December 8th Pilgrimage to Mary Matha

Photo Courtesy of TripAdvisor.
Destination: Mary Matha Church on Ross Hill.

Holy Family pilgrims set out in pre-dawn darkness.

Visakhapatnam features three surrounding hills, topped by a Hindu temple, Islamic mosque and a Catholic pilgrimage site with church, grottos, Stations of the Cross and retreat center.

A 5 AM train ride started the day for Holy Family Mission faithful on the December 8th, 2013 Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pastor Fr. Varghese Kalapurakudy guided 50 villagers to Visakhapatnam, his diocesan see.

Public transportation wasn't operating for days leading up to the pilgrimage, due to strikes and protests regarding the division of Andhra Pradesh State and the forming of the new state, Telengana. But protesters took a Sunday rest, allowing Holy Family faithful their trip. Pilgrims headed to the Church of the Virgin Mary, atop the central and highest hill, Ross Hill. The 150-year-old Catholic church was built as a private residence, and later blessed as a church.

Some went to great heights to get comfortable

on the crowded train.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit Ross Hill Shrine yearly, seeking blessings and protection from Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. On her feast day, pilgrims come for a special procession, shown here. Even those of various religious beliefs come to pray and seek peace.

For 18 years, this shrine has also conducted a Rosary Chain Prayer, inviting faithful world-wide to commit to a time to pray the Rosary and to send the time via email or phone call. This encourages devotion to the Rosary, and also encircles the globe with a continuous chain of Rosaries prayed for peace and the conversion of sinners.

The Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS), Province of Visakhapatnam, oversee the shrine. Atop the hill are excellent views of Visakhapatnam (also called Vizag), the Esser Steel Plant, the ship building yard, and the Bay of Bengal with its impressive ships.

This gentleman wears a wool "monkey hat"
to keep off the early morning chill.

Many on the pilgrimage were ladies of Holy Family Mission's Mariadalem Sodality, a group devoted to the Blessed Mother. As they labored so hard to prepare mission grounds for the coming of their archbishop for Confessions in June, Fr. Varghese had promised to bring them on pilgrimage. The people are grateful Our Lady is a strong intercessor for them and their mission.

Directions at the station are written
in the local language of Telegu.

It's unusual for these day laborers to travel far from their villages, so they had extra reason to rejoice on December 8th, as they drew closer to the Blessed Mother and her Son.

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Pray for Us!

A pilgrimage helps faithful of all ages
draw closer to each other and God.

The pilgrimage site lay nearly 100 miles Northeast 
of Yeleswaram, home of Holy Family Mission. 

Crowds disembark at Vizag.

Seeking alms, a boy poses as a statue of Gandhi.

Some of the pathways are dusty, but the view atop
Ross Hill is worth the hike.

"Hail Mary, full of grace..."

Pilgrims take a steep climb up Ross Hill. The path
is lined with shrines depicting the Stations of the Cross.

Some pilgrims have their heads shaved as a special
sacrifice to God and to proclaim that He has
answered their prayers through the intercession
of His Blessed Mother.

Pilgrims gather for an outdoor Mass. At right is the
center used for hosting Visakhapatnam Diocese's
retreats for priests.

Trees at the Shrine are strung with lights
for Christmas.

A break for lunch...

An old postcard shows the view from Ross Hill
of Vizag and its harbor.

The blue structure is the iron ore belt of the
Esser Steel Plant.

Serving briyani rice to pilgrims atop Ross Hill.

On the way back down, four pilgrims got
disconnected from the group and Fr. Varghese
climbed back up the hill to locate them.

Holy Family pilgrims gather at a Marian grotto near 
the Church of the Virgin Mary on Ross Hill.

Racing a Cyclone to Bring Bibles Home

Fr. Varghese distributes mission-edition
Telegu language Bibles, a gift from friends
of his mission to celebrate the end of the
liturgical "Year of Faith."

Racing cyclone winds home with a shipment of 300 mission Bibles in the Telegu language, Fr. Varghese and fellow missionary Fr. Baskhar reached their destination just hours before Cyclone Helen made landfall. The week before the Feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday of the liturgical Year of Faith, the two missionaries had helped host a youth gathering in Vizianagaram. Attendance was lower due to the approaching cyclone, although Fr. Varghese said it was a blessed gathering. The young people prayed and discussed faith issues. Fr. Varghese preached and Fr. Baskhar led music with a choir.

Within hours of cyclone rains ceasing, villagers
gathered at Holy Family Mission to celebrate the
Feast of Christ the King. Children enacted scenes
from Scripture. Shown here is Abraham.

On the way home the priests stopped in Visakhapatnam to pick up crates of Bibles, but buses were already shut down due to torrential rains from Cyclone Helen. The two hitched a ride on a truck with their Bibles, and were dropped at Yerraverram, the village worst-hit this monsoon season by floods. Fr. Varghese called villagers in Yeleswaram, who came with bicycles to transport the crates of Bibles to Holy Family Mission. Thus, a trip from Visakhapatnam that would usually take five hours, took 10, and kept the missionaries up all night. 

