Guwahati: With immense joy and gratitude to God, the Ruby Jubilee of Archbishop Thomas Menamparambil was observed on November 20 at Guwahati. Archbishop Thomas served as the bishop of Dibrugarh for 11 years and the Archbishop of Guwahati in Assam for 20 years before his retirement on 18 January 2012.
The Holy Eucharist and felicitation programme was held at Christ the Bearer of Good News Cathedral at Dispur, Assam. The Holy Eucharist was concelebrated by Archbishop Thomas Menamparambil, Archbishop John Moolachira with several others.
Archbishop John Moolachira speaking on the occasion spoke of the impact Archbishop Thomas has through his life and work and his dedication to the Church and the people.
Fr. Kuriala Chittattukalam sdb felicitating the Ruby Jubilaran said, “We have gathered to felicitate Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil on completing 40 years of his episcopal ordination as a Special Ambassador who served the dioceses of Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Jowai. He is an extraordinary and multifaceted personality who has accomplished much in his life; a friend of youth, a son of Don Bosco, a religious, a teacher, a brother, a priest, a builder, a planner, a bishop, a poet, a writer, a thinker, a researcher, a promoter of peace, Chairman of the office of Evangelization of FABC or the Chairman of CBCI Commission for Education and Culture and much more than all these he is an Ambassador of the Lord who carries his message to the people of the Northeast and around the world.”
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD (Ps 118:26).
“On the day of your Ruby Jubilee, I would like to greet you in the above words of the Psalmist because you are amidst us in the name of the Lord,” said Fr. Anna Amala Christian, “You are blessed because very few bishops in the world get to celebrate the Ruby Jubilee of their episcopal ordination. Secondly, we are blessed because we are fortunate to have a bishop like you. It is through you that the Archdiocese of Guwahati and the Church in Northeast India is blessed. 55 is the number of new mission Centres you have opened during the last forty years as a bishop. This could well be a world record for a bishop. The number of hospitals, schools, institutions, formation houses, peace centre, vocational training centers, women developmental centres, palliative care centres and health centres doesn’t come under this 55 number,” added Fr Chriatian.
Continuing the personality traits of Archbishop Thomas, Fr. Christian continued, “You are a great visionary and a big dreamer. You lived the present looking into the future. With God-given wisdom, you know how to select the strategic places. Whatever you touched turned into gold. Of course God’s hand was with you. Kharghuli area in Guwahati was an abandoned place in the riverside of Brahmaputra, under your guidance, the DBI came into existence, and the Women Development Centre was established there. The “inspiration” came from you. The social forum was developed further. Changsari mission had a six-foot road for its entrance. We had to negotiate through the market place to get inside the mission campus. Today it is just 500metres from the AIIM, the hospitals in Bongaigaon, Goalpara, Nagaon and Guwahati speak volumes of your foresightedness. The first eight years of your episcopacy was spent in developing the Bongaigaon into a new diocese. The philosophate in Nagaon is your brainchild too.”
“Priests like me and I hundreds of others admire your self-integrity. You dealt with cores of money. But till today you don’t have a personal bank account. Not only in money matters but in other disciplines too, nobody can raise even a small finger at you. For you knowledge is power. You are a well-read person. People decorate their rooms with different things but you do it with books. You are buried in the heap of books in your room. You have the knowledge and information on every subject under the sky,” Fr Christian felt.
Continuing further, Fr Christian said, “For example, there is a seminar on science and religion and you are present there presenting a paper. There is a colloquium on culture and religion and you are delivering the keynote address. Thousands of books and articles have been written on “Inculturation” but one’s knowledge will be incomplete unless and until he or she reads your article on inculturation. Inculturation is not just adopting a few externals but knowing the ethos of the people and giving the gospel through that ethos. You explain in simple terms. You are an expert not only in religion, faith sharing, peace talks and evangelization but also in economy. The September 2021 issue of The New Leader carries one of your articles on economy with the title “The Billionaire Boom a Blessing or Bane”. Quoting EG 59, you beautifully explain economy. “Uncontrolled rise of inequality can lead to violence”. “Accumulation of wealth in few hands can be dangerous”.
Speaking on the occasion, Archbishop Menamparampil attributed his ministry and life to the Triune God. I am happy that the Lord chose me to work for him and in doing so I have found great support and generosity from our people, especially our young and senior missionaries; it is the collaborative work that brings out the best in us and in others.
There are three bible quotations that are close to the heart of Archbishop Menamparambil; First, Never grow tired (Gal 6:9). He has written a beautiful book on this and had presented to Pope Benedict XVI. This phrase shows his attitude towards life. The second verse is, “Do great things for us O Lord (Ps 126:3). An Absolute reliance on God and Him alone. The third is, “O God, we have heard of our ancestors telling of the great things you did for them. Do the same for us today (Ps 44:1).”
As St. Paul writes to St. Timothy, ‘the Lord stood by me and gave me strength’, The Lord has been blessing the Church in North East through the person of Archbishop Thomas, and may He continue to be so in the days to come.