March 2010

© St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church, Toronto

The theme of this con-

ference was Theology

of the Body. The topic

was covered extensively

by the GSML ministry

on Saturday and they

were effective in con-

veying the message.

Theology of the Body is

based on the series of

129 lectures given by

Pope John Paul II.

GSML Ministry pro-

vided a condensed ver-

sion of the Pope’s

teachings. Throughout

the day the youth were

involved in various dis-

cussions and activities

that helped them under-

stand the different is-

sues that were brought

up. In the evening the

Holy Mass was cele-

brated by His Excel-

lency Most Rev. Dr.

Joseph Mar Thomas.

The 2010 MCYM-NA Mid-

west Regional Conference

was held in Toronto from

February 12 to 14. A Re-

gional conference is con-

ducted every year to bring the

Malankara youth of the re-

gion together. Midwest re-

gion includes the youth from

Chicago, Detroit, and To-

ronto, a total of around 40

youth attended this confer-

ence as well as Saji Achen

(Vicar of the Chicago Mis-

sion), and Koshy Achen

(Vicar of the Detroit Mis-

sion). The conference was

also blessed with the presents

of His Excellency Most Rev.

Dr. Joseph Mar Thomas.

The conference began with a

prayer meeting on Friday at

Mr. John Thomas’s resi-

dence. Most of the Toronto

youth attended the prayer and

it was a great start for the

2010 regional conference.

The conference came to

an end on Sunday with the

Holy Mass, celebrated by

Koshy Achen. After lunch

the youth from Chicago

and Detroit started their

journey back home with a

greater understanding of

the Theology of the Body.

The conference was made

a success through the ef-

forts of the youth, parents

and especially Daiju

Achen. It was wonderful

to see the community

come together to help

organize the 2010 re-

gional conference.

Leo

March 2010 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 8

March 5

Way of cross (8 pm) at

Saji and Lali

March 5


Raju and Sherley

March 12


Joshua and Jommy

March 19

Way of cross (8 pm)

Church liturgy

March 20

Women's prayer meeting

at Alex and Omna

March 26

English Mass and adora-

tion (40th Friday of lent)

March 27

Monthly prayer meeting

at Babu Mamoottil

2:00 PM Malayalam class

2.30 PM Sunday School

3:30 PM Song practice

4.00 PM Prabhatha

Namaskaram

4:15 to 4:30

( Prayers Confessions

Contact Information: Fr. John Kuriakose,

222 Ridley Blvd,

Toronto, ON, M5M 3M6

Tel: (416) 485 7781

[email protected]

Sunday Liturgy

Malankara Catholic Church St. Mary’s Mission Toronto

St. Eugene’s Chapel◊13 Regina Avenue◊Toronto, Ontario◊M6A 1R2

www.stmarysmalankaracatholicchurchtoronto.ca

[email protected]

Inside the Regional 1

Bishops visit 2

Lent 3

mailto:[email protected]


Our community was

blessed by the presence of His Excellency Most Rev. Dr. Joseph Mar Thomas, Apostolic Visitor of North America and Europe. He joined the MCYM Mid-west Regional Conference on February 13th and later that day his Grace cele-brated the Holy Mass with the youth and the Toronto Malankara com-munity. This was the Thi-rumeni’s last visit to our community as the Apos-tolic Visitor of Europe and North America since he has been newly ap-pointed as the Bishop of

Bathery. At this time, we remember the ways God has used him to lead the faithful in North Amer-ica to grow stronger in faith and hope. His Grace was every pleas-ant and approachable. After mass, a small fare-well was held for his Grace where our parish priest recollected and shared his experience with his Excellency. On behalf of the whole To-ronto community, John Thomas extended his warmest wishes and shared few thoughts and

some of the memorable moments of the past.

May God bless him abundantly for all his works and give him the grace as he takes on the mission of leading the faithful in Bathery, to lead them in peace and bring them closer to God. We would like to thank him once again for everything he has done and we hope that he has a very good time in India.

-Deepak Wilson

Malankara Catholic Church

Liturgical Cycle

Ariyippu Kalam Nov 1 – Dec 20

Deneha Kaalam (Elda

kalam)

Dec 21- Feb 21

Valiya Nombu Kalam Feb 22 – Apr 11

Kyamtha Kalam Apr 12 – May 30

PentiKosthi Kalam May 31 – Aug 5

Tejaskarana Kalam Aug 6 – Sept 13

Sleeba Kalam Sept 14 – Oct 31

2010 Malankara Catholic Mission Council

The 2010 Parish Council members were elected by

the the general body and with Father Daiju's grace. The elec-

tion was held on February the 7th,2010 after the holy mass.

The following members were elected. Mathew Kuthiravattom,

this year's secretary and the Joint Secretary Rajan Powath were

the elected nominees. Joshua Joseph was voted as Treasurer

and Joshy John as the the Joint Treasurer. Last but least,

Shirley Wilson is this year's church member. On behalf of the

Malankara community, we wish all the new parish council

members a hearty congrats and best wishes.


Lent is the period of the

Liturgical year that leads up to Easter. The tradi-tional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the be-liever through prayer, penitence, alms giving and self denial to commemo-rate the death and resur-rection of Jesus. It has been there since the 1st century itself. The Council of Nicea (325 A.D.), which was the first general coun-cil of the Church, declared that Lent is to be observed for forty days. The number forty has a long biblical history: The forty days' fasts of Moses, Elijah and especially Our Lord in the desert. During the early days of the Church, the observance of fast was very strict. One meal was allowed per day and, even in that meal, meat and fish were forbidden. By the fifteenth century, the one meal was taken at noon.

I am going to focus on what Lent mean to us individually. Rather than explanation and preach-ing, as Pope John Paul II suggested to us – let us be the witnesses of this new millennium.

When I was a young boy, I was really excited to get older so that I could fast and do penance as my grandmother used to practice during the Lent season. She developed a habit of 'giving' in me by allowing me to give a kilogram of rice, and a coconut to a poor and blind widow who lives around 100 meters away from my home in India. Even though it was just a

small amount of food and probably means nothing to our generation, I saw the fasting and suffering that she had to take to save up for this old poor woman. I remember one day I told her I want to fast too, to do the same she is doing. She told me that I need to be older and mature to do it. I si-lently obeyed. But this gave me a sense of what Lent is all about. Even though it is a time of self purification and prepara-tion; beyond that, it is also a time of self assess-ment in the areas of integ-rity and loving others. Lent is also a time where a whole community with one heart and soul pre-pare for the Lord's death and resurrection by avoiding many worldly things that pleases us. Thus work of the Holy Spirit in the community is very strong, especially during this period of time

Malankara Catholic Church

Lent offers us all a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and to deepen our commitment to a way of life, rooted in our bap-tism. In our busy world, Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our sins, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we've done and failed to do, and to be gen-erous to those in need. "Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weep-ing, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God" -- Joel 2:12-13 Sebin Alexander

A Lenten Reflection Give up complaining——focus on gratitude.

Give up pessimism——become an optimist.

Give up harsh judgments——think kindly thoughts.

Give up worry——trust Divine Providence.

Give up discouragement——be full of hope.

Give up bitterness——turn to forgiveness.

Give up hatred——return good for evil.

Give up negativism——be positive.

Give up anger——be more patient.

Give up pettiness——become mature.

Give up gloom——enjoy the beauty that is all around you.

Give up jealousy——pray for trust.

Give up gossiping——control your tongue.

Give up sin——turn to virtue.

Give up giving up——hang in there!

What are you giving up for lent ?

March 2010

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Transcript of March 2010