‘Abundantly Blessed ‘&’ Caring for the Poor’ Fr Onil celebrates 25 years of Priesthood
“I felt God calling me to take the next step and enter a religious community and go to seminary. Trust in God was all I needed to do. Once I did that, I made the decision and felt a great peace. God called me to this vocation and he has abundantly blessed me. And my advice to young people who are discerning their vocations is to “pray about it a lot and you will be the happiest doing whatever God calls you to do.”- Fr Onil D’Souza- Director, St Antony Charitable Institutes.
Mangaluru: “Father Onil D’Souza – the current Director of St Antony Charitable Institutes (St Antony Ashram-Jeppu) is a really gentle, humble soul, and he really loves Jesus and Jesus’ Church. I think he would do anything to bring someone to the Church and help them to grow in their faith. He is great at visiting the sick, taking care and showing love towards the poor and destitute, visiting other priests, saying Mass and teaching about the faith. His priority is to make us all better people and grow in the Church. Fr Olin is indeed an inspiration for all other priests. He is a very nonjudgmental, devout, and religious priest. He is a spiritual man who has touched many lives and who lets God work through him.
Knowing him only for the last two years when I had met him for an exclusive article on St Antony Ashram, but it seems like we have been known to each other for many years, the way he constantly keeps in touch with me. Even though our association with each other has been only for the last couple of years, I have very much admired his character, qualities and his friendly nature – and it is my greatest privilege to honour this great religious person with this tribute while he celebrates his 25 years of priesthood. “The Son of Man comes not to be served, but to serve,” Jesus said, and, after washing their feet, told his disciples to do what he did. Serving people is what Jesus did, and doing what Jesus did is a privilege – and that’s what Fr Onil has been doing since his ordination.
Fr Onil is very humble and grace-filled. He is clearly a servant of God who lets God work through him and takes no credit. He is selfless, very caring and has a great vision. That is especially evident in what he did at St Antony Charitable Institutes and in recent renovations there. Whenever he moves somewhere, he makes things better. He is conscientious, forthright and takes good care of people, especially the poor and the down-trodden. As a Roman Catholic, it is truly heartening to see the Bishop and Mangalore Diocese accept Fr Onil fully, indeed, with great love and appreciation, as he celebrated his 25 years of priesthood. I hope, of course, that this scene can be repeated in the Catholic church in not too many years. But we have a lot of catching up to do. This was, after all, not an ordination; it was the silver jubilee of an ordination!
“If God is the centre of your life, no words will be needed. Your mere presence will touch their hearts.”That quote, attributed to St Vincent de Paul, invited individuals to celebrate the silver jubilee of the priesthood of Fr Onil which was celebrated in joy, simple and meaningful way at St Antony Ashram open air ground on 1 May 2017- where nearly 50 priests joined in the Eucharistic celebration, along with hundreds of his family members, relatives, well-wishers and friends. As St John Vianney-the Patron Saint of Parish Priests once said, “The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for You”- and for that matter, Fr Onil D’Souza has been a priest for the Church, for the faithful/parishioners, for the poor and less-privileged and community in whole. No doubt, Fr Onil is a Priest very intelligent, most humble, very spiritual, and always smiling and Cheerful.
If Institute Directors were simply program managers, this transition might be simple. But of course, they are not. A priest is a shepherd to the sheep, consolation to the grieving, beloved parent to a congregation’s children, theological instructor to the curious, liturgical leader, and pastor of the tight and holy community that is the parish. The departure of one Director is wrenching; installation of another is rejuvenating, and to go from the depth of one to the height of the other requires a process. Transition, including its Search component, is an exciting and blessed process. It is an opportunity for the Spirit to be present in unique ways. It is an opportunity to see through new eyes, decide with a free mind, re-write the future without constraints. It is challenging and time-consuming, but it is an investment well worthwhile. It is frequently described as one of the most intensely gratifying ministries in the Church/Chapel/religious institute, and I think the Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza had picked the right person to be at the helm as the Director of St Antony Charitable Institutes.
