Christmas,Staten Island,08

The Christmas gathering at the Blessed Kunjachan Mission at Staten Island was beautiful.The singing in Malaylam during the mass consisting of the young girls in the choir was very remarkable.They sang very beautifully all the songs for the mass.The Christmas pageant, dances and group songs put up under the direction of the youth leaders were very remarkable.Joy Kachappally did a very fine videographic presentation of the songs composed by Fr.Joy Alappat.On the whole, the Christmas celebration was excellent.

Christmas gathering in the evening on Dec.25

In the evening all gathered at the Basment of Dr.Stephen's house for a Christmas party.Just before the gathering, a committee was selected to run the affairs of the mission.It was decided to have a website for the mission.Differnt coordinators were appointed for liturgy,communication,music,finance etc.
The gathering went very well.Singing and dances by the children were organized well.
The next day,Karen came to give a ride to the airport.
Reached NJ in the evening.Joy Chakappan and George were there at the airport.
Went to George and Mary's house for dinner.Their daughter Soniya was home from the college.
Came to the rectory around 6.45p.m. and concelebrated mass for the prayer group.

Christmas,Louisville,08-Cake Cutting

Gathering after the mass.Cutting of the cake to celebrate Christmas at 11.30a.m. at the Louisville Cathedral

Christmas,Louisville,08

Cleveland

The mass at Cleveland on Dec.21. A very cold day.The temp in Chicago was -3.
Cleveland was also cold and windy. Lunch with Chris (Kavilaveettil)and Seema. Mass attended by around 40 people.Went with Joseph Pudusserry and Rosy.Had dinner with them .Their children,George and Gita were present at the mass. came to the airport around 7.40pm. But the flight was delayed for three hours. Reached here around 11.30.Very tiring but felt very relieved when reaching the room.

Vatican,08

Grand Canyon,08

Different views of the Grand Canyon.

Ordination Anniversary

Dec.18th.Today is the 41 st anniversary of my ordination.Said mass at the chapel and then went to a Cafe for brekfast with the fathers of the house. Feel extremely thankful to the Lord for his great love and mercy shown through all these 41 years of my priestly life.How beautiful the Lord is. It means that one has to work for the Lord and carry His message of love and forgiveness to all whom one meets in life.
Within a few days,Christmas will be upon us.It should be a time of new beginnings--of a life given over to Jesus, to His mercy and love.
Words are not enough to praise and thank the Lord.How great is the Lord in His mercy.
Spent a little time poring over some of the beautiful Christmas stories.
Louis Cassel's--A Christmas Parable--how a man got a proper understanding of Christmas when he tried to draw the birds that came hitting at his window on a snowy night.
The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry.
The Little Match-Seller by Hans Christian Anderson--how a little girl died of cold on New yer's Eve--lighting her matches and seeing her grandmother in her dream.

Los Angeles,Nov.08

Grand Canyon,08

New Jersey,Dec.14,08

The visit to our Syro-Malabar parish in East Millford .The evening on Dec.13, spent with some of the alumni of S.B. Mr.Thomas Karimattathil came to the airport to receive.Spent the evening with Thomas,James and Rosamma Mukkadan and Aniyan Georger, his wife Cicily and son Kevin.Tom Perumpayil came in the evning and spent the night at his house. Sunday morning, spoke to the CCD students, said the 10 a.m. mass, met with the CML and later in the afternoon spoke to the CCD teachers. The teachers are really very much involved and dedicated in their ministry. Fr.Thomas also did a superb job in bringing all the age groups into a cohesive community.Later Joshi came and spent the time with his family.Went to Lawrenceville school to be present at the school concert where Jamie sang in the group. Monday morning, Sunil Jacob, a former student of mine came to Joshy's place and took me to his house and later to the airport.
Yesterday, Dec.16, was very cold in the morning and later in the afternoon , we received a lot of snow.

Winter,08

Dec.3,08
Returning from the trip to Phoenix and Los Angeles--- greeted with a great blanket of snow on the ground.
The beginning of the 2008 Winter. For the next few days , the temp. will be very low.
The waiting at the aiport at LA was very tiring as the flight was delayed for three hours.
the ride from Phoenix to LA via Grand Canyon was almost thirteen hours with a few stops in between.

