Bible Course for the Laity - 2004, DVK, Bangalore

Full Reports on the Bible & Theology Course - 2004

The year-long weekend Bible & Theology Course for the Laity - 2004 concluded on 18th December, 2004 with the last class followed by a gathering and a photo session.

The gathering was attended by Fr Antony Kariyil CMI (Prior General of the CMI), Fr James Narithookkil CMI (Rector of Dharmaram), Dr (Fr) Kuncheria Pathil CMI (President of the DVK), who all delivered speeches at the ceremony.

A heartening fact at the end of the program was that there were about 30 participants who successfully pursued the course and thereby became eligible for the examination for the award of Diploma.

The Course Evaluation by participants suggested that everyone found the course very educational and touching. Not only did the course make them better informed about the Bible and the Catholic Church, it also strengthened their Christian faith and helped them better explore the principles of Christian life. The insights on Marriage and Christian family life were a real bonus.

The written examination for the award of Diploma was conducted on January 30, 2005.

SyroMalabar.com will shortly publish other reports on the Bible & Theology Course - 2004. There are many more reports to come.

Dr (Fr) Antony Kariyil, Prior General of the CMI

Fr Antony Kariyil was a pleasant surprise at the concluding session, and gave an inspiring speech.

Every member of the laity, Fr Antony said, has a role to share the common priesthood of Jesus. Everyone in the laity is a priest. The priests in the clergy have been given the Sacramental Priesthood, and are ordained as priests. The members of the laity who do not belong to the clergy are also priests of a different kind - their having received the common priesthood of Jesus when they were baptized. Therefore, none of the laity can evade the responsibilities of their common priesthood and their association with the Church.

In order to get the message of our common priesthood clearer to us, Fr Antony mentioned a few statistics. In Kerala, there is one priest for every 650 laymen. The national figure is one priest for 750. The international ratio for the same stands much below at 1:3000. Still worse, in the African countries, there is hardly one priest for 10,000 laymen.

Fr Antony continued: "In many parts of Africa, believers flock to the church for the Mass quite early. They start the worship and wait for the priest who has to travel a long way to the church. If the priest arrives, the members of the community celebrate the Holy Eucharist. Otherwise, they celebrate the Liturgy of the Word. One member form the community reads the Bible and the audience contemplates the message of the Word of God."

In reading the Bible to the audience, Fr Antony said, the member partakes the common priesthood of Jesus.

According to Fr Antony, the participants of the course were with good chance of partaking the common priesthood of Jesus and enlightening their communities.

Dr (Fr) James Narithookkil

Fr James wished the candidates be Messengers of the Good News - those who convey the Good News to others in their locality and parish.

Fr Thomas Kollamparambil

Fr Thomas compared the participants to bridges. Just as a bridge connects two parts of the earth, the candidates of the Bible Course can connect other members of society with them and enlighten the society.

Dr (Fr) Kuncheria Pathil

Fr Pathil hoped that the enthusiasm the participants showed in the course would continue in their families too. Fr Pathil wished everyone a Merry Christmas, adding that Christmas is the festival of peace and a festival of the family. He wished that the candidates be able to impart their knowledge to others.

Dr (Fr) John Marius Manickanamparambil

Fr John Marius hoped that the course participants' knowledge must have strengthened their Christian faith. He wished that each of them be givers of knowledge to others.

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