Message From Bishop

October 2023

Dear Rev. Fathers, Religious and People of God,

Fraternal Greetings to you all. May the Lord bless you and your families.

On 1st of October, The Diocese celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Rosary at the Basilica of Karumathanpatty and I wish all of you a happy feast of Our Lady of Rosary. It is our custom that the first Sunday of the month of October, we celebrate the feast. It being the pilgrim parish of our diocese, all of us should celebrate the feast by attending liturgical functions and visiting the Basilica. The month of October is dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary. As we remember the feast of Our Lady of Rosary, dear Fathers, kindly renew the tradition of reciting rosary individually or at home as one family. Since tin the former times, the families recited rosary just before their night meals, the families were happy and united. Now the families face numerous problems since the families abandoned the tradition of reciting the rosary.     

In the year 1571, at Lepanto, in the sea, there was a war between catholics and the enemies of the church. All catholics were requested to recite the rosary so that the church might win the war. Due to the faith of the catholics, the enemies were defeated and the church won the war. As the result of this, in the year 1572, the then pope Pius V declared the rosary as the prayer of the church. When Our Lady appeared to Bernadette, she asked the little girl to pray the rosary and Our Lady too, prayed the rosary. The apparition tells us that Our Blessed Mother wants us to pray the rosary daily. Pope Pius XI advises us that the powerful weapon to chase the devil is the recitation of rosary. Pope Pius IX says that if you give him an army of people who recite rosary, He can easily win the evils of the world. All these sayings instruct and tell us the importance of the prayer of rosary.     

 In this month, the church celebrates the mission Sunday. The church, by its very nature, is missionary. The church exists to proclaim the good tidings of Jesus. Therefore, to proclaim the message of Christ is not optional but mandatory. Please advise your parishioners the importance of the Mission Sunday, and ask them to contribute generously for this cause. The collections are sent across the globe for missionary works. By this collection, the poor are helped all over the world. Mission Sunday is an opportunity to show our love and solidarity to our less fortunate brethren who share our faith. In this month, our clergy has the annul retreat. Please attend without fail. It is mandatory. Please ask your parishioners to pray for all of us so that we make fruitful retreat. And you promise them that the whole clergy prays for them.     

 In this month, our clergy has the annul retreat. Please attend without fail. It is mandatory. Please ask your parishioners to pray for all of us so that we make fruitful retreat. And you promise them that the whole clergy prays for them.May the Lord bless you all of us to be the heralds of good tidings. Thanking you and invoking God's blessings, I remain.

With God's Blessings

+L. Thomas Aquinas

Bishop of Coimbatore