44th Ordination anniversary,Dec.18,11

The 44th Anniversary of my ordination was celebrated yesterday at St. Martin's church,Palarivattom at 12 noon.All the members of the family were present. Then we all gathered  at the  Renaissance Hotel,Cochin.Mathaichan welcomed the family and then Noby,Josy,Thomaskutty,and Cheriankunju shared their feelings and thoughts. A  cake was cut and all clapped in joy.So one more anniversary has come and gone, giving me an opportunity to  thank the Lord for His great blessings on my life.Every one was given a diary in appreciation.

In  the evening, went to participate in  the 75th birthday celebration of Dr.K.P.Varghese at  the Grand Hotel.

House Boat Trip from Alleppey.

Had a very relaxing trip through the lakes and backwaters of Kuttanad from Alleppey in company with some of the former Professors from the Dept. of English.Profs. K.T.Sebastian. K.K.Matthew,P.J.Devasia,K.V.Joseph.K.A.George and A.J.Francis were on the trip.
The house boats that were were roaming the lakes were hundreds in number.

House Boat Trip,Nov.17,2011.

Singapore

Singapore,Nov.9-14,2011

Staying with Roj and Lisa at Singapore.The flight by Singapore Airlines was very good. Roj was there at the airport when I came down after the immigration check point. After reaching his apartment, we came back to receive his parents,Johnachan and Lelamma who were coming from Bangalore. The four days I spent at Singapore were very relaxing and enjoyable.Singapore is a compact version of any modern city in the West.In planning and organization, it is superb.Visited some of the beautiful malls and restaurants.
Concelebrated mass on Sunday at the Holy Trinity Catholic church at Tampines. It is a very large and beautiful church and it was packed with people at the 9.30a.m. mass. Lisa sang in the choir.Santosh stayed with us for one night before his departure for the States for visits with medical colleges there.
The return journey was also very comfortable.As I got out of the aiport at Cochin, two of my former students in the customs recognized me and came out to introduce themselves. I was happy to see them even though I was seeing them after more than 30 years.It is funny that they still recognize me when they see me in different places.

Cochin,Oct.28,11.

It is more than a month since I have been here in Cochin.By the grce of God, I have got adjusted to the place and am working on different projects.The coming few months will give me time to write and reflect on things and matters dear to my heart. I am getting plenty of time to visit friends and relatives.
Met with Prof.K.T.Sebastian two days ago at Chy and had a very pleasant chat on the current situation of the Church in the educational front.
Prof.K.T.Sebastian is one who has given his whole life and tme for the good of the Church and striven hard to make the voice of the laity heard and respected in the church.As a former member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity , he was the first lay person from India to represent the laity in the International forum and to act as a spokesperson for the millions of the faithful who give vibrancy and srength to the Church in India.
He has authored a book on the role of the laity in the church. It is a well written book dealing with the theology of the laity. Those who viisit him come away with great admiration for his faith and unwavering attachment to the Church. There is a sparkling sense of joy when he discusses the affairs of the Church. More than many rectors and professors, he has been a great mentor to many preists and bishops of the Church in India. I wish him al the blessings of God as he is entering his eighties.

Return to Kerala,Oct.7,11

It is more than a week since I returned to Kerala. Taking things quietly.Today --leaving for Changanacherry.
Will be meeting some of the teachers at the college.
It is hot here but manageable.

Cochin,Kerala,India

Sept.26,Monday 6a.m.

At Cochin now.Went to Trichur on Saturday.

By the grace of God, things are OK.God has given me time to pray. Will use the time for prayer and reflections .May the Lord open new doors of evangelization for me.

Address and phone nos of Rev.Dr.George Madathiparmpil in India,2011

Will be in Ernakulam,Cochin from Sept.20th,2011 onwards.
Address:
Rev.George Madathiparampil
Old Railway Station Rd
Ernakulam
Cochin-18
Kerala, INDIA.
Tel.No.(H):0484-2394525
Cell: 9744576243
:630-559-7122.
Email:georgemparampil@yahoo.com.
georgemadathiparampil@gmail.com
www.madathiparampil.com
Blog:
http://syro-malabarhomilies.blogspot.com
http://madathiparampil.blogspot.com
http://catholicsermonsmadathil.blogspot.com
http://catholichomilies.blogspot.com
http://reflectionsgm.blogspot.com
http:classicsofspirituality.blogspot.com
http://talksandpresentationsgm.blogspot.com
www.catholicfaithandlife.org
http://memoirsgmadathiparampil.blogspot.com

Dallas,Texas,Sept1-10

At Noby's house. Today is the Feast of the Bl.Virgin Mary. Went to Tomy Chennamkara's house yesterday.

