By Felix Anthony
Bandra, Feb 3, 2022: A studio chapel was blessed and consecrated in the provincial house of the Society of St Paul in Mumbai’s Bandra suburb.
Auxiliary Bishop John Rodrigues of Bombay blessed and inaugurated the chapel on January 28 in the presence of the Pauline Family members and well-wishers in Mumbai.
Speaking at the inaugural Mass, Bishop Rodrigues thanked the Society of St. Paul for their effort to attend to the spiritual needs of the people, especially during this lockdown caused by the pandemic.
“God speaks to his people in so many ways. He is speaking to us even through this pandemic. This chapel is also medium of God’s message for his people. From this chapel people will experience God’s blessings and his grace as he will speak to them through Eucharistic Adoration and other spiritual animations. Their faith will be strengthened”,” the bishop added.
The chapel is specially designed for online spiritual programs, said St Paul Father Johny Panamthanam, director of St Paul’s Multimedia in Bandra.
“When churches got closed during the lockdown, we wanted to accompany the people in their spiritual journey. To provide spiritual support to people during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, we began a small online initiative called ‘30-Holy Minutes’ with thirty minutes of online Eucharistic Adoration. We began this at our community chapel on December 1, 2020.”
Within two years, St. Paul’s Multimedia, the YouTube channel of the Society, grew from a few hundred to more than 34,000 subscribers.
“When the people could not go to their churches for their worship, this thirty-minute of Eucharistic Adoration offered them hope and peace and trust in the ever-abiding presence of the Eucharistic Lord in their homes. The studio chapel is to reach out to the people more effectively,” said Father Panamthanam, who also designed the chapel.
The daily online Eucharistic Adoration from 8:30 am to 9 pm started with ten viewers. Now, it draws an average 4,000 viewers –men, women, youth, nuns and priests — from across the world.
“Many people have written to us to share their faith testimony and healings received by attending this online Eucharistic Adoration,” said Father Renold Pascal, who leads this daily online spiritual animation.
Father Varghese Gnalian, the Society of St. Paul provincial, thanked those who have contributed to build the project and said, “We dedicate this unique chapel to the benefit of each one of you to receive your daily grace.”
Apart from the 30-minute online Eucharistic Adoration, the chapel will be used for daily Mass, inner healing retreats; catechetical instruction and animation led by priests, youth and lay leaders. Recorded video will be uploaded to their YouTube channel.
“St. Paul’s Studio Chapel is a response to Holy Father’s call to bring people to God in prayer, to unload the viruses to Jesus our eternal anti-virus who will protect them from every harm, bringing peace, joy and healing,” said Father Johnson, the general editor of St Paul’s Publications.
Pope Francis has frequently spoken out against this individualistic style of online religion.
“Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!
Whom do you worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut?
Open your eyes and see your God is not before you!
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground,
and where the path-maker is breaking stones.
He is with them in sun and in shower,
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off your holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil!
Deliverance?
Where is this deliverance to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation;
he is bound with us all for ever.
Come out of your meditations and leave aside your flowers and incense!
What harm is there if your clothes become tattered and stained?
Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of your brow.” – Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore knows the value of humanism and he expresses the value of humanism in this poem. Humanists believe that service to fellow human beings and love of them is the highest form of worship. They also believe that God is to be found with the socially and economically backward people, marginalized and underprivileged communities. Tagore says that true worship of God means mingling with the humble humanity on terms of equality and participation in their humble activities. According to Tagore, the rich and the proud can never find God, for they keep aloof from the poor and the downtrodden. He opines, pride can never approach to where those walk in the clothes of the humble among the poorest, the lowliest and lost.
“Whatsoever you do to the least of my sisters and brothers that you do unto me.” – Jesus
Congratulations. Glad to know know that you have started the studio chapel.
Good initiative reading the signs of the times
This could be the first studio chapel of the Society of St Paul…. I have visited television studio chapels of Shalom TV (Kerala) and Madha TV (Chennai) long ago. I am also aware of television studio chapels of several other Catholic TV channels which I have not visited.
A very novel initiative. Hope many more will follow. Congrats.