Twenty four young priests of the Salesian Province of Jesus the Good Shepherd – New Delhi, gathered from 3rd to 4th December 2021 in Don Bosco Provincial house – Okhla for two days of animation and on-going formation. These young vibes of the province were directed and guided in various aspects like ‘Liturgical Life of Priests’, ‘Read and grow’ ‘Youth ministry’ and ‘Life as a Priests’ by the experienced experts and resource persons.
‘Religious duties are the Hours’; so did the first day begin with an animated mediation by Fr. Ashoka ‘Chere’ and it was followed by the Holy Eucharist. Exhorting everyone in his inaugural talk; Rev. Fr. Vijay Soy, the vice provincial of the province said that much of the priestly life revolves around people and there are no two days that are the same, therefore it is important for a priest to maintain a healthy prayer life to sustain oneself in the midst of ongoing emotional events. He too welcomed the new priests of the province to the group and resource persons as well.
Rev. Fr. Sunil Barla (Professor of Liturgy in Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong) shared his expertise with his charming presence amidst the young priests with the topic ‘The Liturgical Life of a Priest’. He said “The Church is essentially Eucharistic, which means the church is essentially liturgical.” He began his talk emphasizing on the obligation of celebrating meaningful liturgy every day in-order to experience the power of God’s strength in us. Practical doubts in the aspect of celebration of liturgy and false assumptions were clarified by him.
Rev. Fr. Aneesh Chacko brightened the second half of the day with a unique topic ‘Read and Grow’. The three hours animation on the reading habit of priests enlightened the young minds on ‘building one’s own digital library’ and get into routine reading.
“Hunger for love, for truth, for meaning, for belonging and for purpose that cannot be satisfied by present culture could be satisfied by our Salesian accompaniment in youth ministry”; was the message left to the hearts of young priests by Rev. Fr. Shilanand Kerketta in the first half of the second day.
Rev. Fr. Ashok (Chere) flavored the evening with skills and aptitudes needed for a meaningful Salesian priestly life and exhorted all the young priests to taste the life of a priest in communion with the Lord who called us.
Finally, Fr. Sanjit Kujur whole heartedly thanked all the resource persons and the vice provincial for organizing a meaningful and memorable event which did boost the enthusiasm of young priests. Sharing of experiences of young priests and adieu to the outgoing young priests namely Fr. Sanjit Kujur, Fr. Jaimasih Ekka, Fr. Pratap Ekka and Fr. Abhay Beck ended the meet with delight.
Fr. Julian Pradeep