Meeting with Papal Nuncio

His Excellency Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, Papal Nuncio to India, visited the diocese of Poona at the start of December 2010 and we as members of the Teresian Association were invited to join him with the other religious for breakfast on the morning of Sunday 5th December.

The encounter was an enriching experience and Goretti and Savitha represented the Association.

Advent Recollection

We were all glad to spend the first Sunday of Advent in prayer at the Sanjeevan Ashram at Dhole Patil Road on November 28, 2010. Our extended Teresian family and friends were all there to spend time together thanking the Lord for having brought us together to share the deeper meaning of this season.

The day began with a prayer by Verenne where we contemplated the mystery of the incarnation, the anticipated birth of the child Jesus. This was followed by a powerpoint presentation by the Fr. Edison Fernandes s.d.b. Vice Rector at the Don Bosco Youth Centre. He highlighted how advances in technology were meant to save time and yet we only seem to have less of it. We don’t know how to spend time. Advent is a time where we should learn to submit ourselves to the flow of God’s time, learn the spirituality of waiting. He also likened Advent to the waiting of the birth of a child by the parents. There were innumerable lessons to be learnt at each stage of the child’s development within the mother’s womb until birth. Birth then begets a new form of waiting.

Advent is the coming anew of the one who is already with us. He comes to our mundane lives bringing His blessing. Let us welcome the Christ child with homes, arms and hearts wide open.

The session was followed by the sacraments of reconciliation and Holy Eucharist and a hearty fellowship lunch.

Now we await the birth of the child.

-Savitha Pais

YEM and TAYMI Camp- Diwali 2010

Youth from the TAYMI animated by Agosh and YEM animated by Joanna came to celebrate Diwali in a camp themed, Shine Jesus Shine. The ACIT from Pune collaborated with the organizers.

Savitha Pais led the youth into a session on the Talent You Have Received. She exposed the background of the gospel parable of the talents and instigated the youth to think of the talents they have and how they use them. Later she got them to creatively represent this through clay on earthen glasses.

Reeves Rodrigues on the first day of the camp, led the youth into team building games and did a debrief thereafter helpinf the youth to find values such as communication, responsibility, equal opportunity and participation etc.

On the second day, the youth were introduced to the Poveda Foundation run by him and then spent an afternoon in the slum community the foundation works with. This experience, for many, their first was an eye opener and helped the youth become aware and more sensitive to the social realities that surround them. Later that evening they presented their learnings and interacted with the kids from Poveda through songs and dance.

On the last day of the camp, Reeves led another session of outdoor games.

The youth are not merely our future, they are our present and they need the discerning guidance and companionship of genuine adults