Fr. Varghese slept three hours but then arose to emergency reief efforts, since floods were already rising in villagers' homes.

When the worst of the storms hit, everyone sought shelter indoors. At one point, Fr. Varghese texted a friend: "We got little power and net work. We are safe. It is heavily raining and strong wind. Two of my coconut tress fell down. I don't know exactly what is happening outside."

Abraham, Isaac and a beast of burden.

On Sunday, weather had calmed, although many villagers were still in government-built shelters due to flood damage to their homes. Villagers still celebrated the Feast of Christ the King by having children enact scenes from salvation history. They gave up plans to share a celebration meal, giving meal packets to villagers in Yerraverram, instead, since those bore the brunt of Cyclone Helen. 

The Blessed Virgin agrees to bear God's Son.

Fr. Varghese spent that Sunday night in his mission church in flood-ravaged Yerraverram, and spent the next days in flood-relief efforts. He and volunteers distributed needed clothing collected by parishioners, and cooked rice and sambar (veggie stew) to serve near the church. As many as 200 villagers were fed twice daily for several days until supplies ran out. Fr. Varghese gave away all his rice and was surviving on radishes and tapioca by the time a friend sent funds for needed provisions.

Within days, a new cyclone that appeared even worse then Helen brewed over the Bay of Bengal. People were so terrified they were crying out in the night, making it impossible to sleep, reported Fr. Varghese. By a miracle, cyclone winds dissipated and what the government had warned could be the worst cyclone yet, never developed. 

But after-effects of this monsoon season will be long lasting for Fr.'s region, since 90% of the crops have been destroyed by floods. Farmers have been taking their lives, seeing their livelihoods disappear in front of their eyes. 

In this season of Christ's light and joy, please hold the suffering people of Andhra Pradesh in prayer.

Planning for a New Year of Inspiration

Stairs up the mission hill, a Marian grotto, church repairs, a stage for events like First Communions and Confirmations -- Holy Family faithful have gathered to construct these projects by hand over the last four years. Each project is shown in a new parish calendar that will also highlight saints and liturgical readings of the year. Fr. Varghese encourages parishioners to keep the calendar on or near a little home shrine (a little table with Bible, holy water, etc.) and to use it for daily prayer. A friend of Holy Family Mission gave her entire Christmas allowance so Fr. can provide for his people what so many Catholics receive each year and take for granted -- a parish calendar.

Designing the calendar had its challenges, since statehood tensions brought store closures the day Fr. Varghese went to the printer's. He "went to the computer lab, half of the downloading is over, then came the rally, anti-Telangana people shouting slogans and closing all the shops," wrote Fr. Varghese. The shops that did not close, protesters were hitting with stones.

"Buses are stopped. Another devil incarnated in AP in the form of strikes, and so on. So today's adoration is again on peace and serenity in my state."

And just as the mother of Jesus is shown embracing his parishioners on the calendar, says Fr. Varghese, "In the heart of Mother Mary, we are."

Please join this missionary and all his people in praying for peace in Andhra Pradesh.

Ceasar and Milani

Putting on his raincoat in the early morning rain and bringing an elder with on his motorcycle, Fr. Varghese set out to pick up two new inhabitants for Holy Family Mission.

His dog Roxy got so expensive to feed, Fr. Varghese gave her away a year or so ago to a priest friend. But now the friend has shown his thanks by sending back two puppies, a male and female, so Fr. Varghese can sell any future puppies to raise funds for his missions.

After a friend's son joked that Fr. resembled a popular dog trainer from overseas called Ceasar Milan, Fr. named his puppies Ceasar and Milani! 

Praying for All Souls

Villagers scrubbed and decorated graves with loving care.

On All Soul's Day, Holy Family faithful and their neighbors cleaned and decorated loved ones' graves, lit candles and incense, and gathered for a three hour Mass and commemoration of faithful departed.

It was a historic event, says Fr. Varghese. He had tried four years to commemorate All Soul's Day in the cemetery at Yeleswaram, but something always prevented it, such as peoples' fears, deaths in the community,  objections from locals or monsoon rains.

But this year, after Holy Family Mission's beautiful lamp-lit Mass on All Saints' Day, people were open to honoring departed loved ones and praying for their souls in a new and solemn way.

After early morning Mass at Holy Family Mission, Fr. Varghese headed to Eluru Diocese to give a talk to 23 seminarians.

Honoring and praying for loved ones is a family
and community affair.

"God is great," he later wrote. "God's people, wherever they go, they will be assigned by some work. So after the talk I was asked by the rector to hear confessions. Then I left for All Soul's Day…Mass in the cemetery."

The practice of celebrating Mass near and even on loved one's tombs, dates back to ancient times, when Mass was celebrated on the graves of holy martyrs. 

Two visiting priests from Tamil Nadu concelebrated with Fr. Varghese, who spoke for more than an hour about the significance of the Feast and about resurrection after death, a concept new to those raised outside the Christian tradition.

That night, many "gave witness" to a belief in the Resurrection," said Fr. Varghese. 

"God is great."

Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary images
adorn many tombs.

