Annual Debate

As part of the academic curriculum, the annual debate was held on January 23, 2013 and the theme, “Nuclear Energy is the Best Energy Resource for India: Yes or No?” The moderator of the debate was Professor Mohan Rao from Vizag. 

There were three brothers for the motion and three brothers against the motion. All of the speakers did their level best in affirming their standpoints. After the individual talks, all the brothers were charged to release missiles in the form of questions against each other. It showed that brothers were really involved in the topic. The question and replies enriched the whole community. The rebuttal speeches of both the groups convinced each one in the hall that Nuclear energy is good and bad and only we should go for it as per the need. 

Fr Rector, Fr Balaswamy and Br Anil were the judges for the debate. Big kudos to Fr Wilson, the principal, for making the debate a big success.

The value of Friendship

There are many star in the sky

There are many fishes in the river

There are many people in the world

There are many trees in the forest

But no where could I find out something more meaningful than friendship. 

Friendship is an invaluable gift given to everybody by God. Devoid of friendship a person can only live as an island. We must make friends in our lives, because through friendship we cherish our feelings and fathom our emotions.  We must foster friendship in our lives for it fetches blissfulness to our hearts and fills our soul with tremendous joy.

Friendship is like a tree, which is not measured in terms of how tall it could be, but on how deep the roots have grown.  When the roots have webbed themselves fully in the womb of the earth, automatically the tree also grows very robust and strong. In a similar way, an intimate friendship finds itself rooted in love and understanding buried in the soils of trials, and watered by the fountains of sharing.  This sort of bond makes a friendship what it ought to be.


There may come a question to our minds, whether there is the need of good friendships at all. Can life go on without it?  We must foster good friendships in our lives, because a genuine friendship always brings happiness to others. When we strike a genuine friendship,  it will make us sedulous and authentic persons.  Besides, it brings us happy moments.  A good friendship always multiplies our ineffable joys, divides grief and adds pleasure to our lives.  When we make good friends, we feel very happy and satisfied.

Friendship is like a book, it takes a few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.  Similarly when friendship is very intimate to our lives, it grows very profound and becomes an immensely cherishable experience.

Dear friends, friendship is the wonderful and tremendous experience that a human being can ever have.  Friends are indispensable to our lives.  They assist us to grow in our works and in every step we take.  Friends are the ones who will always be with us and guide us. Without friendship human beings cannot survive on the earth and cannot feel happy.  A good friendship cannot expunge bitterness from our lives but it can surely add some sweetness.  While bad friendship must be shunned, we must try our level best to cultivate good relationships in our lives.

Br Allam Manoj (First course)

Seminar in Philosophy

Fr Johnson Puthenpurackal OFM was in the community to commence and conduct a two day workshop on the theme, “Raimundo Panikkar: Harmony in Plurality”. As per the experience of the brothers, they were very happy with the seminar and it opened their eyes to embrace different cultures, religions, customs, castes and more especially to different people in the society.  

New Phone

The community was gifted with a common phone this afternoon, especially for the Brothers to use to make calls home and to their dear ones.  The portable, Tata Docomo walky was initially planned as a Christmas gift but some activation issues held up the presentation.  Having finally activated the phone, the announcement was made to the Brothers in the afternoon after lunch.  The number of the new phone line, exclusively for the Brothers is 8916564589.

Happy calling!

Monthly Recollection

We had our first  monthly recollection of the calendar year 2013 this evening and it was preached by Fr Joseph Kondala, the assistant director of the Ross Hill, Vizag. In his typical, charismatic style he animated the community with a brief talk in the Seminary Chapel. Time for confessions, facilitated by our regular  and generous confessors and adoration followed. The recollection concluded with the benediction just before supper.  

Back home!

By 5 pm this evening, all the Brothers returned from their Christmas vacations and we had the feastday Mass of the Epiphany together as a community at 6.30 pm.  The only person yet to return is Fr Balaswamy, the Confessor as he is away to attend a meeting in Hyderabad.

