Spiritual Direction

A decorated picture frame of St. John Bosco

at the Shrine to Our Lady of Fatima at Oratorio Dom Bosco

in Pangim, Goa, India Portuguesa. 1960

WITH DON BOSCO IN THE BOMBAY PROVINCE

in Lonavla, Maharashtra : in Sulcorna, Goa

The Western Region of India 1982-88

[360 Mirrors of Wholeness from PRAY FOR ME: AUTOBIOGRAHICAL SKETCHES. Coelho 2016.]

Mirror 154: Vision and Action as a Provincial Councilor

Mission with the Breath of the Risen Christ in Goa, Bombay,

The Western Region of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India

& The Delegation of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan

God’s ways are mysterious. When the news of my appointment as a Provincial Councilor to Fr. Chrys Saldanha, the new Salesian Provincial of Bombay, reached my ears in February/March 1982, I could not believe myself. I had been a priest for four years and a Rector for ten months. In prayer I felt that I should decline this responsibility and let someone else wiser and more experienced than I assume it. Besides, I felt that the responsibilities at DBAEC in Sulcorna, which was growing at a rapid pace along with the unending litigations and battles in the Court, were overwhelming for me. When my Community members heard the news, they rallied around me and felt that it was a proud moment for the Community of Sulcorna. They offered me their support and encouraged me to accept this appointment from the Rector Major.

During the first meeting at Matunga on April 14, 1982, Fr. Saldanha welcomed us as members of his Leadership Team. He explained the roles of the new Vice-Provincial Fr. Loddy Pires, Economer Fr. Elias Dias, and the other Provincial Councilors: Fr. Joaquim D’Souza, Br. Thomas Puthur, Fr. Romulo Noronha, and yours truly. He informed us that the Province of Bombay [INB] comprised of the Western region of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and included all the RC dioceses in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and some dioceses in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Fr. Saldanha’s vision was to expand Salesian presences and activities throughout these dioceses and to improve the quality of Salesian life and presences. We learned that we were Trustees of the Bombay Salesian Society and had oversight over the Delegation of East Africa comprising of Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan with Fr. Tony D’Souza as the Delegate. Our ultimate responsibility was to collaborate with the Rector Major and his Council in the mission of evangelizing the young the Don Bosco way.

Along with most of the other Councilors I was re-appointed for a second term in 1985 while Fr. Romulo Noronha was replaced by Fr. Byron D’Silva from the missions of Gujarat. Every member of the Provincial Council provided leadership to a particular section or dimension of the Salesian Province, I was entrusted with the dimension of non-formal educational activities and the Goa region. There were 3 main Salesian presences in Goa at Pangim, Fatorda and Sulcorna. The Salesians had many properties in Goa, some of which had legal problems. As the representative of Pia Sociedade Salesiana de São João Bosco in Goa, I was directly involved with the properties at Odxell and Banaulim on behalf of the Goa Salesian Society. Part of my responsibility was to assist the Provincial in following up offers of properties and explore the possibility of establishing new presences and works at Quepem, Tuem, São José de Areal, Loliem and Canacona.

Mirror 155: Spiritual Direction in the Bombay Province

Salesian presences and works in the Bombay Province consisted of 5 Animation Centers [AC], 2 Colleges [C], 2 Farms [F]; 6 Formation or Vocation Centers [FC]; 15 High Schools [HS], 3 Missions; 8 Parishes [P], 12 Residential Boardings [RB], 2 Shrines [S], 5 Technical Schools [TS] and 15 Youth Centers [YC]. It was our responsibility to assist the Provincial to offer vision, direction, animation and support to the Salesians, their Communities and Institutions spread throughout the Province. We reached out to these presences and activities

- in Bombay: 4 HS, 3 RB, 2 TS, 3 P, 2 AC, 1 S, 4 YC, 1 FC

- in Goa: 3 HS, 3 RB, 2 TS, 3 P, 1 AC, 1 S, 3 YC, 1 F, 1 FC

- in Gujarat: 3 HS, 3 RB, 1 TS, 1 P, 3 M, 1 AC, 3 YC, 1 F, 1 FC

- in Karanataka: 2 HS, 1 RB, 1 P, 1 YC

- in Madhya Pradesh: 1 AC, 1 YC

- in Maharshtra: 3 HS, 2 RB, 3 YC, 3 FC, 2C.

With the Breath of the Risen Christ we offered a variety of services, which included spiritual animation through liturgical celebrations, prayer services, community direction, religious conferences, good-night talks, and spiritual retreats to the laity, religious and priests. We also provided training and follow-up to candidates and admitted them to professed Salesian life and the priesthood. Every year we assisted the Provincial with the appointment of leadership positions and transfers of Salesians on the staff. Along with the Economer as trustees we made decisions for the acquisition and allocation of funds. We networked and traveled throughout India in order to expand and develop the works and dimensions of the Province. Finally, we collaborated with religious and government authorities at all levels.

