Dear fellow Goenkars

"Hi Tony,

Thanks for your message. On a regular basis I receive congratulatory messages from several Goans around the world for my articles. It is with this encouragement that I set about to publish a book of my recollections of my life growing up in Goa.

Can I take it that you and the GOA NSW will support and make possible the sale of my book Down Under to your membership and readers? "

Thank you once again.

Best regards,

Domnic Fernandes

HOW ROMAN CATHOLICISM LANDED IN GOA

Before I get down to write on priesthood and priests, let me give a little brief on how Roman Catholicism landed in Goa.

The Portuguese introduced Christianity to Goa. One of Vasco da Gama's goals in finding the sea route to India was to find new Christians. Upon landing at Calicut in 1498 he was surprised to find a thriving Christian community established by one of the Last Apostles of Jesus, St. Thomas. This, however, did not stop the Portuguese from promoting their own brand of European Christianity - Roman Catholicism.

The first missionaries sent to India after the discovery of the sea route were some Dominican Friars who came as chaplains of the Fleet on Alfonso de Albuquerque's ships. Soon a church dedicated to St. Catherine was set up after the conquest, the significance being the victorious conquest of Goa on St. Catherine's day, November 25, 1510.

The next group that was more successful in propagating Christianity was the Franciscans, who arrived in Goa in 1517. For the next quarter century they were active in conversions not only in Goa but also the bordering areas of India. Upon hearing of this success, Pope Paul II subsequently raised the status of Goa to an Episcopal. He appointed the First Bishop to take charge who unfortunately never made it to India, as he died soon after appointment.
The Pope then appointed the Episcopal authority to Dom Fr. João de Albuquerque, who took charge of the diocese in 1538.

The most successful group to arrive soon after was the Jesuits of the newly formed Society of Jesus. With the arrival of St. Francis Xavier S.J., one of its founders, the activity of the Jesuits went into overdrive. Goa became the base for Fr. Francis Xavier's voyages to the east. His preaching of the gospel took him to Macau, Japan, Philippines and at the doors of China. His untimely death on the desolate island of Sancian in the South China Sea put an end to his career but not his legend. The saga of the incorruptibility of his body eventually led to his canonization and sainthood in 1622 and his relics preserved for posterity at the Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa.

The other Missionary and religious orders that settled in Goa include the Dominicans in 1572, The Theatines in 1640, Order of St. John in 1681 and the Carmelites in the 1700s. The only nunnery in Goa was the Monastery of St.
Monica, established in 1606.

Alfonso de Albuquerque had not interfered with Hindu religious practices apart from forbidding the practice of Sati. He also did not destroy any temples during his reign. From 1540 onwards, under the influence of the counter-reformation in Europe and with the arrival of the Inquisition to Goa, this liberal policy was reversed. A strict censorship of literature was soon imposed. New laws forbade the public profession of any other religion except the Catholic religion. Even the Syrian Christians who had been in India before the Portuguese were treated as heretics along with the Jews and Protestants. Hindus also came to be affected and they were accused of being disrespectful to Christianity.

An edict by the Viceroy in 1576 required the destruction of all Hindu temples in Portuguese controlled Goa along with banning of ritual ablutions and the expulsions of non Christian priests, holy men and preachers. Hindus were forbidden to visit Temples in adjoining areas not controlled by the Portuguese and were compelled in some cases to attend Churches and listen to the Gospel. Social intercourse between Christians and non Christians was discouraged. Christian converts were favored in the appointments of Goans to public office and some positions were even reserved for these new converts.

The law on paper still laid down that the "Conversion to Christianity of people from other religions had to be by persuasion and not by force". This, however, was not practiced in reality. An exception to this law was made in
1559 when a decree ordered Hindu orphan children to be handed over to the College of São Paolo so they could be baptized and educated as Christians by the College.

The converts usually took on the name of the priest or the College who or where they were baptized. After conversion, they were expected to make a clean break from their Hindu past. Not only were their names changed but also their food habits, social customs and even dress had to conform to the way of living of the European Christians. Several old Hindu practices were enhanced in their Christianized versions. The place of honor given to the family deity was now given to the Oratorio. The flame burned before a crucifix and various Christian saints. The Tulsi plant in front of the house gave way to the Cross in front of Christian homes and Christian prayers now accompanied pre-marriage ceremonies. In the village, the Novem (harvest
procession) was headed by a Christian priest instead of a Hindu one and he also performed the traditional blessing of the first sheaves of paddy.

The Portuguese also implemented the compulsory learning of the Portuguese Language under the Viceroy, Count of Alvor (1681-1686). He compelled Goans to give up Konkani and this caused a significant number of people to flee Goa to neighboring India. The result of all these actions was that in 1707, there were 100,000 Christians to 3000 Hindus in Salcette and a similar ratio in other areas of the Old Conquests.

This repressive policy of the Portuguese continued until the mid 1700s and underwent a complete U turn due to one individual - The Marquis of Pombal.

Sebastian Jose de Carvalho, later to be the Marquis of Pombal was the Prime Minister to the King of Portugal, Dom Joseph I. He was appointed in 1750 and was propelled to power by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. He successfully masterminded the rebuilding of Lisbon and this made him very powerful and influential in the eyes of the King and the court. The assassination attempt on the King on September 8, 1758 gave him an opportunity to purge his enemies and he did so with a vengeance. These included the ex-Duke Alvario, the Marcioness of Tavora and her husband and two sons and the Jesuit fathers. All the conspirators were executed. In 1761, Pombal issued an edict confiscating all Jesuit property to the crown and arrested and imprisoned all the Jesuits. A total of 53 Jesuit priests were executed as co-conspirators in the assassination plot. The Jesuit leader, Fr. Malagrida was hanged and others burned at the stake. All of the remaining Jesuits were expelled from Portugal.

The fallout of the Jesuit expulsion had its immediate ramifications on all aspects of life in Goa. The most important effect was felt on education.
Replacing Jesuit teachers and professors was an arduous task. The greatest impact was however felt on the commercial front. The Jesuits had invested a vast amount of their resources in every sphere of commercial activity in Portuguese Asia and were involved in shipping, building, trade and finance.
They were the custodians of the crown funds, managers of Goa's Royal Hospital and responsible for the upkeep of the fortifications and minting of coins at some places. They also owned large tracts of land all over.

The most important other decision of Pombal that had far reaching effects and was welcomed by all was the suppression of the Inquisition in 1774.

It appears that Goa was Pombal's greatest beneficiary. Though the expulsion of the Jesuits was controversial, the suppression of the Inquisition was welcomed by all. However, there was more. For more than half a century before his coming to power, local Goan priests were used by the clergy to do the low rung work. They were never promoted or appointed to higher positions. The Cathedral chapter, the Vicarships and the professorships in Goa were all filled by Europeans only. Pombal's historic decrees of 1761 and
1763 among others, called for opening up the Clergy and various religious orders for all subjects irrespective of their being white or native in origin. As a result of this, the first Goan was appointed to the Cathedral chapter in 1762. Soon the Vicarships went to eligible locals. The Religious orders which had earlier refused to admit natives in their ranks a few years ago began accepting Goans. The local Theatines were the first to do so and soon all other religious orders followed suit.

The well-known and well-organized plot - the "Pinto Revolt" - took place in 1787. The leaders of the plot were some prominent priests of Goa belonging to the "Pinto Family" who had the support of some military officers of Goan origin. A large number of arrests were made and criminal proceedings launched against its leaders. 47 members of the group were arrested and prosecuted as plotters including 17 priests. Fr. Jose Vaz from Anjuna was among the priests denounced and detained.

The periods from 1820s to 1920s are regarded as one of the best times for Goans with regards to religious and political freedom. Portugal was a monarchy until 1910 and was replaced by democracy and was declared a republic. Goans were given representation in the Portuguese parliament. All citizens, be they Hindus, Christians etc were guaranteed individual freedom and liberty under the civil code. All this changed in 1928 with the dictatorship under Dr. Antonio Salazar. His 'Acta Colonial’ denied everything promised previously and Goans were back to square one.

Goa was called the "Rome of the East" due to the central role it played in the evangelization of the East. Fr. Joseph Vaz, who distinguished himself in the evangelization of Sri Lanka and is therefore acclaimed as the 'Apostle of Ceylon', was beatified by Pope John Paul II on January 21, 1995.
Fr Agnelo De Souza, member of the Missionary Society of Pilar, is hopefully on the way to beatification.

Since the Portuguese introduced Roman Catholicism in Goa, Goans were basically Roman Catholics. At least I did not know of any other Christian religion besides Catholicism when I grew up in the 1950s. To my knowledge, other Christian religions and denominations arrived in Goa and established their churches on Goan soil post liberation. Just like various political parties which arrived in Goa around the same time and split the vote bank among Goans, the other Christian religions and/or denominations also created splits in Catholicism.

PRIESTHOOD

Priesthood is more than celebrating Mass and telling people about God. It is about knowing the central call of your life and giving your all for this call. Priests are called to be forthright messengers of hope, strong community leaders and spiritual guides for both the lost and the faithful.

