Bulletin for October 2009

Sunday Mass Times

0730 Mass in Thai
0930 Mass in English

Weekday Mass Times

18.00 Mass in Thai in Chapel of Building 3
18.00 Mass in English in Chapel of Building 2 [when there are English-speaking retreatants] 

Intentions of  Pope Benedict XVI

OCTOBER

General:  That Sunday may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the risen Lord, participating in the Eucharist.

Mission: That the entire People of God, to whom Christ entrusted the mandate to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, may eagerly assume their own missionary responsibility and consider it the highest service they can offer humanity.

Also in October

In November

The Sunday Offertory Collection for the month of August was 25,650 Baht. We thank you for your very generous support of the mission & outreach of The Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre

Thailand’s Catho-lic Business Execut-ives Group members say they will refuse to retrench employees or use undue pressure to collect payments from clients during the present global economic crisis.

“The crisis has impacted my company, but we didn’t lay off any employees,” Paul Mary Suwit Suwarujiporn, owner of a dairy company, told UCA News on the sidelines of a recent CBEG meeting.

“We had a meeting with our 2,000 employees. We told them the situation, and in the end we got their agreement to cut their salaries by 30 percent, except for those who earn less than 6,000 baht (US$176) a month. Their salaries will be adjusted again when the crisis is over,” Suwit said.

“If we lay off workers, we can survive, but the workers will encounter a lot of problems.”
Wichai Suebsiripong, owner of company that produces factory equipment and machinery, pointed out a similar concern on the other side of the business equation. “The economic crisis has affected payments by our customers. Many can’t pay for products they have bought,” he said.

“Many people told me to use the services of a debt-collecting company or to sue the customers, but I do not agree with these methods,” he continued. “My customers also face problems. If I resort to these heavy-handed methods, they may have to close their businesses. So I use the method of negotiation.”
He said he and customers agreed on installment payments with an extended payment period.

Nipon Saengpradap, manager of a project that builds environment-friendly houses, noted that CBEG has even tried to help those who lost their jobs.

CBEG chairperson Prachuab Trinikorn echoed Nipon’s view. “During an economic crisis, we have to place people as our first priority.”

He asked participants to promote the Gospel values of justice, peace and love in society by conducting their business honestly and responsibly. “Catholic businesses have to show that Christianity is the light of society,” he told them.

Fr Prasert Trakkavetch, CBEG chaplain, added that businesses should aim to provide employees as well as employers with a good life and create a community of love and solidarity.
Catholic employers say people must come first during economic crisis (UCA News)

God's Earth is sacred

The destruction of the planet raises many theological questions.

We have been led to believe that God cares only for the salvation of humans and that our calling is to exploit the earth for our own ends. This false Gospel has its preachers, politicians and policymakers who follow its dictates. In doing this they are destroying the Earth.

The Churches are challenged to articulate a more coherent theology of ecology and to proclaim more persistently its teachings on social and environmental justice. Catholic Church teaching is relevant in the face of the grave ecological problems facing the Earth. The teaching on sustainability, bio-responsibility, humility, frugality, solidarity and compassion are appropriate at this time.

Sustainability reminds us that the Earth is finite and that we must live in a way that is fair and just to future generations of humans and other creatures.

Bio-responsibility includes all other life forms as beloved creatures of God and as expressions of God's presence, wisdom, power and glory in the world.

Humility should act as an antidote to the arrogance that underpins much of our technological culture. Many want us to believe that we can manage the world with new technologies. The truth is that we only know a little about our world. For example, we don't know whether there are five million or one hundred million species on Earth.

Frugality invites us to restrain our economic production and consumption patterns, especially in rich countries for the sake of the welfare of the Earth. Jesus has warned us that we will not achieve happiness by accumulating material things.

Solidarity is a concept much beloved by the late Pope John Paul II. Solidarity acknowledges that we are increasingly bound together as members of the Earth community. We are responsible for the well-being of the poor and all creation. Our destinies are linked.

Compassion, which means "suffering with," encourages us to promote the 'healing' of the Earth as well as a just and sustainable society.

This teaching is badly needed in Asia, as China and India are rapidly following the model of development which was fashioned in the U.S. and Europe and which is responsible for depleting our planet. With a few notable exceptions, Church leaders have been slow to acknowledge the mounting ecological crisis.

They have a serious moral obligation to give leadership at this time because we aren't discussing some minor, passing problem.

We are talking about the future of the world, which God loved so much that he sent his only beloved son as a Saviour to it.

Fr Sean McDonagh has written many books: To Care for the Earth, The Greening of the Church, Passion for the Earth, Greening the Christian Millennium, Why are we Deaf to the Cry of the Earth? Dying for Water and Patenting Life? Stop! The death of life with his latest book Climate Change.

Meditative/Contemplative Prayer Experiences you can download

Pray-as-you-go can be found at
www.pray-as-you-go.org

Sacred Space may be found at www.sacredspace.ie

livesimply is a challenge to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with people in poverty.

www.progressio.org.uk/livesimply/AssociatesHome2/92990/livesimply/

 Child beggars in the bustling streets of Bangkok are a common sight for commut-ers, with few realizing that some of these kids could have been trafficked from other countries. (UCA News)

Fifty-two Catholic student leaders from the Catholic Student Center of Thailand (CSAT) recently discussed this issue and went to a major city intersection to meet and talk with child beggars there.

“Trafficking is the worst kind of violation of human rights. The Church is very concerned about this issue,” said CSAT chaplain Father Maharsono Probo, S.J. during an Aug. 21-23 retreat he conducted for the students in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok.

