View Fr. Joe H. Pereira and Fr. Cajetan D Menezes speak at Kripa Foundation celebrating its 38th ‘Foundation Day’ on Thursday, 15th August 2019 in Mumbai

Kripa Foundation celebrated its ‘Foundation Day’ on Thursday, 15^th August 2019 with much more passion, zeal and enthusiasm than ever before. The serene ambience of Kripa Bandra was glorified when our Founder Trustee Fr. Joe Pereira and Managing Trustee, Fr. Cajetan celebrated the Eucharist in the presence of all Kripa members and the Parishioners of Mount Carmel Church. 

All present were delighted and were apparently blissful. They were waiting to celebrate the special day of their mentor, legend and philanthropist. There was excitement and expectation in the air with music, guitar, songs, dance and essence of joy all around. Each of us had a chance to experience our many achievements; individual and collective.

“Music that stole our hearts” is the Kripa Nite 2019 experience exhibited on the 38th annual fundraiser event transpired on the evening of 15^th August 2019 at 7pm.

Name of the Game, Abba Tribute Group is as good as a tangible tribute to the Abba Swedish pop group who have consistently topped the charts in various countries. The invitation was exclusive with stunning costumes of the singers, the guitarist, drummer and the organist. The artist carried a shadow of original Abba group. They delivered a classy show and engaged in high quality of momentous numbers like Summer Night City, Dancing Queen and Fernando.   

The theme song of the Event “I have a Dream” was sung at the time of the box collection.  The fans were asked to turn on their mobile flash lights, the floodlights at the venue went off and the entire crowd switched on their phone's flashlight, which created a brilliant spectacle. The floor was filled with the breath-taking songs like Mamma Mia, Give me Give me, Name of the Game, Super Trumpet and Ring Ring.

The audience was invited to come up and sing and dance before the stage. The spectacular audience responded with enthusiastic rounds of dancing and clapping to the tune of the music. Many got up from their seats to honour the band.

The last dance songs put a closing element to the perfect night coming to an end. 

This Kripa Nite 2019 occasion will always remind us that we do not work, or live or play in isolation. The event concluded; marking the end of yet another annual celebration of Kripa Foundation’s mission, achievements and continued existence.

Many thanks to the involvement of our valuable sponsors, contributors and event partners such as

Piramal Health Care

P.N. writer & Co.

EBCO Pvt. Ltd

Earnest John Group of Companies

Furtados

M/s KCT Entertainment

Wasteland Entertainment Pvt Ltd – Insider.in

We appreciate their support and generosity. We want to say THANK YOU!

  

View Keynote Address of Fr. Joe H Pereira Founder Trustee of Kripa Foundation

 and 

Fr. Cajetan Menezes Managing Trustee.

https://youtu.be/DNjntGqLzUc - Youtube link

Report by: 

Mousin Heredia

Video courtesy:
Bhezard  Khambatta

Collage:

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" SCCs- Source of Strength for Families by Fr Cajetan D. Menezes Managing Trustee Kripa Foundation - article in THE EXAMINER

SCC’s : Source of Strength for Families.

Pope Francis, addressing the participants of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family in October 2013, stated the “family is the engine of the world and of history.” A few days later, he announced the plan to begin a discernment process on the pastoral care of families, sending out the Lineamenta for the III Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family in October 2014, and the XIV Ordinary Synod of Bishops in October 2015. The welfare of the family is decisive for the future of the world, and that of the Church (Amoris Loetitia31). “ Aware that the well-being of society and her own good are intimately tied to the good of the family, (Gaudium et Spes 47). The Church has a duty to journey with the family at every stage of its development.

Therefore, it must be emphasized once more that the pastoral intervention of the Church in support of the family is a matter of urgency. Every effort should be made to strengthen and develop pastoral care for the family, which should be treated as a real matter of priority, in the certainty that future evangelisation depends largely on the domestic Church. (cf. John Paul II, Address to the Third General Assembly of the Bishops of Latin America, January 28, 1979)

If we want a strong parish church, then we need to have vibrant Small Christian Communities (SCCs) and strong domestic churches. This is possible when we have strong and healthy families.

