Joel D’Souza sdb
MATUNGA, JULY 11, 2008: A two day Practical Trainees course was held on July 9 and 10, 2008 at Don Bosco Provincial House, Matunga and was attended by 20 Practical Trainees from the different houses of the province. The first day began with the Solemn Eucharistic celebration presided over by Fr Provincial. The Eucharist was made special with the presence of our missionaries from Africa, Fr Tony and Fr Wilfred. In his homily, Fr Provincial reminded the young confreres of the need to be like the disciples of Jesus, who are sent to the different communities to be witnesses of Christ to the boys. During the inaugural session which was conducted by Fr Provincial the Brothers shared their experiences in their respective communities. Speaking to the group, Fr Provincial stressed on the importance of having a Personal Plan and of the need to confide with our Spiritual Directors. Thereafter we continued with our sharing in the next session which was conducted by Fr Godfrey D’Souza, Vice Provincial. Providing a missionary slant for the two day course was the presence of Cl Claudius Misquitta, our missionary from Hungary. His inputs about the land of Hungary and his own experience kept the Brothers hooked to his words during the afternoon session. He emphasized on need to have an active loving presence among the boys, to communicate with our Rectors and to be united with God especially through personal prayer. The next day the young confreres were divided in two groups. The brothers doing their first year of PT went to Don Bosco, Kurla for a day of intense talks. Fr Mario Vaz, Fr. Peter Gonsalves, Fr Adolf Furtado, Fr Bosco Pereira and Ms Revathy Sundararajan gave the Brothers means to be more efficient and effective as Practical Trainees. The others who remained behind at Provincial House had a lively discussion on the Provincial Chapter documents under the guidance of Fr Godfrey D’souza. These two days have been for the Brothers an opportunity to introspect and to come out enthused and energized to give of themselves to their boys. Perhaps we may not be able to make a big difference in our communities but certainly these sessions have made some difference in our own lives