Wednesday 31 October 2012

BLESSING OF THE FINAL PHASE OF DVK RESEARCH CENTRE (6 August 2012) Welcome Address by Saju Chackalackal, President of DVK

BLESSING OF THE FINAL PHASE OF DVK RESEARCH CENTRE (6 August 2012) Welcome Address by the President of DVK Very Reverend and Dear Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottiyil CMI, our Prior General and Vice Chancellor, Rev. Dr. Thomas Aykara CMI, our beloved Rector, Rev. Dr. Thomas Chathamparampil CMI, Vice Chancellor of Christ University, Rev. Fr. Shaju Pellissery, the Principal of Christ Schools, Rev. Fr. Jose Stephen Menacherry CMI, Finance Administrator of Dharmaram College, Rev. Dr. Varghese Kelamparampil CMI, Finance Administrator of Christ University, Rev. Prof. Dr. Thomas Kollamparampil CMI and Rev. Prof. Dr. Francis Thonippara CMI, former presidents of DVK, the teaching fraternity of DVK and other Dharmaram Institutions on the campus, Rev. Fathers from Dharmaram, and my dear Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, and friends, “The strength of a monastery is not the thickness of its walls, but the mutual love and concern of the members staying inside,” stated Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara, the founder of the CMI and CMC congregations and one of the major inspirations of ecclesiastical education carried out by Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram. Typically, as we have completed the construction and furnishing of the final phase of the DVK Research Centre, and having blessed the same structure for our use, we have witnessed to the realization of the spirit expressed in the statements of Blessed Chavara in his final testament to his confreres. In this venture, it is an ‘impossible’ being made possible. When we look at it from the point of view of ordinary human engagements, it is unimaginable for DVK that this DVK Research Centre structure is completed and is ready for use. It is in the Providence of God that this has taken place; of course, this Providence is made experiential or tangible through the instrumentality of a number of a persons. At this juncture, I cannot but exult in the words of Our Mother to express the feelings of DVK: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour... for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name...” (Lk. 1:46ff). As my responsibility at the beginning of this short meeting is to welcome the dignitaries, may I restrict myself to my duty. First of all, I am glad to welcome Very Rev. Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottiyil CMI, our beloved Prior General and Vice Chancellor to this meeting. While thanking him for having blessed this building, I also appreciate and thank the religious animation that he extends to all of us in general and to the members of Dharmaram in particular. He shares with us a philosophy that Dharmaram campus should share the resources in its growth to the next stages and he had facilitated the processes to get necessary permissions in this regard. Being a concerned Father, he was following the progress of the work and had given the timely guidance at every stage of this work and also had extended financial support towards the construction of this building in the form of interest free loans. I thank our Rev. Fr. General for his inspirational presence and the effective animation that he gives to the community, and I cordially welcome him to this gathering. In the person of Rev. Fr. Thomas Aykara CMI, Rector of Dharmaram College, and the former professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religion, and president of DVK, we have a person who had been instrumental in both setting the high standards of its academic excellence and administrative efficiency. Without any exaggeration it could be said that he has spent his whole life for Dharmaram and its students. It is a blessing that Fr. Thomas Aykara has come back to Dharmaram as its rector, and for last one and half years, Fr. Rector has been giving wonderful guidance to Dharmaram College and Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram. In getting the philosophy of sharing realized in the case of this Research Centre, the role of Rev. Fr. Rector is unparallel. Fr. Rector, we are grateful to you for all that you are to all of us, particularly to DVK, and we thank you for the wonderful facilitation that you have been making to get the dream of DVK Research Centre completed. To this brief meeting, I accord to you a very warm welcome! The completion of this final phase of the DVK Research Centre has taken place through the generous financial contributions and magnanimous cooperation of Christ University and Christ Schools. I said at the beginning that, in this event, we have the realization of an impossible dream. Christ Educational Institutions not only agreed to support DVK financially, but they took up the burden of carrying out the construction and furnishing work, all done with efficiency and elegance. Years ago, when I preached a monthly recollection to Dharmaram Community, I tried to expand the acronym CMI in my own way; we know that it stands for the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate; but I preferred another expansion, i.e., a Community of Magnanimous Individuals. Some of you may agree with me; there may be a few who would not agree with me. Yet, I remember one person who liked it the most and told me so; that was Rev. Dr. Thomas Chathamparampil CMI, the Vice Chancellor of Christ University. He not only cherished my desire to see a community of magnanimous individuals, but he has gracefully striven over the years to see it realized in his own life and in the institutions that he has been animating and leading. While the initial request was to support DVK to complete the work by way of extending required finances, Fr. Rector suggested that it would be a welcome idea to get the support of the construction team of Christ University to minimize the expenses and to maximize the quality. Without any hesitation, with the readiness of an efficient task master, Fr. Thomas positively responded to the suggestion and, today, as we have blessed the DVK Research Centre, I must say, Fr. Thomas, you are also blessed in the process of magnanimous sharing. Thanking him for all the blessings that he has facilitated, especially in this event of the DVK Research