Jesus Christ has had an incredible impact on the world. His teachings have shaped many values held by our society, and His love has transformed countless lives. A critical part of a priest's mission is to tell Christ's story of hope. That story brings comfort to those who are weak and without a voice, and encourages and activates those who have the power to make the world a better place. Jesus' message of hope is not always popular; people have suffered for preaching the Gospel, but it is a powerful message that must be told.

One of the most satisfying things about being a priest is being part of a faith community and being a pastoral leader. This occurs on a number of levels, including presiding over communal worship of a faith community and joining with families at big moments like weddings and baptisms. Nourishing the Catholic community with the Body and Blood of Christ is a vital role for a priest. He also needs to explore ways of helping people make spiritual sense of their lives in a dynamic and changing world. Before speaking about other people's lives, priests need to be students of prayer themselves. A priest develops his personal relationship with God, to learn the ways of God and to lead others on those paths.

God's first call for every person is to simply follow Him. You were created to be in relationship with God, and that is His greatest desire for you. As your relationship with God grows, He will continue to draw you deeper into this relationship, and call you to become more like Christ, to love Him more, and to love others through service. In all these things, you will experience God calling you to a particular vocation.

Every vocation starts with an initial call, but every call and every journey is different. The word vocation comes from another Latin word vocatio, which means 'a calling'. The Catholic Church recognizes four main vocations:
Priesthood, Religious Life, Marriage and Single Life. God calls everyone to follow Him - there is no question about that. The question is: How is God calling ME to follow Him? “Quo Vadis" is Latin for "where are you going?"
It's a question that Christ asks of each of us - "Where are you going?"

In each vocation, the person lives a life of faith and prayer to continually grow in relationship with God. The Church recognizes that each vocation is equal in the sense that no vocation is better or less than any other.
However, because God calls you to a particular vocation - whether marriage, priesthood, religious life or single life - that vocation is the best one for you, and the one that will 'fit' you best and make you the most happy.

Priesthood is God’s call – not everyone is called to join the vocation.
“Many are called but few are chosen.”

PRIEST

A priest is a person having the authority or power to perform and administer religious rites. Priests have been known since the earliest of early times and in the simplest societies.

A Catholic priest is a male ordained minister of the Church. Because they give their lives in total service to the Church, priests embrace the gift of celibacy and commit to a life of prayer. They proclaim the Good News, teach the Catholic faith, minister the Sacraments, work to build up their local faith community and lead their faith community in worship. Most priests minister in a parish setting, while others may serve as chaplains.

Greek word, presbyteros, Latin presbyterus, is traditionally translated priest and the English word priest is indeed etymologically derived from this word; literally, however, this word means elder, and is used in neutral and non-religious contexts in Greek to refer to seniority or relative age.
It is the term used in Catholicism to refer to one given the sacrament of Holy Orders in that degree.

The most significant liturgical acts reserved to priests are the administration of the Sacraments, including the celebration of the Mass or Divine Liturgy, the Sacrament of Penance, also called Confession and the Sacrament of anointing of the sick. Confirmation or Chrism is most often celebrated by a bishop. Holy Baptism may be administered by anyone and Matrimony may be witnessed by a deacon, but most often these are also normally administered by a priest. The only sacrament which may only be celebrated by a bishop is that of Ordination, or Holy Orders.

Only men who meet certain requirements may become priests. In Roman Catholicism the canonical minimum age is twenty-five. Bishops may dispense with this rule and ordain men up to one year younger; dispensations of more than a year are reserved to the Holy See. A Catholic priest must be incardinated by his bishop or his major religious superior in order to engage in public ministry. He cannot marry after ordination. In the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, they must be celibate.

Just as a boy must eventually make his own way to healthy adulthood while remaining loyal to the family, so the priest, in resolving the Oedipal complex, must suffer the anxiety and tension of being loyal to the church and faithful to his own vision.

A young man gives up his home and place and joins a seminary where he goes through the necessary education after which he is ordained. A priest is then assigned to a church where he preaches the word of God and spreads the faith of Christianity.

During our childhood, if a boy took religion very seriously, his parents, relatives and even neighbors would ask him: “Puta, tum padri zatai?” (Son, are you joining priesthood?) By the same token, if this question was posed to a mischievous boy, they would say: “Hoi, to padri zalear mandri ghaltolo” meaning if he becomes a priest, he will lay the mat!

To be a priest is to be a man of God. It is to lead people in the vision of transforming the world according to the mind of Jesus Christ.

We get married, have a family and make our future but a priest’s life begins and ends in a Church.

BONDDIO PADRI (One appearing in priestly dress, but without Holy Orders of the priesthood.)

We had quite a few of them but the most famous in Mapusa area in the 50s and 60s was ‘SAKRULA’ from Bastora. He wore a brown cassock with a hood, like the one used by Capuchin fathers. He placed a long rosary around his neck which had a big crucifix. He had long hair; he wore sandals and rode around on a bicycle. He was always present at football matches in Mapusa as well as in adjoining villages. He pretended to be St. Anthony and blessed people using the crucifix. I believe he belonged to a well-to-do family in Bastora. I was told he did menial work at home, including plucking of coconuts – not by climbing the trees but by using a ladder.

Whenever a guy gives up drinking alcohol, he is sometimes referred to as ‘padri’ and people comment: “Tannem soro soddlo; to atam padri zala” (he gave up liquor; he has become a priest) because priests usually did not drink.

PREREQUISITE FOR PRIESTHOOD

Until the beginning of the last century, priests in Goa came from two main communities/castes – Brahmin and Charddo. Both belonged to well-to-do families. A poor man was not considered for priesthood, even if he wished.
It was only towards the middle of the last century that boys from poor and middle class families joined seminaries and became priests. Thus, the second half of the last century saw a significant rise in the number of priests in Goa.

To my knowledge, one of the first priests to be Ordained in Anjuna from a poor family in the late 1940s, was Fr. Peter D’Souza from Bhattin. His father, Pedro D’Souza aka Pedro Ghannekar, owned a “ghanno” (bullock-driven mill). After Fr. Peter’s Ordination, people gave up referring to his house as “Pedro Ghannekarager”; instead, they referred to it as “Padriger.” Fr.
Peter went to Canada in the mid 1950s and settled there. He celebrated Advogad Saibinninchem fest (Our Lady of Advocate’s feast) in Anjuna church four years ago. He passed away last year.

Joint family system was the norm in Goa. Everyone, regardless of the caste, planned and had a large family. If a Brahmin had six sons, two of them would get employed, the third would become a lawyer, the fourth a doctor, the fifth would be offered to God in the form of a priest and the sixth would look after properties and business; he mostly ended up a bachelor and gave company to his spinster sisters who chose to remain unmarried because they/their parents didn’t want to part with their wealth by way of dowry.
Sometimes if a family had six sons, two joined priesthood.

WHITE or ROMAN COLLAR

Nothing, it seems, changes more often than fashion. If you look at yesteryear portraits, you will notice quite a change from the clothes we wear today. While not quite as dramatic, the clothes worn by priests and other members of the clergy have also changed over the years. The white collar (which is usually paired with a companion black collar), customarily referred to as a "Roman collar", was developed over several centuries and has been worn in a form somewhat similar to that of the present day only since the mid-1800s.

In Western Christianity, the stiff white clerical collar has become the nearly universal feature of priestly clerical clothing, worn either with a cassock or a clergy shirt. The collar may be either a full collar or a vestigial tab displayed through a square cutout in the shirt collar.

In the fashions of the fifteenth century, men clergy and laity began to turn their linen collars up and over their outer garments. Gradually these collars became elaborate, often varying in style and ornamentation from country to country. In order to protect the collar from getting soiled, a separate linen band was sewn on the collar where it was worn against the neck. It was this linen band that was removed and laundered, rather than the entire collar. Eventually, the ornamentation of collars became too extensive and Rome demanded that clergy adopt a simpler style. With all lace and other worldly decorations removed, the protective linen band became the most prominent feature of the clerical collar. As the centuries progressed, this linen "choker" was stiffened with starch and began to resemble the collars worn today.

Among the typical features of the cassock is a standing black collar. Most often this collar has a small, notched opening, an opening that will be important as the Roman collar develops.

Catholic clergy continue to wear the simple, white band collar (although these days, the collar is usually made of plastic, not linen). More frequently, however, Catholic clergy wear clothing that approximates what would be seen if the simple white band collar is worn beneath a black cassock all that shows through is the little notch of white under the chin.
This collar has become so identified with Catholic clergy that you rarely see it worn by ministers of other denominations. It is, therefore, called the "Roman" collar.

CASSOCK

It has been customary for many years for clergy to dress in black. Black was adopted as a sign of simplicity, color being somewhat festive and associated with the wealthier. As color became associated with liturgy, different colors of vestments being associated with different feasts and seasons, the clergy began to dress without color when not celebrating liturgy. In tropical climates, clergy more often wear white. The most common garment for the clergy was the cassock, which derived from the clothing worn for warmth by most people in the fifth century. Because churches often remained unheated, the cassock was retained by the clergy long after it was abandoned by others. By the middle ages, the cassock was so associated with the clergy that it became their distinctive garb.

