Meet Fr. Augustine Cheerakathil, M.S.

Fr. Augustine Cheerakathil, M.S.

Where are you from?

My name is Fr. Augustine Cheerakathil, MS. My father, Mathew and my mother, Mary welcomed me into this world on October 20, 1958. There are seven children in our family — six boys and one girl. I am the second youngest. Our entire family were involved in rice farming in my home state of Kerala, in southwest India.

How did you get to know the La Salette Missionaries?

After High School I joined a local religious congregation called the Indian Mission Society. After two years of Pre-college studies I left that community. While I was at home I was told by one of my friends who was in a Diocesan Seminary about the visitation by Fr. Efren Musngi, M.S., then Vicar Provincial for the Philippine Province, to the local seminary and his speaking about the La Salette Missionaries. He spoke about the La Salette apparition and the message of Blessed Mother. His talk was very interesting and memorable. My mother brought me up with a deep devotion to “Mama Mary”, Our Blessed Mother. And La Salette therefore appealed to my inmost tendencies.

 

The first La Salette priest I got to interact with was Fr. William Slight, M.S. He recruited me together with Mathew Manjaly and Philip Pazhyachira, who eventually left our community. So we were the first three Seminarians who entered the La Salette congregation from India.

How did you adjust to the Filipino culture?

Weeping Mother, La Salette University

Once we arrived in the Philippines for our formation and studies, we found many things very challenging. We had to learn to deal with our new studies, besides learning a new language. Of course the Filipino culture and food were quite foreign to us as well. From these challenging beginnings, I believe that we became more understanding and tolerant people, ready to serve.

As years passed, many more seminarians came from India. I watched and helped my confreres adjust and  become inculturated to the Filipino language, food and way of life. Looking back over those years of study and preparation, I believe that in certain ways I eventually became more Filipino than Indian. I just loved their zesty and unusual foods, their customs of close family ties and especially their vibrant parish involvement. I felt it was a privilege to live in and learn about this wonderful Filipino culture and lifestyle.

Older church of St. Raphael’s, Koloa, Hawaii

In which ministries have you served and how has it changed you?

I was ordained in Santiago, Isabela, in the northeastern part of the Philippines on June 16, 1988. On the occasion of my first Mass, it was the first time that I was able to go back home to India since my arrival in 1979. After my First Mass, I served in several parishes, both in the Philippines and in Hawaii and have always ministered in parishes which had some Filipino membership. Their warm welcome and deep respect for their priests has made me feel very much at home in all the parishes in which I have served. They are a constant example to me of “the church alive with God’s love.”

How have you made Mary’s message known in your ministry?

I always tried to keep the La Salette message and mission central in my priestly and personal life. Just as Fr. Musngi did for me so long ago, I have always gone out of my way to promote the Apparition of La Salette by telling the simple story over and over again.

I have even brought people in pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of La Salette in France. In the many parishes in which I have served, I have always been involved in celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation in my own parish and elsewhere, of participating in La Salette Novenas before the Feast of La Salette and of offering the La Salette Triduum. I feel now that it’s my turn to make Mary’s message known in any way I can.

Interior of new Church of St. Raphael’s, Koloa, Hawaii

What part of her message still impresses you?

My personal appreciation of the La Salette message is especially centered around Mary’s opening invitation, “Come near, my children, be not afraid.” I love to talk about this invitation of Mama Mary to leave our fears and hesitations behind and come listen to her comforting and challenging words.

For me the message of La Salette has a unique perspective compared to other apparitions because Mary appeared as our Weeping Mother. Her tearful invitation to come closer to her Son, Jesus, still encourages me to continue my often-challenging ministry as a La Salette. Hopefully through my years of service, I am becoming a better reconciler, with Mary and her Son, Jesus, as my models.
 

 

Rose window in older church of St. Raphael’s	Exterior of new Church of St. Raphael’s	Students welcoming La Salette visitors to La Salette University