Mirror 158: Salesian Provincials' Conference of India in Sulcorna [1986/01/14-16]

Besides participating in regular Provincial Council Meetings, Provincial Chapters, Animation and Guidance Sessions, I was privileged to attend and contribute at regional, national and international Conferences. Among these I’d like to include the First Asian Salesian Spirituality Seminar held at NBCLC in Bangalore in July, 1985; the Salesian Provincials' Conference of India held in Sulcorna, Goa, 1986; the Meeting with the Rector Major and the Provincial Councils of India held in New Delhi, 1986; and Congresso Mondiale degli Studii su Don Bosco at Pontificia Studiorum Universitas Salesiana in Rome, 1988.

I want to dwell briefly on the Salesian Provincials' Conference of India held in Sulcorna, from January 14, 1986. The intense preparations for this meeting in Sulcorna, which was also known as CHOGM [FOOTNOTE: The seventh Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting [CHOGM] was held in New Delhi, India. The retreat was held in Goa in November 1983.] in Salesian Circles, was one of my biggest responsibilities while at Sulcorna. The once isolated corner of the Salesian world was in the limelight with the visit of the Salesian Leadership of India and East Africa. The Sulcorna Community provided the wherewithal to them during this important meeting with Fr. Thomas Panakhezham, Regional Superior for Asia, and Fr. Luke Van Looy, Councilor General for the Missions, both from Direzione Opere Don Bosco in Rome. A monument erected on this occasion in honor of St. Joseph, the Patron of Workers, bears a plaque to recall this event on January 15, 1986. It was no longer Good Friday but a resilient Easter Sunday experience at Sulcorna. Don Bosco in Sulcorna was now fully inserted on the Salesian and educational map of India.

[FOOTNOTE: Recently, I came across Reminiscences of the Salesian Province of Panjim compiled and published by Boskon Communications, DBPH, Odxel, Goa, in 2015. Since these Reminiscences are filled with words, I hope my words will help in aligning the record with factual truth which, I think, was distorted because I decided to leave the Salesian Society in 1989 and got married in 1994. The distorted memories and negligent omissions in acknowledging appropriately the apostolic and missionary activities during my tenure as Rector [1981-87] of Sulcorna and Provincial Councilor [1982-88] of the undivided Bombay-Goa Province are deplorable. I am also aware of similar, if not worse, “Intentional Amnesia, Culpable Negligence or Dishonest Distortions” in Don Bosco in India published by SPCSA on the occasion of the Centenary Celebrations in 2006 [Ap H].

Mirror 159: Last Thanksgiving Mass as a Provincial Councillor [1987/12/04]

In August 1987 the Provincial Fr. Saldanha sent me to study for a Licenza in Spiritual Theology in Rome. After the death of my Dad on November 6, Fr. Luke Van Looy, Councilor General for the Missions, requested that I go back to India to carry out a special mission which required that I visited the Provinces of Northeast India before December 15. I remember the Korea bound jumbo jet touch the runway at the Sahar International Airport in Bombay, when the Salesians at Matunga had just finished celebrating the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the Patron of the Province, on December 3. As the Provincial Councilors were assembled for this festive occasion, Fr. Saldanha, had arranged for the last meeting with them, before he laid down office in January 1988, at the close of his 6-year term. Providentially, I, too, was present for that last Thanksgiving Mass along with Fr. Saldanha and the other councilors on that pleasant and sunny morning.

During that Mass, I prayed for all who assisted us in whatever good we were able to do in the name of Don Bosco and with the support of his Madonna, the Help of Christians and All Believers. I recalled all the showers of blessings bestowed on me, including those challenging situations which stretched my body, mind and heart and made my soul glow and grow with priestly zeal. I thanked God for the Provincials Fr. Tony D’Souza and Fr. Chrys Saldanha for trusting and supporting me as a leader in the RC Church in India. I am grateful to Shri Francisco Sardinha, Cabinet Minister of the Government of Goa, India, for nominating me for the 1986 National Child Worker Award. With humility I asked my brother Rosarito Coelho to accept the 1987 Outstanding Young Person of India Award awarded to me in absentia by the Goa State Jaycees "for distinguished services rendered to the nation" by transforming the Don Bosco Farm into an Agro-Educational Complex for the poor and the marginalized, especially children and teenagers in Sulcorna, Goa, India.