The day before Antony Kurialacherry and Annie came over here supper. We could share some laughs.

Dallas was very hot when I reached here but it is a bit cooling off.

Taking time to do some notes on Business Ethics.

New York,Aug.25,11

At Jogy's house.Came here on Aug.14th.Said mass at St.Joachim church,Beacon at 4p.m. on Aug.21. Fr.Azhakath offered greetings on behalf of the community at the meeting.Afterwards, there was a reception in the hall downstairs.They offered me birthday greetings and there was a slicing of the cake.A few of the alumni were there.

On the saturday before, went to Sartoga Springs and watched the horse race for a couple of hours. On the way back stopped at the place of Josh and Joby at Albany.

On Aug.24th, went to the Best Buy and bought a new small apple computer--Mac Air.

Canterbury,2011

England,Scotland,2011

Scotland

Scotland,London,Oxford,2011

Oxford,Scotland,Lake District,,july4-10,11

Retirement and Pastoral Ministry in the U.S.

Pastoral Ministry in the U.S.

I retired from the college on March 31^st,1996.

I stayed at my room in the campus for a week and then thought of leaving for the States for a few months as I found that I had nothing really serious to do in Changnacherry . As I could not see myself doing anything there I thought of working in a parish in the US as it would give me an opportunity for more reading and speaking.

I was given the job of the Director of Higher Education but that job was a non-starter as it gave me no real opportunity to work in the field of Higher Education.

After spending a few weeks in Changanacherry and Ernakulam, I left for the Sates in 1996.I had no intention of remaining in the US for a longer period but God gave me a long life to live here for more than a decade.

I spent a couple of months in New York and then left for Florida and there stayed at St.Coleman’s church,Pompano beach, for a couple of months. Fr.Jose Kottayil was gracious enough to arrange my stay there. I enjoyed working there during the summer months. I also did enjoy preaching the homilies and I found that there was a great appreciation of my sermons. One of the priests once mentioned that I preach with great conviction.He used the expression: “There is fire in the belly.”

He was referring to the passion with which I preached.

After being there for a few months , I went to Dallas for a short visit and spent a few days with Achankunju and Laiju.

Fr.Maroor during that time talked with the Pastor of the Visitation parish which led my stay there for more than a year. I became a North Miami resident thus.While there, I happened to meet the President of St.Thomas University and he invited me to teach at St.Thomas University. I joined the Dept. of English as an adjunct Professor and taught there for two semesters.

During that time, I got a call from the Archdiocese of Washington D.C and they invited me to work in the Archdiocese.That was another big change in my life. Although initially, I was reluctant to leave Miami, I was blessed by God to make the right decision to join the Archdiocese.

I met the Director of the Priests’ Personnel during one of my visits to D.C. and that sealed my decision to work there. I would also be able to meet so many of my former friends if I would begin my ministry there.

My stay at the Visitation church , North Miami was thus very short.It was a small parish and the rectory was also a small house .But I enjoyed my stay there even though the Pastor was not a very cordial person.

After the mass in the morning, two old ladies from the parish would wait for me to take me for the breakfast. The Pastor would also join us. It was our daily routine.

On Sundays, Mr.George Vadaparampil would take me to his house and would prepare a nice lunch for me. Later Fr.Matthew Pathalany would also join me for lunch at the house of Mr.George.

I have to mention very specially my friendship with Neil Monteiro.Neil once came to the church for the Sunday mass and wanted me to bless his new car.That started our long friendship. On holidays , he would invite me to his apartment and would prepare very lovely dinners. He would also invite his friends on such evenings.I cannot forget the love and friendship of  those dear friends from Goa.

On July 4^th , Neil ,Francis and myself went on a long ride to Jacksonville. We stayed at the rectory of Fr.Victor Narivelly. On the way back , we visited the city of St. Augustine and Cape Canarval. It was an enjoyable trip.

On free days, I would invite Francis and we would go for long rides.

In August 1997, I went to India and while I was in India, Neil and Francis drove my car to Washington D.C. and dropped my things at St .Patrick’s church, Washington D.C.

St.Patrick’s Church,Washington D.C.

Although I was a bit reluctant to accept my assignment at St.Patrick’s, later , it turned out to be one of the best rectories and places of stay. I was told by Msgr.English, that the Pastor at St.Patrick’s was Msgr.Peter Vaghi. Msgr.Vaghi was a young attorney when I was an associate pastor at St.Matthew’s Cathedral.He used to lector at my masses.

But then he gave up his job as an attorney and joined the seminary. By the time, I came to St.Patrick’s he was working as a very successful Pastor there.

