“Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation.” The one who believes and baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned (Mk 16:15-16). It is the command of Jesus, to go into all nations and proclaim the ‘good news’ and he assures all the believers of being saved. But it is unfortunate that vast area of our nation has not been proclaimed the good news of Christ. Here we are reminded of Mt 9:38 which reads, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’. Therefore it is our prime duty not only to pray for vocations, but also have concern for the promotion of vocation. Until recently foreign missionaries dedicated themselves to come down to India and preached the gospel and baptized our ancestors. There is a long list of missionaries in Indian Church History; on the top of this list found St. Francis Xavier and St.John D’Britto. Today, If we are Christians, it is the fruit of their work.
Holy Father Leo XIII prophesied, ‘Oh! India, your sons will be the messengers of Christ, the Saviour of the world’. With this in mind Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home was instituted by Rev. Fr. John Melard, a missionary from Belgium. In 1950, Fr. Melard, an enthusiastic, hard working missionary, arrived in India and started his missionary work in the diocese of Kottar. He observed that there were several students attending vocation camp and only a few of them got selected to the seminary. Dissatisfied with this system, he thought that all these enthusiastic students who attend selection camp should be given opportunity to be accommodated and the duty of the formator to create an atmosphere wherein they are helped to realize their vocation.
In 1969 there was a national vocation camp organised in Bangalore. The need was felt that all the Bishops in Tamil Nadu, besides encouraging vocation to Priest hood, for their own dioceses, should also show concern that the students volunteer themselves to become missionaries in the North India. Inspired by the seminar in 1970 on 10th June, Fr. Melard started Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home in Nagercoil, with the support of T.N.B.C. Initially the students doing their studies from 8th to 12th STDs were admitted.
The students from all over Tamil Nadu had been selected at the respective diocesan level and sent to Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home. There used to be more than 150 students.
At present the students who passed X STD are admitted. This year we have only 17 students of whom five students are doing their XII STD, and twelve of them are doing their XI STD. It is unfortunate that the number of students have come down to 17.
There are a few reasons for this unfortunate situation.
1. Earlier the students doing their 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th STD had been admitted. Now, only those students doing their higher secondary, namely 11th and 12th STD are accommodated.
2. Students attending the vocation camp organized for the purpose of selection are only from Kottar Diocese, inspite of the fact that a circular has been sent to all the dioceses of Tamil Nadu. In a very rare case one or two students happen to come and join individually on personal initiative.
3. When those priests, working in the North Indian Dioceses, come home on holidays identify the students who have the aptitude of becoming priest, straight away take them to their respective dioceses in the North.
When the students are recruited directly, they lack their formation that is given in Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home, right from their school year. As they straight away go to the northern dioceses that are geographically far away, they likely feel isolated and lonely at least for a few months. The percentage of discontinuation from their seminary studies would probably be greater.
During the academic year in Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home, the students are given seminary formation apart from the time that they are in the school. During the weekly holidays, they are given classes, on relevant need, for learning English, Hindi, Music etc., besides regular conferences in the week end.
It would be recommended that the parishes all through Tamil Nadu take special interest to send students who have aptitude in priesthood and inculcate in them the missionary enthusiasm to go to North Indian Dioceses that need priests in greater number.
The priests who come back home on holidays may take interest to guide the students to attend the vocation camp organized in Kottar Diocese in the month of May every year, for the purpose of selecting them for North Indian dioceses, instead of taking them straight away, with them to their own dioceses.
Fr. A. Gaspar, Rector,
Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home, Nagercoil
Holy Father Leo XIII prophesied, ‘Oh! India, your sons will be the messengers of Christ, the Saviour of the world’. With this in mind Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home was instituted by Rev. Fr. John Melard, a missionary from Belgium. In 1950, Fr. Melard, an enthusiastic, hard working missionary, arrived in India and started his missionary work in the diocese of Kottar. He observed that there were several students attending vocation camp and only a few of them got selected to the seminary. Dissatisfied with this system, he thought that all these enthusiastic students who attend selection camp should be given opportunity to be accommodated and the duty of the formator to create an atmosphere wherein they are helped to realize their vocation.
In 1969 there was a national vocation camp organised in Bangalore. The need was felt that all the Bishops in Tamil Nadu, besides encouraging vocation to Priest hood, for their own dioceses, should also show concern that the students volunteer themselves to become missionaries in the North India. Inspired by the seminar in 1970 on 10th June, Fr. Melard started Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home in Nagercoil, with the support of T.N.B.C. Initially the students doing their studies from 8th to 12th STDs were admitted.
The students from all over Tamil Nadu had been selected at the respective diocesan level and sent to Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home. There used to be more than 150 students.
At present the students who passed X STD are admitted. This year we have only 17 students of whom five students are doing their XII STD, and twelve of them are doing their XI STD. It is unfortunate that the number of students have come down to 17.
There are a few reasons for this unfortunate situation.
1. Earlier the students doing their 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th STD had been admitted. Now, only those students doing their higher secondary, namely 11th and 12th STD are accommodated.
2. Students attending the vocation camp organized for the purpose of selection are only from Kottar Diocese, inspite of the fact that a circular has been sent to all the dioceses of Tamil Nadu. In a very rare case one or two students happen to come and join individually on personal initiative.
3. When those priests, working in the North Indian Dioceses, come home on holidays identify the students who have the aptitude of becoming priest, straight away take them to their respective dioceses in the North.
When the students are recruited directly, they lack their formation that is given in Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home, right from their school year. As they straight away go to the northern dioceses that are geographically far away, they likely feel isolated and lonely at least for a few months. The percentage of discontinuation from their seminary studies would probably be greater.
During the academic year in Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home, the students are given seminary formation apart from the time that they are in the school. During the weekly holidays, they are given classes, on relevant need, for learning English, Hindi, Music etc., besides regular conferences in the week end.
It would be recommended that the parishes all through Tamil Nadu take special interest to send students who have aptitude in priesthood and inculcate in them the missionary enthusiasm to go to North Indian Dioceses that need priests in greater number.
The priests who come back home on holidays may take interest to guide the students to attend the vocation camp organized in Kottar Diocese in the month of May every year, for the purpose of selecting them for North Indian dioceses, instead of taking them straight away, with them to their own dioceses.
Fr. A. Gaspar, Rector,
Tamil Nadu Xavier Mission Home, Nagercoil
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