St. Xavier’s Parish, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, has 634 families residing in the western side of the city. Built on St. Xavier’s College Campus in 2001, it has an attractive church whose distinctive hallmark is the aesthetic Risen Christ with an Indian resonance to it and a welcoming gesture that attracts people to pray. An interesting facet is also the word “Navrangpura” means a complete spectrum of 9 colours and it coincidentally matches the nine ethnic communities that constitute the parish.

31 March, 2013

HAPPY EASTER

30 March, 2013

GOING BEYOND THE RITUAL-footwashing

GOING BEYOND THE RITUAL- A PERSONAL STORY!

P.J. Joseph, SJ

I have, by now, seen many articles expressing opinions on Pope Francis washing the feet of a small group of 12 young people on Manudy Thursday this year. Among them were two girls and two Muslims. And they all looked like humans!

Some 'good Christians' thought that Pope was breaking a tradition, others thought he was setting a 'questionable example', and still others thought he was breaking a 'church law'... and others may be still thinking and thinking....!

A fascinating thought among all these good people is that 'foot washing' is a ritual... which from their expressions look like having little or no significance in practical life except of course the symbolic meaning.....! It is to be done once a year in a church and let it be until next year!

GOOD FRIDAY

Pope Francis - Holy Thursday - footwashing

Pope Francis

Pope Francis washes feet of 12 jailed minors, including two girls, at de...

Pope francis washes women's feet

Pope Francis washes women's feet

Associated Press | Updated: March 29, 2013 08:21 IST

Rome: In his most significant break with tradition yet, Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of two young women at a juvenile detention centre - a surprising departure from church rules that restrict the Holy Thursday ritual to men.

No pope has ever washed the feet of a woman before, and Francis' gesture sparked a debate among some conservatives and liturgical purists, who lamented he had set a "questionable example." Liberals welcomed the move as a sign of greater inclusiveness in the church.

Speaking to the young offenders, including Muslims and Orthodox Christians, Francis said that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion in a gesture of love and service.

"This is a symbol, it is a sign. Washing your feet means I am at your service," Francis told the group, aged 14 to 21, at the Casal del Marmo detention facility in Rome.

Holy Thursday

23 March, 2013

Palm Sunday

Keeping Lent with Saint Luke:

The Passion According to Saint Luke

Jack Mahoney SJ

As we hear Saint Luke’s account of the Passion this Palm Sunday, we are invited to walk with Jesus in the final stages of his journey to the cross. Jack Mahoney SJ has been helping us to think and pray about the Sunday gospels throughout Lent, and now looks at the picture that Luke paints for us of Jesus’s arrest, trial and crucifixion. By focusing on the Lucan trends with which we have become familiar over recent weeks, how can this narrative help us to understand that Jesus ‘loved me and gave himself for me’?

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Try to imagine yourself as an educated member of the Roman Empire reading Luke’s account of the birth, life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, and at the end asking Luke: ‘If all that you write is true about the character and the behaviour and teaching of this good man who claimed to be a prophet of his god, how do you explain his death as a criminal condemned and crucified by the local Roman authorities?’ We can consider Luke setting himself the task of answering this question as he wrote for Gentiles the concluding section of his gospel, which described the arrest, trial and execution of his divine Master.

Good Friday homily the single line ("he gave up his spirit"). "the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."It rips away our false understandings of God and shows us what God really looks like.

THE TEARING OF THE TEMPLE VEIL

There are so many haunting lines in the passion narratives. Who of us, for instance, is not stirred in the soul when the passion story is read in church and we come to the part where Jesus takes his last breath and there is that minute of silence, where we all drop to our knees? No Good Friday homily is ever as effective as that single line ("he gave up his spirit") and the moving silence that ensues.

Another such line that has always haunted me is the one that follows immediately after. Jesus dies and we are told that, at the very second of his death, "the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."

Passion Week

Holy Week

22 March, 2013

Holy Week Programme

HOLY WEEK SERVICES
PALM SUNDAY	24TH MARCH 2013
BLESSING OF PALMS AT 8.00 AM AT COLLEGE LAWNS & PROCESSION. FOLLOWED BY BILINGUALMASS 9.45 AM MALAYAM SERVICE AND MASS
6.30PM MASS (BLESSED PALMS KEPT AT CHURCH ENTRANCE)

MAUNDY THURSDAY	28TH MARCH '13
6.30 PM BILINGUAL LORD'S SUPPER
ADORATION	ENGLISH:8-9.00 PM
	MALAYALAM: 9-10.00 PM
	GUJARATI: 10-11.00 PM

GOOD FRIDAY	29TH MARCH '13
STATIONS OF THE CROSS BILINGUAL	8.00 AM

MALAYALAM SERVICE	9.30 AM
LORD'S PASSION BILINGUAL	6.00 PM

HOLY SATURDAY	30TH MARCH '13
8.30 AM VIGIL WITH OUR LADY BILINGUAL
EASTER VIGIL 30TH MARCH BILINGUAL	9.30 PM
MALAYALAM SERVICE	8.30 PM
EASTER SUNDAY 31ST MARCH '13	8.30 AM
*ONLY ONE MASS ON EASTER SUNDAY*

20 March, 2013

Homily of Pope Francis on the Inagural Mass

Homily of the Holy Father at the Inauguration of his Papal Ministry 19 March 2013:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of my Petrine ministry on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and the patron of the universal Church. It is a significant coincidence, and it is also the name-day of my venerable predecessor: we are close to him with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude.

