INTRODUCTION BEFORE THE MASS

My dear friends, we have gathered here today to celebrate a great day in our life, when our Holy Redeemer Chapel will be erected as the Parish of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. It is not just an honour, but a grace bestowed upon us, the congregation of the Holy Redeemer Chapel.

We have been wondering why our Chapel will be known henceforth as the Church of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

St. Therese is a young Saint who died when she was just 24 years old, of which her last 10 years were spent as a cloistered Carmelite nun, where she had absolutely no contact with the outside world.
 
Despite her existence in the obscurity of a cloistered convent, she was canonized in 1925, so she is a fairly modern saint whose only claim to holiness was perfection in the smallest deeds she performed, irregardless of the sacrifices she had to make. She called it her "Little Way" to holiness.

As a child, she was quite obstinate and prone to temper tantrums, but she learned to cope with her faults and even mastered them to her advantage. She turned her faults, by self-sacrifice, into instruments for holiness.  It was her little way to show her love for Jesus.

Her journal, edited and published, after her death,  as the Story of a soul was an instant success with ordinary people as it taught them that holiness could be attained even in the performance of common everyday things.

She never went on any missions; never did great deeds nor performed great works and she never founded a religious order, yet she became a great saint and was also declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul the Second in 1979. She is also honoured as one of the Patron Saints of Missions and Missionaries. The other is St. Francis Xavier.

This particular saint, St. Therese, should appeal to our younger generation and it is with this in mind, that Bishop Camillo Ballin felt that the name was appropriate for our Parish, as St. Therese is a shining example of a young woman, showing us the easy way to sainthood.

Furthermore, Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf are considered Missions for Evangelization, so what better way to honour a Patroness of Missions than to have a growing missionary congregation named after her.

As Catholics, we have been called to spread the Good News of the Lord, so my dear friends, as we partake of the Eucharistic Celebration, let us remember our own missionary objectives and let us thank our Almighty God for the honour, the privilege and the grace that will be bestowed upon us, today, as we become the Parish of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

Let us say together, the Prayer that St. Therese herself has written;
this prayer that shows us her down-to-earth attitude to life
and is a perfect lesson in humility.

My Lord and my God,
I have realized that whoever
undertakes to do anything
for the sake of earthly things or
to earn the praise of others deceives himself.
Today one thing pleases the world,
tomorrow another.
What is praised on one occasion
is denounced on another.

Blessed be You, my Lord and my God,
for You are unchangeable for all eternity.
Whoever serves You faithfully to the end,
will enjoy life without end in eternity. Amen.

HOMILY OF HIS LORDSHIP BISHOP CAMILLO BALLIN, MCCI
VICAR APOSTOLIC OF KUWAIT

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I greet you all in the name of Jesus! It is always a pleasure to be present with you and to pray with you.

As we hear in today's Gospel reading, It is Jesus who always takes the initiative. When He saw that a large crowd was coming to him, He said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to Him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. So, we see that it is always Jesus who takes the initiative. Again, it is Jesus who takes the initiative, for when they had eaten, He said, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."

Jesus, He is the beginning of our Christian life. It is He who has called us to be Christians, in the first place. On my recent trip to India, I was told that Catholics in India are just 2 percent of the Indian population, that's you, just 2 percent. Yet, why has Jesus called you out of the many to be Christians? You did not choose to be a Christian of your own accord, rather it was Jesus who took the initiative to call you, to be His disciples.

Once again, we see that it is Jesus who inspired Bishop San Miguel to secure the Chapel premises in 1974 and Bishop Francis Micallef to buy the place and unite it with the Vicariate. Again, it is Jesus who inspired me to erect this Parish, as this I have not done on my own initiative. We must thank Jesus for all this and also the two previous Bishops who have done all they could for the Chapel in the years before.