Venice

The pilgrim group from Chicago.

The courtyard of St.Mark's cathedral is behind us.

joe

gondola

Picnic

Assisi

Venice

Orange County,Nov.30

Said mass at the Orange county church.Frs.Kattackal and Thurthiyi were concelebrants.The church was packed with people.There was a great sense of fellowship among the parishioners.Later, after their Thanksgiving dinner, got a chance to speak to the CCD teachers.Gave also information about the Safe Environment policy of the diocese. After the mass, returned with Bose and Geena.In the evening George,Tina and Tomy and his family joined for the dinner. Later Johny and Maria from LA came to visit.

Phoenix

Spent Thanksgiving Day with Dayalu and the family in Phoenix. The next day , left for Grand Canyon. It was cold out there.But got a nice view of the rock formation and gorge .The red color of the rocks was seen very vividly.A magnifient view of the Rocks.Dayalu and Justin were there to get the view of the place.

Quiet Day,Nov.24,08

Today all the remaining participants of the Eparchial Assembly have left for their home parishes.The Assembly was a great gathering of priests and lay representatives. All the discussions went smoothly.There was a great sense of cooperation among the participants.This whole week has been very cold and hence there was no way of getting out of the building for walks.
Uniformity in the practice of the liturgy,more involvement in the Youth Ministry , strengthening of family values etc were some of the major topics touched by the participants during the discussions.

New York

Went for the blessing of the house of Mariyamma and Roni on Nov.15th..Jogy ,Anita and the children were there. Sajan came to the O'Hare airport.Had dinner with him. On the way ,felt the fall of the first snow flurries.

Eparchial Assembly,Nov.17,08

At the SVD house for the Eparchial Assembly.Came here on Nov.17th night.The rooms do not have any private toilet facilities.Also very cold outside.A very inconvenient place.

Dallas,Nov.1

Participated in the first Birthday celebration of Maria, Noby's daughter. Stayed at Noby's place from Thursday to Monday(Oct.30-Nov.3). On sunday, said mass in English for the children at the Garland church and then in the afternoon said mass at the Coppel station. Addressed the the parents and CCD teachers before the mass.Sunday was a hectic day.
Returned to Chicago on Monday and was here in Chciago for the whole day of Tuesday. In the evening watched the election news and saw the election f Obama as the President.Mccain perforemd poorly in the campaign.The economic meltdown turned out to beone of main the reasons for the failure of Mccain.

Barcelona

Came to Barcelona from Rome on Oct.13th.The ride from the hotel was by car.From Rome, it was easy to find the gate to Barcelona. Rosh was there to pick me up from the airport.The next day , went to the 12-14th c. Church nearby for the mass. The city tour of Barcelona was very interesting.On.Oct.16,went to Valencia, a three hour ride from Barcelona by train.
Today,we will be going to Manresa, the place where St.Ignatius of Loyola went for a long meditative prayer in a cave.It was marvelous to see the cave where Ignatius meditated and composed his Exercises.The Cave is now a chapel and over the whole is built a beautiful church.
While there, a group of South Korean Catholics was particiapting at a mass said by a Korean Jesuit. the high point of the visit to Barcelona was the trip to Manresa.
It is a steep climb to the church.

Pilgrimage to Italy

In connection with the canonization of Blessed Alphonsa, a group of 20 went on a pilgrimage to Italy.Went to Venice,Padua,Assisisi,and to the the site of Padre Pio.The trip to Venice was very enjoyable.

Rome

Participated in the Canonization ceremony of the Bl.Alphonsa.Very impressive ceremony.The delegation from Chicago consisted of 20 people. Had a chance to meet many of the delegates from India. I was happy to meet one of my old friends,Fr.Tony Fronteiro at the St.Peter's Square.A large number of people including a lot of religius sisters were present at the ceremony.

Chicago,july5;Boston,july20,08

Seattle,08;Changanacherry,08

The first two from Seattle;the next two are teachers at the Jubilee meeting,Chy.

Los Angeles

Seattle,08

Jubilee celebrations,D.C.,May 4,08

Spring in Philadelphia

visit to Philadelphia in May. The trees and bushes were in bloom.