MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2022
Crusaders Foundation Day
On Sunday 27th February 2022, the Association of Crusaders for Jesus with Mary (ACJM) celebrated 25 years since its inception at the Se Cathedral in Old Goa. The main celebrant was Most Rev. Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrrao who is also the President of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. Concelebrating the Mass were Rev. P. K. George bishop of Miao Diocese and also the Chairman of the Proclamation and Evangelisation Commission of Regioonal Bishops Council of North-East India, Rev. Lumen Monteiro bishop of Agartala Diocese (Tripura) and various other priests from different parts of Goa, the other States of India and abroad.
Fr. Jagdish Parmar, the Holy Father's - Pope's Worldwide Network of Prayer (PWPN) South Asia Coordinator and Fr. D. Francis of the Catholic church in Turkey and also the Vicar of the Antioch church there were notable priests concelebrating the Jubilee Celebration Mass. The Goodwill Ambassador of Israel to India Dr. D. Jayanand, nun sisters from various congregations were also present to grace the occasion with their presence.
Due to the pandemic situation, the number of those attending the Celebration at the Cathedral was limited. However, the entire Mass was livestreamed for wider participation by thousands of cadres of the Crusaders, well-wishers and to nearly a dozen countries overseas where the Crusaders have established work areas or operate in collaboration with communities there.
The homily was delivered by Bishop P. K. George in which he spoke at great length about his encounter with the Crusaders and their great zeal for evangelisation work not only in villages and cities but also in challenging mission areas such as Arunachal Pradesh.
Archbishop Filipe Neri addressed the gathering at the end of the Mass and commended the ACJM for laying special emphasis on the formation of its cadres because that is exactly what Jesus did too.
Finally, Bishop Lumen Monteiro expressed his admiration of the evangelisation work of the Crusaders recalling the times when they came to Tripura for mission work.
After the Celebration of the Eucharist, there was an agape meal at the St. Pius X Pastoral Institute in Old Goa.
MONTH OF MARCH 2022
Online Adoration on 1st March 2022
Crusaders from all over Goa, India and abroad gathered together over Zoom App on1st February 2022 for an online adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This has been a regular practice of the ACJM ever since the Pandemic started. Besides moments of worship and adoration, time is also spent in thanking the Lord for all that He has done in the personal lives of the Crusaders as well as in the ACJM during the month that has gone by. Another important part of the adoration session is intercession. Various intentions of the ACJM are lifted up in prayer especially asking the Lord to take over the entire month that lies ahead.
Conclave for Head Office Staff of the ACJM
Conclaves are held regularly once every three months for the Head Office Cell of the ACJM. The aim is to provide constant spiritual upliftment to its members by means of meditation on the Word of God and also Christian fellowship. In addition, the cell members spend time in laying out the general roadmap for the ACJM. This time the conclave was held from 14th to 17th March 2022 in South Goa.
Joint Core Conclave for the Leadership of the ACJM
For the second time since 2nd January 2022, the entire leadership of the ACJM gathered together in person, this time to spend not just a few hours but 3 long days together at a retreat house in South Goa from 17th to 20th March 2022. After having had online meetings every week and a couple of online joint-core conclaves in the monotonous square-boxed setup of the zoom app, that too for two long pandemic years, this conclave was surely a welcoming break.
The meditation on the Word of God during the entire conclave was based on 'Seeking revelations from God.' The core members made the most out of the bonding and fellowship sessions. During one such session, the core members were divided into groups and each group had to present a skit on a certain aspect of the ACJM. Each skit was unique in its own way with a generous dose of humour added to it to the extent that there was joy and laughter throughout the session.
Time was also set aside for critical evaluation of the funcitoning of the ACJM and planning the year ahead. There was celebration of the Holy Mass each day. With everyone getting back into the pre-pandemic mood after a long time, the conclave was indeed a memorable one.
Conclave for Core Members of the Intercession Ministry of the ACJM
A conclave was held for the core members of the intercession ministry on 26th and 27th March 2022 in North Goa. The intercession ministry has been the lifeline of the ACJM from the time it was brought into existence by God 25 years ago. The Lord has opened one door after another for the Crusaders as a result of the fervent prayers of the ministry - the latest being working in collaboration with communities in dozens of countries overseas.
Lenten Retreat at Grace Church, Margao
After two long years of the pandemic, the Crusaders rolled back into action to conduct their first Lenten at the invitation of the parish priest of Our Lady of Grace Church located in the heart of the city of Margao-Goa. The 3-day retreat was held from 28th to 30th March 2022 with social distancing maintained. More invitations have poured in to conduct lenten retreats in other parts of Goa too.