I am grateful to

the Salesians of Don Bosco and others who helped me along the way

to realize my Salesian and Priestly training and service with the motto

"WITH YOU A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST

FOR YOU HIS PRIEST TODAY"

Mirror 108: Fully Indian and authentically Christian

I sought to be fully Indian and authentically Christian. I was impressed by the dedication of all the members on the staff, but especially by the passion of Fr. Paul Puthenangady and the vision of Fr. Amalorpavadass. I let their ideals lead me through the process of this integration, which Fr. Amalorpavadas has captured as follows. "Each Indian Christian experiences within himself two streams flowing and merging into one: the stream of Judeo‑Christian experience communicated through the Biblical Word and continued through twenty centuries of Christian experiences and then the stream of 4000 years of Indian religious life articulated by Indian Scriptures. These two streams do not flow in parallel lines as two separate streams but both merge at the depth of our being as a single river and become an ocean of single experience." [FOOTNOTE: Fully Indian Authentically Christian. (1984, 15) (Leeuwen 214).]

Forty years later, as I look back at our formation at KJC, I realize how fortunate we were to have an excellent team of Salesian professors like Fr. Paul Puthenangady -an exceptional Liturgist, Fr. Sylvanus Sngi Lyngdoh -an eminent Bible Scholar, Fr. Dominic Veliath -a theologian of international repute, Fr. Joseph Thekkedath -an excellent historian of the Church in India, Fr. P.T. Thomas -a humble but popular moral theologian and canonist, Fr. Longinus Nazareth -an expert on the Gospel of St. John, Fr. Scaria Mattam -a leader in the Catechumenate Movement in India, Fr. Rayappa -a moral theologian, and others. These were dedicated men of God who taught us both by their expertise in the subjects they taught, and by their exemplary life experiences.

Thank you for your inspiration and guidance: I am grateful to a host of people who have inspired and guided me. I am also grateful to those whose behaviors or lack of wisdom and courage have helped me learn what not to do. Below, I choose to share a few deeds of a few great souls whom I admire and appreciate.

Mirror 166: A visionary and an effective organizer

The Rev. Dr. Chrysanthus Saldanha, SDB, the fourth Salesian Provincial of Bombay [1982-88], is a man totally dedicated to Christ and Don Bosco. I was privileged to work with him as one of his Provincial Councilors for six years. I learned from him how to be prayerfully organized, disciplined, dutiful, compassionate and caring. I knew him as a professor at KJC where he taught me to work as an assistant librarian.

He is an exceptionally intelligent man, an effective organizer and a visionary, who expanded the geographical boundaries of the Province and improved the dimensions of Salesian life in India. He knew the Ratio Studiorum of the Salesians better than everyone in the Salesian world. He was appointed a Moderator of the General Chapter and, later, an expert to work at Opere Don Bosco in Rome. His latest work is entitled Exploring Salesian Life Today [2015. Mumbai: Tej Prasarini].

I am grateful to him for supporting my nomination for the National Child Worker Award with this Appraisal on August 12, 1987. Among other things Fr. Saldanha wrote: “I have always admired the love and dedication with which Fr. Ariosto has gone about his work. He knows how to enthuse everyone young and old; he is generous, kind and forgiving; he dreams of a great many things for the youth of Goa. With his fluency in Hindi, English and Konkani he could relate easily with everyone and understand them deeply. But what I like best is the sense of dignity as human persons he gave to the boys and girls who passed through Sulcorna. No wonder Sulcorna has always been a happy family for each of them. He promoted their all-round development in studies, games, dramatics and work. In this way he showed himself a wonderful educator of the young, especially of the rural poor.”

Mirror 111: A GREAT SALESIAN LEADER - ANOTHER DON BOSCO

The Rev. Fr. Tony D’Souza, SDB [1943- ], I’ve met and lived with many Salesians since 1960, pioneers like Archbishop Louis Mathias from France, visionary provincials like Fr. José Carreño from Spain, missionary saints like Bishop Stephen Fernando from Italy, financial wizards like Fr. Aurelio Maschio from Italy, Rector Majors like Fr. Egidio Viganò from Chile, General Councilors like Fr. Archimedes Pianazzi from Italy, Vatican’s Second to the Pope Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone from Italy, Regional Superiors like Fr. Thomas Panakhezham from Kerala, India, integrated professors like Fr. Joe Mannath from Kerala, India, thinkers and writers like Fr. Pietro Stella in Rome, Itlay, Fr. Francis Desramaut in Lyon, France, and Fr. Joseph Lenti in Berkeley, USA, high ranking colleagues like Archbishop Dominic Jala in Shillong, India, great educators like Fr. Adolph Furtado, a colleague in Bombay, India, but I have not come across a better Salesian than Fr. Tony D’Souza.

