Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel, Province of Hyderabad and Pune, India.

 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to give liberty to the captives and comfort to brokenhearted” When we honor the past, we energize the future and the present becomes a celebration. The Diamond and Silver Jubilee year could well be called the Year of Gratitude because we have so much to be thankful to God!

Diamond and Silver Jubilee of Montfort Brothers - 2021

Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel, Province of Hyderabad and Pune celebrated jubilee of our Brothers on 4th of December 2021 at Boys Town, Hyderabad. It was much awaited and an eventful celebration of our provinces because of the prolonged coronavirus lockdown and restrictions. Rejoice, Rejoice and render thanks to God your Father for He had done marvelous things in your life. 

On 4th of December 2021 was an auspicious day of the Montfort Brothers and for the provinces of Hyderabad and Pune, India. The atmosphere around us was in a mood of jubilation and exultation because we wanted to express our love and gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His mercy and compassion. We are grateful to our blessed Mother Mary and St. Montfort who accompany our Brothers on their journey. An important aspect of the Religious life is the celebration of milestones, such as Diamond and Silver jubilee of religious profession.

It is the time to remember, rejoice, rejuvenate and renew the commitment that has been such an important part of the life of the Brothers in the congregation. The Montfortian family of Hyderabad and Pune Province had chosen 4th of December 2021 to celebrate the gift of our Brothers, the Diamond jubilee of Bro. Mani Mekkunnel and Silver jubilee of Bro. Antony P, Bro. Arogyam P, Bro.Arun Prakash and Bro. Jose Emmanuel.

We gathered at Boys Town, Hyderabad to thank God and to our Brothers with sincere heart for sharing their life with us and being part of our Montfortian family. We are here to express our love, appreciation and thanks to our dear Brothers for all that they have accomplished in the vineyard of the Lord, working in different communities and places of our province and to the people of varied cultures, cult and languages.

We assembled together to thank our Brothers for their contribution in building up of God’s Kingdom and for the growth of Hyderabad and Pune Province. We gathered to celebrate the way in which each one of them had been part of God’s plan in the development of the communities, Institutions and our own Provinces.

Yes, it was indeed an occasion of great celebration. It was surely a moment of grace! It was a memorable day to cherish. This special event had filled the atmosphere of Boys Town with gratitude, praise and thanksgiving to God the Almighty.

It has been God’s grace that has kept these Brothers going! Even when they stumbled, they got up more than once. They are grateful to be active and jubilant  today. Life has been full of ups and downs but they are still standing and walking! They have come a long way and the journey continues. Happy Diamond and Silver jubilee to our dear Brothers.

These 60 and 25 years (together 25X4=100+60=160 years) of life has been full of experiences, success, achievements, adventures, disappointments, mistakes and failures. There was always been God all through and the Holy Spirit was guiding, all thanks to these Brothers. It has been years of God’s faithfulness and Brothers' commitment.

Life would have been meaningless without love from people. We are grateful to God for everyone who has inspired, guided and shaped these Brothers what they are today. As they celebrate their jubilee, we appreciate everyone and pray that they keep celebrating more years in the fullness of joy.

These Brothers also grateful to everyone who has contributed immensely to their life’s journey. We pray this jubilee celebration restore all glories and renew their strength to achieve much more. May all their heart’s desires be fulfilled and may they continue to live in peace and joy to celebrate all the days of their life.

Congratulations to you dear Brothers on your special day. You are all living legends and we are glad to celebrate your jubilee with greatness and blessings. Being alive isn’t enough, making others to see a reason to live through the example of our life is more important. You all have been a source of hope and inspiration to many young and old people. As you all celebrate jubilee of God’s grace and faithfulness over your life. We join you in your celebration far and near, my dear Brothers. May celebrations never cease in your life.

Jubilee is looking back and looking forward. You look back over the way you have come. Embracing the journey with love and deep gratitude.  It is an occasion of remembrance of the past events and time of rejoicing for the graces received; of recognition of God’s mercy towards our mission and also of re-dedication of looking forward with great hope to make our educational mission to greater heights. 

As you all celebrate your jubilee, we take this opportunity to thank God for how far He has led you, we thank God for opening the doors of service to you all and for making it possible for you all to serve as many people as possible and as you look back from where the journey began, May our good Lord Jesus give you new perspective so that you can creatively continue to deliver for what God called you and let God guide and help you to rise to greater heights. May God bless you all with good health and long life. Congratulations!

A special Thanks:

We would like to thank Rev.Bro.T K James Assistant General, Rev.Bro. Herman Bijay Lakra, the Provincial Superior of Ranchi Province, Bro.Paulose Mekkunnel the younger brother of Bro.Mani Mekkunnel, Bro.Johnson, all the Brothers from different provinces, Bishop and Priests, Brothers and Sisters, the family members of jubilarians, the relatives and well wishers of jubilarians, guests, Brothers from other communities and everyone who has been part of the Jubilee celebration on 4th December 2021 at Boys town, Hyderabad.

Words of appreciation:

There are so many things my heart wants to say to Rev.Bro.Bala Showry, Rev.Bro.Jaico and Boys Town community Brothers, all of which can be summed up in just three words – thanks for everything. I love and appreciate you for organizing the jubilee celebration the best way possible. I would like to thank Bro.Hrudaya Kumar Reddy for his help and assistance for making this write up. The photographs were given to me by Bro. Yesu Prabaharan. May you be that living text of today’s gospel. I visualized and dreamt that life was nothing but joy. I woke up and found that life was nothing but service. I served and realized that service is joy.As I conclude, my wish and prayer is the same as that of St. Paul’s to the Thessalonians “In this endeavour, may you all be kept safe, spirit, soul and body” (1 Thes.5:23).

Thank you.

Bro. Antony, Delhi.

e-mail: tonyindasg@gmail.com