A cassock is a plain, lightweight, ankle-length garment with long sleeves but without hood. The cassock is a clerical, not vestment. It serves as an undergarment for vestments. If the cassock has buttons down the center of the front, from the neck to the ankles, it is called a Roman cassock. The Roman style cassock has 33 buttons representing Christ’s 33 years on Earth.
It is black for priests, purple for bishops, red for cardinals and white for the Pope.

Distinctive clerical clothing is less often worn in modern times than formerly, and in many cases it is rare for a priest to wear it when not acting in a pastoral capacity, especially in countries that view themselves as largely secular in nature. There are frequent exceptions to this however, and many priests rarely if ever go out in public without it, especially in countries where their religion makes up a clear majority of the population.
This was followed in Goa though we did not have a clear majority. Pope John Paul II often instructed Catholic priests and religious to always wear their distinctive (clerical) clothing, unless wearing it would result in persecution or grave verbal attacks like in the country where I am presently employed.

A Goan priest was always seen in his white cassock. With a white cassock on, a priest looked like a dove - a symbol often used in Christianity to depict the Holy Spirit. White or black cassock was the identity of a priest. He wore black cassock whenever he attended a funeral or celebrated week’s mind mass or month’s mind mass or a death anniversary mass. He removed it only when he rested in his quarters. Even when people went to meet with him, he hurriedly put on his cassock and then only came out of his room.

Goan priests always wore a pair of trousers under their cassock, which was a little longer than cassock length. As such, we knew what color and texture quality trousers a priest had worn.

CLERGY SHIRT

Even today, you may see a priest wearing a Roman collar with a cassock. More often, you will see him in a ‘tab shirt’. The tab shirt is simply a black (or white or sometimes another color) shirt with a simple fabric collar in the same color as the shirt. This collar is constructed to permit the insertion of a little "tab" of white plastic. Most priests now prefer tab shirts because they feel comfortable in it.

A clergy shirt is a clerical, not a vestment. From the 1970s, many Goan priests gave up wearing a cassock and instead began to wear neckband and tab-collar shirts. Though many people associate clergy shirts with the Roman Catholic Church, it is only because their sheer size makes their clergy conspicuous. Clergy shirts (black shirts with white tabs or collars) are actually of Protestant origin.

It was difficult for Goans to accept the sudden change from cassock to clerical (the clothing and accessories that clergy wear as street clothes, such as a tab-collar shirt, which make it evident that they are clergy.)

Here are the lyrics of a verse and chorus of a song sung by the late Kamat de Assolna, in which he expresses public discontentment at priests taking up Hindu names and discarding the cassock:

Padrinim atam boltench dhorlam, kitkeanim nanvuim bodol’lam, soddun nanv bautizma disak dilelem Jezuchem xikop khuim gha urlam, amchem noxib mista sorlam, hem oxem ghoddot mhunnon konnem re chintlelem Poiat Goeant aiz kitem chol’lam, adim ghoddonaslem aiz ghoddlam, Seman Sant ietoch Goeam dukan buddtalem Korezmanchem bhov thoddeank poddlam, Saibinn Maimchem kalliz roddlam, adim amcheim kalliz toxench roddtalem

Igorz Mathen atvinch novlam ghoddtat, diret amkam nam re xinnpacho Hea fuddem Kristanv bhavanim aploch fondd fonddpacho Konn padri Bramanand, konn Premanand, konn rit-rovis sanddpacho Urlam fokot tannim Jezu Kristak Dev Anand mhunnpacho

It was much more difficult for people to accept priests in casual wear though some fixed a tiny cross to shirt pocket to make it evident they were clergy, but others chose not to in which case an unknown person found it difficult to identify a priest.

Here is another well-composed song by the late Kamat de Assolna in which he talks about the ‘cross’ and how priests in those days when they switched from a cassock to casual wear kept the cross in shirt pocket instead of wearing it on the shirt:

“KHURIS” (Cross) by Kamat de Asolna

I
Adlea tempar ho sonvsar aslo re kaiboro
Maim-pai bhurgeank Aitarak misak voro
Karann tankan dotorn xikoitalin ghevn aro Xikoita titkeim bhurgeanche motin uro Aiz khaxea pai putank ghevn pietat soro Rozar korunk tankan vell nam rokddench zata puro Sant Khursacho mog korun khoro Bandun kastidadicho dhoro Adle padri amche bhaghevonth moro

Chorus
Ek Amche Bapa, ek Noman Mori
Rozar tum korxi, jem poddta bori
Chovis horam disak, dha ek pavt tori
Sant khursachi kadd, vaztoch aimori

II
Adlea tempar sonvsaran milagri poi ghoddo Kalliz amchem tednam khursa thaim kitlem voddo Nimannea Sukraradis ami cholon Montir choddo Jezuk khursar marlolo pollovn sogott roddo Piddevont khursak poitoch khuxealkaien uddo Akantak sampoddlolo khursak paem poddo Aiz munis kortubanim paddo Ani chintnanim to reddo Sonvsar korun soddla mornancho ghaddo

Chorus
Pattim vadoll ievn, kitle kavz ghoddle
Loknnanche khambe, alovn bhuim poddle
Ghoram moddon gelin, umttole ruk vhoddle Jezuche khuris, sang kitle moddle

III
Kalvar dongra velo khuris ked’do vhoddlo Tea khursar ghoddlelem povn ak’ko sonvsar roddlo Aiz munis xikon poi kitko choddlo Khursak visron thoddeanim boltoch dhorom ghoddlo Goenchea Saiban Jezucho khuris Goyeant haddlo Tea khursak povn kitkeanim adlo dhorom soddlo Goencho lok khuxealkaien uddlo Jezuchea mogan poddlo Goenkarak poiat aiz Devcharan naddlo

Chorus
Dekun to khuris, lhan zait voita
Khursa fuddem kitke, aiz man bagoita
Gomttean taka ghalun, bhov thodde dakoita Thodde padri khuris, bolsan lipoita

Besides spreading the word of God, a priest serves us from the day we are born until we return to dust. Here are some of his functions.

Continued …………………..

Moi-mogan,

Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA

Besides spreading the word of God, a priest serves us from the day we are born until we return to dust. Here are some of his functions.

THE SEVEN CATHOLIC SACRAMENTS

A sacrament is an outward symbol of God's grace. Catholicism has seven sacraments including Baptism and Holy Orders. The Latin word sacramentum means "a sign of the sacred." The seven sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for Christians. They are special occasions for experiencing God's saving presence. That's what theologians mean when they say that sacraments are at the same time signs and instruments of God's grace.

BAPTISM

Baptism is the first and basic sacrament of seven Sacraments in the Catholic Church that erases original sin. Original sin is from when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. The waters of baptism wash our souls clean of this sin and any other sins a person might have. It holds the first place among all the sacraments because it is the gate of spiritual life, for by it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church.

The sacrament is administered by a priest by immersing the recipient in water or by pouring (not just sprinkling) water on the person's head: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Baptism makes the baptized person share in the Trinitarian life of God through "sanctifying grace" (the grace of justification that incorporates the person in Christ and His Church). It makes the person a sharer, too, in the priesthood of Christ and is the foundation of communion between all Christians. It imparts the theological virtues (faith, hope and
charity) and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It marks the baptized person with a spiritual seal or character that indicates permanent belonging to Christ.

Basically, a priest gives a name to a child or adult in the name of God and welcomes him/her with open arms as a member of the Church. Christening of a person is the happiest moment not only to a family because of an additional Christian member but also to the Church because it, too, enrolls a new member on its roster.

In the olden days, usually the first male baby was given his paternal grandfather’s first name; sometimes first and second names were given, as in my case. The first female baby was given her paternal grandmother’s name.
For a boy, the second name was usually godfather’s; for a girl, it was godmother’s. The third given name was usually that of the day’s saint’s.
This is how at least three names were given to a child. Most of the poor named their children after a priest’s or saint’s name.

For a newly married couple, a child is the biggest joy of their lives. As soon as he/she is christened, the couple shares their excitement and joy with their relatives, neighbors and friends by throwing a party and having a grand celebration. Christening becomes the first biggest occasion of their married life with more to follow in the years to come.

RECONCILIATION

We are all sinners but the Church has provided us with a tool to cleanse ourselves with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is the sacrament of healing, which is also called the sacrament of penance, of conversion, of confession and of forgiveness. We go to a priest and confess our sins and he forgives us in the name of God. Catholics are bound by obligation to confess grave sins at least once a year. It is the sacrament of spiritual healing of a baptized person from the distancing from God involved in sins committed. It involves four elements: the penitent's contrition for sin (without which the rite does not have its effect), confession to a priest - only a priest has the power to administer the sacrament - absolution by the priest, and satisfaction. In early Christian centuries, the fourth element was quite onerous and generally preceded absolution, but now it usually involves a simple task called “penance” for the penitent to perform, to make some reparation and as a medicinal means of strengthening against further temptation.

Though God alone forgives sins, He has given priests the power to exercise this ministry in His name. The priest is the only person who is authorized to listen to confession and absolve a person of his/her sins. When you confess to a priest, your confession remains a secret with him, as he cannot divulge it to anyone, not even to government authorities. He guards your sins/secret and dies with it.

