BANGALORE ARCHDIOCESAN ANNUAL CATECHISM DAY 2016

The Catholic students of Bangalore Archdiocesan Catholic schools eagerly await the first Sunday of February every year.  Why……? The answer is obvious…. It is the Archdiocesan Catechism Day when those students who topped in the school and Diocesan level Catechism Examinations were felicitated and awarded prizes.. This year the Archdiocesan Catechism Day was celebrated on Sunday, 7th February 2016 at Gulabi Girls’ High School, Jayamahal Extension, Benson town, Bangalore.
Over 400 students who topped their respective class/language from various Catholic schools of the Archdiocese, along with their parents and some of the heads of institutions congregated at the venue  commencing from as early as 8.00 am. eagerly awaiting the arrival of the chief guest , their beloved Archbishop Bernard Moras.
The day’s programme commenced with the Holy Eucharist presided over by His Grace, Dr. Bernard Moras, Archbishop of Bangalore and concelebrated by Rev. Fathers Anthony Mahendran, Secretary to the Archbishop, Fr. Santosh Kumar and Fr. Anthony Pravin Rajan, Secretary and Joint Secretary respectively of the Archdiocesan Commission for Catechetics and Bible. The Mass was celebrated in English, but keeping the multi-lingual aspect of Bangalore the readings and hymns were rendered in Kannada and Tamil. In his introductory remarks and again during the homily the Archbishop stressed on the importance of Catechism in the curriculum of all Catholic students.  The ARchbishop mentioned that if a student put in effort to study and do well in Catechism, he/she would be able to do well in studying other subjects too.  Explaining the meaning of the “sign of the cross”, which gives glory to the triune God, ,  His Grace reminded the students of the roles of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  He also recalled the names of three great men of the Bible, who were prominent in the three readings of the day’s Mass.  Prophet Isaiah in the first reading, St. Paul in the second and St. Peter in the third.  He pointed out that all three of them considered themselves sinful and unworthy to respond to God’s call, but he empowered them for the tasks that they had been called for.  The Archbishop also pointed out to the students that the test by which one’s knowledge is measured is the examination.  In case of Catholics the test is how does one live one’s life.  Does it reflect the love of God and service to others? The Archbishop’s homily was very interesting as it was just like a Catechism class.   He interacted with the students with questions and answers.
The choir of St. Vincent Palloti School. Babusahib Palya, rendered all the mass hymns melodiously and in different languages. under the guidance of Mrs. Anthony Mary, their Catechism Teacher.
After the mass there was a cultural programme starting with an invocation dance by Reshma a student of St. Jude’s school Seva Nagar and followed by a Biblical Mime by students of Infant Jesus High School, Lingarajapuram and Biblical Folk dance in Kannada, depicting the story of David & Goliath by students of St. Charles School  Kamanahalli.  All the items were well rehearsed and performed that there was generous applauses after each performance.  The Archbishop, asked the students to describe the lessons that they learnt from the Biblical performances.
Rev. Santosh Kumar, Secretary of the Commission for Catechetics and Bible welcomed the gathering and also presented the report of the Commission for the academic year 2015-16.  A point which the Archbishop noted with concern was that only 100 out of the 250 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese had registered their students with the Commission.  The Archbishop directed the Secretary to put in additional efforts at the beginning of the next academic year to ensure that all schools
registered their students with the Commission and to report to the Archbishop the names of schools that failed to do so.  The Archbishop would write directly to the heads to schools to complete the required tasks.
The Archbishop released a Bible Disc prepared by Mr. Ignatius and commented that in the present era of electronic and other gadgets that provide quick information  on various matters, the bible disc would be a very useful tool for students to familiarize with the contents of the bible.  He however pointed out that the disc was only an aid, but the Bible had to be actually studied on a regular basis.
The most eagerly awaited item of the day was the prize distribution.  The Commission for Catechetics conduct the annual catechism examination in two stages.  In the first stage, the question papers are prepared by the Commission and sent to all the schools who conduct the examination on the promulgated date.  The respective schools evaluate the answer sheets and forward the mark lists for each class/language to the Commission’s office, highlighting the names of the first three toppers in each class/language.  In the second stage, an exam at the diocesan level is conducted by the Commission in Paalanaa Bhavana, for the first stopper of each school.  The three students who score the highest marks in their respective class/language at the diocesan catechism examination  are declared the ‘diocesan toppers’.  All  diocesan and school level toppers were presented mementoes and certificates by the Archbishop.  Prior to awarding the prizes, the Archbishop called the students attention to the importance of the current  “Year of Mercy” The Archbishop explained the meaning of “opening the sacred door of the Cathedrals in Rome and all dioceses across the world.  He also gave information on opening the door of  St. Xavier’s Cathedral on 13th December 2015, Infant Jesus Shrine, Vivek Nagar on 1st January 2016 and Mother Mary’s Basilica on 4th January 2016 through interactive question-answers.
After the prize distribution  Rev. Fr. Antony Pravin Rajan, the joint Secretary of the Commission for Catechetics proposed the vote of thanks and this was followed by a lunch for all the students, their parents and heads of institutions.  The look of joy and satisfaction on the faces of all the students and their parents was a clear indication of the success of the Archdiocesan Catechism Day 2016.  Ms. Maria Sushma, Catechism teacher of Sophia High School anchored the entire programme effectively.
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