Msgr.Farina who passed away recently and Fr. Paul Liston were the other priests. They were some of the great priests whom I loved and admired.I enjoyed the warmth of their love and hospitality. There were so many times when we went out for dinner. Msgr.Farina was the Director of the Pope Paul Institute of Arts.

I did work under him for a couple of months when I came to stay at St.Patrick’s while teaching a summer course at the Catholic University.

I cannot also forget Msgr.Maurice Fox who became the Pastor while I was staying there earlier. We used to call him Marty while we were all staying at St.Matthew’s. We had such fun and laughter while we were at St.Matthew’s.

Even though I thought at the time I joined St.Patrick’s that it would be a quiet parish; in fact , it turned out otherwise.

One of the attractive things at St.Patrick’s was the series of lectures that were held at noon .By the graceof God, I gave a lot of lectures on different topics, including a few on Catholic authors. It gave me the perfect occasion to do what I always wanted: to do some serious reading, writing and speaking.

Even before I left Miami for Washington, Msgr.Vaghi had asked me to give a synopsis of the lectures I would give after my arrival at St.Patrick’s.

My first series of lectures was on Catholic novelists like Graham Greene,Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy. I also gave a talk on the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Later I gave a series of talks on the Classics of Spirituality where I spoke on the works of St.Augustine,St.Teresa of Avila, St.John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux,St.Ignatius of Loyola etc. I did also speak on the works of Thomas Merton,Henri Nouwen and Fr.De Mello.

I had to prepare heavily for those classes but I found the work of teaching very exhilarating. This was something I always wanted to do and St.Patrick's gave me the right opportunity.I have also to admit the encouragement, support and the prompting of Msgr.Vaghi. As I spent my whole life  teaching English Literature, I never got much time to read books of great spiritual masters. This series of lectures helped me to read up on great spiritual writers.

The classes were attend by a great number of people.These were people who would come out from their offices for their lunch breaks. Some of the talks were given publicity by the Washington Post.

St. Patrick’s also offered me chances of meeting some of the great people of Washington. The Shrivers,Senator Moynihan,F.B.I.Director etc were some of them. Also Supreme Court Justice Scallia too came there for some functions.

St.Patrick’s also held masses for the John Carrol society as Msgr.Peter Vaghi was their chaplain. Hence those masses brought some of the politicians and lawyers to the church.

In a way my stay in Washington was a time of great internal joy and peace. I really enjoyed the beauty of priestly ministry while I was there at St. Patrick’s.

Cardinal Hickey and Cardinal McCarik were very good to me and acknowledged my ministry there with great satisfaction.

While I was at St. Patrick’s, I also did say masses for the Catholic Malayalee community of Washington D.C. Being part of both the communities was very exciting.

Scotland,July5,11

We took the train from Oxford to Edinburgh--It was a 6 hours' drive.Since the train was late , we reached Edinburgh around midnight.The stay at the Euro hostel was comfortable as we had an apartment with independent rooms for all.
From there the next day morning we took a one day's tour of the highlands of Scotland.It was a spectacular journey giving magnificent views of the countryside---mountains and lakes.One can never forget the beauty of the highlands of Scotland.Also took a boat trip along the lake.
The next day,visited the Edinburgh Castle and the rooms of Mary of Scotland.
From there Jose K.John(Roj) hired a van and took us to the Lake District.Lake District too is another beautiful place whose beauty one can never forget.The hills and the slopes where the sheep were grazing will never disappear from one's mind.The lake district is another unforgettable place for its natural beauty.Visited the house of Wordsworth and other places associated with him at Grasmere.
Stayed at a farm in the Lake District.The next day , we drove to Stratford-upon-Avon and saw the places associated with Shakespeare.
Went to Essex,London to visit Liju and Sajayan. Leelamma, Johnachan, Santosh,Roj and Lisa then left for Oxford.
Next day,went to see the Canterbury Cathedral.It is a very beautiful and lovely church , packed with a lot of history.It was the first Cathedral, the seat of the first Archbishop, in England.Henry Vlll destroyed the tomb and shrine of St.Thomas Becket that was in the sanctuary of the Cathedral.

