THE GOAN NETWORK | MELBOURNE
After four Konkani Masses were celebrated in 2022, the first Konkani Mass of 2023 was celebrated at the Sacred Heart Church, Hindmarsh on March 18. This marked the first anniversary of the historic occasion of the first Mass for Konkani-speaking Christians in Adelaide who hail from Goa, Mangalore and surrounding areas.
A short pre-Mass video on the arrival of the faith on Indian shores was screened. It highlighted the Nossa Senhora de Brotas church at Anjediva Island off Karwar, which has the status of a Mother Church and was Goa’s first parish to be established. The church which celebrates its feast on February 2 is now out of bounds for regular worship as it falls in the Naval Sea Bird Project area. Being significant to the faithful from Goa and coastal Karnataka, its commemoration assumes considerable importance.
Fr Santhosh Nazareth CSC and Fr Lancy D'Silva CSC con-celebrated the Mass at the Sacred Heart Church. Fr Santhosh, who recently arrived in Adelaide, was the main celebrant and it was his first celebration of a Konkani Mass on foreign soil. He was welcomed with a rousing applause.
Fr Santhosh focussed his homily on the various types of blindness present besides physical blindness based on the account of Jesus healing the blind man beside the pool of Siloam (which means ‘sent’) in the Gospel of John.
He said that like the healed blind man, every Christian is sent, being anointed with the baptismal common priesthood, prophesy and kingship. He also spoke on the need to be pure and holy in a world of changing morals and that God does not see as man does but sees the heart.
Fr Santhosh hails from Byndoor in Karnataka and is fluent in English, Hindi, Kannada and Konkani. He was the principal of Holy Cross School, Kerala and was earlier the school administrator of the Holy Cross High School, Ghanpur, Telangana. He has also had exposure to the missions in North East India.
Members of the community joyfully participated in the liturgy. Some of those doing the Konkani readings for the first time were hesitant but then expressed gladness at the opportunity to read in the mother tongue for the congregation.
Derrick Nazareth from Nachinola read the First Reading in fluent Konkani. Paul D’Souza, a septuagenarian from Bangalore but originally from Morjim who is on a visit to Australia, devoutly read and prayed one of the universal prayers along with Savio Fernandes and Anthony Fernandes from Curtorim.
The choir which was led by Blaise Fernandes sang a mix of both Goan and Mangalorean hymns and was applauded at the end of the Mass. A new hymn ‘Khursacher Tyag’ with Konkani lyrics composed by Blaise Fernandes and set to the tune of the classic ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ evoked a Lenten tenor to the celebration. It can be accessed on YouTube https://youtu.be/28qxxrIRRCk. Newly-wed couple Pearl and Clinton Pinto were also felicitated for coming all the way from Melbourne to attend the Mass.
These Konkani masses were initiated with the Archdiocese of Adelaide by Ancilla Dias and Blaise Fernandes representing the Mangalorean Catholic community and Goan Catholic community respectively, with the active support of Fr Lancy D'Silva CSC.
After Mass, a fellowship with vegetarian finger food was held in keeping with the Lenten spirit of abstinence. A sense of Konkan camaraderie filled the air with Marathi community members also in attendance. All were eager to attend and participate in the next Mass to be held in June.
