Golden Jubilee celebration of Br. Cyriac Kurias
New Delhi, Okhla, Dec.1, 2018: Don Bosco Technical Institute Okhla celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Br Cyriac. The Eucharistic celebration began at 4.30 p.m.
At the outset Fr. Jose Mathew, the provincial welcomed, thanked, appreciated and acknowledged the august presence of His Grace, Most. Rev. Anil J Couto the Archbishop Delhi Archdiocese, His Grace Most Rev. Albert D’Souza, the Archbishop of Agra Archdiocese, His Lordship. Rt. Rev. Oswald Lewis, the bishop Jaipur, His Lorship Rt. Rev. Gerald Mathias, the bishop of Lucknow, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Ignatius D’Souza, the bishop of Bareily Diocese. The former provincials: Rev. Fr. Kizhakkekara Joseph and Rev. Fr. Michael Peedikayil, Fr. George Kurias OCD, the brother of Bro. Cyriac, Mr.&Mrs Joyachan- the brother and sister in -law of Br. Cyriac Mrs. Philomina, the sister of Br. Cyriac, others from the family, Mr. George Muller from Don Bosco Mission- Bonn, Germany, 7 Novitiate companions of Br. Cyriac, former Superior General of the congregation of FSLG – Rev. Sr. Gemma, Former Superior Generals of the congregation – Rev. Sr. Jyotis MSJ – Rev. Sr. Casia and Rev. Sr. Jyotis, the Provincial of the Jesuits: Rev. Fr. M.K George, friends and well-wishers of Br. Cyriac were cordially welcomed.
There were several priests, religious; friends and well-wishers participated in the Eucharistic Celebration.
Fr. Jose Mathew in his introduction said, “We pray at the preface of every Eucharist “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks, father most holy” yes Truly it is gratitude the gather around the Lord with Br. Cyric Kurias this evening. We celebrate the fact that Br. Cyriac has been clothed not just a consecration, but as St. Paul wrote, “clothed with love,” having put o Lord Jesus Christ, and done everything in his name. (cf. Col 3:17)
A jubilee like this is an opportunity to look back with joy on been at work in a wonderful way in the life of our dear confrere Cyriac Kurias. It is a time to celebrate ach how God has Br. Cyriac obstacles overcome in carrying out the mission entrusted to him by Jesus. I am sure that Br. Cyriac is made more consciously aware today that he has received much, so many graces, so many blessings, and we rejoice together with him. It is also a day of remembrance for us and for him – remembrance of when he was first called, remembrance of the road travelled, remembrance of graces received and, above all, remembrance of his encounter with Jesus in this special call to be his disciple.
I have no doubt that your heart; dear Br. Cyriac is filled with this grace o remembrance as you reflect on the many ways in which the Lord has worked in you and through you in so many powerful ways. I would also guess that you have the memory of various trials and difficulties that you have encountered in more than half a century of your religious commitment. At that time, it may not have seemed as though those moments were occasions for joy. But with the passage of years and the larger perspective, you can see how even those moments have been a part of the beautiful tapestry of God’s loving providence unfolding throughout your religious life, thus prompting you to be grateful for every moment of the past fifty years.
We want to acknowledge and appreciate with gratitude and thankfulness the great person and gift that Br. Cyriac is to us and to our congregation. He certainly is a multi talented person – a committed religious, an engineer who can professionally put his hand to a multitude of thing. His ability to build is exemplified in the many constructions has personally supervised the concrete, elegant structures of Lucknow, the upgradation process of this DBTI campus well on its of his trade mark structures. No one can truly gauge the troubles overcome, the obstacles faced and the
insurmountable odds tackled in making the ongoing constructions in this campus possible. It just gives us a little glimpse of the indomitable and never say die attitude of Br, Cyriac. He may have lost count of the number of chapels that he has his genuine love for the Lord expressed in similar sentiments by King David in Psalm 132: 5 “I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” He is a go getter who certainly has undaunted energy and indomitable will and tenacity to fight any hurdles to get things done to perfection. Dear Br. Cyriac, we are grateful to the Lord for choosing to live consecrated life. We are thankful to you for saying “Yes” not just once many years ago but day after day in those successive little fiats and occasional larger ones – that thread themselves like beads that make up the rosary of your life. And we thank the Lord, too, for the many blessings your fidelity and generosity have brought to the people whom you have served.
We are here collectively to praise and thank God for this wonderful person and the marvels the Lord is achieving through him. We offer thanks to God for the gift of his vocation to the Church and to this community of the Salesians of Don Bosco. We bring these offerings of gratitude to the altar where we express our most perfect act of thanksgiving in the celebration of the Eucharist, giving thanks to God for all of His blessings, asking that He will continue to multiply them in our lives. We also know that Consecrated Religious cannot help but continue to live that life of self- sacrifice and committed work until their very last moment. We have these sentiments expressed in the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, “Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to Just one thing: forgetting what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). The Holy Father reflected on this after speaking about the need for developing the grace of remembrance. That grace, in a sense, is not meant to be a passive experience, but rather a motivating factor to move forward with greater dedication and love. He said the following: a grateful heart is spontaneously impelled to serve the Lord and to find expression in a life of commitment to the mission entrusted. Once we come to realize how much God has given us, a life of self-sacrifice, of working for him and for others, becomes a privileged way of responding to his great love. As we continue our celebration of this Holy Eucharist, we give thanks to God for the many blessings that you, Br. Cyriac, have received, and for the blessing that you have been for the Church, to our congregation, to your dear ones and to each one of us. We also offer our heartfelt prayers for you, that you will continue to remain in the love of Christ and to press on with greater fervour toward the goal that still awaits you at the end of your journey. God bless you all abundantly Thanks to each one of you for your grace filled presence.”