Today the Catholic faithful expect their priest to be a dynamic preacher, impressive celebrant, effective healer, sensitive listener, able administrator, friendly person, dedicated caretaker of the Church/Chapel and institution, sounding board and even, sometimes a punching bag – Fr Onil has all these abilities and has kept his promises to serve as a good, God-fearing priest. The orphans at St Antony Ashram should be very grateful to Fr Onil for his loyalty, love and dedication to this great institution, his wonderful gentleness and humour, his smile and friendliness and for the wonderful things he has done for St Antony Ashram and so many people. His love for the poor brought him to this institute to take care and love all these 100 plus inmates of this Ashram.
Fr Onil D’Souza truly is an inspiration to many people, young and old, in his daily interaction with them. The inspiration one gets from a humble person’s declaration of humanness and frailty is taken from the Scripture’s words: “Man does not live by bread alone but by the words of God.” Fr Onil is a terrific man to know both personally and professionally. He never ceases to amaze anyone with his knowledge, but mostly his humility. His love for the Church and Holy Eucharist is evident by the way he reverently says Mass, and he is an intelligent priest who delivers excellent homilies.
As the common phrase goes, “Smile and the world will smile with you”, Fr Onil’s smile lights up his face and of all those around him. An intelligent man with great personality, Fr Onil is also kind and gentle, cheerful and smiling, loving and caring; and he also represents humility and has a way of making his acquaintances feel equally important. People – rich and poor are attracted to him because he is kind, soft-spoken, gentle and friendly. During our short life here on Earth, we meet plenty of people. Among them are our best friends and our teachers, and I could not tell which one between these two influences the life most. In my opinion, both are important in their own ways. Teachers educate us, and their life experience and wisdom can give us good advises and support. Friends are there when you need them for good advice and comfort. To summarise, we are accompanied in our life by many wonderful people – they teach us, they support us and they will be in our hearts forever. They make us who we are and what we are, and both of them, the friends and the teachers, are very important part of our lives.
Born to Boniface D’Souza and Eliza D’Souza on 3 November 1964 in Belman, Fr Olin was ordained on 1 May1992, and since then he had held various posts, namely 1992 – 1993 as Assistant Chaplin-Jalasangi, Bidar; 1993 – 1996 as Assistant Parish Priest, Valencia Church; 1996-1997 as Assistant Parish Priest-Pangla; 1997-1998 as Assistant Parish Priest-Kinnigoly; 1998 – 2002 as Parish Priest, Nakre; 2002 – 2005 as Assistant Secretary-Canara Organization for Development & Peace (CODP) ISD; 2005 as Secretary-CODP, ISD; and after that serving as Director of St Antony Charitable Institutes.
Fr Onil celebrated the Thanksgiving Mass with nearly 50 clergymen including the Bishop of Mangaluru Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, vicar general of Mangaluru Diocese- Msgr Denis Moras Prabhu and Chancellor of the Diocese-Fr Henry Sequeira. Msgr Moras in his homily thanked Almighty for giving a simple priest like Fr Onil to the diocese. He explained how Fr Onil walked on the way shown by Jesus Christ which is always difficult for every human being. During the introduction before the celebration of Holy Eucharist, Fr Onil thanked God and all concerned people for helping him to reach twenty-five years milestone of priesthood. “I have achieved a few things in life. Yet, I feel I could have done more. I will try my best to achieve them in the future,”
Fr Henry Sequeira, who also will be celebrating his 35 years of priesthood, introduced Fr Onil D’Souza while he raised the toast and said “From his childhood, Fr Onil D’Souza has been a simple person. Hailing from a God fearing Family, he has followed in the footsteps of Jesus Christ for the last 25 years serving the almighty. He was ordained in 1992. After that, he served in many places like Nakre, Valencia and Pangla. He was given a greater responsibility as the chief of CODP. Fr Onil and CODP became one name and the institute gained immensely during his term. He was instrumental in providing houses for the poor in the diocese during the jubilee year. Later he was sent to St Antony’s Institutes where he brought in revolutionary changes which can be seen by all. Under his leadership, even the number of people attending the novenas had increased a lot. Taking care of the poor and the needy is a tough job, but he likes doing it and is happy about it. He is loved and liked by all. May he accomplish more achievements in his life.”