Oxford,July4th,2011

Went to Oxford University to meet George K.John who was finishing up his Master's degree in public health.His parents as well as his brother Jose K.John and his wife, Lisa were there at Oxford.
Stayed for the first few days with Dr.Joshy John and Thankamony at London before leaving for Oxford.They were good hosts and they took me to meet their friends in London.Went also with them to visit Westminster Catholic Cathedral.Also visited St.Paul's bookstore nearby and its Director Fr.Sebastian Karamvely.Also visited the Harrods in London.
Dr.Joshy drove me to Oxford University.
I stayed at Rhodes' house as a guest of Santosh.Next day , said mass at the Catholic Church near the University.It was St.Ignatius Church belonging to the Augustinian Oratory.Said mass there and after the mass ,invested Santosh with the Pope Paul Vl Gold Medal awarded to him by St.John's Medical College for being their Outstanding student in 2010.
Visited St.Edmund's college, its library and the dining room where Santosh is registered for his graduate studies.

Principal,S.B.College,1991-96

Principal (1991-96)

Let me mention my participation in some of the major organizations in which I worked while I was working as the principal of the college.

IFCU

At the IFCU meeting in Toulouse, France, in 1991, I was elected a member of the Executive Council as a representative from Asia. It was decided at the first meeting of the Executive that their next meeting should be held in India. As I had no experience of their previous meetings, I thought that I would get the help of Fr.Kottaram, the former Principal of Mar Ivanios and a former member of the Executive. But his sudden passing away put all the responsibility of holding the International Conference on my shoulders.

Even though Bangalore and Cochin were considered as sites for the meeting, in the end I favored to have the meeting in Changnacherry itself as it would then give the participants an idea of the vibrancy of the Catholic faith in Kerala.

I had the meeting arranged on the third floor of the newly completed Research building. Our staff helped a lot in getting the place ready for the meeting.

The inaugural session was held at the Kavukattu Hall and a lot of the principals, managers and teachers from Kerala were present at the meeting. His Eminence Cardinal Padiyara, Abp.Gregorios, the Speaker of the Kerala Assembly, Abp.Powthil along with president of the IFCU, Fr.Duttari(who has been later appointed the Bishop of Quito,Equador) addressed the gathering.

The front of the Hall was decked with flag posts carrying the flags of the participant countries. The president of Notre Dame, Fr.Malloy, the Presidents of various Catholic Universities in South America, Japan , Indonesia, the USA were present at the Conference. Some of them were put up in hotels in Changanacherry and the rest were put up at Kottayam.

The Deepika was kind enough to publish a supplement for the Conference.

The delegates were taken for a boat ride though Kuttanand lakes and later they were taken to Kurisumala Asharam. On the way back, they visited St.Alphonsa’s tomb at Bharanaganam.

The municipality of Chanaganacherry and the Bishop’s house, Palai arranged a special reception for the participants. The Assumption college arranged an open dinner reception for the guests. Fr.Malloy addressed the students of the Assumption college.

It was a good gathering and all left with great feelings of appreciation. Later, addressing the presidents of Catholic universities in the U.S, Fr.Malloy remarked that the going to Kerala was like going to Ireland as the visit revealed to him the depth and strength of the Catholic faith in Kerala.

I am very grateful to many members of the staff for their help in coordinating many events of the meetings. I have to mention specially Mr.Jose, a member of the non-teaching staff, Prof.Ruble Raj,Prof.George Thomas,Prof.Raju Kuttickal,Prof.George Sebastian , the priests on the faculty etc for their great help in organizing a meeting of this kind.

As a member of the Executive Council of the IFCU, I was invited to attend their meetings in Lisbon,Quito and at Notre Dame.

While at Quito, we could visit many of the old churches in Quito whose ceilings were decked with gold which were built in the 16^th C. When I was looking at the marvelous gold ceiling of one of the churches in Quito, Fr.Malloy, the President of the Notre Dame University remarked to me : “ Father George: you have churches going back to early Christian centuries.” That was an acknowledgment of the Apostolic origin of the Christian faith in Kerala which he came to understand during his visit to Kerala.

While in Quito, we did visit some of the Indian villages and the small churches around which the houses of the villagers were built. One of the surprising things at one of the fairs in the villages was that when we asked for the prices of some of the village made clothes, one of the girls took out a calculator form her pocket and told us the price in dollars. That showed how technology had entered the lives in very remote villages.

While in Lisbon, we were able to make a pilgrimage to Fatima which was one of my unfulfilled dreams. I wanted to visit Fatima during my European tour while on my vacation to Europe during the days when I was pursuing my doctoral studies in the US in the late 70s.I could not do it because I was prevented from passing through Spain at the border from France as I did have not have the transit visa to pass through Spain. Hence , I felt really happy during my stay in Lisbon.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel from where we went to the Catholic University every day for the meetings. We also visited some of the old churches in Lisbon like Fort St.George monastery etc. We were invited for a reception at the family home of of the Aux.Bishopp of Lisbon who was the Rector of the Catholic University of Lisbon. It was in a village but the dinner was very lavish. His whole family was there to greet us.

