Photo Credits: FEAST-OLD GOA
OLD GOA: The feast of Saint Francis Xavier at Old Goa was celebrated with religious fervour with Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay Dominic Savio Fernandes exhorting the people to pray to St Francis Xavier so that he may help us in becoming God’s loving witnesses of compassion, love and mercy.
Further, in his homily, the main celebrant of the feast mass, Bishop Fernandes said on December 8, Pope Francis will inaugurate the jubilee year of mercy. “The purpose is to help us realize that our God is the God of love and mercy. Love and mercy are two sides of the same coin and this is what Pope Francis wants to remind us. He wants us to be instruments of God’s love and mercy, to be his true witnesses, to experience God’s love and mercy in our hearts and share it with others,” he added.
“We know that God who is a loving father just waits for us to repent and the moment we repent God is willing to forgive us and he expects us to go out and forgive others and to love others in the same measure that he loved us and forgave us,” Bishop Fernandes continued while stating that “when we come to know Jesus, we experience his love and mercy and our life changes”.
“Jesus wants to spread his love and mercy throughout the world and only then we will become his real witnesses,” he said.
Speaking on the life of Saint Francis Xavier, Bishop Fernandes said Xavier understood Jesus’ love and mercy very well. “He was a person just like us. He wanted to earn name and fame in the world. But, in Paris where he went to gain knowledge, he met St Ignatius de Loyola who quoted him the Bible wherein Jesus had said ‘What is the use of winning the whole world if one loses his soul’. These words made him embrace the teachings of Jesus Christ and he came to the East to spread the good word of Jesus”.
Bishop Fernandes further said when St Xavier came to India, he served the poor, sick and the needy without taking any rest. “Those who were on death bed, he was giving them solace. He taught the people how to love God, how to pray to God, not only through lip service but also in our hearts.”
“After Sunday’s mass, he used to go to serve the lepers and give them solace and communion. This way he was giving them strength and through his life, he gave them God’s love and mercy. He also visited prisoners, advised them to change their lives. He advised them to be like Jesus Christ, leave all bad behind and become good people,” Bishop Fernandes said.
Further, Bishop Fernandes said, “We have got together to honour Saint Francis Xavier and worship God. In truth, if we really want to honour Saint Xavier, we have to follow his teachings of Jesus Christ and become ambassadors of peace, love and mercy and share it all around. We should start within our family with the husband and wife living a loving life and being able to forgive each other.”
“We should not only live for ourselves but for others as well. Only then we will become true disciples of Jesus. Today, let us pray to Saint Francis Xavier and leave all bad things in our life and live a loving, peaceful and merciful life,” he concluded.
Other concelebrants at the mass included Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop-Emeritus Raul Gonsalves, Bishop of Sindhudurg Alwyn Barreto, Ambassador Emeritus of the Vatican Archbishop Blasco Colaco, Vicar-General Fr Jose Remedious Fernandes, Basilica Rector Fr Savio Barretto, Se Cathedral Parish Priest Fr Alfred Vaz and others.
Governor Mridula Sinha, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, MLAs Vijay Sardessai, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Rohan Khaunte, Glen Ticlo and other dignitaries were present for the feast mass.
Earlier, Archbishop Felipe Neri Ferrao introduced and welcomed the Bishops and the dignitaries. Basilica Rector Fr Savio Barretto thanked the government departments like the PWD, electricity, fire brigade, police, ASI, volunteers, sponsors and others for their contribution in making the feast a success.
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THOUSANDS OF
DEVOTEES
THRONG VENUE
* Since early morning, thousands of devotees thronged Old Goa to participate in the masses, turning the place into a sea of people as Goa celebrated the annual feast of Saint Francis Xavier on December 3
* The masses began as early as 4 am and continued throughout the day with the festivities coming to an end after the conclusion of the 6 pm service
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... the moment we repent God is willing to forgive us and He expects us to go out and forgive others and to love others
- Dominic Savio Fernandes,
Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay
