Monday, May 21, 2012

New York,May 21,12

First communion at St.Mary's Church,Fishkill ,NY,on Saturday on May 19th.Said mass for the Syro-Malabar community ,Beacon,NY,  on Sunday ,May 20th.
Will leave for Santa Anna,California on May May 24th and will return on May 27th.Will leave for India on May 28th.
A meeting of the principals and managers of Catholic colleges  under the Syro-Malabar Church will be held on June 30th.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Dallas,Texas,May 9,12

Came here on Monday  after celebrating the First Communion and Confirmation mass at the Hempstead Syro-Malabar church. Felt happy to spend time with the community there.
Yesterday , had a meeting with Bp.Kevin Farrell of the Diocese of Dallas.He asked me whether I was still interested in the tie-up with the University of Dallas.He would also push them for such a connection.
The weather is getting warmer.
Went for mass at the Holy Family of Nazareth church early in the morning.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Fishkill,May 3,12

Staying the whole week at Fishkill. Cold,rainy and wet.Hence could not go out much.But spent time  reading some important books.
One of the books that I enjoyed reading was Abp. Dolan's book,Priests for the third Millennium .He writes beautifully well in this book about all the requirements that are needed of priests in order that they may become good evangelizers.Some of the very interesting topics he deals with are human formation,courtesy, joy,integrity , identity,preaching,simplicity of life etc. It is a good companion for priests and helps them to modify their attitudes and comportments in order to configure themselves to Christ.
Another interesting book is one on Evangelization by Avery Dulles. Avery Dulles is a theologian whose excellent books and essays will always be cherished by people who have known him.I had the privilege of chatting with him at the Caldwell Hall of CU while he was a Professor there.Later, he came to St.Patrick's  church a few times to say mass after his elevation as the Cardinal.Later ,I had the privilege of concelebrating with him at Fordham University when I went there to give a key-note speech at a Asian-Pacific Catholic Convention.
In this book,Fr.Dulles speaks about the goal and mission of a catholic university and the need for the university to preserve a culture that is conducive to evangelization.The secularist model for modern American Universities is being traced to the Statues of the Berlin University which were drafted by the Lutheran theologians such as Friedrich Schleiermacher. According to Dulles, the Berlin model was adopted by many American Universities and thus Theological disciplines lost their prominence in the academic curriculum.