Perhaps, some of you are wondering why there was a need to change the name of the Church from Holy Redeemer to St. Therese. As you might know, there has been a renewal of the liturgical calendar in recent years and the Holy See has communicated to the Bishops all over the world to keep their Parishes in accordance with the calendar. The feasts of the Holy Redeemer are so many, not just one, we can celebrate it at Christmas, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost as Jesus redeems us every single day! This feast is not officially celebrated anymore. On consulting the Priests of the Vicariate, they suggested that we should dedicate the Parish Church to St. Therese and I agreed and accepted their choice whole-heartedly, as St. Therese is the Patroness of Missions and Missionaries. Kuwait has mission status as it is not a Christian country. Thus I thought that it is most appropriate to give that title to a Church in a mission area. Praying to St. Therese can also help us further in our everyday mission.

It was Jesus who was instrumental in the lives of the two Bishops and myself, and now, it is Jesus who is leading this Church in faith. It is always Jesus who is with us, who accompanies us to the very end. He is our Source, our life and our end.

In today's Gospel, Jesus accepts the challenge of the five loaves and two fish, knowing well that that they are not enough to feed a multitude. Yet, He performs a miracle! We see that He is performing a good deed even today by erecting this Parish in Salmiya.

I thought that it was time that the fairly large community in this area be better organized as a local community and have its own identity instead of being loosely tied up with the Holy Family Parish at Safat. The Canon Code stresses the parish as community at the same time favors the territorial structure as a practical and necessary value. Hence, the Catholics living in the following areas: Salmiya, Messila, Ras Salmiya, Salwa, Rumaithiya, Maidan Hawally, Sabah Al Salem, Mishref and Bayan will belong to the Salmiya Parish. Baptisms, Marriages, First Holy Communion and Confirmation will place here and registers will be maintained, just like in other Parishes. Previously these were conducted in the Holy Family Cathedral, which created an over crowding and inconvenience in the Cathedral.

A Parish is first and foremost a community, and to this end each of you has a commitment to be a missionary in your Parish. The importance of community can never be underestimated. I invite you. therefore, to be one community, one family with brothers and sisters of other nationalities. Where are your Filipino brothers and sisters? You should make it your mission to invite and unite all Catholics living in these areas that I have just mentioned, to come and form one family with you in this Parish. Jesus does not ask you what is your nationality whether you are Indian or Filipino or Italian or American. Likewise, you should be united with the mission of Jesus, into bringing all your Catholic brothers and sisters together here, in making this a Catholic, a true universal Church. I hope that by the time of my next visit here, I will see more faithful of other nationalities gathered here.

I have decided that the first parish priest of the Salmiya parish will be Fr. Berchmans Aruldoss, OCD and Fr.Thomas Vadakedathu, OCD will be Assistant Parish Priest. The two Priests will live in the new premises that we have secured for them in the building right across the Chapel in the hope that they will have a lot of time for Parish work, Masses, visiting, etc. I ask each of you to extend yourselves in helping your Parish Priests, be near them, encourage and support them and above all, pray for them.

Let us give thanks to God for all the blessings bestowed upon this Parish through the work of the Priests, the Salesians who impart their priestly and spiritual services, the Carmel Sisters who selflessly render their help through teaching and catechesis. God bless each of you present here and your families. We pray for the intercession of St. Therese to keep us always united as one family.

SR. BERNITA'S ADDRESS AT THE CELEBRATION

Your Lordship Bishop Camillo, Fathers, Sisters and dear friends. All of us present here today, can raise our hearts and voices and say "the long awaited dream has come true. Salmiya today is no more a Chapel but a Parish". We thank our Heavenly Father for His manifold blessings on us and with the Psalmist we can exclaim "How lovely is your dwelling place O Lord! What peace and joy to feel so close to you". Today's celebration is also an appropriate occasion to remember with gratitude all those who labored selflessly for the development of the church in Salmiya. It is their steady and selfless service and contribution that has enabled the church to grow to its present status.

