Fr. George Thayilkuzhithottu is assigned to a new parish in Stevens Point, WI as Parochial Administrator with effect from July 1, 2009. Please remember him in your prayer as he begins his ministry in a new parish. His new address follows (below).

Fr. George, we, confreres of MSFS USA Region,  wish you well and pray for God’s blessings on your ministry.

God bless you and all you do for God’s people.

Fr. Augustine Tharappel,msfs

Regional Superior.

MSFS USA Region.

New Address:

Rev. George Thayilkuzhithottu, Msfs

St. Stanislaus

838 Fremont Street

Stevens Point WI. 54481

Phone: 715-344-9117

Fax. 715-344-1771

Email: ststans@charter.net

Web Site:  www.saintstans.net

Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales have been present in USA for more than 35 years. Confreres from
Europe, England, India and USA have been in ministry in parishes in USA during this period of time.
There has always been a desire to implant the Congregation in USA. Attempts had been made as early as 1935 to start some sort of mission in the country, but without success. An attempt was made to purchase a house for the novitiate around 1940, but the superior general was unable to provide funds.

In 1949, Frs. Basil Luyet and Grorod visited seven bishops without success. When Fr. Paul Sankoorikal arrived in St. Louis in 1964, he was asked to sign a declaration that he did not intend to establish an MSFS community. In a letter to Fr. Waldron, Fr. Luyet summarized that “religious who want to do missionary work in mission territories or in more destitute urban areas, and who are not concerned with fund-raising problems, may be welcome.”

In 1968, then Superior General, Fr. Adrien Duval, decided to proceed actively to establish a mission and commissioned the provincial of the English province, Fr. Pat Waldron to proceed to the U.S. before the end of the year, and to make contact with whoever was agreeable to our presence there. Fr. Waldron arrived in the U.S.A. on December 6, 1968 and made contact with seven bishops without success.

Finally in 1969, Fr. Waldron visited Atlanta, where he made a favorable impression on the archbishop
and Fr. Gill was assigned to St Joseph’s parish in Athens. In February 1970, the council of the English
Province decided that Atlanta would be the most favorable location for establishing a foundation for the MSFS. It was suggested to the superior general that a priest from the English Province be sent to Atlanta for a period of five years to set up a foundation. His income for that period would be sent to England.

Archbishop Thomas Donnellan entrusted the care of St. Patrick’s Church, Norcross, GA to the MSFS,
consisting of only 82 families in April 24, 1972. This parish had grown into 900 families when Fr. Fleury left the parish in 1977. A new Church was constructed with the capacity for seating 500 people in 1981. In 2002, after prayerful discernment with the Superior General and the Provincials, two of the confreres who worked with the American Mission at St. Patrick’s Church returned to their provinces and two others were given permission to work in other parishes while being directly under their provincials. Fr. John Tiernan left the MSFS in 2003. With these turn of events, the American mission had only three confreres to carry on its work and the care of St. Patrick’s was no more possible. So the parish was handed over to the Archdiocese in March 2003.

On July 3, 1974, the MSFS were officially committed to the care of St. Lawrence Church, Lawrenceville, GA, by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan and officially accepted by Fr. Sean Fleury on behalf of the provincial, Fr. Kevin O’Neill, and the Superior General, Fr. Adrien Duval. In 1994, this parish of 1600 families was handed over to the Archdiocese.

In May 1992, Fr. Bayer was diagnosed with leukemia and suffered an untimely death from it on October 2, 1993. With his death, it became impossible for the MSFS to run two parishes. So St. Lawrence parish was handed over to the Archdiocese and confreres concentrated on ministering at St. Patrick’s Church.

In 1974, Fr. Zacharias Mannukuzhumpil, then provincial of Visakhaptnam Province commissioned Frs.
Kurian Aranjanil and Augustine Tharappel to establish a house of MSFS in USA. The project was
abandoned for various reasons in 1976 and Fr. Augustine Tharappel completed his studies and returned to India.

In 1975, MSFS were offered a house in secluded woods by the widow of Ed Barton, one of the key men involved with the construction of the church in Lawrenceville. It was named Villa Luyet in honor of Fr. Basil Luyet, MSFS, who had died in 1968 at Madison, WI. He was very well known in the research field of cryogenics. Villa Luyet was established as a novitiate house, and a place for preparing possible candidates for the seminary in 1995 and Fr. Joe Mendes was appointed Vocation and Formation Director.

