Sunday, December 16, 2012

Happy Christmas and Happy New year 2013


Friday, December 14, 2012

Fr.Sebastian Puthuparambil passed away




 Fr.Sebastian Puthuparambil- 73 years old (Udaipur Diocese) died around 3.00a.m on 14 Dec 2012. The funeral will be held at Udaipur on 15 Dec 2012 at 2.00p.m. He was a Jesuit for 19 Years in Gujarat Province, India ( from 1957- 1976). Kindly keep him in your prayers.

With best wishes and in Union of Prayers,
Socius- Gujarat Province
Fr.Lawrence Dharmaraj

Monday, December 10, 2012

Funeral Service : Fr Ordonez sj, Gujarat, India

The celebrants at Unteshwari Mariam Mata Mandir

Fr Gariz and other priests present.

Fr Ordonez sj

Candles at the tomb.
Photos C/o Vijay / BBN

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Fr .Ordonez Ignacio (GUJ) 84/68 expired


Fr .Ordonez Ignacio


R.I.P.
Fr .Ordonez Ignacio (GUJ) 84/68 expired this morning due to heart  attack (08- 12-2012 ) at Unteshwari.
The funeral will be held at 5.00 p.m ( today) in  Unteshwari  Shrine, Kadi  on  08-12-2012.
Please remember him in your prayers.
Fr.Lawrence Dharmaraj SJ
Socius
GUJ

Personal Information

Birth: 23 -10-1928 9 (Spain, Navarra)
Entered SJ: 26-08-1944 ( Loyola Spain)
Priesthood: 24-03-1958 ( Anand- Gujarat)
Final vows: 02-02-1977 9 Nanakantharia)

Responsibilities held
Asst PP: Retreat house, Baroda—1960
PP at Gothada—1961
Asst PP at Bhilodas—1971-1973
PP at Nanakantharia -- !973-1983
Socius to the Provincial –1984-1989
PP at Meghrej –1989-1993
Asst PP at Meghrej—1993-1994
Asst.PP at Bhiloda—1994-2004
Asst.PP at Unteshwari—2004-2012

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Filmograph - Press conference

Film on Jesus in Hindi ‘Christayan’


By Varghese Alangadan Indore:   

A six-hour-long film on Jesus in Hindi, directed by a Catholic priest, was released on Dec. 2 after he worked seven years on it with a team of some 200 amateur actors and technical staff.

Divine Word Father Geo George's unique movie with the name ‘Christayan’ (the journey of Christ)

 was released in Indore.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Sr Rosy Koikara passed away

Sr Rosy Koikara CCV of Bardipada has gone to her Father's House on 28th November 2012 at Mumbai, India.
A special Shradhanjali on 8th December 2012 in Bardipada.

Bardipada Parivar
    

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Fr Cedric Prakash honoured in USA


    Washington:  A city in the United States has honoured an Indian Jesuit for promoting social justice and human rights.

    Mayor of City of Harvey in Illinois, Eric Kellogg, on Monday presented the “Outstanding Achievement Award” to Fr. Cedric Prakash, director of Prashant, a Jesuit center for human rights, justice and peace, based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

    Kellog hailed Fr. Prakash for his stellar service to humanity and his struggle to bring justice to the poor and victims of sectarian violence, especially in Gujarat.

    The mayor also recalled the 2002 riots in Gujarat that killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims and how Fr. Prakash braved threats to his life to help the victims. The Jesuit priest’s work proved the existence of compassion, selflessness and “an inspiring conviction in the brotherhood of humanity.”

    Accepting the award, Fr. Prakash said the honor “is a reminder that none of us should be quiet until the cause of justice has been met.”

    Source: business-standard.com

    Sunday, November 4, 2012

    Fr.George Kunnath CMI Passed away on 31-Oct-2012 [ BBN]




    Posted: 04 Nov 2012 12:13 AM PDT
     Rev. Fr. George Kunnath CMI (72), the great missionary of the Kutch passed away on 31-Oct-2012 at the Lilavathy Hospital, Mumbai at 8.05 am.

