Ariosto José Coelho

DEVARDHAN NAIK-SARDESSAI FROM AQUEM, GOA-INDIA

A VISION WITH A MISSION  ◘  A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH  ◘ EXPERIENCE  ◘  TRAINING ◘  EDUCATION & DEGREES ◘ AFFILIATIONS ◘ ENGAGEMENTS ◘ AWARDS ◘ MAP OF INDIA THE EMPTY CIRCLE

Pictures with: ◘ ParentsBrothers & Sisterssalesians of don BoscoSulcorna Vivian Marrone

                            ◘ Pope John Paul II Mother Teresa WRBs@SJChurch Friends

 

CREATIVE EXPRESSIONS

 IN harmony  with

The Rhythm of the Breath

 

PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENTS

 

[       -2000] Youth and Family Therapist : Consejero Bilingue

San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services

South Central Youth Team, Redwood City CA

[       -1998] Spiritual Director and Multi-lingual Interfaith Counselor

          Spiritual Direction: Interfaith & Catholic, P. O. Box 1454, Millbrae, CA 94030

[       -1994] Independent Catholic Priest

          with the white robed monks of St. Benedict in San Francisco, CA

 [Please check Fr. Coelho's Priestly Calendar for 2009]

[1994-1977] Roman Catholic Priest

          [Ordained in Navelim, Goa, India on December 21, 1977]

[1994-1967] Religious Salesian of Don Bosco

          [Professed in Yercaud, Tamilnadu, India on May 24, 1968]

 

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The sixth child born to Ariosto Xavier do Rosario Coelho (1900-1987) and Maria Esperança Tomezinha Valdemira dos Reis Fernandes (1907-1994) at Aquem, Margão, Goa  in India Portuguêsa on September 30, 1950 was christened José Agnelo Jeronimo Ariosto Xavier do Rosario Coelho in accordance with family traditions. Ariosto is a brother to Valentim, Angela (1934-1937), Sylvia, Terezinha, Angela, Avita, Rosarito and MariaJosefa [May 1963 from L to R top row: Ariosto, Valentim, Avita, Rosarito; bottom row: Angela, Maria Josefa, Silvia, Terezinha]. His father claimed to be a direct descendent (17th great grand son) of Tipu Santu Naik Sardessai who, upon his conversion from Hinduism to Catholicism in 1561, took the name Sebastião Coelho. [Please check A Mythological Story.]

 

He is a grand-nephew of Fr. Ariosto Xavier Coelho [1861-1923] and bears his name. As Pastor  [1893-1915] of Sacred Heart Church in Tanjore or Thanjavur his granduncle helped the Salesians of Don Bosco to establish their first orphanage in India. He welcomed the first Salesians led by Fr. George Tamatis, SDB, to Tanjore, India in 1906 and surrendered the Parish to Msgr. Eugene Mederlet, SDB, in 1915 when he was appointed Vicar Forane of Nagapattinam in Tamilnadu, South India. [Please check Tanjore Their Final Destination.]

 

Ariosto was baptized (1950), confirmed (1958) and ordained a priest (1977) at Our Lady of Rosary Church in Navelim, Goa. He studied at Liceu Dom Bosco in Pangim, Goa (1960-62), completed High School at Don Bosco in Lonavla, Maharashtra (1962-66), obtained the Pre-University Degree from St. Anthony's College in Shillong, Assam [North-Eastern India] (1967), and professed as a religious Salesian at Yercaud, Tamilnadu [South India] in 1968. He worked as a Salesians of Don Bosco for twenty five years (1968-93) mostly in Western and Central India.

 

This map  is not to scale. It is meant to indicate some of the places

where Ariosto has lived, studied and worked in India.