The desire for implanting the Congregation in USA began to materialize more fully and in reality when
Ken Bayer (1975), Martin Kopchik (1986), John DeVore (1986) and John Tiernan (1998) from USA
joined the congregation and were ordained priests.

Many MSFS confreres, Frs. Sean Fleury, Desmond Daly, Gerry Gill, Joe Meehan, Felix Mendes, Terry
McGrath, Francis Hamilton, Christopher Yamold, Joe Thevenet, Martin Griffin, Vincent Ferandes, John
Rodrigues, S.L.Paul, Ken Bayer, Martin Kopchik, Joseph Mullakkara, Joseph Mendes, Patchala
Hrudayaraj, Abraham Mullenkuzhy, Joseph Thayil, John Tiernan have served these two parishes well
during a period of 35 years.

Toward the establishment of USA Region
In 1996, Fr. Emile Mayoraz, then Superior General, commissioned Fr. Augustine Tharappel to establish a ministry in USA, which is unique to the Fransalian charism in view of raising the present American Mission to a region. Fr. Augustine began his ministry in the diocese of Tyler as parochial vicar at the Cathedral in May 1996. After eighteen months of pastoral ministry, he established Wellspring, Fransalian Center for Spirituality on January 24, 1998.

On September 15, 1998 Wellspring moved to the present location. A three bedroom house and 1.27 acres of property was purchased for this purpose through primarily local donations and contribution from the American mission. The property has now a mobile home with two bed rooms and a kitchen for a guest house, besides the original three-bed room house. It has a small hermitage for Fr. Augustine’s residence.

A large hall, a library and a small chapel have been added to the original house over a period of four
years. Since then, we have had several meetings, discussions, prepared documents, two visits from
Fr. Emile Mayoraz, former Superior General and two visits from Fr. Agnelo Fernandes, the present
Superior General, exploring the possibility of raising the present American Mission into a region under
the administrative authority of the Superior General.

In August 2001, the Superior General, Fr. Agnelo Fernandes, visited confreres in America. He gave a
detailed outline of the process of organization of apostolic communities after his visit in his letter dated September 15, 2001. Two apostolic communities were organized and the first meeting was to be held in December 2001. Two apostolic communities were established.

Fr. Augustine Tharappel was appointed animator of the Texas-Louisiana Apostolic Community (West
USA) and Fr. Joseph Mullakkara was appointed the animator of Georgia-Alabama-Florida-Tennessee-
Illinois-Michigan community (East USA). And in February 25, 2002, Fr. Augustine Tharappel was
appointed coordinator of the two apostolic communities. Fr. Martin Kpchik continued to be the superior of the American Mission.

In September, 2002 responding to the proposals of 22 confreres in ministry in USA, the General Council proposed to form a USA Delegation juridically under the Superior General. This delegation was to be established with the four confreres of USA Mission, Frs. Marty Kopchik, John De Vore, John Tiernan and Augustine Tharappel as a starting point and other confreres whom their Provincials would designate for this purpose.

In October 24, 2004 Fr. Agnelo Feranades, Superior General, sent to all confreres and their Provincials a document on the American Region prepared by Fr. Augustine Tharappel, the Coordinator of Fransalians in USA requesting their studied response. This document received positive feedback from all concerned confreres and provincials.

On January 14, 2005 Fr. Augustine Tharappel was re-appointed coordinator. The appointment was to last till the establishment of delegation/region and the Apostolic Communities were reorganized into four.

In May 31, 2005 Fr. Augustine submitted to Fr. Agnelo a new and revised document titled “Fransalian
American Delegation” taking into consideration all the recommendations and suggestions made by the
Superior General. Provincials and confreres in ministry in USA, This document went through several
revisions between 2005 and 2006.

Fr. Agnelo Fernandes, Superior General invited Fr. Augustine Tharappel, Coordinator of Fransalians in
USA, to a joint meeting of the General council and the provincials on January 3, 2007. At this meeting after prayerful discernment, a unanimous decision was taken to form the “MSFS USA REGION”.