You won’t believe, boys from Praias ward in Anjuna specially came for confessions at St. John’s chapel in Gaumvaddy. The reason: There was a resident priest, Fr. Pinto, at St. Anthony’s chapel, Praias, known to all as ‘CHINCHRO” (tamarind seed). He was so called because he had only front upper teeth that were brownish in color and looked like fried, peeled tamarind seeds. Praias is a Portuguese word which means seashore. All the bhattkars who owned properties at or close to Praias hardly got any coconuts because boys would rob “addsoram” (tender coconuts.) When a boy confessed to Fr. Pinto he stole tender coconuts, he would stand up and exclaim loudly
- “Kitem!” (What!), and have a look at the boy by swerving out of the confession box. He then told the boy his sins could not be forgiven until he made up for the stolen tender coconuts. He suggested that the boy either pay the landlord indirectly or serve fertilizer to the tree(s) equivalent to stolen tender coconuts, plus he ordered him at least a dozen rosaries as penance in addition to many Our Father and Hail Maries. What was worse was that when he stood up and exclaimed, everyone around knew that the boy had stolen tender coconuts. We know it was wrong on his part to do that but there are always exceptions. I am sure Praias boys will reminisce their mischievousness as they read this article. Fr. Pinto passed SSCE at the age of 60!

General Sacramental Absolution

Many nowadays do not go to a priest to confess. The Church is aware of this fact. Therefore, most archdiocesan parishes follow the church’s rite for general absolution as an alternative to individual confession to a priest.

The rite consists of a communal service involving prayer, scripture reading, an extended examination of conscience, a joint statement of contrition, recitation of the Confiteor (“I confess to Almighty God…..), a silent imposing of hands on each penitent by a priest, followed by a statement general absolution for participants. The service concludes with an exhortation to give thanks to God for His mercy followed by a blessing.

Though all present are absolved through this rite, the law states that those conscious of mortal sin must intend to confess individually at a later time.

HOLY COMMUNION

Every child is christened with baptism after which he/she is taught the catechism and given the knowledge of the religion. It is the priest from whom we receive the First Holy Communion.

Holy Communion is when we can receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the actual Body of Christ and not a symbol. We should be clean of any serious sins before taking Holy Communion.

The Eucharist is the sacrament by which Catholics partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and participate in His one sacrifice. The bread and wine used in the Eucharistic rite are, in Catholic faith, believed to be transformed in all but appearance into the Body and Blood of Christ, a change that is commonly called transubstantiation. Only a priest/bishop is enabled to be a minister of the Eucharist, acting in the person of Christ himself.

The Holy Eucharist is the source and the summit of our spiritual life. It is the source from which all other blessings flow, as well as the summit to which all of our spiritual works is directed. So important is it that participation in the Eucharistic celebration is seen as obligatory on every Sunday and holy day of obligation and is recommended on other days. Also recommended for those who participate in the Mass is reception, with the proper dispositions, of Holy Communion. This is seen as obligatory at least once a year, during Eastertide.

Receiving the first Holy Communion was one of the greatest joys of our lives. Right from early catechism days until we were chosen to receive the First Holy Communion, it was ‘a dream come true.’ The way we prepared ourselves – spiritually and bodily, is unforgettable.

The priest advised us not to drink water or have tea or eat anything on that morning. I observed fast for the first time. He tutored us how to respect Holy Communion; how to open our mouth and receive the Holy Communion on our tongue. We were instructed not to bite the Host but to let it soften on our tongue and then to swallow it, and not to spit out for sometime.

I still remember “Vittal” tailor coming to my house, taking measurements and stitching white pant and shirt for the occasion. My mother took me to Mapusa and bought me a white vest, a white underwear, a white handkerchief, a white pair of canvas shoes, a white pair of socks, a white pair of gloves, a white rosary, a decorated wax candle with a white ribbon to go with it, and a crown of white paper flowers. All these items were bought from Casa Mapxenkar. When I dressed up to go to church that day, my mother remarked:
“Aiz mozo put kunvor koso dista!” (My son looks like a prince today!) I looked in the mirror and felt like one.

I was sent to every house in the ward to receive ward members’ blessings.
Close relatives placed small bills of money in my folded hands, which I had to dutifully bring home and hand in to my mother – remember I had already been through the confession and knew it was not right on my part to keep or spend that money for sweets without informing my mother. Yes, life had suddenly taken a U turn from playful life to an orderly one.

Pundalik’s oxen-ridden “gaddi” (carriage) was reserved to take the prince to the church, for my mother knew that if I walked to church I would be kicking the dust on the road and my white shoes and pant would turn reddish.

I was so excited, I hardly slept that previous night; I woke up every now and then thinking it was already late.

The most exciting part was to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. The excitement was over and I felt in the seventh heaven the moment I received Jesus. The feeling was great; completely different. I received grace and felt wise. Life suddenly changed and tranquility prevailed from within. It is altogether another thing that we become wiser in later part of our lives and forget or give up these very basics which we inherit in our childhood.

Soon after the First Holy Communion ceremony was over, we went around and took everyone’s blessings in the church. The priest(s) who celebrated our ceremony as well as other priests from the church joined the crowd and blessed us.

As soon as we exited the church, a surprise was waiting for us - Shridar’s car (from Xapora) – there were only three cars in Anjuna then; Shridar’s was in better condition; hence, in demand. My mother and three other mothers one each from Xapora, Vagator and Chinvar had arranged for the car to take us to the famous Reis de Costa Studio in Mapusa. Each one of us sat on the lap of his mother making sure that we didn’t damage our candles. We were the only people to travel to Mapusa in a car to click a photo on that day – others would walk to Mapusa with Holy Communion dress in a bag either on the same day or some time later in order to click a photo.

We were welcomed in the studio by a young and enthusiastic boy, Mohan (now owner of Jyoti Studio). The studio had a nice cardboard poster of Jesus in a standing position with Chalice in his left hand and a Host in his right hand distributing Holy Communion, which they used for the photograph.

It was my first individual photograph. Mohan asked me to wipe my face with handkerchief, adjusted my clothes, made me hold the handle straight and told me to give a smile when asked to do so. Another gentleman then walked in with a camera in his hand, wished me “Bom Dia”, looked at me, made a few adjustments in my pose, asked me to smile and clicked a photograph followed by another.

Today, one comes across several photos/portraits in a home but in those days one mainly saw three photos in a home – marriage photo, Holy Communion photo, and a dead family member’s photo.

As soon as photo session was over, we walked to Café C. D’Souza in the old market and had snacks and tea. Even there everyone wished and blessed me.
We then left for home.

Once we reached home, as was the custom, a few packets of crackers were fired thus sending a message to all that we were home after the ceremony.
People visited my house to congratulate and bless me. A little lunch party was thrown to close relatives, neighbors and friends. It was one of the most joyous day in my life!

Some children who could not go to school due to poverty and were unable to read or write received First Holy Communion in their teens. As a 7-year old boy, I was assigned to teach catechism to two girls who were 16 and 17 years old respectively. They did not know how to read or write. They listened to me and memorized the catechism. They as well as many others who were older than us received Holy Communion with us.

Mishandling of the Eucharist

I was home during Lenten period in 1981. It was a Maundy Thursday.
Everyone queued for Holy Communion, received it and moved away quickly.
People had the choice to receive the Host on the tongue or on the palm. One of the Anjuna boys who was very mischievous and in his mid twenties received the Host on his palm but instead of placing it in his mouth he began to toss it from right to left hand. In fact, the Host fell on the floor twice.
Some of us who noticed the boy’s behavior from far were upset and decided to tell him what he had done was wrong but he somehow exited through another door. As soon as the church service was over, everyone left for home. The boy started his motorbike and as usual took off at full speed and within no time met with an accident. When we rushed to the spot, we noticed both his palms had received deep cuts and he was bleeding profusely. Those of us who had seen him play the mischief in the church remarked: “Dev nidonk nam”
(God is not asleep.) The man died of drug overdose in the late 1980s.

Priests are often called upon to enter the lives of people when life is darkened with sadness and difficulty. When children and family members give up on old people, priests provide them moral support and words of comfort in the name of God. They visit them in hospitals and Old Homes, sit by their beds, chat with them and bring a smile on their faces and nourish them with Holy Communion as often as possible. Even in these difficult moments, a priest can experience a profound satisfaction that he has been an instrument of God.

Ideally, Catholics should approach the Eucharist during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Nevertheless, it is not always possible for Christ’s faithful to do so without grave inconvenience. In the case of sickness, this grave inconvenience may be physical or it may be moral. If the sickness deprives the individual of all his energy and thus he lacks the strength to get out of bed, then the grave inconvenience is physical. If the person is able to get out of bed and move around, but his illness is a highly contagious disease, then the grave inconvenience is moral in that he ought not to risk the health of the general public.

