realization enabled him to be joyful even in the tryingcircumstances of daily living.

So also, we are privileged to participate and encounter THE LIVINGCHRIST IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST and carry HIS PRESENCE intoall our daily life situations with HIS PRESENCE bringing us peaceand joy.

This is to inform you that on 1st April 2020, I will be transferredand in my place a new director, Rev. Fr. Poulson Pasala mhm, willtake over this ministry.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude,your love and support through the last six years of ministry amongyou.

Kindly cooperate with Rev. Fr. Poulson Pasala in this ministry thathe may be joyful in his service to THE LORD.

Yours in Christ Jesus

Fr. Vincent Porathur, mhm

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A JUBILEE THAT RAISES A CHALLENGE

Last year, our parish St. Josephand Mary was celebrating its 40years’ anniversary since the seedof faith was sown in ShauriMoyo, one of the quarters of thecity of Nairobi. The name of ourparish St. Joseph and Marysounds fascinating to me everytime I see it on the magazine oron the notice board and so on.It is so because I am somehowused to single named churches.I was trying to understand whatwould have been the reasonswhy our predecessors namedour church that way. I guess thefounding fathers must have

wanted to focustheir ministry on“families” as it isthe mostf u n d a m e n t a lsocial institution.St. Joseph and Mary were theparents of Jesus our Lord. Theyplayed a huge role in bringingup our Lord in accordance withJewish custom and tradition.The name of our parish remindsme of how St. Joseph and Marymust have contributed towardsthe personality of Jesus since theNew Testament gives very littleaccount of the parents of Jesus.Parents and children make afamily. The Bible teaches that thefamily is a sacred institutioncreated by God himself (Genesis1&2). In Matthew 19:6 Jesussays, “What God has joinedtogether, no man shouldseparate”. Here I want to putdown something on the presentsituation of our Christianfamilies in Nairobi in generaland Shauri Moyo in particular.

One day, a young motherappeared in our parish office

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with her three children, two byher side and the last one on herback. Her face told it all: shelooked very depressed and sad.I welcomed her in the office andasked her what the matter was.She told me that her husbandhad abandoned her with threelittle children to look after, andshe feels devastated as she hasno food, no money that sheneeded to pay rent. I asked herif they had a quarrel, she saidthere was no quarrel, andadded: “He just told me that heis going to buy some vegetablesfor the family and never cameback.” She said that she tried tocall him several times but thephone did not go through, andthat up to this day he had never

picked up her calls. She did saythat when they had some pettydisagreement, her husbandused to threaten her saying thathe would run away leaving heralone with the children. Now shedid not have anything, not evena place to stay. At present shewas taking shelter in aneighbor’s house that has onlyone room. With her threechildren she did not know howlong they would allow her tostay.

This was indeed a verydistressing story for me. Iremained silent for a whilereflecting upon what the womanhad shared. Then I asked her ifshe had something to eat thatday and she replied ‘nothing’. I

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went to the store room and gaveher some food stuffs and a littlemoney to buy some vegetable.She went on her way, but tilltoday I have never seen thatmother in our church premises.I wonder where she will havegone with her three littlechildren, and whether she willever come back to our church.

Sometimes this particular storycomes back to my mind andclouds me with so manyquestions. In fact, I meet somany single mothers in ourparish office, and their storiesare often heartbreaking. Thechallenges faced by thisparticular mama, let me call herRose (it’s just an imaginaryname) reflect the plight of manysingle young mothers in ShauriMoyo area.

One day I decided to do a bit ofresearch if something waswritten about this crisis. I foundan article in the local newspapercalled “The Nation” dated 17thAugust 2013 which stated: “Sixof every 10 Kenyan women arelikely to be single mothers bythe time they reach 45, one ofthe highest rates for single-parent families in Africa.” Itadded that three in 10 Kenyan

girls become pregnant beforethe age of 18, and that Kenyahas one of the highest levels ofchildren born out of wedlock onthe continent. It gave severalfactors that contribute towardssingle parenthood, such asirresponsible fathers, economichardships, peer pressure andthe struggle to cope withmodernization (where peopleare attracted to cheap pleasureand flitting, momentaryhappiness).

