KRIPALAYA NEWS

The cool warming breeze of October 4th was exhilarated with the celebration of the feast of St Francis of Assisi at Kripalaya. The celebration commenced at 6 in the evening with the solemn festive mass presided over by His Excellency Bernard Moras, who gave a call to bear witness to Christ and the Gospel like Francis.

The presence of about 30 priests, 150 religious from various communities and 40 members of OFS added colour to the celebration. The melodious and blending voices of the brothers along with the juniour sisters of Ursuline Franciscan from Maria Niketan made the liturgy lively. The captivating art of tree and nature by Brs Jaymon and Sushant, the artistic writing of the preamble of the Indian Constitution by Fr Alex, the glittering lighting and decoration done by the brothers, the delicious taste of mouth-watering sumptuous meals with the soft touch of the cool evening breeze made the celebration more dynamic, exuberant and solemn.

The waves of happiness flooded in with the celebration of 'My AFFI Gathering' at Kripalaya. More than 14 Franciscan communities across Mysore participated in this event.

The celebration commenced with the Eucharistic celebration at 9:00 am presided by our Rector who emphasized on the significance of the Rule and influence of Francis on the world, as a man of peace, who embraced suffering with the fire of love. This was followed by the cultural programme. 

The focal point of the celebration was the key note address of Fr Vincent Furtado on the theme 'Recapturing and reinventing the spirit of Francis' Rule.' Father beautifully elaborated the six jewels or qualities (meekness, gentleness, modesty, peacefulness, humility and courtesy) mentioned by St Francis which make a Franciscan authentic and adorable.

the dynamic dances, melodious singing as well as the humorous and meaningful drama performed by junior sisters from Marianiketan and our brothers added life to the event.

The celebration came to an end with the enactment of Transitus - the final journey of our Seraphic Father by our brothers in an innovative way and this followed by the festal meals.

Kripalaya, the Institution of Philosophy and Religion is now officially affiliated to the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical Athenaeum of mBangalore "Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram". It is been also officially raised as an Ecclesiastical Institution of Higher Education on 23rd September, 2023. The members of the Philosophical faculty of Dharmaram were present at the ceremony of affiliation.

The Community of Kripalaya celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of the BVM with great solemnity and reverence. We also marked the feast of the first fruits which we celebrate as the Monthi Fest. The new corn was blessed and distributed. The Eucharistic celebration was attended by a good number of the faithful. Fr Rector was the Main Celebrant and Fr Santa broke the Word of God for us. After the Holy Mass sugarcanes were distributed to the people and shared festal greetings among one another. We had a delicious meal in the afternoon with a variety of delicacies. We also combined the celebration of the festival of Onam today.

In preparation for the Feast of Nativity the brothers had prepared a nine day novena to the Mama Mary which made us all to celebrate her birthday even more meaningfully.

His Excellency Bishop Ignatius Dsouza, Bishop of the Diocese of Bareilly visited our community on the 21st of August, 2023. He celebrated the Holy Eucharist for us and prayed for the whole community. His brother Fr Paul Melwyn Dsouza, the Guardian was very glad to receive him and con-celebrated with him the Holy Mass. Bishop shared the incredible experiences he had during The World Youth Day in Portugal after the Holy Mass and encouraged us to pray for the youth. 

The celebration of the 77th Independence Day in the community of Kripalaya was really a fascinating and intriguing one which enhanced our Love towards Mother India. Being the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary we had the Eucharistic celebration at 6:30a.m where we implored the grace of God on our country India. This was followed by the flag-hoisting ceremony. Brothers Sahil and Ashton delivered a wonderful speech conveying a beautiful message about Independence Day. In order to make this Independence Day celebration a relevant one, The whole celebration was focused on 2 essential themes:

1. Laudato sii- Care for nature save yourself 

2. Peace in Manipur - Care for life save humanity

There were 2 important portraits drawn by Brother Jaymon which exhibited the need for these 2 issues in our country. At the end of the program, few saplings were Distributed to the nearby communities. 

Our community was indeed joyful to have the gracious presence of Rev. Fr Renny Velayappillil, OFM Cap. on the 19th of July 2023. He arrived in the afternoon for lunch and stayed with us till next day morning. Five of our brothers from the Nirmala Matha Custody welcomed him with smiling faces. Father spent time with us in the evening by sharing his mission experiences in the North East and making us aware of the present situation in Manipur. After celebrating the Holy Eucharist with us in the morning he left for Shillong. The Community of Kripalaya thank Fr Renny for his fraternal visit and pray that God may bless him abundantly.

Frs. Siby Mattathil and Biju made a fraternal visit to our commmunity on Tuesday, 11/7/2023. They celebrated the Holy Eucharist with us and preached a fitting homily. Five of our brothers from the Nirmala Matha Custody were very glad to meet the Friars from their own Custody and shared some of their beautiful experiences at Kriplaya. The Friars departed to Kerala in the morning after breakfast. Thank you Fathers for your fraternal visit and strengthening  your brothers.

Mysore CRI organized a Seminar on ‘Preparing Ourselves for the Upcoming Elections 2024' on July 09, 2023 at Teresian College Auditorium, Mysuru.          Fr Paul Melwyn Dsouza celebrated the Holy Eucharist. Eight Brothers had attended the gathering and helped in conducting the choir. It was a very enlightening seminar. Dr. Japhet S, Founding Vice Chancellor , Bangalore City University was the Resource person. He spoke on how to prepare ourselves to face the upcoming Elections 2024 and also to help others to challenge and to be proactive in combating the fascists and fundamentalists which was very inspiring and thought provoking. He also invited us to collaborate with other civil and secular groups  in safeguarding the Constitution and it's values. We also formed a human chain to express our solidarity with the victims of violence in Manipur. More than 250 religious priests and nuns were present.