| November |
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Intentions of the Holy Father- Pope Benedict XVI November General: That the testimony of love offered by the Saints, may fortify Christians in their service to God and neighbour, imitating Christ who came not to be served but to serve. Mission: That Christian communities in Asia, contemplating the face of Christ, may find the most suitable way to announce Him in full fidelity to the Gospel to the peoples of that vast continent so rich in culture and ancient forms of spirituality. (Please remember these intentions in your prayers)
Some Feasts in November
Other Dates in November
In December
Collection The Sunday Offertory Collection for the month of September was 34,580 Baht. We thank you for your very generous support of the mission & outreach of The Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre.
The XII Synod of Bishops on The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church is facing the difficult task of drawing the final conclusions of the long process. The Jesuit Superior General, Father Nicolas intervention was published in the Official Bulletin of the Synod, on October 15. The text, original in English, follow: In these days of the Synod we have heard a good number of those aspects that make the Holy Scriptures such a precious gift from God. And yet we continue to feel that there will always be new or unanswered questions. The questions that reach us most often are of a pastoral character. The people of God continue to ask the pastoral question: How can we read the Sciptures so that they produce in us, in our hearts, in our families and in our communities all the good effects that Christian Tradition has proclaimed through the Centuries? Allow me to address just one concrete aspect within the wider pastoral breath of the question. This aspect is the so-called "Medicinal" or "Transforming" power of the Word of God. It is my conviction that the Word of God can claim in a high degree a "therapeutic" role in the life of the Christian community. Every time we "enter" the World of the Bibles, we are exposed to a New World: God's World; God's Action; God's teaching of his people. The encounter, if real, can be shocking, surprising, enlightening, soothing or consoling. It can also be misunderstood and lost. Thus the conditions of the encounter are all important. Pastors and Ministers of the word have no become good helpers for good and fruitful encounters. We need to know where people really are (diagnosis); we need the skills for presenting the Word (teaching, preaching, biblical catechiesis); we are expected to be good company in the search for depth (contemplation); and we are ordained or commissioned for good Christian leadership (service of love for community and Christian living). Which means that Pastors and Ministers of the Word need training for good diagnosis, for wise application of forms of reading, for deeper prayer and interiorisation of the Word of God, and for a meaningful accompaniment that helps the faithful discern the action of the Spirit in and through the reading of the Bible. Since this is a fine skill that requires deep spiritual sense, adequate training and discerned commissioning, it seem highly needed that this training be included in the preparation for the pastoral ministry and in programs of ongoing formation for all Priests. Moreover all Parishes and/or Dioceses should have access to Centers or Trained persons that can offer this service to individuals or communities and who can train catechists and other lay ministers in this important service.
Revelation and Philosophy Theology, as it emerged from the beginning, was a happy coming together of Hebrew revelation with Greek philosophy. Philosophy tries to be transcultural, so to abandon philosophical reflection on revelation, as some Christians now do, is to risk falling into fundamentalism and cultural bigotry. This piece was an Advent homily. As we prepare once again for the coming the changes everything, here is something that Christians all ovr the world are forgetting to their and our peril: that those who worshipped the God of Abraham met with the philosophical tradition that flowered in Greece, what Lonergan once called the 'Greek miracle', for which God is the infinite, the incomprehensible, the unimaginable. And when the biblical revelation climaxed in Jesus killed and revealed as the life of this world, this fusion between revelation and thought took a huge step forward with the Greek and Latin Fathers. Hence was born that wonderful use of the mind that we call theology. Theology is the great achievement of Catholic Chirstianity - eastern and western. I like to think of it as God's playground for the faithful mind, on which we are never allowed to forget that God revealed, is still God the unimaginable. But when this Catholic link between Scripture and philosophy is broken, revelation's almighty God becomes the omnipotent oriental despot described recently by Anthony Flew, whose sensationally recovered belief in God does not lead him to Christinaity for this reason.1 He is absolutely right, if we mean by Christianity that which now increasingly goes by that name. The Christian religion de-philosophised is lethal. It is capturing the world's one superpower. The God of Abraham, deprived of philosophy, becomes the God of fundamentalists both Christian and Muslim. Fundamentalist views are those of bigots. We are being terrorised not only by fundamentalists but by fundamentalism itself. Let us pray to hear again the Christmas gospel: 'In the beginning was the logos and the logos was with God and the logos was divine by nature.' No oriental despot there, but all-embracing and all-loving mystery. The fourth gospel is the first big theological adventure. 'Oh', say the worldly opponents of fundamentalism, 'that's when the Palestinian rabbi got divinised'. But we, who know him in his ritual of tortured flesh in bread and wine, know otherwise. To confess Jesus as God is to know that God's revealing man who speaks in all our gospels is all revealing, believing those who have 'felt with our hands the life itself. We tire of this belief because we do not focus at Mass and bring to its victim our own vulnerability, so that our 'amen' to the priest's words, "The body of Christ', means:"That is me'. These are the words of Jesus' enlightenment. Pray to hear them. 1 Anthony Flew, the philosopher, might best be described as a 'deist'. He believes in god as a 'first cause', but in no way associates this with the God of revelation or of love. From The Contagion of Jesus, Sebastian Moore, O.S.B., Orbis Books, 2008, pp 64-65 (The author is 91 yrs old)
Meditative/Contemplative Prayer Experiences you can download Examen the bubbles: Paul Campbell S.J. of Loyola Press just launched a new website called www.Other6.com Based on St.Ignatius' Examination of Conciousness, it asks the user to respond to two questions: "Where have I found God today?" or "Where do I need to find God today?". These are graphically represented as bubbles, where one can read one's own and other's comment. Pray - as - you - go can be found at www.pray-as-you-go.org Sacred Space may be found at www.sacredspace.ie LIVE SIMPLY: An interesting web-site: livesimply is a challenge to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with people in poverty. www.progressio.org.uk/livesimply/AsscociatesHome2/92990/livesimply/
Belated Introduction of two new additions to the Jesuit Community of Seven Fountains Brother Jonal Alpotrianus Mangago, S.J. from Indonesia is our new Minister Brother Manasan Wongvarn, S.J. (Yodt) from Thailand is the new Catholic Student Chaplain With abject apologies for not introducing Jonal & Yodt earlier
An Online Retreat A 34 week retreat for Everyday Life - A ministry of the Collaborative Ministry Office at Creighton University. http:// www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html
Scripture Series Fr.David is continuing the series of New Testament talks 'Living Christ's Life in the World'. These started on 19.30 (7.30 pm) Tuesday 23rd September These will continue every Tuesday evening Fr.David is at Seven Fountains.