This is indeed disturbing news.Sociologists and scholars warnthat this trend could have a deepimpact on society becausestudies show that a significantnumber of children brought upin single parent families havelower life prospects than theirpeers brought up in two-parentfamilies.

As single parenthood becomesincreasingly a commonphenomenon, especially in a citylike Nairobi, this can be awakeup call for our parish onthe occasion of its jubilee tospare more thought andpastoral planning on how toface this increasing crisis.

Fr. Victor Nayak, mhm

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ORDINATION AND APPOINTMENT TO INDIA

The secondSunday in Julywas a red letterday in St. Joseph’sCollege, Mill Hill.For almost a

hundred years it was the daywhen the deacons wereordained priests. They wouldreceive their appointments thesame day. The Society wasofficially St. Joseph’s MissionarySociety. However, all memberswere ordained at ourheadquarters in London. Astream of missionaries had setout year by year from there.They had lived, worked, Prayedtogether for years. Now theywere ordained together. Goingto every continent, manystudents, now priests, wouldnever meet each other again.But all coming ‘from the stablesin Mill Hill’, they came to becalled Mill Hill Missionaries. Iwould be one among them.

It really all happened on 12thJuly 1964. We were twenty-fivedeacons. Twenty-three wereordained in the Mill Hill chapelby Archbishop J. Heenan. Two

were missing. They wereAmericans. The Society ’sSuperiors thought it moreadvantageous, if they wereordained in the United States. Itwould help to make the Societyknown there. Since thefoundation of the Society, 98years previously, 1964 would bethe last year that students would

be ordained in Mill Hill. Thewinds of change were blowinghere too. From the next yearonwards, students would beordained in their own countriesand parishes.

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Of the twenty-five newlyordained priests, fifteen camefrom the Netherlands, fourcame from the Tyrol, to thenorth of Italy, two from theUnited States, and four from theU.K. The Superior Generalappointed all twenty-five exceptone to missions in East, Centraland West Africa, Borneo, NewZealand and India. After theordination Mass and breakfastwith our families, we were calledto meet the Superior General –something awesome forerstwhile students. All togetherin one room, he called each oneand gave an envelopecontaining our firstappointment. Quite out of theblue, he appointed me to St.John’s Regional Seminary inHyderabad. I had neverdreamed of it, though I hadprayed daily to go to themissions.

Born and educated in England,I was now to give my life to thepeople of India and India wasto become my land of adoption.There was now a new ethos inthe Society. After years in theseminary, it was thought best tosend new priests directly to the

missions. The Superior Generaltold me that I would be in Indiafor two years or so. I would thenbe appointed to some otherSociety work. It would seem theLord had other ideas. It is nowfifty-five years and I am still inthe subcontinent!

The first thing to do was to seewhere I was to go. Sitting inLondon, I knew more or lesswhere India was, though it hadnever been part of mygeography syllabus in school! Ihad heard a good deal aboutPandit Nehru. He was oftenquoted on the BBC news. In fact,I identified India with Nehru. Iremember seeing his funeral onBBC TV in June of 1964. Thatwas just before my ordination.Little did I imagine that Indiawould become my life.Hyderabad, however, wasanother matter. I can’tremember ever having heard ofit and I had to search for it onthe map! Nonetheless the wordHyderabad sounded veryromantic and from that day Ilooked forward to setting footon ‘the holy ground’.

Fr. Greenway, mhm

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OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

I, Chanikya, with full passionand enthusiasm for my mission,was appointed to Vishunpurparish, North India. With anopen mind and clear vision Ientered the place, it took me afew weeks to settle-in. This is myfirst place of work after beingordained as a priest. ThereforeI want to give my best of serviceto the needs of the people. Beinga priest in this advanced globalworld is not a bed of roses, itinvolves many challenges andhardships through which onecan get bountiful experiences.