 

Ariosto taught at Don Bosco High Schools in Lonavla, Maharashtra (1970-72) and Matunga, Bombay (1973-74). He was a resident youth counselor at Don Bosco Apostolic School in Lonavla, Maharashtra (1970-72) and at Dominic Savio Boys' Home in Andheri, Bombay (1976). He ministered to youth at Our Lady of Dolours Parish in Wadala, Bombay (1972-74 & 1975) and at Don Bosco Youth Center in Baroda, Gujarat (1977). After completing theological studies at Kristu Jyothi College in Bangalore, Karnataka (1974-78) Ariosto was ordained to the order of Priesthood by +Raul Nicolau Gonsalves, Archbishop of Goa and Patriarch of the East Indies. [With Parents, who are the first to kiss his newly anointed hands immediately after his sacerdotal ordination, on December 21, 1977 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Navelim, Goa.] As a newly ordained priest he was appointed to be the Vice-Rector (1978-81) of Don Bosco Farm in Sulcorna, Quepem, Goa. In his capacity as the Rector (1981-87) he was instrumental in harnessing the energies of his staff and community members and in transforming the Don Bosco Farm into an  Agro-Educational Complex for the poor and the marginalized, especially children and teenagers.

▲ October, 1986. With the children, students, apprentices, farm hands, interns, counselors, teachers, supervisors, managers and leaders in Sulcorna, Goa, India, where as the Rector from 1981 to 1987 Fr. Ariosto Coelho, SDB, [11th in the first row of adults sitting] was instrumental in transforming Don Bosco Farm into an Agro-Educational Complex for the marginalized young and the poor: a high school K-12; residential facilities for teens; a rural health clinic; a rural development center; agricultural and animal farms; a farmers' rehabilitation society.

He represented the Pia Sociedade Salesiana de São João Bosco in Goa (1980-88) in Civil and Criminal Courts starting at the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi. As a member of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council of Goa (1982-84) he espoused the cause and causes of the religious men and  women. As the founding Vice-President of the Trust for the Education of the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged he collaborated with a dedicated group of men and women at Jesuit House in Margao, Goa to sponsor activities that would address the needs of the marginalized children in Goa. A Trustee of the Bombay Salesian Society and a Councilor to the Salesian Provincial of Bombay (1982-88) Ariosto held a number of responsibilities in the governance and development of the Salesian Institutions in Western and Central India, particularly in the Goa and Gujarat regions.

July, 1985.  With the Leadership of the Salesians of Don Bosco in India who number over 2000 male religious, as many female religious and many more cooperators. Fr. Ariosto Coelho, SDB, [top row 12th] participates in the First Asian Salesian Spirituality Seminar held at The National Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical Center in Bangalore, India.

In recognition of his intellectual capabilities and outstanding services among the Salesians of Don Bosco in India, Ariosto was sent to the Vatican for higher studies in Salesian Spirituality. He lived at Communità Don Rua at Piazza dell'Ateneo Salesiano and studied at Università Pontificia Salesiana in Rome, Italy (1987-89) and wrote his Tesina [dissertation] to obtain the Licenza in Teologia Spirituale on "The Personal Vocation of Don Bosco as reflected in the Memorie dell’Oratorio di San Francesco Di Sales dal 1815 al 1855: A Contribution to Vocation Spirituality (1989)". [►Conversing, praying and exchanging gifts with  Pope John Paul II on June 20, 1989 at the Vatican] During the Summer of 1988 he was awarded a scholarship to study French at Université Lumiere in Lyons, France. He ministered to the parishioners of St. Mary of the Lake RC Church while obtaining a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies at Loyola University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (1988-90). While studying at the Institute of Catholic Educational Leadership at the University of San Francisco (1989-90) and while working on his Doctorate in Philosophy and Religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies (1990-93) he  ministered to the Roman Catholic flocks at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in North Beach (1989-92) and at St. Paul's Parish in Noe Valley (1992-93), both in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

 

In a letter to Pope John Paul II dated February 4, 1994 Ariosto offered his resignation from celibate ministry within the Roman Catholic Church, the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Archdiocese of San Francisco because he decided to marry Vivian Marrone. [◄ Ariosto holds his wedding rings as he prays with Mother Teresa on January 3, 1994 in Calcutta, India.]

 

[Lighting the Nuptial Candle with Vivian Marrone on March 22, 1994 in San Francisco, CA.] He continues an ecumenical ministry as an independent Catholic Priest as well as an Interfaith Spiritual Director, Family Psychotherapist and Clinical Art Therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. He enjoys doing home gardening, cooking Indian food, reading non-fiction literature, writing poetry and inspirational literature, drawing and painting the light, and traveling both locally and globally. If interested in Ariosto's creative work, please contact AriostoCoelho@Yahoo.com and enjoy the dance of light and delight in consonance with the Rhythms of the Breath and the Universe.