Regardless of whether the illness causes moral or physical impossibility, the Church is still obliged, in so far as it is possible to meet the spiritual needs of her faithful. From these needs arise the Church’s ancient pastoral practice of visiting the sick. This practice includes taking the Eucharist to the elderly, the sick and the infirm. It involves sharing in prayer and the word of God during these visits. These Eucharistic visits may take place in the home, at the hospital bed, or in any institution that provides basic care and day-to-day living arrangements to the elderly, the sick and the infirm.

A minister of Holy Communion typically encounters three types of situation when bringing the Communion to the sick. The first is a regular visit to someone suffering from the effects of age, illness or infirmity. The second concerns a visit to someone who is dying. In this situation, the Church refers to the Holy Eucharist as Viaticum. This last word means “food for the journey,” keeping in mind that death is a journey into the afterlife. And the third situation concerns a sick or dying child.

In the olden days, a priest carried Holy Communion to the sick/infirm on foot or in a machilla (palanquin). He placed the Host in a container, held it in his hands and covered the sacred vessel with a Benediction Veil also known as the Humeral Veil. The sacristan who accompanied the priest carried a little “kampinn” (bell) which he rang every now and then to signal priest’s arrival with the Holy Communion. When people noticed a priest was approaching them with Holy Communion, they immediately knelt down and bowed in respect. We don’t see this kind of respect these days.

CONFIRMATION

When someone has the first three sacraments, they can be confirmed.
Confirmation makes someone a complete member of the Church.

Confirmation or Chrism is conferred by anointing with chrism – oil into which balm has been mixed, giving it a special perfume, together with a special prayer that refers, in both its Western and Eastern variants, to a gift of the Holy Spirit that marks the recipient as with a seal. Through the sacrament the grace given in baptism is strengthened and deepened. Like baptism, confirmation may be received only once, and the recipient must be in a state of grace (meaning free from any known unconfessed mortal sin) in order to receive its effects. The originating minister of the sacrament is a validly consecrated bishop.

Children, who received Chrism at the First Holy Communion, didn’t have to worry about the dress but those who were confirmed later couldn’t use the same clothes because they would have grown in size. Although white clothes are preferred at Confirmation as well, but because not everybody could afford to stitch new white clothes again, children were allowed to use casual clothes but still whitish clothes were suggested.

Since a Bishop is the one who confers this sacrament, let us have a look at a Bishop’s profile:

A Bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in the majority of Christian Churches, holds a position of authority. Their roles can differ significantly in the various denominations.

Bishop comes from the Greek word episkopos. It can be generally translated bishop, overseer, superintendent, supervisor, the first, leader or foreman.
In the Acts of the Apostles, episkopoi are mentioned as being shepherds of the flock, imagery that is still in use today.

The other passages from the New Testament describe them as stewards, leaders or administrators, and teachers. It is interesting to note that in the second chapter of Peter, Jesus is described as "the Shepherd and Episkopos of your souls".

At the turn of the first century A.D., the church started to acquire a clear organization. In the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and Ignatius of Antioch in particular, the role of the episkopos or bishop, became more important or rather, already was very important and being clearly defined.

As the church moved from the shadows of privacy into the public forum it acquired land for churches, burials and clergy.

Today, a Bishop is often seen in parishes celebrating a couple’s nuptials, feast mass and attending various church-related functions. He also attends private functions, including wedding receptions. In the olden days, a Bishop’s visit to a parish was rare. He visited a parish once in two or
three years, especially to confer Confirmation or Chrism. Everyone
eagerly awaited the moment to see/meet with the Bishop.

Children were tutored how to behave in the presence of the Bishop. They received and still receive the First Holy Communion between the ages of 8 or 9. If a Bishop was scheduled to visit the parish when they received Holy Communion, they would be lucky to receive the Chrism, as I was, or else they had to wait for his next visit. By that time, those girls and boys who had received Holy Communion late would become “voklo” (brides) and boys would become “manaim” (grown up men).

Chrism was an auspicious ceremony for us, especially because the Bishop would touch us and say: "I sign thee with the sign of the cross and confirm thee with the Chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

We were mesmerized with the Bishop’s attire. Everything was exclusive and different from a normal priest’s wear.

Right from the beginning of the Chrism ceremony, we knew who the bishop was because he wore a purple cassock with red cuffs on the sleeves. It is known as the “choir cassock”. He also wore a “Mozzetta” – a longer purple cape that comes to just above the waist and buttoned in front and worn over the "choir cassock". Further, he wore a wide purple belt around his waist with the cassock with two longer bands hemmed with fringe that hung from the waist. The belt is called “Fascia” (Sash.)

We couldn’t help notice the ‘miter’ – bishop’s liturgical headdress, as it was something unique we had never seen before. It features two fringed lappets or “infulae” (Latin for band) that hang from the back. This symbolizes the holiness with which the bishop should be endowed in order to bless the people trusted in his care.

When the bishop removed the miter, we noticed he was wearing a small, purple, round, silk skullcap on his head, the type of which we had never seen. When asked, we were told that it was called “Zucchetto”. Its purpose is to keep the oil of the hair off the miter.

Although the bishop was not very old, we wondered why he walked with a stick. When asked, we were told it was not a stick but a ‘Crosier or Pastoral staff’ and that it symbolizes a bishop’s role as a caretaker of the flock and shows his authority and jurisdiction.

We had seen the elderly wear a woolen muffler around their neck during cold season but the one worn by the bishop looked different. We came to know later on that it was a ‘Stole’ - a long embroidered band of cloth, formerly usually of silk, about two and a half to three meters long and seven to ten centimeters wide, the ends of which usually broaden out. It hangs down three to four feet in front.

In those days not only priests but also the elderly wore a cross fixed to a chain around their neck but the one worn by the bishop on a gold cord over the mozzetta was rather big and attractive. Upon enquiring we were told it was called “Pectoral Cross”. It’s a symbol of Christ’s crucifixion.

The most exciting part of the Chrism was the bishop’s hand shake with us and the kiss of his ring, which looked different from the ones we had seen on our parents’ fingers. We were told it was called “Episcopal Ring”, that it was the symbol of the bishop's espousal to the Church, and that it represents the seal of faith and the unity between the bishop and his church. In early days, bishops used the ring to imprint their hot wax seal on documents. The ring would be broken when the bishop died. Usually, the gemstone is purple amethyst.

MARRIAGE

The Sacrament of Marriage is the union of a man and a woman to grow in God's grace. Through this sacrament, the couple is responsible to being open to children and raising them Catholic.

Matrimony or Marriage, like Holy Orders, is a sacrament that consecrates for a particular mission in building up the Church, and that provides grace for accomplishing that mission. This sacrament, seen as a sign of the love uniting Christ and the Church, establishes between the spouses a permanent and exclusive bond, sealed by God. Accordingly, a marriage between baptized persons, validly entered into and consummated, cannot be dissolved. The sacrament confers on them the grace they need for attaining holiness in their married life and for responsible acceptance and upbringing of their children. Here again, the sacrament is celebrated publicly in the presence of a priest and other witnesses. For a valid marriage, a man and a woman must express their conscious and free consent to a definitive self-giving to the other, excluding none of the essential properties and aims of marriage.

HOLY ORDERS

The sixth sacrament is Ordination. People who desire to be priests need to have proper training. After they are trained, they receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Holy Order is the sacrament by which a man is made a bishop, priest or a deacon. Only a bishop may administer this sacrament. Ordination as a bishop confers the fullness of the sacrament, making the bishop a member of the body that has succeeded to that of the Apostles, and giving him the mission to teach, sanctify and guide, along with the care of all the Churches.
Ordination as a priest configures the priest to Christ the Head of the Church and the one essential High Priest, and conferring on him the power, as the bishops' assistant, to celebrate the sacraments and other liturgical acts, especially the Eucharist.

Just as an invitation is extended to a wedding, the parents of a priest to be ordained extend printed and verbal invitation to all relatives, neighbors and friends and village people to attend the Ordination of their son. A grand reception is also arranged for the crowd to celebrate the occasion; just like a wedding reception. Even a “Bhikareanchem jevonn” (Meal for the
poor) is offered to beggars.

SACRAMENT OF THE INFIRM

The Sacrament of the Infirm is for someone who is sick, old age, mental illness, someone approaching an operation, or someone who feels they would benefit from it. This Sacrament can be repeated.

Anointing of the sick is a sacrament of healing. In it a priest says special prayers and anoints the sick with oil blessed specifically for that purpose.
The anointing of the sick can be administered to any member of the faithful who, having reached the use of reason begins to be in danger by reason of illness or old age. A new illness or a worsening of health enables a person to receive the sacrament a further time.

When, in the Western Church, the sacrament was conferred only on those in immediate danger of death, it came to be known as "Extreme Unction", i.e.
"Final Anointing", administered as one of the "Last Rites". The other "Last Rites" are Confession (if the dying person is physically unable to confess, at least absolution, conditional on the existence of contrition, is given), and the Eucharist, which when administered to the dying is known as "Viaticum".

A person makes use of his/her wealth and power and rules the world. In the process of acquiring wisdom and wealth, he/she forgets the basics learned during his/her childhood and even denies existence of God. However, when a person is about to breathe his/her last, regardless whether he/she is mentally and/or physically strong person, the ground under his/her feet gives way and he/she becomes helpless, struggling for a breath of air. It’s the most pathetic scene, especially when you look in the eyes of a dying person.