The General Assembly of the IFCU at Notre Dame was a great success .In fact it was at the meeting at Changanacherry that the venue of the Assembly was changed from Lebanon to Notre Dame. I was in a way responsible in helping Notre Dame University becoming the venue of the meeting.At the conclusion of the meeting, Fr.Malloy, the President of the Notre Dame praised the conciliatory skills that I employed during the sessions.

Fr.Malloy showed his appreciation of my interventions later by asking me to be the main celebrant of the Eucharistic celebrations in one of the main days .I did not realize then that I was going to be a main celebrant along with Cardinals ,Bishops and rectors. I was not prepared before hand for a great sermon. Only after reaching there and looking at the program , did I realize that that it was going to be a great celebration. God gave the confidence to do everything perfectly. I started my homily with a few lines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased…”I knew then with my literature background that it would prove to be a great introduction! It really helped me to gather my thoughts on the passage from the Gospel. I also mentioned the inquiry I received from the young man whom I met in one of my train trips. He was an MIT product .He told me that he was searching for spiritual meanings in life and wanted to know what the distinctive feature of Christianity was.

After all these trips I would stop in Washington D.C. to teach a summer course in Comparative literature at the Catholic University of America.

I kept my contact with the US and the Catholic University because of the advice and help of Dr.Nemionau ,one of my Professors at C.U who did not want me to lose my Green Card status.

What a beautiful piece of advice he gave me. Otherwise, I would have to go for visa for every trip I made to the U.S.

My participation In IFCU got me a lot of friends internationally. I used the occasion to plead for more active collaboration between the Catholic Universities in the developed world and those in the under developed countries.

AIACHE

At the triennial meeting of the AIACHE at Bangalore in 1993, I was elected the President of the Association. Non-Catholic and Catholics were elected presidents alternatively. I was elected at a time when it was the turn of the Catholics. Working as the President of AIACHE gave me a great opportunity to interact with the principals of the Christian colleges in India and also enabled me to be part of the team to implement various policies that would improve the academic standards of our colleges .It was during that time that we were able to meet the President of India ,Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma and apprise him of the various dangers involved in some of the bills before the parliament of India concerning the minorities.

The executive meetings of the AIIACHE were held in different parts of India which helped us to come into close contact with the working of the best colleges in India.

Principal’s Council of Kerala

In 19993 , I was elected the President of the Principals' Council of the Private colleges of Kerala. As the President of the Principals' Council, I was able to work in close collaboration with the Principals of Kerala in pleading for changes for the improvement of higher education in Kerala.

Secretary of the Inter-Church Council of Kerala and KCBC

As the Secretary of the KCBC Education commission , working with Abp.Powathil, I was able to formulate the educational policies of the Catholic Church in Kerala in the area of education. We had to oppose several times the policies of the Govt. when they were infringing on the Constitutional rights of the minorities.

The Inter-Church council was a wider body incorporating all the Christina denominations, formulating the policies in the area of education in Kerala. Under the auspices of the Inter-Church Council several large gatherings of the public were held to highlight the importance of protecting the rights of the minorities in the field of education.

I was also working as a research guide for doctrinal candidates in English Literature.Fr.Joseph Vattakalam and Prof.C.E.Thomas worked towards their Ph.D. under my guidance.

I was very determined to improve the academic standards of our students. S.B. college, being one of the top colleges in the country attracted a large number of very bright students from all across the state of Kerala.One of my immediate tasks was keeping the students academically high while they were at college.

After discussions with the staff, we organized an Academic Excellence Program where all the students coming with more than 90% of marks were invited to join to improve their knowledge in science subjects. The teachers who volunteered to teach came early in the morning for special classes for the students. I could see the change in the academic atmosphere right away.In the Pre-degree exam that came after the introduction of the course, our college was declared the first in the colleges under Mahatma Gandhi University for having got the highest number of first classes.

One of the memorable events in the first years of my Principalship was the organizing of a science exhibition and an arts festival in order to collect funds for the construction of a new building to accommodate new courses that would be forthcoming in the coming years.

I knew then that with the changes happening in the country, this would be most probably the last science exhibition that would be organized under the auspices of the college. I was very intimately involved in the organization of a previous Science Exhibition when Fr.Maroor was the Principal. I did not want to lose that experience.

The Science Exhibition turned out to be a huge success. With thousands of high school and college students visiting the campus, the days became very busy. It continued for two weeks. A lot of students and the faculty were involved in the organization of the Exhibition. Within those two weeks thousands of visitors came to the campus. The media too gave enough publicity.

The inauguration of the Exhibition was done by Sri. Patil, the Honorable speaker of the Lok Sabha. He praised the students for their sense of discipline and decorum.