     He was admitted to the hospital three days ago as he was found lying unconscious on his bed early morning at the CMI house in Mumbai. He was suffering from Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease since a few years.

    Thursday, October 11, 2012

    Communications technology not a threat

    Vatican City: 

    Communications technology not a threat: Cardinal Gracias

    He was speaking at the bishops synod in Rome.


    Cardinal Oswald Gracias has said that Asia is experiencing a boom in communications technology which should not be viewed as a threat.

    “It is a great gift from God to be used to spread the Good News," he said.

    Cardinal Gracias, who is also the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, was speaking at a Synod of the Bishops in Rome, which began on Oct. 7.

    He was one of five speakers summarizing the state of evangelization in different regions of the world.

    The speakers mentioned the role of the media and insisted on the church's obligation to use social networks to reach new generations of Catholics.

    Cardinal Gracias said that the church must help parents, pastors and teachers who can train young people to use the new media and to benefit from them.

    The prelate said that Christians make up only 3 per cent of the population in Asia and persecution of the community is not completely uncommon.

    "For us in Asia, dialogue is a necessity, not a luxury," he added.

    The cardinal said that many Asian cultures have a deep respect for life, including for the life of animals and plants.

    He hoped that it should not be difficult, through dialogue, to help people see that respect for life must include the life of the unborn and the life of their neighbors who belong to a different faith.

    Speaking on similar lines about the new media, Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest told the Synod that the Catholic Church needs to use its media and social networks to spread the faith.

    “Much of the news media cover about the church is full of lies," the Hungarian Cardinal said.

    Cardinal Erdo is also the president of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences.

    Mexican Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla told the synod that since the Second Vatican Council, the Latin American bishops have focused on building community, entering into dialogue with the world around them and educating the faithful about their role in transforming society.

    Archbishop Carlos, who is the president of the Latin American bishops' council, said the church must "employ new communications technologies to allow the life and mission of the church to be known and for dialogue with the world."

    In today's culture, he said, "the social communications media are most influential."
    c/o UCAN / India

    Sunday, September 23, 2012

    Rearrangement of posts in this blog.

    Long articles [ text messages ] are moved to other pages not to make the home page very crowded.
    Thanks for accessing my blog.
    Devasia M
    Some images from our South Gujarat shooting Trip.
    Takre Tribal dance by Students of St Xavier's Subir, Gujarat, India.

    Takre Tribal dance- another still photo.

    Wednesday, June 20, 2012

    Prasanna Devi

    Prasanna Devi


    Junagadh:  Age has yet to catch up with Prasanna Devi, a 67-year-old Catholic sadhvi – ascetic – who has lived alone in a mountainside forest for 38 years.

    The only concession she grants to her advancing years is to go less often to church. After all, it takes her an hour-and-a-half to walk there through the thick woodland.

    However, she did make an appearance at St Anne’s Church in Junagadh last Pentecost Sunday, to attend Mass and visit a doctor.

    Around 65 Catholic families live in the parish of Junagadh in Gujarat state. To them, the saffron-clad woman is a familiar and welcome sight. “They flock around her whenever she makes her visits to the church,” says the parish priest, Father Vinod Kannatt.

    When she returns to her hermitage, she often finds a swarm of regular visitors and new admirers awaiting her. They bend down to touch her feet and seek her blessings.

    “She gets hundreds of visitors. She has a good memory for the people who visit her regularly, including me,” says Fr Kannatt.

    He has recently started to make life easier for her by going up to her dwelling each week to offer Mass.

    “I take my motorcycle up to the forest gate where a board says entry is restricted,” he says. “Then I leave the bike and trek up the hill.”

    The sadhvi first came to the forest after the closure of a religious congregation which she had joined as a teenager. She opted for an ascetic life because she was attracted to the Indian way of sanyasa, or renunciation. So she set up her hermitage in the forest of Girnar, which is home to numerous animals including monkeys, leopards and Asiatic lions. They come frequently to drink from the reservoir that is just a stone’s throw from her door.

    She also has a flock of six mongooses for company. “I have a clock, but they are my real timekeepers,” she says. “They arrive at four in the evening for their regular cup of tea, served in a saucer.”

    Three generations of mongoose have kept her company, keeping rats and snakes away, although they are? helpless at monsoon times, when crawling creatures overrun the place.

    Her greatest admirer is Praveen, a trishaw driver who visits her daily to see to her needs. Apart from him, thousands of visitors have now come to pay their respects, squatting for hours on the floor while she speaks in the local dialect about God’s love and care. They also share their problems with her and seek her advice.

    “These people may not be Christians by faith, but they are true believers in Jesus through their deeds,” she says.

    Now that age is starting to catch up, she says she is not sure how she will manage if her health deteriorates.

    “But I am sure Mother Mary will give me strength to take care of my needs and continue to spread the Gospel,” she says. Then she laughs and walks to the hand pump to fill a bucket for her garden.
    [UCAN India]

    Wednesday, May 30, 2012

    "Shunyan" an enlightened Guru at "Pranayakulam"

    
    "Shunyan" as his disciples call him.
    
    My visit to this Ashram on 29th may 2012 was a spiritual experience. The Ashram is at the shore of Muvattupuzha  river[ Kerala, India] I sat for about two hours with him sharing our spiritual expereinces. The boats passed by on the calm surface of the river in the same way as words and thoughts passed by the silence within me. His real name is Babu Paul. He tlod me that some one gave him the name "Shunyan". When one empties himself he becomes a "Shunyan"

    A beautiful flower of Keralam

    Sheema Peringalam - a common flower in May



    Sunday, May 20, 2012

    Fr Narciso Mendiburu

    Just now I received the news that Fr. Narciso Mendiburu has expired. [ 18th May 2012- in Spain ] 
    After our arrival in Pamplona he experienced a slight improvement. But  he had a sudden collapse and was taken to the clinic. Apparently he had  a blood clot in the brain. He got worse in the clinic and early in the morning  I got the news that he had expired. The Superior of  the Community has offered me the chance of officiating at the funeral, .I have gladly accepted the invitation.
    I must say that the whole community has accompanied Mendiburu  all the time he has been here. He was visited everyday in the clinic and the nurse from the community was continuously at his service.  Everyday he had visitors in the clinic,though he could not talk.he expressed his appreciation to the visitors by crying..

     Gujarat is, of course, all the time in my thoughts. Best wishes to those around. Sincerely and gratefully

    yours,

    Pablo Gil S.J


    Just now I received the news that Fr. Narciso Mendiburu has expired. [ 18th May 2012- in Spain ] 
    After our arrival in Pamplona he experienced a slight improvement. But  he had a sudden collapse and was taken to the clinic. Apparently he had  a blood clot in the brain. He got worse in the clinic and early in the morning  I got the news that he had expired. The Superior of  the Community has offered me the chance of officiating at the funeral, .I have gladly accepted the invitation.
    I must say that the whole community has accompanied Mendiburu  all the time he has been here. He was visited everyday in the clinic and the nurse from the community was continuously at his service.  Everyday he had visitors in the clinic,though he could not talk.he expressed his appreciation to the visitors by crying..


     Gujarat is, of course, all the time in my thoughts. Best wishes to those around. Sincerely and gratefully

    yours,

    Pablo Gil S.J






    Monday, April 30, 2012

    Better shots with compact cameras

    Tricks - for photography

    Essential skills - Photography

    All about leses

    Depth of field and lens effects

    Framimg, angles ,Rule of thirds

    Two thirds rule for composing

    Steven Spielberg's advice

    Camera Movement

    Aperture/ Iris/shutter

    Video cmaera tutorial

    Camera basics 101

    The 5 deadly sins of video shooting

    Camera angles -video