Formation, organization, establishment of administrative systems, etc. are in progress at this time.
USA Region 2007: Present Reality
American Mission:

Today, in 2007, we have an American Mission with three confreres, Frs. Martin Kopchik, John DeVore
and Augustine Tharappel. Fr. Martin is mission superior and associate pastor at St. Jude the Apostle
Church in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA. Fr. John DeVore is Bursar of the American Mission residing
at the new Villa Luyet in Loganville, GA. He also offers spiritual direction and helps out in parishes with masses and sacraments. The new Villa Luyet, a large house and six acre property was purchased with the proceeds from the sale of the old Villa Luyet in Lawrenceville. Fr. Augustine Tharappel is Founder-Director of Wellspring, Fransalian Center for Spirituality in Tyler, Texas. He is also parochial vicar at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the Diocese of Tyler, and recently completed two years of helping to create community and greater involvement at St. Paul Chapel, where around two hundred families gather for their sacramental needs.

Wellspring, “Fransalian Center for Spirituality”, is a well established Center for spirituality in the Diocese of Tyler, founded by Fr. Augustine Tharappel and blessed by Msgr. Joe Strickland on January 24, 1998. The main focus of Wellspring is to offer spiritual growth programs. Eight different groups meet regularly at Wellspring, some to deepen their spiritual life and others to learn the contemplative way. There are many individuals and couples who come to Wellspring every week, some seeking spiritual guidance and others to learn the contemplative way. Weekend retreats are offered for different groups from parishes, especially during the seasons of Advent and Lent. Deacon candidates for the diocese of Tyler have their spiritual formation program at Wellspring during the summer months. “Spiritual Moments”, a journal of spirituality is published twice a year. Wellspring has a website that provides valuable information on Spiritual life, especially daily meditations on the scripture readings of the Mass of the day and a weekend meditation on seasonal themes. The prayer line accepts prayer requests for various needs.

Confreres in Ministry
Besides the three confreres in the American Mission, there are 35 confreres in ministry in eleven dioceses in USA. There are 8 from Chennai Region, 6 from Vizakhapatnam Province, 12 from South West Province, 3 from North East Province, 2 from Pune Province, 3 from Nagpur Province and 1 from East African Province. There is also one confrere from North east Province pursuing studies in psychological counseling.

In conclusion, there are now a total of 39 MSFS confreres from various provinces in ministry in different dioceses in USA. All are involved in ministries well appreciated by people and their bishops and priests. Five of them are chaplains in hospitals, two are fully involved in retreats and spiritual direction while being in pastoral ministry in parishes, one is a student and the rest are fully immersed into ministry in parishes. These are the confreres who are being organized into the “MSFS USA Region”. The process has begun and will continue to fulfillment. Because the Lord who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion because his kindness endures forever (Psalm 138:8).

Prepared by:
Fr. Augustine Tharappel,msfs,
Coordinator, Fransalians USA,
March 22, 2007
Submitted to the Superior General for the General chapter 2007

The Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS/Fransalians) was founded at Annecy in France on October 24, 1838, by the Servant of God, Fr. Peter Marie Mermier, under the patronage of St. Francis de Sales.

The mission in the United States began in 1972 and became an autonomous Mission in 1990; today it has spread to a large number of dioceses rendering valuable service to the Church here.

In 2008, the Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales USA Region, was established. It is under the guidance of Fr. Augustine Tharappel, msfs, and headquartered in Whitehouse, Texas.

For more information on the congregation kindly click on the following link: history

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

Dear Confreres:

I begin this letter with a prayer in my heart for you and those you serve for a grace-filled, joy-filled and peace-filled new year. I pray that God cares for you tenderly and grant you all the blessings of His Love the whole year through. May the year 2008 be God’s wonderful gift to you and I pray that you will make it a gracious and joyful gift to others.

New Year brings us new challenges, opportunities, possibilities and responsibilities. We face the future, not knowing what the days and months will bring us or how we will respond. Let us pray that we welcome all who come our way; that we deepen our faith to see all of life as God’s wonderful gifts; that we live and move with hope and abiding trust in “God-with-us”, in God dwelling in us amidst all our joys and sorrows; that we rise each day with desire and decision to love life, love people, love creation and love our God; that we become men of prayer and men of God; that we become “compassionate as the Father is compassionate” (Lk.6:36); that we become Fransalians in spirit and truth.