I first got to know Fr. Tony in DB Lonavla in 1971. Over the 46 years that I have known him, he has impressed me as a humble and unassuming man, a caring and generous priest with a dedicated missionary soul, an effective preacher and communicator, a disciplined religious and a Salesian like Don Bosco. As the Provincial of Bombay he appointed me Rector of Sulcorna in May 1981, 3 years after my ordination. When he became the pioneer of Salesian work in East Africa, I collaborated with him as one of the Provincial Councilors of Bombay. I admire and appreciate his missionary zeal that led him to Kuwait in the Middle East and now to Divya Daan in Nashik. I am grateful to him for being a source of great inspiration along my path to become a noble Salesian, a visionary priest and an interfaith spiritual leader. As a Contemporary Catholic priest married to Vivian, I have experienced his unequivocal support. I am also grateful to him for writing the Foreword to my book on Integral Art [R291].

Mirror 112: a kind man AND an effective preacheR

The Rev. Fr. Dennis Duarte, SDB [1918-96] was a kind man, an effective preacher, an efficient organizer, a lover of youth and a leader of Salesians. He was the first Provincial of the Bombay Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco. A graduate with an MA in English Literature, Fr. Duarte encouraged me to complete my studies in Hindi Literature. I do not know why, but he chose me to be his secretary and made me a member of the Provincial House Community.

I gratefully recall that he travelled from Bombay to join my family and friends on the day of my priestly ordination and raised the toast in Aquem Alto, Goa, on December 21, 1977. Here in brief is what he said on that occasion. “Ariosto, Anand -the name you have assumed today- means JOY in Sanskrit and it stands for Jesus first, Others next, Yourself last.… Remember that it is not enough to know the Psalm of the Good Shepherd, but more important to know the Good Shepherd of the Psalm.”

January 14, 2013. A thousand young and old students, parents, educators and farmers perform at and participate in the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Don Bosco Agro-Ed Complex in Sulcorna, Goa, India, presided by Felipe Neri Ferrao, the Archbishop of Goa, and Ian Figueiredo, SDB, the Salesian Provincial of the Konkan Region, Ariosto Coelho, the Founder of the Don Bosco Farm High School, Edwin Baracho, SDB, the current Rector, and other Leaders.

May our silence be comfortable

A SELECTION from Mirror 312

As I retire from BHRS – Three Dreams

[San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services]

"...

On January 14, 2013, I was privileged to participate in the 50th anniversary celebrations of Salesian Presence at Don Bosco Agro-Educational Complex in Sulcorna, Goa, India. As I smiled with gratitude and lit one of the 50 wicks, I let the flames of silence burn away the physical, emotional and spiritual pain. I want to share that prayer in the form of this poem which I wrote after my return to San Bruno, California, on January 31, the feast day of St. John Bosco.

It is better to light a candle

than to curse the darkness.

"As your radiance grows and glows

Fragrance flows wherever His Breath blows!"

"With you a disciple of Christ,

For you His priest today."

Ariosto J. Coelho

"After all is said and done, much remains unsaid and undone.

After all that is said is done, much remains unsaid and undone.

Silence is what remains after all is said or unsaid, done or undone.

In silence,

Perfection finds imperfection, Imperfection finds perfection,

Completing the circle Beyond words, thoughts and self,

Embracing all - Infinity!

In silence,

The conscious becomes unconscious,

The unconscious becomes conscious, All that is, was and will be

Either is or is not a drop or the ocean - Intimacy!

May our silence be blissful,

Graceful and grateful, Giving and forgiving,

Caring and daring, Peacefully and playfully Becoming Integral Being.

Awakening, balancing and centering Delight in the luminous urge

To enfold one's life as the eternal unfolds here and now - Impermanence!

Today, April 1, 2015,

Integral Innocence: Beyond Health, Wealth and Stealth

Infinity, Intimacy and Integrity In-harmony

Grateful, I find myself at Linda Kuhli's in San Carlos, CA."

"Give me souls and take away the rest."
St. John Bosco [1815-1888]

Latinistas in Dom Bosco Pangim, Goa - India Portuguesa. 1960	The first one hundred students and residents at Don Bosco Lonavla, Maharashtra. 1964
Postulants from Don Bosco Lonavla in Mawlai, Assam. 1967	Salesian Novices in Yercaud, Tamilnadu. 1967
Students in Lonavla, Maharashtra. 1971	Students in Lonavla, Maharashtra. 1972
The Salesian Brothers' Conference in Kurla, Bombay. 1973	Salesians and Staff of Don Bosco High School in Matunga, Bombay. 1973
With Don Egidio Vigano, the Rector Major, at TM in Agra. 1986	The Salesian Provincial Chapter of INB, Lonavla. 1985
Students and Staff of Don Bosco Farm High School in Sulcorna, Goa. 1987	An International Community of Salesians at UPS in Rome, Italy. 1988