Fr Maliekal, the Rector, welcomed the Brothers back to the Seminary and exhorted them to get into the rhythm of the community, especially its academic activities, with ease and pace.  Given the typical hectic schedule of the remaining three months, one hardly needs a reminder about this.  We now look forward to the last lap of the academic year.  In a little more than another month, the final year students will complete their Philosophy classes while simultaneously polishing their final dissertation.  

Parents' Day

The Brothers return from their Christmas holidays tomorrow evening.  We broke up for the Christmas vacations on December 16, 2012 and will be back in full swing tomorrow evening onwards.

The two days prior to the departure for holidays were busy with us celebrating also the Parents' day.  The Seminary hosted 54 parents and relatives of 15 (of the 23) third year students.  The annual feature by now of the Seminary to invite and celebrate a day or two with the parents was rescheduled from September to December this time. The combined celebrations of the community Christmas and Parents' presence made a good impression on all of us here.

Cutting the Christmas cake:
Fr Maliekal (the Rector), and the youngest
of the guests (nephews and nieces of the Brothers)

The specific highlight of this years' Parents' day was informal interaction we had with the Parents on December 15, in the afternoon prior to Mass and lunch.  After an initial talk by Fr Vatti Marreddy CSSR, he facilitated a sharing by the Parents.  During this sharing the parents expressed their hopes, desires and assured not just their sons but the staff and every member of the community their sincere prayers for all the good being done here.  On the part of the students, the Brothers asked the parents to continue supporting us all with their prayers and an exemplary Catholic family life. 

Non-teaching Staff Picnic

The non-teaching staff took a day off after the Brothers left for their Christmas vacations for a trip to Vizag.  They visited Kailasgiri temple, watched a movie, had lunch outside and a relaxed stroll on the city beach in the evening. They were accompanied by the administrator, Br Castilino.

Youth Day

Youth from all the parishes and from the vicinity attended the annual youth day on November 11, 2012. There were about 150 youngsters. The theme of the youth day was: Faith in God, Friends and in Oneself. 

The brothers of Youth Alive group under the guidance of Br Anil made the day memorable and an enriching experience for the youngsters. The programme started at 10.00 a.m. with the lighting of the lamp and words of welcome delivered by Fr Rector. 

The first session was taken by Fr Balaswamy on how to believe in God and go ahead in life. The second session was taken by Brothers Jagan and Sudheer on how to buildup one’s own self. 

The third session was taken by Br Anil who stressed on the need for believing in parents, friends and all the others. The day concluded with the Holy Eucharistic celebration at 4 p.m. The youngsters left the campus affirming, “What a wonderful day it was!”

Personality Development

A two day Seminar on personality development was conducted by Sr Lovely from October 29, 2012. She, with her knowledge, communication skills and grip over subject, gave us a clear picture of the desired characteristics of a fully human person and showed us how we can attain it by denting our personality and our relationships.

Spiritual Retreat 2012

Fr Nagothu Papaiah  sdb animated the annual retreat for this academic year. He led the brothers with his vivid thoughts and practical instructions. The community triggered at eight hour prayer everyday of the retreat, which really proved to be a great benefit for us. These were really the days of spiritual renewal and awakening of the soul to the groaning of the spirit. The retreat commenced on October 15 and concluded on October 20, 2012, during the semester vacations. 

B'day of Fr Wilson

The community celebrated the birthday of Fr. Wilson with lots of joy and happiness. There was solemn and special Eucharist in his honour to celebrate the reason of Fr. Wilson. It was well animated by the Rainbow group.

 It was followed by the get-together with religious and Priests of the neighbouring communities. The day concluded with solemn meal. Fr Wilson, the man of the day thanked the whole community for their love and promised to give his best for the good of the community.  
  

New Rector at Kondadaba

Fr Jose D. Maliekal was officially installed as the Rector of the Seminary during the simple Eucharistic celebration today. Fr Raminedi Balaraju, the Provincial was the main celebrant of the Mass during which Fr Maliekal took the oath and signed the official papers to the effect of his taking the chief role of the animator of the community.  A similar function was held in St John's, Ramanthapur too a few days ago.