Centre, I welcome him very cordially to this gathering. Rev. Fr. Shaju Pellissery CMI, the Principal of Christ Schools, has made strides during the last one academic year not only within the Christ School campus, but outside, as word has spread that he is an able and powerful Principal; he has successfully reached out to the students and to the staff and parents. He is known not only for his efficiency in academic administration, but also for his generosity. Be it a student or an elderly person, when faced with difficulties of others, Fr. Shaju has no second thought but comes forth with a helping hand. The same was the experience of DVK, as it was deliberating about resuming the construction work of this Research Centre. Although there were a number of projects of the Christ Schools, he positively responded to the request of the Dharmaram community, particularly of Fr. Rector, and prioritized the needs of DVK and made available the funds for the completion of one floor of this structure. Fr. Shaju, you are also a CMI, who has lived up to the expectation of magnanimity. All of us at DVK thank you for your timely assistance and welcome you to this gathering. When Rev. Fr. Thomas Chathamparampil agreed to the proposal to put the whole construction team of the University at the disposal of the DVK Research Centre, it was naturally a call to Rev. Dr. Varghese Kelamparampil to invest some of his precious time for DVK. As work was in progress in three campuses simultaneously, it was not an easy task for Fr. Varghese to respond to the request of the community. Yet, he has spared his time, monitored the work at various stages, especially during its final phase of completion and furnishing, by personally being present on the site for hours every day. I appreciate the personal involvement of Fr. Varghese and it was only because of his constant support that we could complete the work today. When Fr. Rector and Fr. Administrator proposed to schedule the blessing for today, 6 August 2012, it added to the pressures on Fr. Varghese, and his willingness to coordinate everything and for getting everything done in time for the blessing tell upon his efficiency. Thank you, Fr. Varghese, for everything that you had been to DVK, especially in completing the work of DVK Research Centre, and I cordially welcome you to this meeting. Another very important person who has spent day in and day out for the efficient completion of this work, especially from the part of DVK, is Rev. Dr. Sebastian Payyappilly. As he was entrusted with the work of DVK Research Centre by the Local Council of Dharmaram College, especially to link between the Christ University and Christ Schools and to see to the actual work being carried out on the spot, he responded to the assigned task with so much of magnanimity and dedication. During the first phase of the work when the concreting work was going on, for many days he had spared his sleep to be around on the spot of work, especially to ascertain that everything was going on well. His readiness to spare his precious time, both during the day and night, has made it possible to have the quality of the structure assured. Dear Fr. Sebastian, we are grateful to you for your gracious presence and the committed service that you have extended in the completion of this final phase of DVK Research Centre construction. As we have blessed and made the building ready for use, I thank you for your dedication and availability and welcome you to this gathering in a very special way. In a very special way I welcome Rev. Prof. Dr. Thomas Kollamparampil and Rev. Prof. Dr. Francis Thonippara, the two former Presidents of DVK, who have been instrumental in beginning and completing the work of DVK Research Centre. It was their vision and hard work and persuasion that have finally taken shape in the form of this facility. Thanking you for the vision and accompaniment that you have offered to this project, I welcome you both to this gathering. As I have taken much longer than expected, may I cut short my welcome to all other dignitaries with a very brief mention. I cordially welcome Rev. Fr. Jose Stephen Menacherry, the Finance Administrator of Dharmaram College, Rev. Prof. Dr. Varghese Koluthara, the former Finance Administrator of DVK, Rev. Fr. Mathew Thadathil, the Finance Administrator of Christ Schools, and all the staff and students of DVK and Dharmaram College. A special word of welcome to those CMI Fathers who would begin to live here in the DVK Research Centre: they would constitute a small CMI fraternity in the third floor with the facilities for about 30 of them. Hearty welcome dear Fathers, and I wish a pleasant and fruitful stay here to all of you. Before I close, I am duty bound not only welcome but also to thank those who were living here in this Research Centre while the work was in progress. I remember, especially the OIC community. All of them have been put through a lot of troubles and inconveniences. Yet, they have all borne them with grace and a sense of community. I thank you all for your generous heart and extend to you a cordial welcome. As the blessing of DVK Research Centre is completed, and as the complete structure is ready for use, I hope and pray that this centre offers DVK with a lot of potential for further growth, especially in postgraduate studies and research in ecclesiastical disciplines. Along with the postgraduate and licentiate lecture halls, we have the facilities for a mini auditorium, and living facility for more than 100 research scholars within this building. Moreover, the dream project of the Institute of Pastoral Management, which is scheduled to begin on 15 October 2012, will also be located in this building. In all, I am sure that this Research Centre will take DVK to greater heights. As we accept this gift in the Providence of God, facilitated through the hands of many, especially Dharmaram College, Christ University and Christ Schools, the Archdiocese of Koeln and MISSIO in Germany, and the Prior General’s House of the CMI Congregation, let us pray that the God of magnanimity will continue to bless us all through, especially those who will live and study within the ambience and facilities of this DVK Research Centre. Once again, welcoming all of you to this gathering, I remain, Thank you.

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