 THE EMPTY CIRCLE

"This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.

 ... Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill."

Rabindranath Tagore [1861-1941], Gitanjali

 

 LIVING IN CONSONANCE WITH

 THE RHYTHM OF THE BREATH

 

 Infinity  intimacy  integrity  In-harmony  

 

is Ariosto's vision, mission and plan of action

 

Simply,   breathing in abundance     GRACEFUL 

    (Awaken here and now          No Words            INFINITY)       Om

Freely,     growing with guidance      GRATEFUL

   (Balance by letting go        No Thoughts         INTIMACY)       Viva

Fully,      breathing out fragrance      PEACEFUL

     (Center  with love let us glow      No Self        INTEGRITY)     Xānti

Emptied,   glowing with radiance      PLAYFUL

        (Delight may joy overflow    Embrace All    IN-HARMONY)   Moima

BLOW, BLOW, BLOW TILL I BE

BUT A BREATH OF THE SPIRIT BLOWING IN ME

 

 BLISSFUL LAUGHTER

 

wITH YOU A DISCIPLE, FOR YOU A PRIEST,

A clinical ARTIST AND A FAMILY THERAPIST

WHO AGREES WITH  ▪  Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) that "we must be the change we want to see in the world."    Albert Einstein (1879-1955) that "there are only two ways to live your life: one is as if everything is a miracle, the other is as though nothing is a miracle."   the Jewish psalmist and the Christian mystic "Be still and know that I am God"    the Vedic seer "Thou art that!"  ▪  [Awakening]

WHO CHOOSES  ▪  to laugh and cry along the way with Vivian Marrone Coelho;    to dance in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth both within and beyond the realm of organized religions; to believe with Muhammad, The Prophet, (c. 570632) that "There is no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clearly from falsehood." (Qur'an 2:256)  ▪  to accept with Lao Tzu (c. 570-490 BCE) that "The Tao that can be told is not the Great Integrity. The Tao that can be named  is not the universal name." (Tao Te Ching 1:1)  ▪  [Balancing]

WHO STRIVES TO BE  ▪  compassionate with a warm heart, a bright head, ready hands and feet that walk on the waters (Gospel of Matthew 16/25 & 25/40) in love with the little, the lowly, the lonely or the lost and their leaders (Sānt Kabīr c1398-1458, Blessed Joseph Vaz of Goa 1651-1711, Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941 & Blessed Teresa of Calcutta 1910-'97).   and enlightened: "How wonderful! All things are perfect exactly as they are!" (Gautama Buddha c. 556-486 BCE)  [Centering]

WHO IS COMMITTED TO Awaken  Balance Center  Delight in the best within ("Give me souls and take away the rest." St. John Bosco 1815-'88; St. Francis de Sales 1567-1662; St. Francis Xavier 1506-1552 and St. Francis of Assisi 1181-1262) where the soul glows and grows peacefully with playfulness.  ▪  [Delight]

WHO WALKS ALONG the Path of Re-cognition ("pratyābhijna" according to Abinavgupta & Ksemaraja in the 9th & 10th centuries) by unfolding and enfolding (Sri Aurobindo 1872-1950 & Teilhard de Chardin 1881-1955)  Infinity  intimacy  integrity  In-harmony    gracefully with gratitude.    [Fullness or Emptiness : Awakening]

 

 

 Awakening, Balancing and Centering Delight 

in the Luminous Urge Within Oneself to Fulfill One’s Role in the Cosmic Drama

to the Best of One’s Ability and with Supreme Dedication to the Divine Plan 

I am on The Beautiful Trail, with it I wander.

[The Dawn Boy sings in the Navajo Night Chant]

Now, with the Priesthood of the Heart I wonder.

[Mahaprajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra]

GATÉ GATÉ PARAGATÉ PARASAMGATÉ BODHI SVAHA

 Beyond, beyond, totally beyond, perfectly beyond:

 Awakening ....Yes!

 

  Impermanence 

    LIVING IN CONSONANCE WITH    

   THE RHYTHM OF THE UNIVERSE   

 

 

     BLISSFUL LAUGHTER   

 DEVARDHANANDA

"The pure psychic being is of the essence of Ananda,

it comes from the delight-soul in the universe."

