Fr. Suresh's Bulletins
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January | 7 14 21 28 | July | 1 8 15 22 29 | ||
February | 4 11 18 25 | August | 5 12 19 26 | ||
March | 4 11 18 25 | September | 2 9 16 23 30 | ||
April | 1 8 15 22 29 | The Hands, Feet and Shepherd's Crook | October | 7 14 21 28 | |
May | 6 13 20 27 | November | 4 11 18 25 | ||
June | 3 10 17 24 | December | 2 9 16 25 30 |
| January | 3 10 17 24 31 | Mary, Mother of Mercy Meditations on mercy Saint Vincent Pallottii - Founder of the Pallottines Eucharistic Adoration Chapel project Moments of mercy | July | 3 10 17 24 31 | Mission trip to Jamaica - Working with MOP All your heart, being, strength, mind |
| February | 7 14 21 28 | Works of mercy 10 things to remember for Lent | August | 7 14 21 28 | Guiding our actions through service Uniting with the Prince of Peace The road of real repentance |
| March | 6 13 20 27 | September | 4 11 18 25 | ||
| April | 3 10 17 24 | Jesus I trust in You | October | 2 9 16 23 30 | Saint Faustina Kowalska |
| May | 1 8 15 22 29 | Moments of mercy - Praying with Mary | November | 6 13 20 27 | |
| June | 5 12 19 26 | First Holy Communion | December | 4 11 18 25 | Producing a fruitful harvest The miracle of Conversion Recognising our mission |
23rd June 2019
THANK YOU AND FAREWELL
Dear Parishioners,
Time sometimes just slips away and good things seem to come to an end too quickly. And what’s left are the memories.
As my tenure as Pastor of St Ignatius comes to an end, I leave with wonderful memories and experiences, supportive and dedicated parishioners, good friends and dedicated Church and pastoral staff - all of these and more, I will deeply treasure in my heart.
Since my arrival in 2013, I have been warmly embraced by St. Ignatius Parish Community and have had great support for the various events and projects that we have undertaken. While there are still many projects in the pipeline to be undertaken, I leave with a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment in my dual capacity as Pastor and Head of School. The ordinations of Fr. Joseph Kirkconnell and Fr. Tristan Abbott, SOLT; the Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel; the renovations and celebration of Christ the Redeemer 25th Anniversary; the Papal Nuncio's visit; and other major events are just a few of the very special memorable occasions that I will look back and fondly recall.
My appointment at St. Ignatius has been the longest tenure of my priestly ministry, so it is hard for me to say goodbye, yet necessary, especially as a religious, who must abide by his vow of obedience. I will treasure every memory and eve-ryone whom I have met in these Islands. I will dearly miss St. Ignatius.
My gratitude and appreciation to the pastoral staff, namely my Associate Pastor and fellow Pallotine, Fr. Naveen D'Souza; our Deacon, Rev. Mr. Joseph Biggs; Director of Religious Education, Mr. O’Neil Miller; Community Liaison Coordinator, Mr. Jeremy Rice; Secretary, Mrs. May Ursua; and the many, many wonderful volunteers and benefactors who have generously and unstintingly given of their time, talent and treasure. Many thanks also to those who prayed daily for and supported our community, provided leadership on the Parish Pastoral Council, Commissions, and Com-mittees. All that has been accomplished could not have happened without hands and hearts working together for the building up of the Kingdom and the glory of God.
As I leave this wonderful community, I wish to assure you all of my continued prayers and support and entrust you to the capable hands of my successor, Fr. Theodore D’Cunha, SAC.
May God richly bless you all with His Love and Grace.
In Christ,
Fr. Suresh Rajaian, SAC
THANK YOU AND FAREWELL TO FR. SURESH!
Six years ago when Fr. Suresh arrived on Island, he was ready to take on his Pastoral responsibilities of our Parish. He constantly communicated to Parish staff about his vision for St. Ignatius and what he expected of us. He always reminded his staff that whatever work we do, it be must be for the good of the parish. Fr. Suresh’s 6 year assignment to our Parish can be summed up in those very words. Everything he did was “for the good of the Parish” and to further the Church’s mission of sharing the Good News. Bearing this in mind, we can recall some of his accomplishments over the last 6 years as listed below.
• Soon after his arrival in the summer of 2013, Fr. Suresh’s first major task was to host the Papal Nuncio, The Most Rev. Archbishop Nicola Girasoli; our Archbishop Allen Vigneron and our regional bishop at the time, Bishop Francis Reiss. They arrived on August 15 for a full schedule of activities and meetings. Archbishop Girasoli was making his first Papal Delegate Visitation to the Cayman Islands. Fr. Suresh hosted Archbishop Girasoli two other times.
• In 2014, Fr. Suresh led the planning of the first Priestly Ordination in the Cayman Islands. It was the historic and memorable ordination of Fr. Joseph Kirkconnell. Weeks later he was instrumental in leading the planning of events to celebrate Fr. Tristan Abbott’s Ordination, his first Mass on island and a reception.
• Completing the construction of rooms in the Rectory at Stella Maris Church on Cayman Brac was another task Fr. Suresh took on earlier in his time on island. Works also included completely furnishing the living area and the bedrooms along with all the necessary amenities.
• Fr. Suresh conceptualized, planned, fundraised and oversaw the construction, furnishing and dedication of the Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel in 2016.
• In 2018 Fr. Suresh launched an appeal for funds to renovate and refurbish the Christ the Redeemer Church in West Bay. By June of 2018, there was a dedication of the new tabernacle, crucifix and statues of Mary and Joseph in the Church and a 25th Anniversary celebration of the dedication of Christ the Redeemer Church.
• During 2018, Fr. Suresh launched a fundraising drive to acquire additional lands next to Christ the Redeemer in West Bay. This was a successful initiative. Recently after the land was transferred to the Parish, it was cleared, filled and prepared to be used for additional parking spaces in the medium term.
• Fr. Suresh has a real concern for those who have been marginalized and on the fringes of society. One of his long term goal for the Parish was to find concrete ways to assist those in need. He worked with the Christian Service Commission to implement and launch the St. Ignatius Food Pantry. This has assisted hundreds of families in the wider Cayman Islands Community since it started almost two years ago. The Pantry is stocked through the consistent generous donations of Parishioners and monies raised from various initiatives such as the Annual Garage Sale and the Second Collection on Ash Wednesday each year.
• Fr. Suresh has re-engaged the various Parish Commissions and encouraged the Commissions to be actively involved in carrying out the mission of the Church. This has resulted in Parish Commissions that are more active and are finding more creative and engaging ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
• Working with the Parish’s Evangelization and Christian Education Commission, Fr. Suresh implemented the Parish’s Alpha Series and other Parish Evangelization efforts such as the monthly Ignite Prayer sessions.
• Buoyed by the enthusiasm of the various prayer communities and cultural groups in our Parish, Fr. Suresh has given relentless support to all Parish Ministries with retreats and cultural Masses such as the St. Francis Xavier Feast Day Mass in Konkani on the first Sunday in December each year and the Filipino Novena of Masses called Simbang Gabi, celebrated in Tagalog, in the days leading up to Christmas annually.
• Celebrating mothers with carnations and dads with candies on the respective Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day have become a mainstay of our Parish. These were initiatives implemented by Fr. Suresh and carried out with the assistance of Parish staff and youth.
• The driving force behind our Parish's biennial "International Food Festival,” has been Fr. Suresh. We have had two food festivals and both have been resounding successes. We are grateful to Fr. Suresh for his hard work along with other committee members and the various national and regional groups in our Parish.
• In 2016, Fr. Suresh put together a team of enthusiastic parishioners and parish staff who planned to host our first Gigantic Garage Sale. This has been such a success that it has been held every year since then.
• Working with Parish Couples Fr. Suresh supported the forming of the Date Night Ministry.
• With Parish Family life being one of his most important concerns, Fr. Suresh has planned for and supported the annual World Marriage Day Celebrations. He has invited and hosted the best speakers in family and marriage ministry including: Fr. Peter Deveraj, Greg and Julie Alexander, Deacon Dominic and Teresa Tomeo, The Marriage Encounter Team out of Rhode Island and Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Harris of Trinidad and Tobago.
• Fr. Suresh lobbied the Archdiocese of Detroit for a third priest, in the person of Fr. Edwin. who was with our parish for almost 2 years.
• Fr. Suresh was the Head of School at St. Ignatius for 5 years, while Pastoring the Parish. This is no small feat. He did this humbly, with great prudence, working tirelessly and never complained. Always looking out for the good of all families of our Parish and school.
Finally and very importantly, Fr. Suresh planned for the new Sports Hall 2020 Project, for which ground was broken on Friday morning, June 21, Fr. Suresh along with his finance team has saved over the years for the project. Now stakeholders at St. Ignatius, the parishioners and school community, are being asked to assist with donations to make it a reality.
As is evident by Fr. Suresh’s litany of accomplishments listed above, he didn’t know how to stay quiet for the last 6 years. Fr. Suresh spent 6 years in our Parish and every moment he gave to us was time well spent. He selflessly gave of himself to our Parish community always finding creative to ways build up God’s Kingdom and to invite us, the people of God, to draw closer to Him.
As a Parish, we extremely grateful for all that Fr. Suresh has done for us.
Fr. Suresh, thank you for the energy that you have brought to our Parish. Thank you for the many ways in which you have shown us the love of Christ through your ministry and your selfless efforts. As you leave our Parish, please know that we are thankful for all you have done. We pray God’s best blessings on all you will be doing in the future.
St. Pius X Parish, where you will become Pastor, and the Down River Vicariate, for which you have been appointed Vicar Forane, have gained an amazingly committed and hardworking priest and we pray that they will give you their complete support as we did at St. Ignatius Parish.
St. Ignatius Parish Staff on behalf of St. Ignatius Parishioners