Effective Pastoral Care needs a “Family Perspective”

We need to keep the family in focus in our pastoral planning in Church set-ups at parish and at the SCC level. We could define this approach of consciously strengthening the foundation of the Church and society as the ‘family perspective in pastoral planning’ Keep your end goal in mind- strengthen the family in every initiative we take in the parish and SCC.

The Church is aware of the current reality of the family

The Church acknowledges the many threats that the family, as an institutions faces in our times from the: from the materialistic influence of technology and communication, to poor value education at home, caused  by both parents working long hours to keep up with the rising costs of living. Besides this, we have the family’s income generation choices of overseas and call centre jobs. There is also growing pressure on young people, living  in multi- religious countries like India, to choose marriage partners of other faiths, and as a consequence, they could lose their own faith and the opportunity to share Jesus with their children. All these threats are closing in around the Christian family unit, causing it to succumb to the pressures of the world.

The two recent Synods on the Family highlighted the challenges families face around the world. The Church knows the travails of the family. Guided by Pope Francis in his several  teachings and now in Amoris Laetitia [AL] – the Apostolic Exhortation on love in the Family, and St. John Paul II’s vision expressed in Familiaris Consortio [FC] – the foundational document on Family – must choose to respond in love and action.

Church’s Vision and Mission for the Family

The Church is a family of families, constantly enriched by the lives of all these domestic churches. “ In virtue of the sacrament of Matrimony, every family becomes , in effect, a good for the Church. From this standpoint, reflecting on the interplay between the family and the Church will provide a precious gift for the Church in our time. The Church is good for the family, and the family is good for the Church. The safeguarding of the Lord’s gift in the sacrament of Matrimony is a concern not only of individual families, but of the entire Christian community (cf. AL87).

Every family is constantly called to participate in the mission of the Church and its mission and Identity is deeply rooted in the ‘Divine Trinity. The experience of love in families is a perennial source of strength for the life of the Church. “The unitive end of marriage is a constant summons to make this love grow and deepen. Through their union in love, the couple experiences the beauty of fatherhood and motherhood, and shares plans, trails, expectations and concerns ; they learn care for one another and mutual  forgiveness. In this love, they celebrate their happy moments and support each other in the difficult passages of their life together… The beauty of this mutual, gratuitous gift , the joy which comes from a life that is born and the loving care of all family members – from toddlers to seniors –are just a few of the fruits which make the response to the fruits which make the response to the fruits which make the response to the  vocation of the family unique and irreplaceable “ , both the for church and for society as a whole” ( cf.AL 88).  St John Paul II in families consortio (#17) stated the every particular task of the family is an expression of the family’s mission. He spelt out the four general tasks for family as :

     a)     The family is to form a community of persons in mutual self – giving    

     b)     The family is to serve life in its transmission, both physically in bringing children into the world and spiritually by transmitting values and  traditions throughout its life cycle. 

     c)  The family is to participate in the development of society by :

·        Becoming a school of social life

·        Becoming  community of hospitality

·        Becoming politically active

     d)     The family is to share in the life and mission of the Church by:

·        Becoming a believing and evangelising community

·        Becoming a community in dialogue with God

·        Becoming a community in service to humankind.

Helping families realise their mission

The Parish Priest, Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), Cells and Associations firstly need to understand the mission of the basic unit of the Church, and support the family to translate this mission into reality.

In order to be realistic and effective, there is a need for a continuous evangelisation of marriage and the family, fostering relevant initiatives in individual families, in groups of families (Small Christian Communities- SSCs) and in all parish and diocesan communities. Some of these initiatives are remote, proximate and immediate preparation for marriage, the education of education of children with Christian values, the ongoing formation of married couples, parents, youth,etc.

As families expect to receive from the community, they are also expected to give back, as its conjugal apostolate to other couples in the same community. In addition to being fruitful as biological , adoptive or foster parents, Christian couples are also called to be fruitful in the Church community, in the context that the whole Church is an evangelised and evangelising community.

Parish structure at the service of the family

Every diocese, and in more particular terms, every parish community, must become more vividly aware of the grace and responsibility that it receives from the Lord in order that it may promote the pastoral care of the family. No plan for organised pastoral work, at any level, must ever fail to take into consideration the pastoral care of the family (cf.FC,70). The parish church is a community of communities, and small Christian Communities (SCCs) should be a source of strength for families to live their mission in their own homes and neighbourhood communities. Therefore, if we went a strong parish church, then we need to have vibrant SCCs and strong families at the grassroots. Let us support families in order to build vibrant communities and strong parishes.

