Guests at Kondadaba

This afternoon the community was graced with the visit of two eminent and erstwhile professors of St John's Regional seminary, Ramanthapur. They were the professors of Fr Devadas when he was a student doing his theology at Ramanthapur. However, what brought them here was their own training back at Poonamallee. They were both products of the Salesian training in the earlier days at Sacred Heart Theological College, Poonamallee. Frs Joseph and Yeddanapalli Balaswamy were with us for lunch and offered a word of advice to the students too on this occasion. Accompanying them on their trip to the Seminary was Fr CG Mathew, the procurator of the archdiocese of Vizag. Given a chance to address the Brothers he warmly recommended that we look up to Priesthood as a vocation and not as a profession to earn name, fame and money.

Fr Joseph shared his idea about liturgy stating that every liturgical moment is a celebration, even it were to be a funeral Mass. Only when 'celebrated' the liturgy would be useful to the participants and meaningful to oneself, he added. Fr Balaswamy recollecting his good old days and his two day stint in the aspirantate at Tirupattur, spoke of the need to study well in order to be effective ministers later. They were offered a guided tour of the seminary by Fr KT Jose, the Rector and by 2 pm they left for the Steel Plant, in Vizag. They earlier paid a visit to Fr Joseph Anithottam, another of their student in the earlier days and presently the Parish Priest of the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, Kondadaba.