Kristu Jyoti College

Kristu Jyoti College witnessed a two-day seminar on 27 th and 28 th September 2021. The theme of the seminar was Scripture Today: Reading and Discovering. The seminar began with the prayer dance by BTh sisters and symbolic enthronement of the Holy Bible.

In his words of welcome Dr. Shabu Thottumkal SDB, the principal of KJC placed before the participants the curiosity, novelty, and hidden magic which has been hidden for the ages. Rev. Fr. Jose Koyikal SDB, the Salesian provincial of Bangalore, asked all the participants to give their best and learn from the words of eternal life for holistic growth. In the words of Pope Francis, he said, make the word of God part and parcel of your life. Carry it with you to all the places and all the people. Let the Word of God be your compass of life.

The organising committee members Fr. Joe Tony Pravinth SDB, Fr. Sivy Koroth SDB, Fr. Shabu Thottumkal SDB and Fr. Maria Annand SDB left no stone unturned to make this two-day seminar a successful one. They worked silently and brought the family of KJC together to collaborate with them in every phase of the seminar.

Dr. James Kadankavil SDB, the rector of KJC being the moderator of the first session helped Rev. Dr. Augustine Mulloor OCD to deliver the keynote address on the main theme, 'Scripture Today: Reading and Rediscovering.' Rev. Dr. Augustine took the participants into the systematic and well-researched journey of reading and rediscovering the Scripture through various periods of the history of the Church. He concluded with the interaction with the participants and stressed the need to have an Indian hermeneutics to re-read scriptures in our culture, context and situation.

Dr. Alex Kalathikattil SDB, the rector of Visvadeep guided the second session by assisting Rt. Rev. Dr. Sebastinappan Singaroyan, the former bishop of Selam, on the theme of 'Scripture in Homiletics'. While giving the origins of the homily, the Bishop emeritus spoke about the person of homilist, what should the content be, how it should be prepared and delivered and why scriptures should be part of homilies. He emphasised the idea that we need to preach what Lord tells us and not what we want to.

Fourteen books of KJC publication were released by of Rt. Rev. Dr. Sebastinappan Singaroyan and the first copies of each were handed over to various class representatives. Thanks to Fr. Sivy Koroth SDB and Fr. Cyriac Thayil SDB and the whole publication team.

Dr. Moncy Nellikunnel SDB, the moderator of the third session, helped Rev. Dr. Joseph Titus P., the president of St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Banglore who elaborated on the theme of 'Biblical Foundations of Josephology.' Fr. Titus took the participants in the scriptural flashback and gave deeper and sound knowledge of the life of Joseph, the foster father of Jesus.

The afternoon session began with Fr. Irudayaraj CMF giving a Bharat Natyam performance to show that Gospel can be preached through performing arts. This session was moderated by Fr. Mahimai Dass SDB. Fr. Irudayaraj gave live performances of dance, mimicry and acting and asked participants to get into the field of arts as it is an easy way to encounter children and young people.

'Charting the books of the Bible,' was the theme of the afternoon's second session and was expounded by Dr. Fr. Mario Mendes, a social activist priest from the archdiocese Bombay who is very much involved with the ministry of the word. He also spoke on the topic of Bible sharing and study, prayer, methods of personal Bible reflection, methods of group Bible reflection and various ways of praying with the Bible. Fr. Cyriac Thayil SDB moderated the session.

The first day ended with the prayer song by Br. Deuben Vincent Xavier VC. The second day began with the prayer service by the students of Visvadeep. After the enthronement of the Bible, praying for the world and for the success of the seminar were the highlights.

The second day's first session began with Dr. Smitha Gabriel, ASI guiding all the participants through the feminine perspective. In her subaltern hermeneutics, she spoke on 'REHEM - a feminine perspective towards the word of God.' The session was moderated by Dr. Jasmy CTC. The interaction was very lively and was brought to the notice that we do love our sisters and respect them for what they are.

The coffee break was sparkled by Dn. Dickson SDB, with his very lively Bible Quiz. It helped the participants to refresh the knowledge on the scripture.

The second session was animated by Fr. Walter D'Souza, from the archdiocese of Bombay and the session was moderated by Fr. Maria Anand SDB. Fr. Walter in his presentation spoke about the 'Use of Scripture in Social Media'. He asked all the participants to make the best use of social media to proclaim the Word of God. The afternoon session began on a lighter note with 'Word of God through Spiral Drawing,' by Dr. Joshy Puthur SDB, and the session was moderated by Fr. Devikanth Vivek SDB.

The final session of the seminar was a panel discussion titled, 'Influence of the Scripture in a Multi-Religious and a Multi-Cultural Context.' Fr. Sivy Koroth SDB, moderator gave a brief introduction and welcomed esteemed dignitaries from different walks of life namely, Mr. Bhojaraj, Mr. Imtiyaz, Ms. Santa Sylvia, Dr. Anne, Mrs. Merlin and Mrs. Sophia Pinto.

The seminar was concluded by Dr. Thomas Punnapadam SDB with his well-worded summary of inputs. Punnapadam, in brief words, summed up the entire seminar leaving out nothing.

Dn. Jerome Cyril SDB proposed the vote of thanks and expressed words of gratitude to all those who organized and made the Annual College Seminar a successful one. Sr. Jane Gonsalves SMI and Br. Jitto Kunnath SDB, did a marvellous job by anchoring the entire event in a lively and flawless manner. Brothers Henrcik John Antony SDB and Kangba Talung William SDB along with the KJC choir brought the curtains down by their soulful concluding hymn with flashing of lights. Kristu Jyoti College is grateful to Fr. Joe Tony Previnth under who headed the coordinating committee and all the committee members for the meticulous planning and efficient execution of the seminar.

Report by
Fr. Austin Fernandes SDB