Throughout history , the Lord has continued to reveal Himself to the little and the humble. So too, today, He has raised this little chapel to the dignity, of a Parish - St. Therese is the Patroness of missions and missionaries. Since we are in this foreign land, it is but right and fitting that this new Parish is named after the great missionary St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

Though she stayed in the cloistered Carmel, she had a great part to play in the Church. Her mission was to pray for the Church and the world. May her zeal burn within us, that we may be a true witness to Christ spreading the good News by our own lives in this Gulf country. As she promised that she would spend her heaven doing good on earth, we pray that she may let fall from heaven a shower of roses on every member of this Salmiya Parish, and very specially on, Bishop Camillo, and the priests to whom we are grateful for all their effort exerted in erecting this Parish and again on all of you dear people of God for your fidelity, cooperation and service to the Church and His people.  May God be praised and made known in the Parish through the intercession of St. Therese.  Thank you and God bless you.

ADDRESS OF REV. FR. TONY D'SOUZA, SDB

Rev. Fr. Tony D'Souza, SDB thanked Bishop Francis Micallef Emeritus and Bishop Camillo Ballin for giving the Salesians the opportunity to serve the different Parishes in Kuwait, especially Salmiya where their school is located.  He congratulated the Parishioners of Salmiya for being such a close knit community and assured them of the continued support and cooperation of the Salesians for as long as they were here in Kuwait.  He had great admiration for the Catholic community in Salmiya for their dedicated service and unity and was very proud to be part of this new and growing Parish dedicated to St. Therese of the Child Jesus.  For him as a child, he said, he started his schooling in St. Therese of the Child Jesus, or The Little Flower school in Mumbai India and now he felt it providential that towards the end of his career he will serve in the Parish with the same name.  On behalf of all his fellow Salesians he wished the newly erected Parish and all the parishioners God's choicest blessings and protection.

ADDRESS OF REV. FR. MELVIN D'CUNHA, OCD

Rev. Fr. Melvin recalled his tenure as the Priest-in-charge of the Salmiya Chapel just before Fr. Berchmans took over.  During his time in Salmiya he had two personal wishes, one was for Mass to be celebrated daily in the Chapel and the other was to have all the Sacraments celebrated in the Chapel which has now been fulfilled as the Chapel has now been erected into a Parish.  He congratulated Bishop Camillo, the new Parish Priest and Assistant Parish Priest and all the parishioners on the great occasion and wished everyone the very best and God's blessings for the future of the Parish.

VOTE OF THANKS BY REV. FR. BERCHMANS ARULDOSS, OCD

Rev. Fr. Berky as he is fondly called by his parishioners, began by thanking His Lordship Bishop Camillo for placing his full trust in him in making him the first Parish Priest of the Salmiya Parish.  He assured the Bishop as well as all the parishioners of his full cooperation and support towards the spiritual and community development of the Parish.  He also assured all of his continued presence in the Parish for any needs of the Catholic Community in the Salmiya area and informed all of his availability at any time as he would now be residing in the building very close to the the Church. 

In his Vote of Thanks, he took the opportunity to thank the Bishop, the Salesian Fathers, and the Carmel Sisters for their support and help in the Parish especially towards their help in the liturgical services as well as the catechetical development of the children of the parish. 

On a special note he thanked all the organizers responsible for the success of the Erection Day of the Parish with a special thanks to Ronnie D'Mello for printing the souvenirs and Linda and Rosario for preparing the Liturgy.  He thanked the various groups involved in the Church, the Liturgical Group, the various Choirs, the Eucharist Ministers and Altar Servers, the God's Love Community Prayer Group, the Malayalam Group, the CFC, the Legion of Mary, the Catechism Team, the Ushers, the Salmiya Parish Youth Group, the Summer Club coordinators, the service and maintenance teams as well as Harry and Oswald for their continued support and cooperation towards the running of the Parish and wished them continued success for the growth and betterment of the Parish in the years to come.