Sangeetha Raj is a married father of two from Bangalore, India. In this piece, Sangeetha shares with us, in his own words, his experience as a Sacristan at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church in Bangalore and detail of how the MSC Fathers have helped him and his family in many ways over the years.
Sangeetha Raj with his wife, Japamala Mary, his son, Stalin, and his daughter, Anitha.
My name is Sangeetha Raj. I have been working in Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church (Bangalore) for the last 12 years as the Sacristian. I am married and we have one son and a daughter. MSC Fathers have been helping us in a number of ways. They gave me the job as Sacaristian of the church. The MSC Fathers have been helping me and my family in a number of ways.
Before coming to work with the MSC Fathers, I worked with Don Bosco Salasians for six years in Mysore which is about 160 km from Bangalore. After moving to Bangalore I worked with Norte Dam sisters for seven years in their school. Though I have been working with religious organisations and priests for a number of years, I found the MSC fathers to be really very different. They are very friendly, kind and generous. My work here in the parish is very good. Over the past 12 years the church has grown considerably. When I started working in the parish, the parish was very small. There were just three masses celebrated on Sundays; one in English, one in Kannada and one in Tamil. Now the church has grown so big that there are seven masses celebrated on Sunday – this number is still growing. There are a number of parishioners MSC fathers have been helping with their spiritual needs. Working with the MSC fathers and for the parish is really fulfilling. They are very hardworking in teaching faith to the faithful and helping them to lead a good Christian life.
My wife’s name is Japamala Mary. She works as a maid. She helps out in a few houses every day. During the times when my wife was sick I helped to treat hear.
My son’s name is Stalin. He is doing his 11th standard. Every year I invite our MSC fathers to my house for a meal on my son’s birthday. They all come and dine in our house. It makes all of us very happy. They have also helped with our son’s education too. Ever since his first standard they have been helping us a lot. By God’s grace both my children are doing well in the school. My daughter’s name is Anitha. Her educational needs have also been supported by the MSC fathers ever since she went to kindergarten. She is now in her 5th standard.
Apart from their educational help, the MSC fathers have been helping us with medical treatment in times of sickness. We are indeed very grateful for their help. I sincerely thank all the MSC fathers for their generous help and support. I have been able to support my family because of their help. There is a lot of differences in my life from before coming to the MSCs and after I started working with them.
Sangeetha Raj