I see these challenges underthree headings: 1) Language, 2)Environment, 3) ReligiousPluralism

Among these challenges,language is the first. Here thepeople are divided on the basisof their tribes, and each tribehas their own language andslang. Though I had learnedsome Hindi, this is seen as adifferent language because itdoesn’t match their ownlanguage or slang. My onlyconcern is that they understandme and accept me as one oftheir own, because it is verydifficult for an outsider to judge

the mood andmindset of thesepeople. Thereare only twooptions eitherthey accept youor not.

The environment is anotherchallenge. The place issurrounded by mountainscovered with thick forest; anywild animals or poisonouscreatures can easily attack you,and I have seen many snakebites in this area. Moreover thisplace is the border of threestates (Chhattisgarh, UttarPradesh, Jharkhand) offeringeasy ways of access for robbers.Recently when I was sick andhad to go for a medicalcheckup, I had to travel 150 kmfrom our place. But amidst allthese physical challenges thereis even greater hope that Godwill take care of His people.

One more challenge is ourreligious pluralism. India is hostto many religions, and ourconstitution guarantees religiousfreedom. But the practice doesnot always follow the rule.When we are working for thepoor and stand up for their

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God” (Mat 5:3)

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rights, we are watched withsuspicion by some groups andface false allegations. I see thisas a challenge. I have theresponsibility to stand up forjustice and harmony by my life’sexample. I should become partof the solution, not part of theproblem. These are thechallenges that time and againprick my heart and raisequestions like: do I fulfill theseexpectations? Am I a life-enhancing presence of Jesus inthe lives of others?

These and other challengesmight be very common to anygospel messenger. What isimportant is: how do weovercome these challenges ? Ipropose, 1) with the word ofGod through which Jesusassures us that he would be withus always till the end of time(Mt 28:20). The work we aredoing today is not the work ofan individual; it is rather thework of God. We arecommissioned by God, as

stewards in His vineyard, asheralds of the Good News tothe entire world. In other words,it is our turn to see the needs ofthe people according to thesigns of the time, and to askGod in prayer for all thestrength we need to follow Him.

2) Taking the examples of thegreat saints and heralds ofgood news and how theyovercame their differentchallenges. We have to‘bloom wherever we areplanted’ with the help ofGod.

3) Always being positive of theoutcome of our work.Personally I feel that being apriest doesn’t mean that Iknow everything; withhumility I acknowledge that Iam just a creature of Godalong with the others.Learning and spiritual growthcontinue till the end of life.

Fr. Chanikya Kodati, mhm

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MY STORY

Allow mefirst of all tointroduce myself:I am ChristuK o l l a b a t h i n a(Ravindra Babu)

from India. We are five in thefamily, three children, mum anddad. The 1st born is my sister,and she is a Nun belongs to theSt. Joseph’s Sisters ofChamberi, I am the 2nd born,serving as a Mill Hill Missionaryin the diocese of Miri, Sarawak(Malaysia); and the 3rd born ismy younger brother, he ismarried. Most of my educationwas completed in Catholicschools.

Formation: I did the first part offormation for the missionarypriesthood in India, whichincludes orientation, basicformation and philosophy (1stCycle). The second part Icompleted at St. JosephFormation Centre, Nairobi,Kenya (East Africa). Thisincluded my theological studiesat Tangaza University College inNairobi, and a two years’Missionary ExperienceProgramme in the diocese ofKroonstad, South Africa.

Ordination: I was ordained asa deacon on 8th August 2015in Nairobi. And I was ordaineda priest on the 3rd February2016 in the Archdiocese ofHyderabad, India.

First Appointment: as my firstappointment, I was sent to workin the Diocese of Miri, SarawakMalaysia. I arrived there on the29th of April 2016, and on the20th of June stepped into theparish of Lapok. I served for thelast two years in Gereja YesusTuhan, Lapok, Tinjar. We werethree priests in the parish; FrAndy Lee (the Parish priest), FrJohn McAulay (Mill HillMissionary) and me, Fr Christu,also a Mill Hill Missionary.