Sri Aurobindo [1872-1950], Synthesis of Yoga


EXPERIENCE

  • experienced with 42 years of spiritual, pastoral and educational counseling to individuals, couples, families, groups and communities in India, Italy and the U.S.A.

  • volunteered over 30,000 hours for youth work, social work and community leadership in India from 1967 to1987 as a professed religious Salesian of Don Bosco.

  • authored Mandalas, Personal Mythology and Mid-Life Spirituality: A Trans-Epistemological Inquiry into Mid-Life Transformation Blending Integral Art, Roman Catholic Tradition and Pūrņa Yoga . (1994) Goa: Moima Publications.

  • registered [1997] & licensed [MFC 43885] Family Therapist by the Board of Behavioral Sciences, CA

TRAINED IN

  • Applying creative and traditional processes including Sacred Rituals, Art from the Heart, Spiritual Dreamwork, Intensive Journal Writing, Neuro-Linguistics, Psycho-Neuro-Immunology, Integral Yoga, Ignatian Discernment of Spirits and the Salesian System of Education based on reason, religion and loving kindness, ... @ various locations in India, Italy and the USA. 1967-'94;

  • Conducting Interfaith ceremonies, Ecumenical liturgies and Catholic sacraments including those from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, ... @ white robed monks, St. John' s Church & other locations in CA. 1994-2007.

  • Functioning as a Procedural Writer [Training Manuals & Disaster Preparedness Procedures] and an Airport Emergency Chaplain @ San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, CA. 1995-2001.

  • Co-leading Multi-Family and Parent Education Groups, Juvenile Sex Offender Programs, ... @ North Peninsula Family Alternatives. South San Francisco, CA. 1996-'97;

  • Offering Clinical Pastoral Education, Interfaith Spiritual Direction, Grief Counseling, ... @ Stanford University Hospital. Stanford, CA. 1997-'98;

  • Leading Anger Management Groups, Brief Couple's Therapy, Co-Parent Counseling, Child Abuse Treatment,  ... @ Family Service Agency of San Mateo County. Burlingame, CA. 1998-2000.

  • Training volunteers in Leadership with the Elderly, Care of the Soul and Elder Friendship, ... @ Convalescent Hospital Ministry of Santa Clara Valley, Campbell, CA. 2000-'03.

  • Integrating Health and Spirituality, Cultural Competency and Mental Health, Brief Psychotherapy, Dual Diagnoses, Co-Occurring Disorders, Integrated Treatment and Recovery/Resiliency Initiative as a Change Agent, Children and Trauma, ... @ San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, CA. 2000-'09.

PARTICIPATED IN

  • First Asian Salesian Spirituality Seminar at The National Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical Center. Bangalore, India. July 1985

  • Congresso Mondiale degli Studii su Don Bosco at Pontificia Studiorum Universitas Salesiana. Rome, Italy. January 1988

  • World Parliament of Religions at Palmer House Hotel. Chicago IL. August-September 1993

  • Research Conference Integrating Spirituality and Health into Service Delivery at the National Institute of Health. Bethesda, MD. April 2003

  • Gomant Vishwa Sammelan at Campal Convention Center, Panaji, India. January 2004.

  • 2008: World Congress on Psychology and Spirituality: Furthering Their Integration at India Habitat Center. Delhi, India. January 2008

  • First-Ever California Change Agent "Un-Convention": Changing the World ... Conducted by Zia Partners, Inc., Burlingame, California. April 24-25, 2008.

  • XVI Annual Cultural Competence Summit, California - Mental Health; Burlingame, California. November 17-18, 2009.

EDUCATION & DEGREES

  • Doctorate in Philosophy and Religion. [1993] California Institute of Integral Studies. San Francisco.

  • Master of Arts in Marital and Family Therapy - Art Therapy. [1997] College of Notre Dame [University of Notre Dame de Namur]. Belmont, CA

  • Master of Pastoral Studies. [1990] Loyola University of Chicago. Chicago, IL

  • Licentiam Teologia - sp. Spiritualitatis. [1989] Pontificia Studiorum Universitas Salesiana. Rome, Italy

  • Master of Divinity. [1978] Kristu Jyothi College. Bangalore, South India

  • Hindi Sahitya Ratna. [1976] Sahitya Sammelan. Allahabad, North India

  • Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Hindi Literature. [1974] Pune University, Maharashtra, Western India

