Bombay Brothers' Excursion to the Land of Grapes

On the 4th of January 2018 the brothers studying for the Archdiocese of Bombay accompanied by our Rector Fr. Aniceto Pereira and Fr. Prashant Padu went for an overnight excursion to Nashik. This excursion was planned to provide us with a platform to interact with each other and form bonds lasting a life time.

There were various highlights from this trip which ranged from interacting and seeking inspiration from his Lordship Bishop Lourdes to mustering up our sense of unity and also pushing our bus which simply refused to start! For me personally this trip has truly been a success, I have gotten to know my fellow brothers much better. Interaction in the seminary is at times restricted to the class but this opportunity gave us the chance to really bond with brothers from every year of formation. We understood that we are not alone in this journey of formation and that we can always look up to each other for inspiration and assistance no matter what the situation.

This trip on the whole was a blend of both informative sessions and fun filled activities. We had two very practical and interactive sessions conducted for us. The first one was conducted by our Rector on the topic of management and accountability; something very relevant and vital to our lives as seminarians and future priests and deacons. He used real life case studies and examples to drive home the vitality of the topic and made it very practical.

The second session conducted by Fr. Prashant was an informative session on human formation, keeping in mind the recent child abuse scandals that have rocked the Church. The session taught us the importance of our human formation and that it is our prime responsibility and priority to uphold child safety and protection in all our institutions.

The excursion ended with a visit to Divyadaan: the Salesian institute of philosophy. It was nice to meet the Salesian brothers and Priests at Nashik and discuss various aspects of formation over a cup of tea.

On the whole I would definitely say that this excursion was an absolute success. It provided us with an important learning of how we need to work together as future priests and deacons to serve and love everyone around us by spreading the message of Christ.

Br. Ivel Mathias

1st Year Philosophy