The campus was a beehive of activity in those days.

The Arts Festival was also a great success. Prof.Scaria Zacharia took the initiative of organizing all the cultural events and meetings. Many writers and authors were invited for different functions.

With the money collected through the science exhibition, we were able to garner the seed money for the construction of a new building. My intention was also to start hotel management courses in the new building.

Along with the improvements of the academic atmosphere of the college, I was also interested in encouraging the artistic and athletic talents of our students.

I encouraged the Director of the Athletics Department to scout talented students to build up our athletic teams. Within no time we were able to become the first in all the athletic competitions of the University. Our students thus did well in athletics, games as well as in studies.

We supported the activities of the Arts club and they were able to compete well in the artistic and cultural competitions conducted under the auspices of the University.

So when the Government decided to award a prize for the best college in the state, it came to St. Berchmans’ college. Thus, the prestigious Shankar Award was given twice to the college.

The college did also start many study centers like the Durrell Centere, Kamala Das Study Centre etc and encouraged the interactions with literary authors and scholars.

It was during this time that the foundation stone for Prof.Ulahannan Mappila Center for research was established. Dr. Joshy was responsible in starting the center and developing it.

The granting of MBA to the college was one of the crowning moments in this saga of academic improvements of the college.Raja Giri college and S.B.college were the only two colleges in Kerala that were allowed to start MBA first in the state. The newly constructed building was immediately put to use for the M.B. A and thus was born the Bechmans’ Institute of Management. It was during this time that the Berchmans’ Institute of computer studies was established.

All the Post Graduate students were encouraged to take a course in computer applications.

Even before the starting of the M.B.A, the college did start a diploma course in management.

Another important development during this period was the publication of a research journal known as the SB Academic Review. The starting of the Review helped the teachers to publish their research articles. It also helped to bring in more UGC grants to the college. The Review was also supported initially by the AIACHE.

It was also possible to start the publication of the college bulletins and to establish a language lab for the development of the communication of our students in English language.

Our students were also placed in the first ranks in many subjects at the University exams.

The completion of the Research Center which was started during the Principalship of Rev.Dr.Joseph Maroor was another major event.The research Center was one of its kind in the history of the affiliated colleges in India.

We were able to start research programs in many science and arts subjects.

In short during the five years of my work as the Principal of the college, I was able to accomplish a lot in the academic and extra curricular well-being of the college with the grace of God.

The Christian atmosphere of the college was also maintained well at the college There was always a greater sensitivity to the needs of the poor and needy. The college took care of the housing for the poor hostel employees of the college. It gave free noon lunches for poor students. It was also happy to help poor students who could not afford to pay the fees.

The needs of those who worked for the college were always attended to. Even now after more than 15 years after I left the college, some of the poor workers write to me for help.

We had also regular faith and morals classes for the students of the college. When many of our Catholic colleges dropped such courses, I was very particular to retain them as it sustained our Catholic identity. There were also daily masses at the college chapel which was attended by students staying at the hostels.

We had an annual Adoration day for which students and the staff would come batch by batch.

Every year the academic year started with a mass of the Holy Spirit.

During the five years, I was the Principal, annual retreats for the staff as well as the students were held regularly.

I am really thankful to God for having given me the opportunity to function so well as the Principal of the college.

The 25^th anniversary of my ordination was also held at the college. The anniversary meeting was presided over by Alexander Mar Thoma Metropolitan.

I bade farewell to the college on March 31^st,1996.It was at the peak of my career that I left the college at the retirement age of 55.

St.Matthew's Cathedral and Return to India

American Experience(1981)-2

St .Matthew’s Cathedral arranged a farewell party for me as I was leaving for India in December 1981.My leave from the college would be over by the end of December and hence I had to join the college before the end of Dec.81.They asked me to invite those who would I like to come for the dinner. The University President Dr.Pellegrino, the members of the Dissertation committee, Dr.Sendry, the Chairman of the Dept. Of English, Mrs.Anne Fuselli and Donna Fuselli ,Barbara Murphy and a few families from the Indian community were invited. It was a great dinner. The President of the University offered to hold a special convocation for me but later it was found out that it could not be held.

While I was in D.C. I went on a European tour, traveling through many of the major countries of Europe. Using a Eurail pass, I crisscrossed Europe for two weeks. Paris,Lourdes,Lisieux,Geneva, Munich etc were covered during this trip. For a week , I stayed with my cousin,Sr.Lillis at their convent near Munich.