  • Certificate in Drawing [1973] Government of Maharashtra, Bombay, Western India

  • Bachelor of Humanities - Salesian Studies [1970] Sacred Heart College, Yercaud, South India

  • Pre-University Degree [1967] St. Anthony's College, Guwahati University, Shillong. North-Eastern India

  • Secondary School Leaving Certificate [1966] Maharashtra Board of Sec. Ed., Mumbai. Western India

  • Segundo Ano do Liceu. [1962] Liceu Dom Bosco. Panaji. Goa. South-Western India

MEMBERSHIP OR AFFILIATIONS since 1994

  • The White Robed Monks of St. Benedict

  • [1994- ]
  • Christ Church Anglican Catholic Church, San Mateo CA [1994-'97]

  • The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists [1996- ]

  • The American Art Therapy Association [1996-2005 ]

  • Delta Epsilon Sigma: National Scholastic Society [1997]

  • St. John's 1928 BCP Parish, Hayward CA [1997-2006]

  • Spiritual Directors International [1998- ]

  • El Buen Pastor Parish Church, San Mateo, CA [2000- ]

  • Elderkind Network for Volunteer Elder Friendship Programs [2002-'04]

  • Goa Sudharop Community Development Inc. [2002-'04]

  • International Center for the Integration of Health & Spirituality [2002-'04]

  • The American Cash Flow Association [2003-'04]

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

  • nominated for 1986 National Child Worker Award by the Government of Goa, India.

  • awarded in 1987 the Outstanding Young Person Award by the Jaycees of Goa, India "for distinguished services rendered to the nation" by transforming the Don Bosco Farm into an  Agro-Educational Complex for the poor and the marginalized, especially children and teenagers in remote Sulcorna in the Quepem Taluka.

 

CREATIVE IMPRESSIONS

with  Impermanence  :

The Rhythm of the Universe

xx

 

On December 21, 2002 Fr. Ariosto Coelho completed 25 years of ordination to the Catholic Priesthood. Throughout these twenty-five years he has been a disciple of Christ and God’s instrument of love for the little, the lowly, the lonely or the lost and their leaders among:

 

The Salesians of Don Bosco in the Province of Bombay, India (1977-93)

    Don Bosco Agro-Ed Complex in Sulcorna, Goa, India (1977-87)

    Pontificia Studiorum Universitas Salesiana in Rome, Italy (1987-89)

    Mission et Oeuvres de Don Bosco, Lyon, France (1988)

    Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois, USA (1988-89)

    Archdiocese of San Francisco, California, USA (1989-93)

    St. Francis of Assisi Church in North Beach (1989-92)

    St. Paul’s Church in Noe Valley (1992-93)

 

The White Robed Monks of St. Benedict in California, USA (1994- )

    Abbey Church of St. Benedict in San Francisco (1994- )

    Christ Church [Anglican Catholic Parish] in San Mateo (1994-97)

    St. Thomas a Becket AC Parish in Sacramento (1995-97)

    St. John’s 1928 Book of Common Prayer Parish in Hayward (1997-2006 )

    El Buen Pastor Catholic Church, San Mateo, CA [2000- ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Ordination to Catholic Priesthood and installation as Rector of St. John's Parish Church in Hayward, CA on Dec. 21, 2002[LEFT] With the White Robed Monks of St. Benedict and others (from L to R: Rev. V. Jackson, Fr. G. Caprio, Bishop J. Rose, Abbot/Bishop R. Dittler, OSB, Fr. R. Frances, and Br. M. Savio); [RIGHT] With the Marstons and other friends .

 The Community of Spiritual Direction both within and beyond religion

    San Francisco International Airport Operations, CA (1995-1997)

    North Peninsula Family Alternatives, South San Francisco CA(1996-1997)

    Stanford University Hospital Chaplaincy Services, Stanford CA (1997-98)

    Family Service Agency of San Mateo County, Burlingame CA (1998-2000)

    Convalescent Hospital Ministry of Santa Clara Valley, Campbell CA (2000-03)

    South Central Youth Team of SMC Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Redwood City (2000- ).

 

 

Celebrating the Wedding of Michael Basus and Maria Ramos

at St. Joseph's Workshop in San Bruno, CA on  August 4, 2007.

Graceful Grateful Peaceful Playful laughter