To help deepen your grasp of your Christian faith THE HEYTHROP INSTITUE FOR RELIGION ETHICS AND PUBLIC LIFE http://www.heythrop.ac.uk/HIREPL Thinking Faith http://www.thinkingfaith.org/index.htm Thinking Faith is a free on-line publication of the British Jesuits. There is no regular "issue date" - instead, articles are added at any time. 'Subscribing' to Thinking Faith is simply a matter of giving us your email address, then we will send you a message whenever a new article is added. Subscribed to these Thinking Faith alerts using This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Recognition of the Jesuit scientist Lluis Puigjaner, S.J. At the European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering (CAPE) whick took place in Lyon from 1st to 4th of June last, Professor Lluis puigjaner Corbella was granted the prestigious Long Term Achievements Award in acknowledgement of his extraordinary attainments during a long period as a result of his methods and tools applied to CAPE. Lluis Puigjaner is worldwide acknowledge as a pioneer and leader well known in the field of engineering and systems. Lluis Puigjaner is, at present, emeritus professor of Chemical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. The scientific Committee that granted him his award mentioned his leadership and the novelty of his ideas and his ability to question established paradigms. According to the Committee his intuition, inspiration and courage contributed to success in the computerized engineering processes of the last decades.
From Susan Keane Hello Everyone, We have moved from Kampala to Kathmandu. Patrick and Katrina are both at university in the States and will join us here for Christmas. Please send us a few lines if you find a spare moment. We would love to hear form you. Lots of love to all, Susan ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Seven Fountains Car Should you be able, kindly let Brother Jonal know of any good sturdy vehicle which will get us to the mountain villages and back, and so might serve the varied ministries of Seven Fountains for as long as the one needing replacement, either as a gift or relatively inexpensive.
PRAYER GROUP EACH WEDNESDAY EVENINGS AT 07.30 P.M. IN THE WOODEN CHAPEL PURPOSE: QUIET MEDITATION. THE PRAYER GROUP WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO QUIET MEDITATION FOLLOWING ANY ONE OF MANY TRADITIONS: JESUS PRAYER OF THE EASTERN CHURCH, JOHN OF THE CROSS, THE METHOD OF JOHN MAIN, OSB, CENTERING PRAYER, ETC. THERE IS NO ONE WAY, THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY. JUST PRAY. "PRAY AS YOU CAN, NOT AS YOU CANNOT" "BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD" "LISTEN, I AM AT THE DOOR KNOCKING"
Foundation for the Education of Rural Children (FERC) will be hosting a Benefit Cocktail Party with Broadway Music Review. 7 pm Saturday, 22 November 2008 The Shangri La Hotel, Chiang Mai Ticket/donation 1,000 baht. Contact Celeste Tolibas-Holland for tickets and more information. Tel: 053-892042 Ext: 3744 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Thoughts We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. (From Little Gidding by T.S.Eliot)
After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on -- have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear -- what remains? Nature remain. Walt Whitman, poet (1819-1892)
A date for your diary SEVEN FOUNTAINS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP ANNUAL CHRISTMAS DINNER AND FUNDRAISER. Date: 13th December 2008. Venue: Seven Fountains Garden Time : 06.30 pm. We warmly invite you to a fabulous Christmas dinner party under the stars in the gardens of Seven Fountains Centre. This annual dinner raises funds for an educational Sporsorship Programme for up to 450 needy girls and boys and promises to be and evening of entertainment, activities and dilicious cuisines. Entertainment will be provided by members of the Chiang Mai Flute Club and a choir composed of students who have benefited from the Sporsorship Programme. Activities include the ever popular Silent Auction, a Bucket Auction and Door Prizes. All of these have been planned to help us into the spirit of giving as well as having fun. The tickets will be distributed after Mass on Sundays leading up to the event, but you can reserve them now. If you can't attend the dinner but would like to make a donation or if you would like to contribute an item to the Silent or Bucket Auctions, please speak to either Tuyet or Victoria after Mass. Tuyet Cahill This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Victoria Nimmanhaeminda This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Dont's miss out on a truly family community evening, everyone is welcome.
The Next bulletin Would you like to receive this bulletin via email? If so, please contact Pippa who will add you to the contact list. If you have anything you would like to be included in the December bulletin please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it We are looking for contributors. Have you got something you would like the Community at Seven Fountains to know about? A special anniversary or wedding? Just send the notice in, and we will include it.
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