New scholastic year 2012-2013

The Scholastic year 2012-2013 was officially inaugurated by invoking the spirit through the Holy Eucharist today, June 15, 2012 though the Brothers returned a couple of days earlier itself. The main celebrant of the Eucharist was Fr. Maliekal Jose, the new rector of the seminary, who though new, is returning back to the campus for the third time after a gap of nine years. He emphasized on the need of the intellectual growth for a priest.

After the Eucharist Fr. Wilson coordinated the official inaugural ceremony with the reading of the annual report. He also introduced the new professors for the year: Fr Jose D. Maliekal, Professor of Philosophy and Rector, Fr Therampil Jose, professor of English, Fr Dara Balaswamy, the spiritual director, Br Mallavarapu Anil, the Regent. The key note address was delivered by Fr Rector on the theme of importance of philosophy. Fr Wilson also presented the agenda for the academic year.

On the previous day Fr Anthony Pudussery, the Parish Priest of Gnanapuram animated the community for the first monthly recollection of the academic year.  He stressed on how knowledge serves as an auxiliary to our spirituality.  

The community of 2012-2013 consists of 23 third years, 29 second years (including 8 OCD’s as day scholars) and 24 first years (including 4 OCD’s) and six staff members, 70 in all (resident). 

B.A. exams

The first and second years commenced their respective B.A. exams this day, March 24, 2012. While the first years conclude on the last day of March, the second years have their final exam on April 11, after Easter. All of them have St Xavier's, Pendurthi as their exam centre. They leave together for their summer vacations, the following day i.e., April 12, 2012.

Farewell and Conclusion

The farewell for the third year students and the conclusion of the Academic year 2011-2012 was held on March 20, 2012 at St John's Regional Seminary, Kondadaba. The first and second year students planned, organised and made special the farewell for the 28 outgoing students of the seminary with a grand felicitation programme in the evening and a solemn Mass the following morning.

The whole programme was aimed at thanking them for their generous service to the Seminary

and presenting them with a message for the life ahead. The theme of the evening was a challenge to be the light to all. Besides a song, dance and a gospel based skit, the community prepared a very different backdrop for the evening gathering with each letter of the farewell message containing a photo a joke about the third year students. Each of the final year students was gifted with a candle, crown and a personal card, as a reminder of the message of the evening.

The third years expressed their sentiments of gratitude and appreciation for everyone through the narration of a story depicting their three year stay life in the Seminary as a journey and a meaningful song to sum it all up. As a parting gift to the Seminary they presented the community with two emergency lamps for the study halls and three large printed photos of Sts John and Maria Vianney. During supper a couple of the outgoing students came forward to thank the staff members individually and the students for their invaluable role in their life. For the evening programme the lawn in front of the dining hall was well lit up and arranged. The pleasant weather added an extra zing to the gathering. The Mother Teresa and Speed n' speed groups helped out in serving the meals for all in the lawn itself.

During the Mass, a creative offertory procession with paper crucifixes, flowers and hearts was animated by the first year students. Fr Wilson, presiding over the Eucharisitic celebrations, reminded the students to be faithful to Christ wherever and whatever they would be entrusted to them.

The students left the Seminary happy and serene carrying with them the wishes and prayers of the rest soon after breakfast. Most of the students went straight for their summer holidays at the end of which they would report to their respective Bishops and be assigned with their places for regency.

Extraordinary Visitation of St John's Kondadaba

The Regional Philosophate of the Andhra Pradesh Bishop's Conference, located at Kondadaba under the patronage of St John's was blessed with the presence of Fr Maria Arokiam Kanaga sdb, the Regional Councillor for South Asia for the feast of St Joseph, March 18 and 19, 2012. The occasion was the Extraordinary Visitation of the Salesian Province of Hyderabad, to which belong the formators at Kondadaba. Being a Salesian community, the delegate of the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco made his official visit – a visit which is organised once in six years.

Gifted with a philosophical outlook, loving heart and a cheerful personality, it did not take long for Fr Maria Arokiam to win the hearts of the community members at Kondadaba. With the initial conference itself, during which he presented the purpose of his visit and in gist, presented the latest Salesian scenario around the world, the students were at home with him and his presence. Besides animating the Salesians, meeting the staff individually, interacting with the non-teaching staff at an informal tea party and participating in a short felicitation programme organised in his honour, Fr Maria Arokiam took time to meet the whole community twice and offer rich insights into the Word of God, during the two Eucharisitic celebrations he presided over.

