The Feast of St. John de Britto
The feast of St. John de Britto on 4th February was a double celebration as we celebrated Pongal too. The liturgy was conducted by the Tamil brothers. They enlightened us on the life of St. John de Britto as well as on the culture of Tamil Nadu. The feast mass was presided by Fr. Roque Rodrigues, who highlighted the martyrdom with the Bible quotation "unless a grain of wheat fall to ground and dies it cannot bear much fruit." He also emphasized on the use of milk in pongal celebration. Just as the milk overflows so our heart should overflow with love and service. In the evening the Tamil brothers prepared a sumptuous meal with various delicacies and pongal as dessert.
Eco Symposium
Pilar Institute of Philosophy held an Eco symposium on 6th of February, titled “Heal the Earth,” Sch. Suman Indwar, Agustinho Barretto, Nevil Fernandes, Vijay Linda, Jackson Lawrence and Maflin Lobo presented their papers through creative videos on Ecology and the present situation of our Mother Earth. The symposium was guided by Fr. Jowett Gomes. The different ideas on Ecology about climate change, melting of polar ice, tipping point, carbon footprints and also some preventive measures taken were beautifully presented by the scholastics. It was a call for each one, as said by Holy Father Pope Francis in his Encyclical "Laudato Si," to take care for our common home, our Mother Earth. It indeed enriched our knowledge and brought awareness to the needs of our time. We were happy to have Mr. Pedro De Melo and Mrs. Janet De Melo, the parents of Sch. Leonray De Melo as the Chief Guests.
Scientific Paper
The Second year students of our Pilar Institute of Philosophy submitted their scientific papers on 17th February. Each of them presented their thesis on various philosophical topics. The preparations had begun in the previous year itself. Since then a lot of time had been spent in reading and research. Each one of them benefitted from their research and learnt the methodology of a good scientific research work. In addition to this they have critically understood the philosophical teachings and learnt to pen down their own opinions. We congratulate them for successfully completing their scientific papers and wish them luck in their comprehensive exam.