THE IMPORTANT THING_ José Antonio Pagola

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (B) 4 November 2012

Mark 12, 28-34

Translation by Re.Fr.Valentine de Souza S.J

Fr. Valentine de Souza S.J.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

THE IMPORTANT THING

José Antonio Pagola

 A scribe comes to Jesus. He doesn’t come to set a trap for him, nor does he want to discuss any issue. His life is based on laws and regulations which tell him how to behave in every instance. However, he has a problem at heart. “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” What’s decisive in seeking fulfillment in life?

 Jesus understands very well what troubles the soul of that man. When norms and precepts, customs and rites keep piling up in religious practice, it is easy to live a rudderless existence, without knowing what exactly is fundamental to give a healthy direction to one’s life. Something of the kind happened in certain spheres of the Jewish religion.

 Jesus does not quote the commandments of Moses. He simply reminds him of the prayer both of them had said that very morning at sunrise, according to the Jewish custom: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

 The scribe is thinking about a God who has the power to command. Jesus puts him before a God whose voice we must listen to. What’s important is not to know precepts and fulfill them. It is crucial to stop and listen to the God who speaks to us without using human words.

 When we listen to the true God, our hearts are drawn to love. It is not properly speaking a command. It’s what arises within us when we open ourselves to the ultimate mystery of life: “You must love.” In this experience there are no religious go-betweens, no theologians, no moralists. We do not need anyone to direct us from outside ourselves. We know that the important thing is to love.
 

 This love of God is not a feeling or an emotion. To love the one who is the source and origin of life is to live loving life , creation, things and especially people. Jesus speaks of loving “with all one’s heart, with all one’s soul, with all one’s being.” No mediocrity or ulterior motives. Only complete generosity and trust.

 Jesus adds something more the scribe had not asked. This love of God is inseparable from the love of neighbor. One can only love God by loving the neighbor. Otherwise the love of God is a lie. How can we love the Father without loving his sons and daughters?

 We Christians are not always careful about this synthesis of Jesus. We often tend to confuse the love of God with religious practices and fervor, forgetting the love in practice that brings us together with those excluded by society and forgotten by religion. For what truth is there in our love of God if we turn our backs on those who suffer?

Spread the love of God 

Jose Antonio Pagola, vgentza@euskalnet.net , San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa, Spain.

English Translation by Valentine de Souza S.J. Mandal, Gujarat , India.394650

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The great missionary Late Fr.George Kunnath CMI Passed away on 31-Oct-2012

 Rev. Fr. George Kunnath CMI (72), the great missionary of the Kutch passed away on 31-Oct-2012 at the Lilavathy Hospital, Mumbai at 8.05 am.

 He was admitted to the hospital three days ago as he was found lying unconscious on his bed early morning at the CMI house in Mumbai. He was suffering from Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease since a few years. Incidentally he was in Mumbai for a routine check up on his way to Bangalore to attend a meeting. Doctors said that he had a massive brain hemorrhage during the night.

 Rev. Fr George, belonging to the CMI St. Xavier’s Province, Rajkot was born in 1940 at Karimannoor, near Thodupuzha, Kerala, and was ordained priest in 1969. His first appointment as Priest was in Dharmaram College, Bangalore, the major seminary of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. There he was designated to manage the huge dairy farm of the seminary. After his service in Bangalore for nine years he was appointed Prior of the Monastery at Vazhakulam. And it was from here that Bishop Jonas picked him up for his future glorious service in the Diocese of Rajkot in 1981.

 Father George is a person whom the people of Kutch will never forget. He was a great missionary who took the message of the love of God to the poor and suffering people of the hard terrains of Kutch, geographically as big as Kerala, as part of the social work department of the Diocese of Rajkot. The blind, the deaf, the lame, the poor, the marginalized and the mentally challenged in great numbers found new energy and life in him. A winner of many, church, state and national awards, he was considered by the locals as the uncrowned king of Kutch because of the amount of welfare work he did and the influence he had in the society and with the Government.

 The Kutch Vikas Trust (K.V.T.) of which he was the founding Director, which post he held until his death is a registered Charitable Trust based in Raidhanpar, Bhuj, in the District of Kutch 220 kilometers from Rajkot was formed by 1981 by the late Bishop Jonas Thaliyath. Financed by the CHRISTOFFEL BLINDEN MISSION and the ANDHERI HILFE, its aim was the integral development of the Kutch region.

 The main work of KVT is spread in the 250 acres of land belonging to the Trust. The major work are integrated education centre and hostel for the blind children, General Dispensary, eye specialization hospital , Rehabilitation of the blind, AIDS care, agricultural training centre, Dairy farm, fish hatcheries, fisheries cooperative societies, etc. From here they reach out to scores of villages for medical camps, water shed programmes and advocacy and awareness programmes. The devastating earthquake of 2001 brought the true mettle in the person of Fr Kunnth. He worked hard , got the assistance of funding agencies and built countless houses for the victims.

 He was actively involved in the following Government and Non Governmental bodies:

- Reproduction and Child Care committee of Government of Gujarat 

- Committee for Child Labour Abolition 

- Hariyali Project a Lead NGO in Gujarat 

- Fisher Peoples Association 

- National Association for the Blind, Kutch, 

- Blind welfare Council , Kutch, 

- Federation of the Blind, Kutch 

 Fr George Kunnth/s foresight and vision for future was instrumental in the founding of seven other mission stations in the region of Kutch which are now doing much needed service in the social and academic sectors in the following places:

Lakhpat 

Dayapar 

Mandvi 

Naliya 

Nadapa and 

Mundra. 

Since 1998 Fr George has received a dozen awards from the state and National Governments, for his outstanding services for the rehabilitation of the blind, marginalized and the poor.

