Dear Confreres:

We began our Lenten Journey with a cross traced in ashes on the foreheads of all who came to Church on Ash Wednesday as declaration of the necessity of repentance, of change of heart and of faithfulness to the Gospel values. Ashes direct our attention to the transitory character of created realities – that nothing in this world is permanent, nothing in the world of matter is forever. The journey that we began in ashes will take us to the cross. The cross tells us that in the love of God nothing is lost.

From the ashes of destruction, we make our way to the cross of Christ and beyond it to the fire. Unlike the fire of terror, we encounter a purifying, life-creating fire that gives light to a dark and despairing world. It is the fire that light the Paschal candle which proclaims: “the light of Christ”. It is the fire that brings us into the light of Christ and lights up our own path…..Our Lenten journey will end in Baptism and the renunciation of the forces of evil.

Traditionally, Christians all over the world have used the disciplines of Prayer, Penance and Almsgiving as pathways of Lenten Spirituality. They still are wonderful and life-giving disciplines. They bring us closer to God and to God’s people. Prayer strengthens our connection to God. Penance builds our character and helps us get rid of unhealthy habits which weaken our ability to love God, others and ourselves. Almsgiving helps to care for others – to reach out to the less fortunate, the unfortunate, the disadvantaged, the poor, the marginalized and suffering people in our community.

Lent is a great time for denying ourselves some of the comforts and pleasures of life.  The purpose of denials is to become more alert, more conscious, more attentive. Fasting and abstinence are two of the most common ways of denials. The purpose of fasting and abstinence is to aid prayer – to make it easier to listen to God more openly, especially in times of need. This experience can also be a very simple gesture that places us in greater solidarity with the poor, who often have to be content with a little rice and beans each day.  Powerful things happen in us, when we think about those people in the world who have so much less than we do. 

Almsgiving has been one of the traditional practices of Lent.  Generosity is not simply sharing our excess resources with the poor.  Generosity is an attitude.  It is a sense that all that we have is God’s gift to us and given to us to be shared.  It means that sharing with others in need is one of our priorities.  That is quite different from assessing all of our needs first and then giving away what is left over.  A spirit of self-less giving means that one of our needs is to share what we have with others.  Lent is a wonderful time to practice self-less giving. It places us in solidarity with the poor who share with each other, without having any excess.  It also joins us with Jesus, who gave himself completely for us. 

Lent is also a wonderful time to name the sinful, the unhealthy and the self-centered patterns of living. We could do a good soul searching, a good examination of conscience, a personal scrutiny of life, a process of discerning what needs change, conversion or transformation in our life. Look at the possibility of a change of heart…change of our attitudes, our dispositions, our values, our priorities…..

May your Lenten days of prayer, penance and almsgiving help you to be reborn in spirit, empower you to love without limits, teach you to pray constantly, help you seek the wisdom of God, enable you to live in compassion and help you celebrate the joy of Easter. May your Lenten spirituality be creative, constructive, optimistic, positive – hope-filled and may all your hopes find fulfillment in the risen Christ.

Salesian Year:

1. Responding to the Call of the General Chapter 2007 and the recent directives of the Superior General, MSFS USA Region has begun the “Salesian Year”, a year with the spirituality of St. Francis De Sales for us and for the people we are sent to serve. The “Salesian Year” marks the 400^th anniversary of the publication of the “Introduction to Devout Life” by St. Francis De Sales, first published on November 10, 1608. Our communities have begun the year with St. Francis De Sales with the celebration of the feast of St. Francis De Sales.
   

1. Wellspring began the year with St. Francis De Sales with celebration of the 10^th anniversary of its foundation and the feast of St. Francis De Sales on January 24, 2008. Eleven of our confreres from Alexandria, Tucson, Houston and Tyler and a huge gathering of Wellspring participants joined the celebration of the Eucharist followed by reception. The presence of about 150 lay people was a visible sign of the growth of a community in the spirit of St. Francis De Sales.

1. Our community in Atlanta celebrated the feast of St. Francis De Sales on January 29^th to make it convenient for all the confreres and the priests in the area to participate. All our confreres in ministry in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Fr. George Puraidam, our regional bursar and myself and a few priests from the area joined the celebrations. The Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Atlanta was the main celebrant at the Eucharist and I was privileged to give the homily. More than 100 lay people from the parishes, where our confreres serve, participated in the Eucharist and the reception that followed.

1. The week from January 20-26, 2008 was declared as “Fransalian Week” in Sacred Heart Church, Loretto, TN where Fr Tomy Joseph Puliyanampattayil serves as pastor. The pastor’s Colum in the Church Bulletin was about SFS and the Sunday Homily also was about SFS. On the feast day, Mass offered for Fransalians all over the world. Fr. Tomy visited all the class rooms in the school and  talked about SFS. It was really a meaningful week for the entire parish.    

1. Fransalians-Michigan celebrated the feast together with the local clergy of diocese of Kalamazoo on the eve of Feast of St. Francis de Sales on January 23rd at 6.30p.m at Sacred Heart Church – Bangor MI where Fr. John Peter Ambrose serves as pastor. The Vicar General of the diocese of Kalamazoo Msgr. Michael D. Hazard was the main celebrant. Eight of our confreres, a number of priests from the area and a large gathering of people from the parish joined the celebration of the Eucharist followed by dinner with the people of Sacred Heart Church - Bangor.