A person, whether a child or a grown up, calls out the word “Maim or mother or mommy” whenever he/she is hurt or afraid or in danger because the word is embedded on his/her tongue. Similarly, a dying person, having no other recourse, utters “God” and asks for forgiveness provided he/she has a chance to do that. This is when a priest arrives and gives him/her the last rites and helps him/her depart this planet peacefully.

However stubborn a person may be, the sacraments, especially at dying stage, bring solace to a person’s soul. At this juncture, his/her pride and wisdom fail and the wealth that he/she may have amassed during his/her life time at
the cost of his/her soul becomes useless. Finally, the proud, stubborn
person resigns to the fact (that he is helpless) and surrenders to God.

In the olden days, as soon as a priest left the church on foot or in a machilla to give someone his/her the last rites, the “pedo” rang the church bell at which people uttered: “Padr Vigar/Padr Kur konnank tori sontessanv ghevn bhair sorlo astolo; Devan taka mornantlo vattaicho vo tannem prann soddlo zalear tachea othmeank sorginchem raj favo zanvchem.” (The Parish Priest/Curate must have left the church with the Sacrament of the Infirm; may God save him from death or if he is dead, may his/her soul rest in
peace.)

PRIESTS FROM GAUMVADDY, ANJUNA, BARDEZ

Gaumvaddy is one of the smallest wards in Anjuna but its residents have always been on the forefront, and priesthood was not an exception.

VENERABLE AGNELO D’SOUZA

A very pious Catholic couple, Minguel Mariano D'Souza and Maria Perpetua in Gaumvaddy, Anjuna, Bardez, Goa, gave birth to six sons. They offered two of their sons to God. Fr. Agnelo D’Souza was born on January 24, 1869. He died on November 20, 1927. He was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II on November 10, 1986. The ancestral house, which houses Fr. Agnelo’s altar, still stands, with his relatives, Mrs. Alda and her son, Gustavo, living in
it. Many people visit the house every day on pilgrimage. Every Thursday,
people attend his novenas in Pilar and at St. John’s chapel in his native ward, Gaumvaddy. The Anjunkars, especially the Gaumvaddikars are fortunate to have a saintly person in Venerable Agnelo D’Souza. Let us continue to pray ardently for his early beatification.

PADR MANUELINO D’SOUZA

Venerable Agnelo’s elder brother, Manuelino D’Souza, was also a priest.
Before Fr. Agnelo, the local people referred to his house as “Padr Manuelinanger.” For several years, Fr. Manuelino served as resident chaplain of Santo Antonio Chapel at Praias, Anjuna. He was then transferred to Pernem Taluka where he built a church in Tuem, which is dedicated to St.
Francis Xavier (Sao Francisco Xavier) of which, he was the vicar.
Strangely, nobody ever talks about Padr Manuelino. Most people don’t even know Fr. Agnelo had an elder priest brother.

PADR RAFAEL

At the beginning of the last century, we had one Padr Rafael in Gaumvaddy.
He came from the house located on upslope from the 4-road junction in Pedru Bhatt. Padr Rafael served as the resident chaplain of Saud Saibinninchem Kopel (Our Lady of Health Chapel) in Mazalvaddo, where my grandfather, Domingos Pedro Fernandes, one of the few belonging to a poor family to pass the Segundo Grau in the 19th century, served as a sacristan of the chapel.
Padr Rafael received a wound on his leg which worsened and since he was a diabetic patient, it turned into gangrene. As a result, his leg had to be amputated. After that he was confined to his home and he celebrated mass at home.

PURTUGEZ

Padr Rafael’s house existed during our childhood but nobody lived in it.
Mostly “gorvam raknne” (shepherds) occupied its verandah during the monsoon season while their cattle grazed in the open area opposite the house.
However, immediately after Goa’s liberation, one of Gaumvaddy guys who lived most of his life in Karachi, Pakistan, returned to Goa and occupied the house. Although his name was Bautis (Baptist) D’Souza, he was known to all as “PURTUGEZ” (Portuguese).

He was an excellent gents’ tailor - a specialist in suits, but he was obsessed with the Portuguese and its return to Goa. So much so, if anyone asked him “Ar’re/Agha alfiad (tailor), Portugez kednam portun ieta?” (Hello tailor, when is the Portuguese coming back?) That would be enough to ignite a storm in him and disturb his work. He would give up the job and begin to argue and lecture until the questioner got fed up and left. He was convinced that the Portuguese would return one day. By the late 1960s, he was so upset because there was no sign of the Portuguese coming back that he removed all the statues from Padr Rafael’s house (there were many large size
statues) and threw them all in the well. He died of illness soon thereafter. The house is now owned by Ignatius Furtado.

PADR ROCHA

During my childhood, we had Padr Rocha from Voilo Vaddo or Sonarvaddo from Gaumvaddy who sometimes celebrated mass at St. John’s chapel. He was a sickly person.

PARRA PRIEST SPENDS LIFE TIME SERVING GAUMVADDY, ANJUNA

Continued ………………

Moi-mogan,

Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA

PARRA PRIEST SPENDS LIFETIME SERVING GAUMVADDY

Padr Celestine D’Souza known to us as Padr Capelão (chaplain), hailed from Araddi Vaddo in the adjoining village, Parra. He was liked by one and all.
He was a jewel of a person. He served St. John’s chapel in Gaumvaddy for around 40 years – from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Situated about 600 meters south of Anjuna church, the chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was constructed around 1890. On October 5, 1936, the shrine became a public chapel, which has a gorgeous tabernacle. On May 29, 1972, the foundation stone of the new chapel was blessed by Bishop Emeritus Raul Gonsalves, while the work was completed four years later. My father was instrumental in rebuilding the chapel. Being in the vicinity of the ancestral house of Fr. Agnelo, the new chapel has acquired considerable attention, particularly with the Anjuna parish having come under the ministership of the Pilar Fathers.

Daily first Mass in Anjuna church, including Sundays, began at 6:00 am.
Most people except the elderly found it to be too early. Sunday Mass was also celebrated in the following chapels in the vicinity of our church:

Sam João Chapel in Gaumvaddy at 7:00 am.
Saude Chapel in Mazalvaddo at 7:30 am.
Piedade Chapel in Chinvar at 8:30 am.

Unlike today, nobody could skip Sunday Mass in those days. Once one had attended the Mass, he/she was free to go anywhere afterwards - the earlier one was able to fulfill the Sunday obligation, the better it was.

Obviously, Gaumvaddy residents chose to attend the Mass at our chapel and so did many people from the surrounding wards in Anjuna – Mazalvaddo, Kuddchem Bhatt, Gumalvaddo, Tembi and even people from Ximer (Anjuna-Arpora border.) The reason why people chose to attend Mass at our chapel was because no other priest celebrated it as fast as Padr Celestine; he was the fastest.
He rarely read the missal, as he had memorized the Latin Mass.

In the 1960s and 1970s our chapel was always overcrowded on a Sunday, especially when Bomboikars came down to Goa for summer holidays. Even the verandah would be occupied and people stood in the open.

Padr Celestine was a healthy person; he never fell sick. He traveled from Parra to Anjuna on a ladies bicycle. He didn’t mind whether it was hot weather or torrential rain. He pedaled his bicycle every Sunday and was always in time to celebrate the mass. Even if he was a little late because of heavy rains, he would finish attending confessions of scores of people who had been anxiously waiting for him within the stipulated window of time.
Everyone wanted to confess with him because his was the fastest with the least penance – one Our Father and three Hail Mary only. Young boys also chose to confess with him; especially boys from the Praias came all the way to our chapel where, unlike Fr. Pinto, Padr Celestine treated their confession like everybody else’s.

One of the ward members, Mrs. Verodiana D’Souza – an ex-Africander’s
(Albertino’s) wife, brought tea/coffee for the priest in a flask, and bread with butter or cheese. As soon as the Mass was over, Padr Celestine chatted with chapel committee members and discussed next week’s program. He then sat at a table where we served him bread in a cheese plate. He finished eating the bread within no time (he was always in a hurry) and then poured tea/coffee in the cup. To his surprise, he got hardly half a cup of tea/coffee. He would look at me with sad face and say: “Duming, tankam matxem sangat re yeah, flaskan subeij chav ghalunk” (Domnic, please tell them to put more tea in the flask.)

Here is how tea/coffee disappeared. I had a very good friend of mine, who hailed from Curtorim. Since he worked in Mapusa, he lived at his sister’s in Gaumvaddy. He was very mischievous. We always remained in the sacristy and attended the Mass from there. My father served the priest as altar boy.

Despite my repeated pleas not to play up during Mass, he would reach the flask and drink tea/coffee by pouring it in its cap. He also drank Mass wine. He did this when I left the sacristy to collect Sunday collection.
My father always wondered how wine got over so fast. A bottle of wine was supposed to last at least four months. He, however, came up with a solution later on. He removed the bottle and took it home and brought only as much wine as was needed for the Mass. My friend is still employed in Bahrain.
Of course, everyone changes with age and he is no exception. I often remind him of his mischievous past whenever I visit him in Bahrain.