He received the following awards:

1998 Van Pandit award from Government of Gujarat 

2001 Award for outstanding service to the disabled from the Government of Gujarat. 

2002 Award for remarkable service to the earthquake affected people 

2003 Bharat Excellence Award for outstanding service to the marginalized and poor 

2004 Best Employer of Disabled Award by Government of Gujarat 

2006 National Award for Best Employer of Disabled in the year 2006 

2007 Award for outstanding service for the welfare and development of 

the disabled in Kutch by Kutch Blind Welfare Association. 

2008 Social Apostolate Award by CMI Congregation for the outstanding

 service to the needy and disabled. 

2009 Gujarat State Award for the Welfare of the Blind and Disabled by 

Gujarat State Branch of NAB 

 Dressed always in simple attire, and keeping a smile always in his lips, Fr George Kunnath was a boss with a difference for the over 150 staff at KVT that included priests, sisters and lay people belonging to different religions. He reached every spot where KVT’s work was underway, met each staff member and worker and gave appropriate directions to one and all.

His idea of the mission was the following:

 “Let the people feel the Good News of Jesus from our selfless activities, rather that from our lips. They will start asking questions why we are here. The third or fourth generation of missionaries will hopefully, see some disciples of Jesus from this soil. In the meantime, the people have begun to say among themselves, ‘we please our gods by feeding the cows, but these Christians do so by serving us.’”

 Fr. George has 5 brothers and 6 sisters, one of whom is a nun in the Presentation congregation. Indeed, Fr George Kunnath’s life is an invitation to all of us to shed any sort of lethargy in our lives and embrace of life of action for the suffering and the needy in whose forms Jesus appears to us every day.

May his soul rest in peace

News And Photo 

Rev. Fr. Sebastian Kalathil

Deepti Printers And Publication And Communication, Rajkot.

And

Rev. Fr. Jerry Sequeira S.J.

GSP, Anand.

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Traditional Adivasi Dance In Vyara - Year Of Faith 2012-2013

 Year Of Faith 2012-2013 was celebrated on 28-10-2013 on Sunday morning in Vyara, South Gujarat. Adivasi from 20 parish villages joined with Bhajan Dance at Vyara church. There were 480 people performed Adivasi Dance on stage. The songs were composed by the villagers for Year of Faith and were performed on the stage with traditional Adivasi Dance.

 Rev. Fr. Ronald (Ronnie) Saldanha S.J.arranged the program at Vyara Church. Every village was given a prize to encourage for faith and their rich culture. 

 Rev. Fr. Aizpun Miguel S.J. had given faith formation retreat to the Youth of Vyara parish for the preparation of the event and theYear Of Faith. 

Please click for one of the traditional Adivasi Dances. 

Photo and video 

By BBN

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Golden Jubilee Of Sabarkatha Mission

The first Adivasi priest from Sabarkatha Mission Rev. Fr. Kimji Dund, shares the History of Sabrkatha Mission. He also shares the hard time the first Christians had to go through.

સાબરકાંઠા વિસ્તારના સૌ પ્રથમ આદિવાસી પુરોહિત રેવ ફાં  કીમજી ડુંડ અહી સાબરકાઠાની ધર્મસભાનો ઈતિહાસ અને પહેલા પીઢ  મિશનરી સ્વ ફા એસ્પાસા એસ જે નું આદિવાસી ભાઈઓ અને બહેનો માટે કરેલ કાર્યો અને પ્રથમ ખ્રિસ્તી ભાઈ બહેનોને પડેલ યાતનાઓનું  અહી વર્ણન કરે છે       

Please click on the video
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Please stay tuned, Part - 2 will be available soon.

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Letter of the Pope for the Year Of Faith In Gujarati

Please click on the slideshow and scroll to read the Letter of the Pope Benedict XVI  for the Year Of  Faith 2012-2013  in Gujarati.

For LARGER view click the below Slideshare icon.



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- BBN

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Rev. Fr. Gil Pablo on Year Of Faith 2012-2013

Yesterday there was a meeting for the preparation of Year Of  Faith 2012-2013 at Bishop's House, Vadodara. Rev. Fr. Gil Pablo S.J. shared his experience and Christian values during the meeting.

Please click on the video



Video By BBN

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Year Of Faith inaugurated at Gamdi-Anand

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BBN Team

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New Testament in Braille

At Ghandhinagar Cathedral 

Please click on the video for the inauguration which was held at Ghandhinagar Cathedral, Ghandhinagar, Gujarat on 12-10-2012. Bible in Braille is published by Rev. Fr. Girish S.J.( Unteshwari, Kadi) first time in the history of the Gujarat Catholic Church.



Note:

Due to internet problem, will be delayed for news and events, Inconvenience is regretted

BBN Team

  

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Rosary Church Feast

Last Sunday there was a celebration in Rosary Church, Vadodara.

 Rosary Church arranged Novena last week. Rt. Bishop Thomas Macwan [Ahmedabad Dio ] celebrated the mass on last Sunday.

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petlad medo

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Mariam Katha By Rev. Fr. Ignas S.J.

Please click for Mariam Katha organized for Marian Congress last month which was held at St. Mary's School, Nadiad

Katha By Rev. Fr. Ignas S.J.



ગત મહીને સેન્ટ મેરીસ સ્કુલ , નડિયાદ ખાતે મરિયમ પરિષદ યોજાયેલ, જેમાં રેવ. ફા. ઇગ્નાસ એસ. જે. અને તેમની ટીમ દ્વારા કથા રજુ કરવામાં આવી હતી તેનો એક ભાગ અહી રજુ કરીએ છીએ .

- BBN

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