On a vacation to India, I visited Rome and Assissi. During the trip to Rome, I had the chance to visit with Cardinal Baum who was the former Archbishop of Washington D.C. at his office in the Vatican. All the priests from Changanacherry who were studying in Rome at that time helped me during this trip and accompanied me on different days.

While in D.C. I did organize the Syro-Malabar community and began to celebrate masses for them at St.Matthew’s Cathedral.What was started then in an incipient form later grew into the Greater Washington Catholic community.

My years at St.Matthew’s Cathedral were some of the best years in my priestly life.There were none of us priests living at the rectory.There was a great sense of fraternity and lovre among the preists. There was great fun and laughter when we met.No frayed tempers and no gossips.Every one was sensitive to the needs of others.I can not forget the laughter and funny remarks of Msgr.Gerhardt and Fr Marty.He w as the PRO of the Diocese and was in charge of the communications at the time of the visit of the holy Father.

S.B.College(1981)

Immediately after my return from the States, I joined the college and started teaching in the Dept.of English. In the first few months after my return , the teaching assignments were very light.I had to forget my days in Washington and resume life as if nothing had happened .I got a small room with bare furniture as my living space and I started my new life from there.

After a few months, I was appointed the Warden of Sahrudaya(Sacred Heart) Hostel which was the largest hostel with more than 200 students. The hostel atmosphere had vastly changed from the time I was there five years ago. Students had become very unruly. It was hard in the first few months to keep them under control. I had to give up my nice and gentle ways of behavior that I acquired in the Sates and had to go back to rigid disciplinary methods would that involve suspensions, dismissals, and scolding etc.

That kind of life based on the enforcement of disciplinary regulations was a great drag on some one who came back after years of study in the U.S.

The wardenship at the hostel put a stop to any attempt in writing articles or doing research. I took it as my duty assigned by the Lord through my superiors.

I was appointed the Chaplain to the AICUF (All India Catholic University Federation) unit of the college. It was not something that I liked at that period in my life. I took it up as there was no one else interested in that ministry. Before going to the States, I would have preferred that ministry because I was young and I could easily move with the students. Still, after taking it up, I worked with the students and were actively involved in organizing different programs for the AICUF.

When I returned from the States, I had to work under a new administration with Fr.Mathew Pulikaparampil as the Principal. He was gracious to me and we went for walks together in the evenings. There were only a few more years for his retirement.

He was a generous and kind-hearted person.

Vice Principal(1985):

It was in March, 1985 that Fr. Mathew Pulikaprampil retired as the Principal. Rev.Dr.Jospeh Maroor was appointed the Principal and I was appointed the Vice-Principal.I was given the appointment a couple of months earlier even before it was made officially public by Fr.Joseph Karimpallil who was the Vicar General at that time. He was very good to me and told me privately that he was going to appoint me the Vice-Principal. That single decision on the part of Fr. Joseph Karimpalil changed a lot in my life and made me worthy of several other great assignments in my life.

I am deeply grateful to him for the love and regard he had shown towards me as well as to Fr.Maroor. I can never forget my debt to him.Fr.Maroor and myself later visited him when he was working as the Vicar of St.George’s Church, Edathua.

My years as the Vice principal, working along with Fr.Maroor were some of the happiest years spent on the Campus. Many showed great appreciation and regards for both of us as both of us received our doctoral education outside India.

One of the great moments in our administration was the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of many of the post graduate courses at S.B. We wanted to celebrate it with real gusto and publicity as S.B.College deserved such a recognition.

An Arts Festival and a Science Exhibition were planned. We decided to invite the President of India to inaugurate the Jubilee. Both of us went by train to New Delhi to invite the President Mr.Zail Singh.Prof.P.J.Kurian M.P and Mr.M.M.Jacob ,the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sbha helped us in this matter. Prof.P.J.Kurian came with us to the Rashtra Pathy Bhavan.We met the President and he readily consented to do the inauguration. Immediately after coming from the Rashtrapathy Bahavn, we called Dr.K.C.Joseph M.L.A. to get the Sate Government’s sanction .Mr. Joseph right away met the Chief Minister and got the concurrence of the State Government for the visit of the President.The news was given to the papers and before we reached Changnacherry and the news of the visit of the President ‘s visit became known to all before we reached the college.

From that time onwards, things began to take a very swift and busy turn. A lot of committees were formed for the exhibition as well as for the visit of the President.

The visit of the President was a historic moment in Changancherry. The whole town was filled with people because of their interest in seeing the President arriving at the town.

We had our small problems in arranging the reception as some teachers somehow did not fee well honored in the reception line.

As a whole, it went well and a lot of teachers worked hard to make the visit as well as the Exhibition and the Arts Festival a success.

