Jesus Touched Me

A SON TO BE NAMED "JOSEPH” Thottakom is a small village near Vaikom, a famous town in central Kerala. The parish of Thottakom comes under the Archdiocese of Ernakulam, the home diocese of the Syro-Malabar Archiepiscopal Church which has its faith heritage from St. Thomas the Apostle. A lush green countryside, full of palm groves and plenty of water Thottakom is famous for its coir industry. Xavier Kuruppamparambil, Fr. Bill’s father, was the first villager to get an English education. He was a leading figure in the coir industry also. Father of three sons and a daughter, he had a wish to get another son also to christen "Joseph.” Xavier and his wife, Anna, a pious woman had been praying hopefully for that. Their first son, the late George, was in his father's business. The next son, Thomas, is a homeopathic doctor. Next came daughter, Mary, and then son, John, who (as of 2001) was still active in coir industry lived in the ancestral home where all the family members gather occ­asionally. After six years of hopeful prayer for another son, the happy culmination came when Xavier and Anna were blessed with another son on 23rd February 1928, whom they named, Joseph. Joseph began his study in a nearby primary school. Determination, optimism, endurance and enthusiasm were some of his qualities, which were prominent in his character even from the childhood. As he grew up to the high school level, Joseph began to show keen interest in social and political activities. That was the time when the national freedom movement intensified under the leadership of Gandhi. "Uncle Joseph took interest in student politics and soon become one of the leaders in our school. Slogans aroused by Uncle were so thrilling that his fame spread quickly,” recollect Fr. Xavier Kuruppamparambil, son of the late George, eldest brother of Fr. Bill. Fr. Xavier, only two years younger than his uncle, is (as of 2001) a missionary in the State of Bihar in India. But his parents had foreseen a danger in this fame and took the proper action by relieving Joseph from the local school and sending him to a boarding school at Mannanam run by priests. It was the will of God at work, but young Joseph he never gave up his preoccupation with socio-political causes. Even after becoming a priest, Fr. Joseph continued involvement in such causes, as is evident from his active participation in the historical movement that shook the political scene of Kerala and overthrew the first communist government of the world that had taken power through the ballot box. In that famous "Liberation Movement" of 1959, Fr. Bill was a leader with Fr. Joseph Vadakkan who spearheaded the action. Again in the 1980's he took interest in the prohibition movement led by late Prof. M. P. Manmadhan and thrilled masses with his eloquence. He has also led people's movements against social evils like prostitution, illicit liquor trade, etc. Jesus who drove out money traders out of the city.