In his inaugural Mass, he stressed the triple qualities of genuine love: unending, unconditional and unbinding. For his homily for the feast of St Joseph, the chaste man, he recreated the scene describing the dilemma of St Joseph and Mother Mary after the Annunciation, with a rich blend of history, imagination, and language. In his goodnight, wrapping up the felicitation programme, he highlighted three qualities necessary for a successful life: virtue (habitual good acts), wisdom (intelligent love) and courage (to stand by truth, no matter what).

To stress the need of conserving nature, he also planted a sapling soon after the festal Mass of St Joseph and community photo session. Earlier upon his arrival, from Peddaboddepalli, he was given a solemn welcome with an aarati and a lively welcome song. In his final observations he appreciated the effort of the community in maintaining a standard befitting a formation house and the role played by each one in doing his best for the growth of all. The official visit concluded with tea after which he was seen off by the community on March 19, 2012.

Hailing originally from Chennai, Fr Maria Arokiam was elected to the post of Regional Councillor in May 2008 for a term of six years. Earlier, he served in various capacities in the Salesian Province of Chennai, including being the Rector of Sacred Heart Seminary, Poonamallee. Known also for his literary skills, Fr Maria Arokiam made a great impression on the students with his wise use of words, phrases and wit.

[Report: Br Jerome Lewis I yr

Photos: Br Kamalesh and Mr Raju]

Social outreach

As part of the social / neighbourhood outreach programme, the Seminary assisted, Simhadramma, a regular and 'popular' visitor to the Seminary with her eye operation. She was operated for her right eye cataract at Sankar Foundation, Gopalapatnam in the first week of March 2012. Here's the photo of her maiden visit to the Seminary after the operation - of course, do not miss the eye-patch... it adds to her popularity and personality symbol!

She is a resident of Gollalapalem village and lives with her son and his family. She stands as a symbol of the thousands helped out in different ways for their various needs, mostly basic and immediate needs of survival and dignity by the Seminary, over the years of its existence at Kondadaba.

BA Exams

The final year students commenced their University (BA) exams on March 5, 2012 with the subject Science and Technology. Most of them conclude on March 15 while one of them has the last one on March 20. That's the day we officially have the conclusion of the academic year and the farewell for the third year batch.

The third years concluded their Philosophy exams more than a week ago and have been since then busy preparing for their BA exams.

B'day of Br Castilino

We should not just pat our backs doing some acts of charity, rather we are called to empower people so that they can in turn bring about a change in the society. This was the core of the b'day message of the day as the community of St John's Kondadaba celebrated the birthday of Br Vincent Castilino, the Dean and Administrator, on March 4 and 5, 2012. Known for his strict discipline and uncompromising attitude when it comes to principles and values, the celebration marked his second year of Br Castilino, in the Seminary as a formator.

The celebrations started on the evening of March 4 (Sunday) with the get to

gether organised by the Speed n' speed and Mother Teresa growth groups under the direction of Br Sateesh, the Regent. Each of the three courses performed an item (a melodious song by the first years, a meaningful song composed for the occasion by the second course and a dance by the third year students). The two groups organising the evening too put up a lively dance. Fr K.T. Jose, the Rector felicitating the b'day baby, appreciated him for his simplicity and value-based life. Earlier, Fr Wilson welcomed all the participants, especially the religious and Priests of the neighbourhood for the evening celebrations.

The cultural programme was wrapped up by the

b'day baby through a message for all. He highlighted the great role played by his parents in his life, growth and formation of values. He also expressed his pride in being a Salesian of Don Bosco when he stated that if God were to give him another chance here on earth,

he would certainly choose, without hesitation to be a Castilino and a Salesian of Don Bosco. He thanked all the community members, the staff in particular, for their great support and cooperation. Keeping to the spirit of Lent, a simple meal was shared with all after the programme.

The following morning the community gathered in the Chapel for the b'day Mass presided over by Fr Rector.

Report by Br K. Tony (Adilabad Diocese)

Photos by Brs D. Rakesh and T. Kamalesh