To commemorate the Jubilee, we decided to construct a research center which was the first of its kind in a college in Kerala.We also got many of our Departments recognized as research centers for the Gandhiji Univversity. We tried to appoint teachers with Ph.D.qualifications in our various departments.

I was also simultaneously holding the posts of the bursar and the warden of the hostel along with my work as the vice Principal and Professor of English.

Those were the years when I was fully occupied with my work in the college campus.

When I reached room, after the day’s work in the college, it was another full time job again because of my work as the Warden of the hostel.

As there were many students belonging to different lasses, there were always occasions of conflicts, disputes,disciplinary problems etc.

When I look back, I am totally surprised to find how it was possible to do all these things together.

I had with me first Fr.Matthew Punchayil and later Fr.Jose Kottayil to help me as associate wardens of the hostel. We managed to hold the students under our control and offer them guidance.

The Evening Prayer time with the students was an important moment in the daily life of the hostel.

When I was appointed the Vice Principal, the students held a congratulatory meeting in the dining hall at which the Principal was also present.

Fr.Matthew Punchayil left for higher studies in the U.S. and Fr.Jose Kottayil came in his place.Later,Fr. Jose Kottayil too would leave for the States for studies.

It was when I was the Bursar that we had the college campus fully secured by walls and fences.More watchmen were appointed at the entry gates of the college.

The Research Center was the crowning achievement of the period.

At this time , I was also functioning as the Secretary of the Kerala Bishops’ Commission for Education as per the request of Abp.Powathil.

While working as the Secretary of this commission, I was instrumental in helping the Archbishop to form the Inter-Church Council for Education.

As the Secretary of the Inter-Church Council for Education, I got very much involved in the fight for protecting the rights of the Minorities in discussions with the State Govt. of Kerala.

The Inter-Church Council for Education as the official representative body of all the Christian denominations in the field of education became a powerful force in Kerala in unifying the voice of the Church in the formulation of the educational policies of the Church.

Principal(1991-96)

I was appointed the Principal on 1991 .I was in Alleppey and Fr. Maroor called me to say that the Archbishop wanted to see me. I went straight to the Abp’s house and there after a brief conversation, the Abp. handed me the appointment order as the Principal of the college.

It was a big turning point in my life as it opened so many avenues for me to work and enabled me to develop my administrative skills.

The first year was spent in consolidating all the different achievements of the college in various areas.My dream was to make the college the best in every respect in the academic as well as in the athletic and artistic fields.

A Science improvement program was initiated to help the top students to achieve better and remedial courses were started for the low achievers.The result was seen immediately in the University examinations as the College began to be mentioned as the topmost college which has placed the highest number of the students in the first place among the colleges under the University.

It was during this time that the college was made a full member of the Federation of the Catholic Universities(IFCU). I went with Fr.Kottaram of the Ivanios college to attend the annual meeting of the IFCU at Toulous in France.

Traveling with Kottaram was an enjoyable experience.We stayed in the House of the Parish Foreign Mission Society in Parish for a few days and then spent a few days at the house of Mr.Kattoor and his family.It was while staying with them that we went to Lourdes.It was my second visit.It was a one day trip by train.When we came back we gave rosaries and devotional medals to the children of Kattoor.As the family was not practicing their faith in a formal way, it was a first experience for the children with the symbols of the faith.Fr.Kottaram then blessed the house.

The Conference of the IFCU was held at a church where St.Thomas Aquinas was buried.All the delegates were accommodated at the University hostels nearby.At the meeting, I was elected as an Asian representative to the Executive Council of the IFCU.At the first Executive Council of the IFCU after the election, they wanted the next Executive Council to be held in India.The responsibility for holding the meting fell on me.I thought then that with the help of Fr.Kottaram since he retired from the Principalship, it would be easier for me to make all arrangements for the meeting.

Sad to say, Dr.Kottaram passed away soon after that in a tragic car accident.I went to the Kottayam medical college to accompany his body to Kottarakara where he was working as the Vicar.

Easter,April24,11

East Millstone, NJ.
Spent the Holy Week from Wednesday onwards at St. Thomas Church, East Millstone. My stay there was made very comfortable by the care and attention given by Fr.Thomas. The people were very warm and friendly. They also made nice references to my work in their farewell remarks at the end of the Easter services. I am deeply grateful to Fr.Thomas and the people for making my stay very comfortable. Visited the homes of Mercy Nedumpuram, Joshy and Philippachan.
Tom Perumpayil received me at the airport and I spent the first night at his home.He was very loving and caring and has shown always great affection.
Later, on Easter Sunday evening, all of them gathered at Babu Perumpayil's house and made very touching references to my work and ministry.