Dr Aloysius D’Souza hailed Fr Onil D’Souza for his obedience. “He never said no to anything in life. He was given toughest tasks as he was capable. But he never hesitated to take up any responsibility. His love towards the poor is enormous, and because of this, I selected him as the Director of St Antony’s Ashram. Due to his love, I was apprehensive when I sent him to St Antony’s Institutes. But he completely changed things here, made a few renovations, improved the agriculture and garden around here, and much more. He also motivated others to do good deeds in life. St Antony’s devotion also gained momentum and more people started coming for novenas and feasts. It shows the dedication and popularity of Fr Onil as well as the miraculous help of St Antony to people. Fr Onil lives a life of a pious and simple priest. Inmates of St Antony’s Ashram love him very much,”
Following the Eucharist mass, there was a short cultural programme. Fr Francis D’Souza- Administrator of St Antony Charitable Institutes read out the citation and Fr Onil was facilitated by the Bishop and Vicar General on behalf of all, with a shawl, fruit basket, memento and citation. Fr Onil, speaking on the occasion, said “God does not choose the strongest, but strengthens the chosen people. I was not a very intelligent student. But God chose me to be a clergyman to serve the people. The current Bishop was the vocation director when I entered the seminary. He willingly accepted me to be a priest and still guides me, encourages me and motivates me. I am always grateful to him. Monsignor Moras has been always a guide to me and an ambassador for St Antony’s Institutes with his never ending help. To one and all, I am truly grateful. As I reflect upon 25 years of priesthood in the Catholic Church I am deeply grateful for all the witnesses who have graced my life as angels of the Holy Spirit with the promise of unconditional love of Christ”.
” The priesthood is a gift meant to be shared; thank you for being such wonderful examples of faith in action. I am grateful to God for the gift of my life. It has been truly spectacular and much more than I deserve. Twenty-five years ago, I could never have envisioned the experiences I’ve had and the opportunities I’ve had- the joys and the sorrows I’ve had as a priest. I give thanks to my parents for their cooperation with God’s creative power in allowing me to be born. I thank my four brothers and a sister, and their families for their support, as well as all my family who has supported me and my vocation.The focus (of the celebration) is an opportunity for the parish to celebrate the gift of the priesthood. I did not want to celebrate my jubilee. So I decided to spend the day with the celebration of Eucharist and with some good moments with inmates and well wishers of Ashram. In the end, it’s never about me. It’s always about God and about furthering his kingdom.I want to take this opportunity to encourage any young man or woman to consider a religious vocation. It is a wonderful life filled with incredible experiences and blessings. We must do better in listening to HIS call – no matter where it may lead. To God be all the glory! Grace and Peace” added Fr Onil.
Fr Peter Gonsalves Assistant Director of the Ashram compered, while members of United Family Choir sang the hymns during the Mass and songs during the felicitation. A group from the Ashram also entertained the audience with a song. MLA J R Lobo and MLC Ivan D’Souza also joined in the celebration and congratulated Fr Onil D’Souza. “Fr Onil, Congratulations on the 25 Anniversary of Your Priesthood .Thank you for your loving service to the Church. May God bless you abundantly in your priestly ministry”-best wishes from Team Mangalorean/Mangalorean.com
Congratulations to you, dear Fr. Onil D’Souza, on your completion of twenty five years as a Priest. Your devotion and your dedication as a priest is well admired and appreciated. Your love for the needy and the poor is well demonstrated with your untiring work at St. Anthony’s Ashram where the inmates will always remain grateful to you and will remember you in their daily prayers. Dedication towards the needy and the elderly in an Ashram such as St. Anthony’s is a task that is not simple but filled with daily concerns and anxieties to give the very best to… Read more »