As soon as Padr Celestine was through with Mass at our chapel, he would pedal his way to Chinvar to celebrate Mass there at 8:30 am. He was also sometimes required to celebrate Mass at St. Anthony’s chapel at Praias when Fr. Pinto, the resident priest, was away. A priest was allowed to celebrate three Masses on a day.

Padr Celestine had a good voice which is why people often hired him as a concelebrant. As he grew old, he found it difficult to stand up; his legs ached. He would lean on his elbows on the altar throughout the Mass and keep folding his legs from behind every now and then as if pumping a lever.
He preached quite well. His sermons were to the point, short and sweet; they never lasted more than 10 minutes. The whole Mass would get over within half an hour.

Padr Celestine was always in high demand. He never turned down anyone’s request. As a result, he was one of the most common priests to be seen in our side of Bardez at feast Masses, month’s mind Masses, death anniversaries, nuptials and funerals. One didn’t have to bother to pick him up. He went everywhere on his bicycle be it Assagao, Badem, Siolim, Arpora, Calangute, Candolim, Saligão, Pilerne, Mapusa, Bastora, Moira, Nachinola, Aldona, etc. He was always punctual; the first one to arrive.

In the 1960s and the 1970s, it became a fashion to hire as many concelebrants as possible when celebrating a feast, nuptials and even death anniversaries. The most common was a Mass with 3 priests (1 celebrant and 2
concelebrants) followed by 5 priests (1 celebrant and 4 concelebrants), but we also attended Masses with 7 priests, 11 priests and 25 priests.

The normal rate of a Mass then was Rs.2.00. We paid Rs.1.50 to Padr Celestine to travel from Parra to Anjuna and celebrate Mass in our chapel.
It was later increased to Rs.2.00. The present rate is Rs.50 to celebrate a Mass in a church and Rs.100.00 to celebrate it in a chapel, but it varies from place to place.

When we rebuilt the chapel, Padr Celestine asked my brother-in-law, Frank
Rose: “Aiz-kal padri unnem zait voitat. Hea kopelan mis sangonk tumkam padri mevtolo re yeah?” (There is a shortage of priests these days. Will
you get a priest to celebrate Mass in this chapel?” His words came true!
We now rarely celebrate Sunday Mass at St. John’s chapel because we can’t get a priest to celebrate it. The only Mass which is regularly celebrated on Thursdays is Venerable Agnelo’s novena for which devotees throng from far and near. A relic of Ven. Agnelo is placed for veneration near a large image of his bust which now graces the chapel square.

Padr Celestine served us until he was around 80 years old. He passed away in the late 1970s. To me, he remains the simplest priest I came across all my life. May Padr Celestine’s soul rest in peace.

A priest charged Rs.2.00 to represent a family at a funeral. In those days, the status of a dead person’s family was judged not only by the crowd in attendance at a funeral but also by the number of priests and “cofres.” A special person was assigned to write down names of priests and the families they represented; the same was done with cofres.

OLDEN-DAY PRIESTS

In the olden days, children considered priests as family members, which is why they referred to them as “Padr Tiv” (Father Uncle). The moment we saw a priest, we would rush to him with folded hands, greet him: “Dev boro dis dium/Bom dia (good morning) or Dev bori sanz dium/Boa tarde (good evening) Padr tiv (father uncle)”, and ask him to bless us, which he gladly did and immediately placed his hand on our head as if transmitting God’s grace on us.

We liked the priests so much that we would hang around them by holding on to their cassock - just as we held on to our mother’s kapodd (sari). We got along very well with our Padr Kur/Tiv who was always friendly with us children, but the Padr Vigar (parish priest) was always a serious character.

Padr Kur sat with us, boys and girls, and talked about God, heaven, angels, school and our families. He convinced us that God liked children most. He advised us to learn the catechism well and also to learn our daily lessons.
He knew each one of us by names. He knew some us were mischievous. He passed on a general piece of advice to mischievous boys.

Sometimes, he even shared home made sweets like mangada (a sweet made of mangoes), perada (a sweet made of guavas), etc. Keep in mind, each church had a cuzner (cook) and an assistant cook. Many times, pede or boyyas took up these positions, which was considered a promotion considering the menial work the pede were required to do such as dusting and mopping the church, ringing the bells, digging the graves, carrying the machilla or palanquin on their shoulders, pulling funeral carriage, decorating the graves of the dead at week’s mind mass, month’s mind mass, death anniversaries, etc.

The curate would sometimes take us to church garden and ask us to help ourselves with fruits like mangoes, guavas, papayas, chickoos, custard apple, kormolam, etc. On the whole, the priests were more than our friends; they were like angels to us. They even participated in our games – football (we played with tennis ball), lobieanim where seven pieces of tiles are piled up and one person at a time from a team is required to hit the pile.
Once the pile is hit and broken it has to be reassembled by one of the players. However, if one of the partners from the opposite team hits you with a ball, the team loses the point.

The church sports conducted by priests in those days consisted of simple games like ‘katreancho pão khavop’ (eating a loaf with corners). Katreanche pão were fastened to a string, which was tied to two poles or coconut trees; participants’ hands were tied at the back with a handkerchief. A person kept dangling the string so as to make it difficult for boys to have a bite at a loaf. Once one managed to have a bite at a loaf, he swiftly pulled it and detached it from the string. Once detached, boys held the loaf tightly in between their knees, bit it and ate it as fast as possible – remember it’s difficult to swallow dry bread. Anyone who finished eating the loaf first, won the first place followed by the second and the third. Sometimes dry loaf got stuck up in the throat and some boys threw up. Water was available in an earthen container to wash down the loaf.

The other game was ‘kuleran ghoddo’ (marble in a spoon) where a marble was placed in the spoon and the participant was required to run to the other end without dropping the marble. Anyone who crossed the finish line with marble in the spoon won the first place.

Mixed boys and girls had games like ‘suvien suth ghalop’ (passing thread through a needle.’ Boys carried thread and handed it to their girl partners at the other end, who were required to feed the thread in needle and give it back to their boy partners who had to run back to the starting point.
Whoever got back to the starting line first with thread in the needle, won the first prize. Most girls were good in feeding the needle with thread because, unlike today, that was the era when girls were required to have basic knowledge of sewing.

The next game was “don paimanchi danvodd” ‘two-legged race’ where one leg each of two partners were tied together with a handkerchief and the two were required to run. The pair, who ran the fastest and crossed the finish line, won the first place.

Another similar game was ‘sakachi danvodd’ (sack race) where a boy/girl placed himself/herself in a gunny bag, held its top edge in his/her hands and ran the race. Here again, whoever crossed the finish line won the first place.

Elderly boys participated in slow cycle racing where one was required to ride his bicycle as slow as possible without touching feet to the ground.
The one who remained last won the first place.

There was also another bicycle-related race – ‘crossing the bottles’. As many rows of empty bottles as the participants were arranged with 8-10 bottles in each row at a distance of about one and a half foot between each bottle. Each cyclist was required to cross the bottles by performing a kind of ‘attko’ (No.8) without dropping any of them. This feat was possible only if the rider was good in slow cycling. Whoever succeeded in crossing the bottles without dropping any or dropping the least, won the first place.

Short running races were also held across the length of the church compound facing the church. Long races were held around church compound fence. All of us ran bare feet.

Although sports activities were not common in those days, the priests did their best, encouraged children to participate, and promoted sports.

PARISH COURT

In the olden days, people did not knock on the doors of court of law – the parish priest was their judge. The parishioners took their problems - personal, marriage, property, etc. to the parish priest/curate, who listened to them attentively, understood their difficulties; their needs and wants and advised them accordingly. The parishioners always felt at ease with their parish priest/curate. Today, courts of law postpone cases and give date after date without taking up a hearing, but a parish priest never sent back his parishioners without hearing their case(s). Unlike today’s court, the matter(s) was solved within one sitting. When you respect a person, you believe in him. People had faith in priests, as they considered them God’s tool.

CATECHISM

Discipline was one of the pillars upon which our upbringing was based - it
existed at home, in school and in church. Anyone who disobeyed and crossed
the line was subject to corporal punishment.

The corporal punishment was not just in schools but it also prevailed in
churches. During my childhood, we had a vicar who besides pinching and
twisting ears also used the olden large door key to punish catechism
students. When the catechism session began, the vicar sat on an arm-chair
with a door key in his right hand. Every one of us was required to stand at
an arm’s length before him and recite catechism. If anyone failed to
recite, he would lift his right hand and hit the key on the head with all
his might. I never experienced the hit but those who did told me that it
was very painful. One of them told me that he saw stars when Padr Vigar hit
the key on his head.

The other punishment was to place a child in the “kallukachi kudd” (dark
room) where different larger-than-life-size statues of Jesus and Mother Mary
were stored. These statues are used during the Lent to enact passion plays.
They looked real, at least to us children. It was one thing to make a
mistake but to be placed alone in a dark room and that, too, with Jesus and
Mother Mary with the door locked from outside, was too much. No doubt, in
those days, parents planted God’s fear in children’s mind and brought them
up with the belief that God would punish them if they made mistakes, but
hardly had we realized it would happen on earth in a dark room in a church!
Thank God nobody died of fear.