We definitely have to make our faith and our hope and our love more real for us and for the world around us. We have a life to live and a mission to fulfill. I invite you to join me in prayer for a year of grace for all of us in 2008. Let us pray and work together for the growth of our newly formed region. Let us focus on developing a greater sense of being together and giving a collective witness of our life as Fransalians and on revitalizing our community life.

Celebrating the Feast of St. Francis De Sales:

I wish you all a very happy and joyful day as we remember our patron, St. Francis De Sales. May the spirit of St. Francis De Sales continue to bless and inspire us in the way we live our life and fulfill our mission. I will specially remember all of you in my Mass and prayer on January 24^th.

We will celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Wellspring on our patron’s feast day. Please remember Wellspring community in your prayer. I am glad to inform you that nine of our confreres will be joining us for the celebrations.

Our community in Atlanta will be celebrating the feast on January 29^th to make it convenient for all the confreres and the priests in the area to participate. I will be joining the celebrations with Fr. George Puraidam, our regional bursar. We are also exploring the possibility of formally opening a “Fransalian Center for Spirituality”, similar to Wellspring, at our house in Loganville. Please pray with us as we try to make new beginnings in our region.

Regional Assembly 2008: September 22-25, 2008

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.

Regional Council:

Our regional council will meet at Wellspring on January 24, 2008. Please let me know, as soon as possible, if you have any concerns, needs, doubts, questions or any other issues that need the council’s attention. We will address them at our next meeting and explore possibilities of meeting your needs. Please let us know how we, as a council, can support you in your ministry and help further the growth of our local communities and the region.

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.

New Arrival:

Fr. Benjamin Dande from the province of Visakhapatnam has arrived in Kansas for pastoral ministry. I will send you the details of his assignment when I get them. I welcome him to USA for ministry in behalf of all confreres of USA Region and request your prayers for him as he begins his ministry in new situations.

News Provincial House:

South West Province will dedicate Vinayalaya in Bangalore as the new provincial house on January 24, 2008 on the feast of St. Francis De Sales. Congratulations and best wishes to the province for its new beginnings. The address of the new provincial house from January 24, 2008 will be:

MSFS Provincial House

Vinayalaya, P.B. No. 5557

Malleswaram West P.O

Bangalore 560 055

Telephone: 080 23345594; 9448480379(Provincial)

Prayerful Wishes:

We offer our prayerful wishes to Fr. Lawrence Amalraj as he assumes office as provincial of the newly formed Chennai Province on January 24, 2008 and Fr. Francis Thadathil as he takes up the responsibility as provincial of the North East Province a few weeks later.

Dear Confreres, we will walk with you in prayer and give you whatever support we can to help you fulfill your God-given mission. God bless you and all you do for the congregation.

MSFS USA Region Website: www.msfsusaregion.org

Our region now has a website. It is still in the process of construction. Please check it out and send us your comments and suggestions. We will appreciate your feedback.

Wellspring Website: www.wellspringcommunity.net

I hope that you have found our daily reflections helpful. If you have not visited the site, try visiting and you may find it helpful. Click on the “Daily Reflection” button and the “weekend meditation” button and see what the Lord has to say to you for the day.

Important and urgent reminders:

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. Some of you have not made the changes yet. Our new address follows:

Wellspring,

P.O. Box 440,

Whitehouse, Texas 75791

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

Email: frgus@suddenlink.net

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

Dear Confreres:

I wish you a Happy, Holy, Grace-filled, Joy-filled, Peace-filled Christmas! As we celebrate Christmas, we contemplate the deepest and the most profound presence of God in our life. We contemplate the depth of God’s Love. We contemplate the heart of God in Jesus. I pray that you have a heart of Love and Compassion. Jesus came among us as Emmanuel, “God-with-us”. Emmanuel is God’s word that carries a power which no other word carries. This word has the power to change attitudes, convert minds, transform hearts and change the course of a person’s life. It can dispel fears, instill hope, awaken courage, and inflame weakening faith. We are blessed and “Graced” and privileged to know “Emmanuel”. When fears threaten to overwhelm us or keep us from being authentic witnesses of the Gospel, “God-with-us” transforms our fears and failings into courageous faith. When doubts and depression set in, “God-with-us” brings and nurtures hope and lifts our spirits. When things seem impossible, “God-with-us” enables us to trust and face the impossible. When friends are few and sometimes far away, “God-with-us” assures us that we are never alone. When sickness sets in, when death approaches, when it is difficult to see beyond pains, sufferings, and uncertainties, “God-with-us” inspires us to trust and “hang-in-there”. It is the word, “Emmanuel” – “God-with-us” that keeps us faithful on our journey of life and leads us to the holiness and perfection, to which we are called. May God bless you with the most profound experience of His Love wherever you may be and may that experience be your hope and your strength.

Regional Assembly 2008: September 22-25, 2008

The dates of “Regional Assembly 2008″ had to be changed because of conflict with the diocesan programs for a large number of confreres. In consultation with the regional council and the local superiors, the assembly is postponed to 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.

Regional Council:

Our regional council will meet at Wellspring on January 24, 2008. Please let me know, as soon as possible, if you have any concerns, needs, doubts, questions or any other issues that need the council’s attention. We will address them at our next meeting and explore possibilities of meeting your needs. Please let us know how we, as a council, can support you in your ministry and help further the growth of our local communities and the region.

I request the local superiors to send me a brief report of your local community meetings as soon as possible. The report will be presented to the council at the January meeting.

Wellspring Anniversary:

We will celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the foundation of Wellspring with the Eucharist at 6:00pm followed by reception on January 24, 2008. You are invited to join us and share our joy on this special occasion. I realize that distance and pastoral commitments make it difficult for you to be with us. However, we will be honored if you can join us. Please remember us and our ministry in your prayer.

Spiritual Moments:

“Spiritual Moments” is our journal of spirituality which is published twice a year, in January and September. I request you to send us articles on your “spiritual moments” which we would be happy to include in our journal. You may also send us news items from your ministry or information about programs in your ministry that may benefit other confreres in parishes and we will include them in the journal. Please let us know if you would like to have extra copies of the journal and we will gladly send them to you.

MSFS USA Region Website: www.msfsusaregion.org

Our region now has a website. It is still in the process of construction. We have placed a few items on the site – just trying and testing. Please check it out and send us your comments and suggestions. We will appreciate your feedback. We want to get it into a good shape before the beginning of the New Year.

Wellspring Website: www.wellspringcommunity.net

I have added a new page on our website: MSFS USA Region. Point the cursor on the button, “MSFS USA Region” and click on the buttons for “News Briefs” and “Circulars”. This will be moved to the region’s website when the construction of the region’s site is complete.

I hope that you have found our daily reflections helpful. If you have not visited the site, try visiting and you may find it helpful. Click on the “Daily Reflection” button and see what the Lord has to say to you for the day. Try also our weekend meditations by clicking on the “weekend meditation” button.

Congratulations and Prayerful Wishes:
Fr. Lawrence Amalraj is appointed the first Provincial of the newly formed Chennai Region and Fr. Francis Thadathil is appointed Provincial of North East Province. Hearty congratulations and prayerful wishes from all of us in MSFS USA Region to Fr. Lawrence and Fr. Francis!

Dear Fr. Lawrence and Fr. Francis, we pray that God continues to bless you and empower you to fulfill your responsibilities. Please accept our thanks and appreciation for accepting this awesome responsibility. We will walk with you in prayer and give you whatever support we can to help you fulfill your God-given mission.

Local Communities:

I thank you, local superiors, for your faithfulness to your responsibilities. I am glad to know that you have been meeting regularly as a community. This is what I had hoped would happen and it definitely is the mandate of our regional assembly. If you have not been able to meet yet, please be sure to meet before the end of January. Community meetings are important and they contribute to the growth of our region and the fulfillment of our mission as Fransalians.

Important and urgent reminders:

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. Please give this new address to your parish and diocesan offices.

Wellspring,

P.O. Box 440,

Whitehouse, Texas 75791

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

Email: frgus@suddenlink.net

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