The Jesuit priest said that Pope Benedict XVI has also asked the Thai Church to act on this problem. “The anti-trafficking campaign is a long term campaign of the Thai Catholic Church,” the priest said.

Students learn about child trafficking in Thailand

Praying with Scripture - ‘Lectio Divina’ – with Fr. David
Every Friday in the Old Wooden Chapel at 19.30 – 20.30
Everyone is welcome – you might like to bring your Bible with you.

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

A fragment of the world’s oldest Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus, has been uncovered hidden underneath the binding of an 18th century book in an Egyptian monastery.

British based Greek academic, Nikolas Sarris, spotted a previously unseen section of the Codex Sinaiticus, which dates from about AD350, as he was trawling through photographs of a series of book bindings from the 18th century in the library of St Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt, UK’s The Independent and the Telegraph reported.

Over the centuries, antique parchment was often re-used by St Catherine’s monks in book bindings because of its strength and the relative difficulty of finding fresh parchment in such a remote corner of the world.

The 30 year old student conservator, who has been involved in the British library’s project to digitise the Codex, said he almost instantly noticed the distinct Greek lettering visible in a section of a book binding, The Independent said.

“Although it is not my area of expertise, I had helped with the online project so the Codex had been heavily imprinted in my memory,” Mr Sarris said. “I began checking the height of the letters and the columns and quickly realised we were looking at an unseen part of the Codex.”

He then emailed Fr Justin, the monastery’s librarian, to suggest a closer look.

“Even if there is a one in a million possibility that it could be a Sinaiticus fragment that has escaped our attention, I thought it would be best to say it rather than dismiss it,” he told The Independent.

Speaking to The Art Newspaper, Fr Justin said the monastery would use scanners to look more closely at how much of the fragment existed under the newer book binding.

“Modern technology should allow us to examine the binding in a non-invasive manner,” he said.

Along with the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Sinaiticus is considered the oldest known Bible in the world.

Fragment from world’s oldest Bible found hidden in Egyptian monastery (The Independent, UK)

Fragment of world’s oldest bible ‘discovered in Egyptian monastery’ (Telegraph.co.uk)

To help deepen your grasp of your Christian faith

THE HEYTHROP INSTITUTE FOR RELIGION ETHICS AND PUBLIC LIFE
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.

Subscribe to these Thinking Faith alerts using This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Date: 31 October 2009.
Venue: Seven Fountains Garden
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm

The Annual Seven Fountains Christmas Dinner and Fundraiser that normally takes place in December will take place on October 31 this year (Halloween – the Eve of All Saints/All Hallows).

As you know, this annual fundraiser raises funds for the Seven Fountains Education Sponsorship Program which currently supports 450 needy children.  Help us to make this event a successful one as these needy children will not receive an education unless they receive funding from Seven Fountains.

• Entertainment planned for the whole family on October 31st:
• International buffet supper
• Silent Auction
• Door prizes
• Piano recitals by gifted young pianists from Chiang Mai Land Music School.
• Bake Sale
• Make or buy  your own Krathong
• Face-painting for children
• Christmas Cards, Christmas Decorations
• Gifted Musician Pornpattana Vichitvejpaisal
• Catholic students choir

We need volunteers to help us locate fabulous items for the Silent Auction and to bake cakes, cookies and desserts for the bake sale.  If you can help us, please contact:

Silent auction items:  K. Urunii Fung-Atsakul 086-893-1409
Baked goods:  Than Hartman 053-365-349 , Ajaan Nid   053-278-713
If you are willing to help in any capacity: 
Tuyet Cahill  081-032-1116 
Vicky Nimmanahaeminda
081-885-3352

Please mark your diaries:-
Celebration of Fr. M's 50th on Saturday December 12th 2009,

50 years ago to the day, on 8th December 1959, a young Miguel Garaizabal entered the Jesuit Noviciate in Spain.

This year Fr. Miguel celebrates 50 years a Jesuit – a life of fidelity and dedication, to God and to others, particularly to those often overlooked by the world, and sometimes even by us. The Seven Fountains Community is hoping to celebrate the occasion in some appropriate manner.

Than Hartman has very kindly and very generously offered to co-ordinate our efforts. If you would like contribute to marking Fr. Miguel’s Golden Jubilee as a Jesuit, please contact Than.

85M3, 2 king size bedrooms
2 bathrooms, living and dining combo,
kitchenette, refrigerator, hot plate,
microwave oven, television etc.

10,000 THB per month

Please call 053 365-349, 081-169-530

An Exhibition of Oils and Watercolours
By Louise Truslow.
 
Over the years Louise has donated prints of her beautiful paintings to Seven Fountains in order to raise money for the Education Scholarship Fund. She has agreed to do this again for our event on 31st October. For those of us lucky enough to be able to visit Bangkok, here is an opportunity to view Louise’s latest exhibition.
 
3rd-29th October 2009
Rotunda and Garden Galleries, Neilson Hays Library,195, Suriwongse Road, Bangkok 10500.
The exhibition can be viewed online at: www.louisetruslow.com from October 2nd. 

We are looking for more people to contribute articles or relevant quotes and sayings to this bulletin – if you have something to offer then please don’t hesitate to contact me either by
email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 081 288 2210. We also welcome some light-hearted stories if you have some to share with us.

If you would like to receive the bulletin via email you can contact me and we will add your name to our distribution list.

Finally – don’t forget to put October 31st into your diaries now. We expect to have an enjoyable and successful evening, raising funds for young girls and boys who would otherwise not receive an education.

Laus Deo Semper