Article Courtesy in “The Examiner” dated :24th August 2019.

Fr Cajetan D. Menezes is Managing Trustee of Kripa Foundation

and former Director of the Family Apostolate (Bombay Archdiocese)

Fr. Joe pays rich tributes on the 5th death anniversary of Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar Known as Guruji's " Maha Samadhi Day"

A day long  homage and tribute was held at Iyengar Yogashala,Hangzhou, China for Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar on his  "MAHA SAMADHI DAY".

A prayer service was led by senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and  Chief Guest Fr Joe H Pereira Founder Trustee of Kripa Foundation. who has been teaching a week long intensive Yog workshop at the institute  After the invocation service, Fr Joe went down memory lane and shared on the tremendous contribution Guruji has made to the marginalized through Kripa and with its use of Iyengar Yog.   

After the students paid their tributes and offered flowers to Guruji, the best tribute was paid  by Fr. Joe conducting an intense Iyengar yog session, followed by another two and half hours of Pranayama ending with a meditation session reciting the mantra  “Pranam Guruji “

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Fr. Cajetan D. Menezes, Managing Trustee, Kripa Foundation speaking to 45 School Principals of the Archdiocesan Board of Education of Nagpur on Substance Abuse and Prevention in Schools .

Fr. Cajetan D. Menezes, Managing Trustee, Kripa Foundation speaking to 45 School Principals of the Archdiocesan Board of Education of Nagpur Archdiocese in Nagpur City, Maharashtra on Substance Abuse and Prevention in Schools on 17th August 2019.

His presentation highlighted data from the recent Government of India Study, undertaken by The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India (MSJE) " Magnitude of Substance Abuse 2019" report and vigilance against drug peddlers in and around school campuses.

 Fr Cajetan suggested that every school need to have Anti-Drug Abuse awareness in their classrooms as a prevention strategy not just once but on regular intervals with a sensitization training programme for Teachers, Professors and even non- teaching staff.

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Fr Joe teaching inner stability by turning your inside world upside down @ Iyengar yog shalla, Hangzhou, China

On the first day of  his teaching at Yog shalla Hangzhou, China  Fr Joe mentioned that the inner stability and learning is how to stand upright in life by turning ones inner world upside down. He further explains that it means....Yog stops the chatter of mind ...literally stopping the fluctuations of the MIND. 

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Founder Trustee Fr. Joe H Pereira and Managing Trustee Fr Cajetan Menezes Share Blessings of Gratitude on the 38th Anniversary of Kripa Foundation

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Wishing Fr. Cajetan Menezes, Managing Trustee Kripa Foundation a Happy Birthday - Fr Joe and the Kripa Family Worldwide

Write- up Courtesy:

Fr. Joe H Pereira
Founder Trustee

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Article of Fr Joe in "The Examiner" - Kripafoundation Iyengar Yoga™ A Holistic Approach to Addiction Recovery

Kripa Foundation Iyengar Yoga:

A Holistic Approach to Addiction Recovery

By Fr. Joe H Pereira –Founder Trustee ,Kripa Foundation

AS Kripa Foundation completes 38 years in the field of Addiction Recovery on 15 this year, it has become a global presence in over 40 countries, and its teaching for the World Community for Christian Meditation has reached 120 countries. While the recovery rate has dropped according to the World Health Organisation, Kripa recoveries are showing a steady rise in maintaining sobriety.

First of all, one should know that addiction is a relapse-prone disease, and so one can learn from several relapses, and with the help of AA and NA, one can maintain a long term sobriety. Abstinence is the essential measurement of considering oneself as “recovered”. While this is a “NO-Cure” ailment. As per the fifth chapter of AA,” rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.”

The Twelve Steps Programme has two very effective dimensions of psycho- spiritual and psycho- somatic aspects of healing. One may think that it lacks the vital dimension of psycho-somatic healing. However, te founding fathers very providentially used a word “Meditation” in the Eleventh Step. It says “sought through prayer and Meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out” ( AA Chapter 5).