The most solemn moment at Mass, the Consecration
 of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Christ's light overcomes darkness

"Christ is the Light," said Fr. Varghese.
"So, too, should we be."

As Hindu neighbors prepared to celebrate the ancient feast of Deepavali, Holy Family Mission celebrated All Saints Day and the light of Christ. Their First Friday celebration was "something beautiful," said Fr. Varghese, who gathered youth of his mission to help cut plantain trunks and assemble unique pillars for clay oil lamps for Friday, November 1, 2013. 

"No electrical bulb will burn today in the church," said Father, "and outside -- only oil lamps."

This is the first All Saints Day celebrated with the new
stage the people hand-built this past April through May. 
The pillars of lights are plantain trunks pierced by wire 
holders containing mud oil lamps.

Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is a traditional Hindu feast in this 98% Hindu nation. Christianity arrived in India in the First Century AD, with St. Thomas the Apostle. However, many faithful across India are converts from Hinduism, and the clay lamps associated with Diwali are deeply-rooted in their heritage. At Holy Family Mission, those lamps burn to symbolize Christ's light.

Deepavali is a "feast of light," explained Fr. Varghese. "Christ is the light. So, too, should we be." That focus is particularly good to recall on All Saints Day, as Christians thank God for and commemorate those who best spread Christ's light on Earth.

Fr. Varghese preached about the theme of the
"lamp." Every follower of Christ must light
the darkness.

The theme for Holy Family Mission's Friday benediction service, the "songs, preaching, Word of God, everything," was based on the lamp, said Fr. Varghese. He likened the gathered faithful to the ten wise virgins from Scripture, who had lamps trimmed and ready to welcome the groom for the wedding feast. 

Oil lamps and candles lit the benediction service on All Saints 
Day, as Hindu neighbors prepared to celebrate Diwali, a feast that
celebrates the triumph of good over evil.

The Holy See wrote a letter wishing Hindus a "Happy Deepavali.

"Regardless of our ethnic, cultural, religious and ideological differences, all of us belong to the one human family," wrote Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

"In a spirit of friendship," the Cardinal offered "best wishes and cordial greetings as you celebrate Deepavali. May God, the source of all light and life, illumine your lives and deepen your happiness and peace.

"Security and peace in the local, national and international communities are largely determined by the quality of our human interaction," wrote Cardinal Tauran.

"Experience teaches us that, the deeper our human relationships, the more we are able to advance towards co-operation, peace-building, genuine solidarity and harmony."

For full text of the letter, click here.

By celebrating All Saints Day in a blaze of light on the heels of many weeks of crises, the people of Holy Family Mission prove that no political tensions, strikes, food shortages, floods or even the fevers of dysentery and malaria, will shift their focus from Christ, Who is their Light.

Queen of the Holy Rosary, Pray for Us!

Young helpers gather with Fr. Varghese to help
prepare for the special Mass honoring Mary on the
last Sunday in October, the Month of the
Holy Rosary.

As flood recovery efforts continued across Andhra Pradesh and his missions, Fr. Varghese took a break from rebuilding people's homes to plan a Mass honoring the Blessed Mother on the last Sunday of October.

Young volunteers gathered at the mission's
shrine to the Blessed Mother, constructed
with local stones.

The missionary translated into the Telegu language messages from approved Marian apparition sites. Young volunteers helped him assign the name of a parish family to each slip, so each family at Mass would receive a message to guide it and the name of another family to keep in prayer in daily rosaries.

Fr. Varghese and his people are deeply devoted to the Blessed Mother. A couple years ago, they gathered local stones and constructed a special shrine to Our Lady on Holy Family grounds. This October, the Month of the Holy Rosary, the missionary met with his faithful  every evening to pray the Rosary. Because power outages were frequent, they often gathered in the light of kerosene lamps.

Around 320 people came to the October 27th Mass concelebrated by another missionary, Fr. Jacob. The readings and homily focused on the Blessed Mother. The people received their prayer slips, and a collection of yellow rice packets and tea was blessed by Fr. Jacob, and distributed after the Mass. People were grateful, since food post-cyclone has been scarce.

These young men prepared a special niche for the
Queen of Heaven, decorated with stars and a moon. 

Over the weekend, Fr. Varghese also met with local officials who proposed using the mission hill for government helicopters to drop tents and supplies for flood victims. But on Sunday, the rain stopped. People thanked God as the region started to dry up, and no choppers landed on the mission hill.

Light piercing the darkness has special
significance in an area where power
outages are a daily fact of life.

The most solemn moment of the Mass, when daily
worries shrink and the Lord becomes All.

Around 320 villagers from all five outposts
attended this special Mass.   

Receiving the Eucharist, what beloved
Pope John Paul II referred to as
the "source and summit of life."  

Fr. Jacob blessed packets of yellow rice,
distributed to faithful after the Mass.

Rosary beads lead from the Blessed Mother's niche...
and up toward heaven. (See below, right.)

Faithful crowd in to receive their prayer slips

Rice is a precious staple to a people
who eat it three times daily. Supplies
post-cyclone have been limited.

Blessed by the gift of rice.

Mary, Queen of the
Holy Rosary, pray for us!