I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.

News From Vatican

Vatican City,

19 March, Tuesday: 9:30am, Eucharistic celebration to inaugurate the Petrine ministry in St. Peter's Square (Entrance into the square will be permitted beginning at 6:30am. No tickets will be issued for that Mass. All who wish may attend.) Afterwards, before the Altar of the Confession in the Basilica, he will receive the greetings of heads of official delegations and later will return to the Domus Sancthae Marthae for lunch.

20 March, Wednesday: 11:00am, audience with fraternal delegates in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace .

22 March, Friday: 11:00am, audience with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic Palace .

23 March, Saturday: 12:00pm, departure in helicopter from the Vatican heliport. At 12:15pm he will meet and lunch with Pope emeritus Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo and will then return to the Vatican .

24 March, Sunday: 9:30am, Palm Sunday Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter's Square 12:00pm, Angelus

Source
www.news.va

18 March, 2013

Lenten Reflections

15 March, 2013

Word from Rome - wordonfire

New pope urges Church to return to its Gospel roots

By Crispian Balmer and Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY | Thu Mar 14, 2013 5:02pm EDT

(Reuters) - In his first public Mass, Pope Francis urged the Catholic Church on Thursday to stick to its Gospel roots and shun modern temptations, warning that it would become just another charitable group if it forgot its true mission.

In a heartfelt, simple homily, the Argentinian pope laid out a clear moral path for the 1.2-billion-member Church, which is beset by scandals, intrigue and strife.

Addressing cardinals in the frescoed Sistine Chapel the day after his election there, Jorge Bergoglio said the Church should be more focused on the Gospels of Jesus Christ.

"We can walk all we want, we can build many things, but if we don't proclaim Jesus Christ, something is wrong. We would become a compassionate NGO and not a Church which is the bride of Christ," he said, speaking in Italian without notes.

The first non-European pope in 1,300 years, Bergoglio's initial steps suggested he would bring a new style to the papacy, favoring humility and simplicity over pomp, grandeur and ambition among its top officials.

Whereas his predecessor, Pope Benedict, delivered his first homily in Latin, laying out his broad vision for the Church, Francis adopted the tone of parish priest, focusing on faith.

"When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly," he told the massed ranks of cardinals clad in golden vestments.

"We may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, all of this, but we are not disciples of the Lord," he added.

Brothers and sisters good evening.

You all know that the duty of the Conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone almost to the ends of the earth to get him… but here we are. I thank you for the welcome that has come from the diocesan community of Rome.

First of all I would like to say a prayer pray for our Bishop Emeritus Benedict XVI. Let us all pray together for him, that the Lord will bless him and that our Lady will protect him.

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory to the Father…

And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and the people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood. My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today, together with the help of my Cardinal Vicar, may be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.
And now I would like to give the blessing. But first I want to ask you a favour. Before the Bishop blesses the people I ask that you would pray to the Lord to bless me – the prayer of the people for their Bishop. Let us say this prayer – your prayer for me – in silence.

[The Protodeacon announced that all those who received the blessing, either in person or by radio, television or by the new means of communication receive the plenary indulgence in the form established by the Church. He prayed that Almighty God protect and guard the Pope so that he may lead the Church for many years to come, and that he would grant peace to the Church throughout the world.]
[Immediately afterwards Pope Francis gave his first blessing Urbi et Orbi – To the City and to the World.]

I will now give my blessing to you and to the whole world, to all men and women of good will.
Brothers and sisters, I am leaving you. Thank you for your welcome. Pray for me and I will be with you again soon... We will see one another soon.

Tomorrow I want to go to pray to the Madonna, that she may protect Rome.

Good night and sleep well!

14 March, 2013

Bio - Data - Pope Francis

BIO-DATA

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, the leader of a large urban archdiocese in Latin America, was elected the 266th pope and took the name Francis.

He is the first pope in history to come from the Western Hemisphere and the first non-European to be elected in almost 1,300 years. The Jesuit was also the first member of his order to be elected pope, and the first member of any religious order to be elected in nearly two centuries.

Jorge Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital city, Dec. 17, 1936.