It is this word “Meditation”- that Kripa Foundation has used to introduce the Body in the Recovery Model. Iyengar Yoga helps one to work on the body as the Temple God, and to practice the principles of Self Help with awakening the “Cellular Conscious” Meditation is the seventh limb of Ashtang Yog. it presupposes the conditioning of the body through postures that address various ailments caused by addiction. It then addresses th phenomenon of dual disorders, and even addresses some neurosis and psychosis, resulting from long term use of mind-altering substances.

Recently, with media highlighting the medical use of cannabis, more and more youth have fallen victim to drug-related psychosis. In Iyengar Yoga, one is taught how to use the Wisdom in the Body to bring about the “ N-O effect” related mental health issues. The use of KFIY ( Kripafoundation Iyengar Yoga™) is also within the Community of the WCCM. A special guidebook was published in 2008 by Medio Media Publications, Singapore, and is today available in 120 countries. From August 27 to 30, the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, with priests and nuns, will be participating in a workshop to learn how to use the body for meditation. This is the third year of such a workshop.

Most of the practice of Yoga in the West is connected with mere exercise, or some unorthodox cultic dimension. Fundamentalist Christians highlight them and condemn all forms of Yoga. It’s like throwing the baby out with the bath water. The affirmation by the behavior medicine has given more credibility to the use of Iyengar Yoga for meditation. The recent findings of the Harvard Medical School, especially by Herbert Benson, openly acknowledge the effective role of Yoga and Meditation by being able to change a Type A personality into a Type B personality. And this whole person recovery is the goal of Addiction Recovery, according to WHO. With this research and increased credibility Iyengar Yoga, one of the Harvard physicians dared to even say that “ Our bodies are wired to God” .In all residential facilities of Kripa, Yoga and Meditation are used to begin the day. The Mediation is in line with the teaching of Fr. John Main of the WCCM using “MARANTHA” as the mantra religious word. Kripa was the response to Mother Teresa’s sisters’ inability to handle addiction, while reaching out to the poorest of the poor. Hence, most of the free referrals in Kolkata’s Kripa Centre and elsewhere are through the Missionaries of Charity. It was she who inaugurated both the Vasai and Kolkata Centres, and we seek her constant blessings as we try to maintain her spirit of poverty and simplicity in all our work, especially on the 38^th Anniversary of Kripa Foundation

Courtesy from:

The Examiner

10th August 2019

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Kripafoundation Iyengar Yoga™ conducts a Yoga session for more than 2000 runners at Rotary Rain Run , Goa

 Rotary Charitable Trust, Porvarium, Goa, organised a Rotary Rain Run on 28th of July .This event was  in aid of women health and education (breast cancer awareness).

More than 2000 runners from across Goa participated .  Kripafoundation Iyengar Yoga™ centre conducted  a yoga session  by KFIY Yoga Instructor  Shri Sravan from the KFIY studio situated at Campal, Panjim, Goa.under the guidance of Fr. Joe Pereira, Founder Trustee Kripa Foundation and senior Iyengar yoga teacher.

The yoga session was held just before the flag off to the race. Witnessing the benefits of KFIY many enrolled themselves to continue practicing KFIY yoga .

A big gratitude to the office office bearers and organizers of Rotary for giving Kripafoundation Iyengar Yoga™ a platform for demonstration.

Kripa Foundation visited by Foreign Affairs Officers of U.S. Department of State (Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Office of Policy, Planning and Coordination, Drug Demand Reduction) Columbia Plaza of Washington DC

Kripa Foundation was visited by Mr. Bruno Bai and Ms. Shavangi Sutaria, Foreign Affairs Officers of U.S. Department of State (Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Office of Policy, Planning and Coordination, Drug Demand Reduction) Columbia Plaza of Washington DC. They were accompanied by Mr. Christopher Grossman, Chief of the Political Economic Section from the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. The visit was wrapped with discussion on work of various state offices throughout India towards best approaches to demand reduction. They were greeted by Kripa Foundation’s Leadership - Founder Trustee, Fr. Joe Pereira along with Kripa’s National Program Director, Mr. Bosco D’Souza and Kripa’s Executive Director, Patricia D'Souza.

Reported by
Ms. Patricia D'Souza
Executive Director

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