NEWSWATCH | KAIROS GLOBAL | JUNE 2021

Author: Serena Dsouza

Catholic spouse

If you are a committed Christian seeking an ideal life partner especially with respect to faith, then this might be the answer to your prayers! With the matrimonial website, Catholic Spouse, the long wait for a like-minded spouse has come to an end. ‘Built on the Catholic vision of marriage as a sacrament and the family as a ‘Domestic Church’, the platform offers exclusive access to a database of committed Catholics from diverse cultures, communities and locations.’

An initiative of the Jesus Youth Tech Mission, Catholic Spouse was launched by His Excellency Bishop Mar Raphael Thattil ON 26 April, 2021. This huge effort materialised into reality due to the efforts of a zealous team. Vimal Vincent (Coordinator, Tech Mission) from Qatar and team handled the technical aspects of this platform. The website and content were designed by Jacob Jose and Shelton Pinheiro respectively. The team received enriching inputs and support from Manoj Sunny, Jomy Abraham, Anu Pinheiro and Agnes Fomin.

You can register yourself on this absolutely free website using this link www.catholicspouse.org. This platform is open to all. The form gives one an opportunity to describe oneself in a holistic manner addressing important aspect of faith and work life. Scope is also provided to share views about the teaching of the Church, individual perception of marriage and expectations in a spouse. 

COVID helpline 

The Indian national council of Jesus Youth initiated a nationwide effort to aid people in their battle against coronavirus. The initiative has several arms based on the needs that are to be met. The Central Covid Quick response team is the main team that oversees the entire initiative. The central arms include Database and communication team, Awareness team, Intercession team, Finance Team, Medical support team (35+ doctors) and Emotional team. In addition, there is a regional COVID cell which looks after the local requirements. It caters to finding beds, ambulances, plasma, oxygen, blood, food, necessities and injections. Awareness talks in English (Dr Mammen) and Hindi (Dr Balwinder). Talks in local languages are being arranged for. A national COVID helpline (8888-777-463) has also been arranged with working hours between 8 am and 8 pm.   

Professionals’ Day Gathering

As is done every year, Jesus Youth National Professionals’ Ministry celebrated International Workers day on May 1 (Feast of St. Joseph the Worker). This year was made all the more special being the Year of St Joseph. 

The meet conducted by Zoom was attended by around 260 people between 11 AM to 1 PM IST. A wide range of professionals, IT, doctors, engineers, media professionals, finance, lawyers, teachers, entrepreneurs, executives, etc. participated. The goal behind the ministry is to build a fellowship of professionals from various walks of life, to help each other celebrate lives with God, fulfil one’s responsibility to the Church and society, despite the professional demands, to proclaim God’s love in the workplace.

The programme consisted of Praise and Worship, a session, then breakout rooms to promote fellowship among leaders of the ministry followed by testimonies and the Adoration. The main resource person was Abhy Thomas Joseph, CIO of Pentland Brands, London and JY Formation Coordinator of UK who listed number two in ‘The CIO 100’, an award that recognises 100 best CIOs in the UK. 

The meet focussed on topics that would enable a Christian professional to carry out one’s duties while staying true to the Church’s teachings and values. Several testimonies were shared by professionals especially with respect to experience of God in their work-life and offices. Dr Dona, a mother of four, spoke about balancing family, professional and spiritual life especially during the pandemic. Br. Celestin, a former IT professional, shared how the JY Technopark (in Trivandrum, India) prayer group helped him encounter Christ and later discern his vocation to priesthood.