Language: The languages thatare spoken in Lapok, LongLama and Bakong are: BahasaMalayu, Iban, Kenyah, Kayan,Baravan, Sebub, and Penan. So,

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the Lapok parish is a mixture ofmany races. I have learnedsome Bahasa Malayu and a littleIban and can celebrate Mass inboth languages as well as in theChinese Mandarin language. Irealized during my stay in EastAfrica and South Africa thatlanguage is a primary tool inthe life of a missionary, and thatwithout knowing their languageit is very difficult to get in realtouch with the people.

Celebrating Mass in Ibanlanguage at the Ibang Longhouse, Bakong

Second Appointment: on 1stSeptember 2018, BishopRichard Ng, has appointed meas an assistant parish priest toSt. Edmund’s Parish, Limbang,Sarawak. Limbang is a smalltown. To reach it I would haveto pass through the country ofBrunei which would require aVisa. So I fly from Miri toLimbang and vice versa. It is a30 minutes flight. The peoplehere are Chinese, Bisaya, Ibanand other races.

Life in the ministry in Borneo:on the 3rd of February 2019, Icelebrated the 3rd anniversaryof my Priesthood. Serving thepeople in Ulu (Borneo forest),and reaching out to manykampongs (villages) are thebeautiful moments in my lasttwo years of priestly ministry. Iexperienced the Joy of Christ inthe lives of the people that I amministering to, remembering thewords of Pope Francis, “PRIESTSSHOULD BE ‘SHEPHERDSLIVING WITH THE SMELL OFTHE SHEEP’”.

One of the beautiful momentsin my ministry is, spending threenights in three differentKampongs, celebrating HolyMass, spending time with them.Most of the Long Houses in theforest area are still very simple.I found that people here are verycaring and loving. They showhow much they love when theysay to me, tamba nasi (whichmeans, “take more rice”). WhenI visit a kampong, I don’t haveto worry about food, becausethe people here offer the bestfresh food. The hospitality ofpeople in the long houses isgreat. Actually, it is my privilegeto be here in Sarawak. I thankGod for having sent me here.

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I go to one or other kampongfor Mass almost every night.Some kampongs are near andsome are very far, one or oneand a half hour’s drive ontimber roads. Driving is one ofthe important things in myministry. I had to learn how todrive on these timber roads, forwhen it rains, these roads canbe very dangerous. Besides,there are a few long houseswhich can only be reached byboat.

There were also some funnymoments during my last twoyears’ stay here. When I go todifferent long houses, somepeople take me to be a managerat an oil palm mill, working withpetronas (gas company), orselling cloth, phones and powerbanks, etc,. This can happenbecause many Indians herework with companies, whilst afew Pakistanis are doingbusiness like selling clothes andother stuff.

After having stayed here inLapok, Long Lama and Bakong,

I must say that I am very happyto be here working as a Mill Hillpriest in the Borneo forest. Ithank everyone who helped methroughout these first two yearsof my priestly ministry in Miridiocese. I request you all toremember me in your prayersso that I can be strong in mypriestly vocation to continueGod’s work in this diocese.

May God bless you all, and asincere thanks to the Mill HillFamily in India for their prayersand continued support.

Fr. Christu, mhm.

HappyFeast of

St.Joseph

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How to reach our St. Joseph's Shrine at Ramanthapur?

Please ContactFr. Poulson Pasala, mhm

The Director, Mill Hill Family India, # 3-4-97/FQ/2,St. Joseph’s House, Ramanthapur, Amberpet (P.O.),

Hyderabad-500 013, T.S., India. Tel Office: +91 9908739500E-mail : [email protected]

ROUTE: Easy to reach by Metro – get down at Uppal Crossroad,take a sharing auto towards Ramanthapur,

before reaching traffic light, Street No.8, Mill Hill House(Adj. to Christ The King Church, Ramanthapur)

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