1. Our community in Louisiana had their community meeting and celebration of the feast of our patron on January 23^rd at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Marksville, LA where Fr. Paul Kunnumpuram serves as pastor. After the celebration, four confreres of the community went to Tyler to participate in the 10^th anniversary celebration of Wellspring.

1. Confreres of our community in Texas had their community meeting at Wellspring after the 10^th anniversary celebration. The community has explored the possibility of making resources on the spirituality of St. Francis De Sales available in their parishes.

New Beginnings honoring “Salesian Year”:

1. A special 10^th anniversary issue of our journal “Spiritual Moments” was published on the feast of St. Francis De Sales. A copy of it was sent to all confreres and communities. If you have not received it or if you would like to have more copies to share with friends, Let me know the number of copies you need and I will be glad to sent them to you.

1. The September issue of the “Spiritual Moments” will be a special issue honoring

   St. Francis De Sales. We invite you, our readers, to send us your contribution by way of sharing your spiritual moments or articles on the spirituality of St. Francis De Sales.

1. A new “Fransalian Center for Spirituality”, similar to Wellspring, was formally inaugurated by the Regional Superior, at our house in the Archdiocese of Atlanta in Loganville, Georgia on January 29, 2008 during the celebration of the feast of St. Francis De Sales.

1. Fr. Martin Kopchik is appointed the first director of the newly established “Fransalian Center for Spirituality”. Fr. Martin continues to be parochial vicar at St. Jude in Marietta. He will take up residence at our house, Villa Luyet, in Loganville and begin full time ministry at our new center, when he is relieved from his parish ministry in June 2008.

Regional Council:

Our regional council will met at Wellspring on January 24, 2008. The council reviewed the many new developments in the region since the regional assembly. Much has happened and we are grateful to all confreres for their interest and support for the growth of the region.

One of the major decisions of the council was to establish a center for spirituality in our house in Loganville, Georgia and appoint Fr. Martin Kopchik as its first director, immediately, marking the beginning of the “Salesian Year” for our region. This decision has already been implemented as described above.

The council decided to keep our regional assembly in September as a retreat with Salesian themes. The plan is to invite confreres from the region to animate the retreat reflecting on different Salesian themes. If you would like to offer your reflections, please let me know as soon as possible. Your input and support will be much appreciated.

The council also decided to offer two retreats with St. Francis De Sales during this year, one at Wellspring and the other at Villa Luyet. You are encouraged to offer a retreat with St. Francis De Sales in your parish. Let me know if you need help and support with the retreat and I will gladly help with the needed resources.

Other decisions and proposals of the council will be communicated to you as soon as all necessary consultations are completed.

Special Appointment:

Bishop Carl F. Mengeling of the diocese of Lansing has appointed Fr. George Puraidam Spiritual Director of the “World Apostolate of Fatima” in the diocese of Lansing. This is, definitely, a sign of the quality of the presence of Fr. George in his parish. Thank you Fr. George for the witness of your life in the diocese of Lansing.

MSFS USA Region Website: www.msfsusaregion.org

Our website is in the process of re-construction, moving to a new server. Please bear with the inconveniences and imperfections. We hope to get the work completed in a week or so.

Wellspring Website: www.wellspringcommunity.net

Our website is in the process of re-construction, moving to a new server. Please bear with the inconveniences and imperfections. We hope to get the work completed in a week or so.

Important and urgent reminders:

1. Our “Regional Assembly 2008″ will be held at the retreat center in Alexandria, Louisiana from the evening of Monday, September 22, 2008 to noon on Thursday, September 25, 2008. Please mark your calendars and plan to participate in the assembly. Your presence is important.

    

2. I request the local superiors to send me a brief report of your local community meetings as soon as possible, if you have not sent it yet.

1. Community meetings are important and they contribute to the growth of our region and the fulfillment of our mission as Fransalians. If you have not been able to meet yet, please be sure to meet before the end of January. I request the local superiors to be sensitive to the need for regular community meetings and hold the meetings at a time convenient to most of the members. Please let me know the dates of the next meeting of your community and I will plan to join you. I do have important matters to share and discuss with the community.

    

2. Our old address no longer functions. Please use the following new address. The name of the town, in which we are, is “Whitehouse” and NOT “Tyler”. Please do not add the name Tyler to the address. And please give this new address to your parish and diocesan offices. Our new address follows:

Wellspring,

P.O. Box 440,

Whitehouse, Texas 75791

Phone: 903-839-1280; Fax: 903-839-3486

Email: frgus@suddenlink.net

Some of you have not made the changes yet. Please make the necessary change.

Conclusion:

Dear confreres, thank you for your ongoing support. Be courageous and learn to walk faithfully! We are Fransalian Missionaries. We must learn to live a lifestyle that is uniquely Fransalian, different from that of the world around us. The only measure of our faith is how we live, not what we profess! Let us walk faithfully, for faithfulness is the mark of a man of God.

You are in my daily prayer. God bless you and all you do for God’s people and keep you safe in the center of Love.

Augustine Tharappel, msfs

Regional Superior, MSFS USA Region