Feast of the Assumption and Independence Day

Angels accompany this Blessed Virgin Mary as
she is assumed into heaven, in a Feast of the
Assumption drama at Sacred Heart of Jesus
Mission in Kakinada.

"We have already bought the rice and groceries for the poor and 10 sarees for widows," wrote Fr. Varghese, several days before the August 15th Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

To honor "Mother Mary," wrote Father, faithful distributed these gifts to the needy, and were active with singing practice and creating a drama for the Assumption, featuring Mary with the angels. 

Mission youth worked, prayed and played together in the days leading up to the Assumption. They helped plan events and decorate, and kept the compound lively.

Bedecked with flowers...the Blessed Mother 

is honored inside the hall that serves as 

Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.

Fr. Varghese's classmate, Fr. Vijay, came from Hyderabad to
celebrate the Feast of the Assumption Mass. Here, he is blessing
holy water for a baptism on that day.

The catechism children of the various grade levels
decorated little prayer altars to honor the blessed Mother.

Everything "went on well," wrote Fr. Varghese, shown here with Fr. Vijay, Missionaries of Charity, and Mariadalem (Legion of Mary) ladies from his parish.

On August 15th, all of India celebrates Independence Day, marking the day in 1947 that this land broke free of colonial power from England and established itself as a free and independent nation. So Assumption Day festivities included the presentation of the Indian flag and a flag-hoisting ceremony.

On the day after the Assumption, Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu passed through on his way back to his residence in Visakhapatnam. He stopped for lunch at the Mission, visiting with Frs. Varghese, Baskhar and Vijay, the people, and the Missionaries of Charity down the street, who are loved members of Sacred Heart's community.

A Sacred Heart welcome.

Missionaries of Charity greet Archbishop Prakash
 Mallavarapu at their Kakinada residence.

"My soul doth magnify the Lord..."

St. John Vianney, patron of priests

Faithful in India joined Catholics world-wide in honoring St. John Vianney on his August feast day. A homily featuring the life of this patron saint of priests, and a cake to share with parishioners, marked the day at Sacred Heart of Jesus Mission in Kakinada. 

Born in 1786, Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney said he owed his love of God to his mother: "Virtues go easily from mothers into the hearts of their children, who willingly do what they see being done."

Pastor at Sacred Heart, Fr. Varghese also learned faith from his mother, who taught him a life-long love of the Rosary. 

St. John Vianney is a great role model for priests, and for anyone facing obstacles in his or her vocation. The French saint struggled in his studies, but after he was ordained, became so known for holiness and for his reading of souls in the confessional, that people traveled for miles to receive from him this sacrament. Stationed in Ars, France, where few seemed to show any interest in faith, the French priest won over locals and fueled a major renewal in the region.

Fr. Varghese prays for such a renewal in his mission, as do priests and faithful the world over. St. John Vianney, pray for us.

Corpus Christi 2014

Adoring Christ's Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist.

"We had a great and solemn celebration for Corpus Christi," wrote Fr. Varghese Kalapurakudy, about celebrating this June 22, 2014 feast at his new mission, Sacred Heart of Jesus in Kakinada.

Because local protests stopped Catholics from processing through public streets in Kakinada in years past, Fr. Varghese simply processed with the Eucharist and his people through the church and around the grounds of his compound. He prays that locals' fears might be calmed in future, so a neighborhood procession might take place.

Although temperatures have been a simmering 110-plus degrees F., people were eager to participate in feast day solemnities. They crowded into their un-air conditioned hall, and reverently prayed through the Mass and adoration.

"After the Eucharistic procession, people were very happy and they were thanking me," wrote Fr. Varghese.

People cluster near the altar in the crowded hall
that serves as a church for Sacred Heart Mission.

Fr. Varghese loves spending time with Jesus in the Eucharist, and rejoiced that Corpus Christi offered him "ample time to spend with the Eucharist."