Pope Francis in his Wednesday general audience on 15th Nov 2023 said that Christians who are always resentful and full of complaints are not credible witnesses to the Gospel because joy is an essential ingredient for evangelization. “Humanity abounds with brothers and sisters waiting for a word of hope”, he stated. “The Gospel is a proclamation of joy, the Gospel is a smile, it makes you smile because it touches the soul with the good news,” he said.
Rev. Bro. Thampy Alex in his message invites us to reflect on the profound meaning behind the festive decorations and twinkling lights of Christmas. During the four weeks of Advent we light candles of hope, peace, joy and love. Each flame represents a beacon of anticipation, guiding us towards the profound significance of Christ’s birth. Christmas is a celebration of divine love breaking into our world. He exhorts us to let the spirit of Advent guide us filling our hearts with gratitude, compassion, and a renewed sense of wonder.
In the present age of religious fanaticism, the English romantic poet John Keats’ assertion that love is the true and only religion worth dying for is absolutely relevant. In these turbulent times we want the overwhelming power and reach of love that can touch and change every individual. As we know Christmas itself is “a celebration of divine love breaking into our world.” Love cannot be confined to a mere emotion. It is the very kernel of human existence and the essence of humanity. In the words of John Keats, “To feel for every soul and relate to every drop/ My love continues to move, it cannot stop.”
In this issue Bro. Alex Diamond gives a brief report of the 16th Montfortian Scouts & guides Integration Camp from 1st – 5th Oct 2023 held at Montfort School, Roorkee. In this camp over 200 Scouts & Guides from different schools of our province had participated. The theme of the camp was “Service above self”. During this province level integration camp, the 350th Birth Anniversary of our founder, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort also was given due importance.
1979-81 novitiate batch has been coming together on a regular basis once in a decade and sometimes even before that. They found the coming together and reliving together their novitiate days with their Novice Master had a formative, reassuring, and re-energizing dimension. With the same objective in mind the same batch had gathered together from 24-26 Nov 2023 at St. Louis Villa, Yercaud. You will find a short report about it in this issue.
Hymn no. 92 by Bro. Emmanuel P.J., titled ‘Come Home Lord and stir my Heart’ is a creative reflection on the dialogue between Jesus and Zachaeus on the sycamore tree. It reflects the yearning of human heart to be with the Divine.
Mr. Pratyush Ratna Pandey, PET, MIC, Lucknow had been privileged to represent India as the Head of Indian squad of Vovinam Martial Art at the World Championship held in Vietnam from 22- 30 Nov 2023.
It is a matter of great satisfaction to mention that this edition of DIALOGUE also carries news from 16 communities of our province, one common house of formation, one inter-cultural community (Montreal), and three Colleges of Theology (Vidyadeep, Bengaluru, KJC, Bengaluru and Vidyajyothi, Delhi) where our Brothers are students. Congrats to all the LSs and local correspondents for your efforts in that direction. Only St. Charles Lwanga, Port Moresby and St. Gabriel’s House, Sitagarha are not represented in this edition.
May your hearts be filled with gratitude, compassion, and joy throughout the year 2024!
Bro. T.T. Mathew, SG, Editor
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