Here is yet another punishment by a priest which I totally disagreed even as
a child. We had a Padr Kur in Anjuna church in the early fifties who was a
chain smoker. He punished teenager girls by pressing live cigarette butts
on their outer upper arms. I was a child at that time but I still remember
burnt cigarette marks on the upper arms of five Gaumvaddy girls. But nobody
ever raised a finger at the priest, not even girls’ parents. Perhaps their
parents thought their daughters were at fault because they were all
tom-boyish, something the society didn’t accept in those days.

The strict discipline at home combined with that in the church is what
helped most us become disciplined children. Of course, we realize this fact
only now in old age.

Generally, people were sincere but there still were some who weren’t. They
say: If a person has the intention to steal, he will somehow. The parish
priest was always vigilant, and so were the curate and the sacristan. This
being the case, it was quite difficult to steal anything from a church but a
robber always waits for the right opportunity to strike. A parish priest,
his assistant(s) and the sacristan were always busy whenever a feast took
place and this is when robbers struck. This is why the good old Goan
saying: “Padr Vigar poddla boballar, Igroz nagoviea” (The vicar is busy;
let us loot the church).

BLESSING OF HOME AT INAUGURATION

When a couple gets married, the priest wishes them good health and
prosperity. One of the basic requirements for a married couple is to have a
roof under their head. In the past, married children continued to live in
their parents’ house due to joint family system. But now children prefer to
live separately. With this in view, as soon as a young man gets employed,
the first thing on his mind is to buy a plot and build a house or to go for
a ready made flat. In the former case, a foundation for a house is laid and
it is blessed by a priest. Once the construction is over and the house is
complete, it is again blessed by a priest at the inauguration ceremony. A
residential flat is also blessed by a priest before it is occupied on its
inauguration day.

A home is the most sacred place – a holy ground because this is where people
draw together in close relationships within the family and extend their
hospitality and warmth to others.

During the blessing of a new home, when the family members and their
relatives and friends have gathered in a convenient place, the priest
prepares those present for the blessing:

“When Christ took flesh through the Blessed Virgin Mary, he made his home
with us. Let us now pray that he will enter this home and bless it with his
presence. May he always be here among you; may he nurture your love for
each other, share in your joys, and comfort you in your sorrows. Inspired
by his teachings and example, seek to make your new home before all else a
dwelling place of love, diffusing far and wide the goodness of Christ.”

The priest reads a text of sacred Scripture:

Peace to this house.

The Lord said to the seventy-two: “Into whatever house you enter, first
say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your
peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same
house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his
payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you
enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it
and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’

Intercessions follow after which the priest says the prayer of blessing with
hands outstretched:

“Lord, be close to your servants who move into this home (today) and ask for
your blessing. Be their shelter when they are at home, their companion when
they are away, and their welcome guest when they return. And at last
receive them into the dwelling place you have prepared for them in your
Father’s house, where you live for ever and ever.”

After the prayer of blessing, the priest sprinkles those present and the new
home with holy water and says during the sprinkling: “Let this water call
to mind our baptism into Christ, who has redeemed us by his death and
resurrection.” All reply: Amen

The priest then goes from room to room, saying a prayer specific to each
room and sprinkling holy water.

For example, at the entrance: “Protect their going out and coming in so
they may share the hospitality of this home with all who visit them, that
those who enter here may know Your love and peace.”

In the living room: “Give your blessings to all who share this room that
they may be knit together in companionship. Do not neglect to show
hospitality, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

In the kitchen: “You fill the hungry with good things. Send your blessings
on this family, as they work in this kitchen, and make them ever thankful
for their daily bread.”

In the dining room: “You give food and drink to sustain our lives and make
our hearts glad. Help this family to be grateful for all your mercies and
mindful of the needs of others.”

In the bedrooms: “Protect and watch over this family as they sleep, that
awake they may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, they may rest in His
peace.”

In a child's room: Jesus said: “Let the children come to me and do not
hinder them; for to those like them belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

In the bathroom: “You formed us in wisdom and love. Refresh us in body and
spirit, and keep us in good health that we might serve you; I will sprinkle
you with clean water and you will be cleansed."

The priest concludes the rite by saying:

“May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, and may the word of Christ in
all its richness dwell in us, so that whatever we do in word and in work, we
will do in the name of the Lord. All reply: Amen.

BLESSING OF HOME WITH EASTER WATER

After the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word on Holy Saturday, the priest
consecrates the water of the baptismal font and any catechumens or
candidates for full communion are initiated into the church, by baptism
and/or confirmation, respectively. After the celebration of the sacraments
of initiation, the congregation renews their baptismal vows and receives the
sprinkling of baptismal water. The general intercessions follow.

Traditionally, Goan homes are blessed by a priest at Easter. The homes are
blessed in memory of the passing of the angel in Egypt and the signing of
the door-posts with the blood of the paschal lamb. The parish priest or the
curate(s) visits houses in the parish and blesses them by sprinkling holy
water in each room. Houses located close by the Church are blessed on
Easter Sunday and the remaining houses are blessed on the following day(s).

Every year, when we went to church to participate in the Easter Vigil, we
carried with us a small bottle to fetch newly blessed holy water. As soon as
we returned home from the church, we placed the holy water in a bottle and
increased it by adding more water. The bottle was then either kept inside an
"orator" (home altar) or in any easily accessible place in the storeroom,
preferably in a cupboard, away from other bottles.

ASH WEDNESDAY

The Lenten Season

The tone of worship and church life changes starting with the worship
services of the Ash Wednesday, all the way to Palm Sunday, and then again to
Easter. The feeling is subdued, with a pensive hush, in awe of God, in
sharp awareness of how each of us, and all of us together, are not as God
calls us to be, and because of that, will eventually die. We are not
masters of our lives but are instead subject to the tides of life and are
thus much less than God.

In liturgical churches, Ash Wednesday is marked by the ancient rite of the
imposition of ashes, dating back at least 1000 to 1200 years. At the start
of the Ash Wednesday service, the believers are asked to come forward to the
altar. The priest dips his thumb into a small tin of ashes, and with it
marks onto each person’s forehead the sign of the cross (in this part of the
world where I am employed, it is marked on the upper side of the thumb for
obvious reasons), saying the words “Remember that you are dust and to dust
you shall return”. The ashes are often made from burning some of the palms
blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday.

In Christianity, Lent is a time of penance, prayer, preparation for
recollection of baptism, and preparation for the celebration of Easter.
Observance of Lent is as old as the 4th century. From the 5th to the 9th
century, strict fasting was required; only one meal was allowed per day, and
meat and fish (and sometimes eggs and dairy) were forbidden. During and
since the 9th century, fasting restrictions were gradually loosened. By the
20th century, meat was allowed, except on Fridays. Pope Paul VI began
(1966) a trend toward penitential works (such as acts of charity) in
conjunction with Lent. In the olden days, no marriages or other public
festivities were held during the Lenten season. Also, no tiatros were
staged during the Lenten season. The only person who staged religious
tiatros during the season was J.P. Souzalin. People wore simple clothing in
subdued colors during the Lenten season; some even refrained from wearing
gold ornaments.

Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for
reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of
the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated
themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for
baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian
imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.

In Lent, we take responsibility for our sinful acts and thoughts, and treat
them as the killers they are. Lent is self-discovery of the parts of
ourselves we don’t want to discover, through prayer, fasting, and other
disciplines. It is the opening up, the turning over to God, the repenting
of our sins, the turning away from that which does not please God. Yet
there is just a glimpse of Easter through the heavy clouds of Good Friday
that Christ has taken the burden, and you don’t have to carry it anymore.

Lent is not all about giving things up. It’s also about adding things to
our lives or to others’ lives – the kind of good things that follow on what
Jesus asks of us. Do acts of kindness for people, just because they are
there; give them little tastes of God’s love.

SERMON

As children, once we returned home from attending a Mass, we were tested for
attentiveness – whether we had heard the sermon and the Gospel of the day.
Oh yes, we were required to tell our parents the Gospel of the day and the
examples the preacher gave. Here is one of the examples I clearly remember
when I was about 8 years old. The sermon was in Konkani.

One fine day one of the pious women from the community passed away. It was
customary in the past for relatives and neighbors to sit by the dead body
and keep vigil at night in shifts and pray continuously. In fact, people
took turns to rest/sleep during the night. While relatives, neighbors and
friends prayed for the woman, she suddenly woke up in the middle of the
night and asked people around her not to pray for her because she was
already in hell. When asked why, she explained: “Just because I went to
church every day and never missed daily Mass, every one of you thought I was
a pious woman, but I led a double life. Every night my secret lover came to
meet me and we led an adulterous life. This is why I now burn in hell.”

Priests kept an eye on the society and played their role in correcting the
parishioners. It is altogether another thing if some did not pay much
attention to their advice, but overall they succeeded in conveying their
message and creating an impact on the society.

If anyone lived an adulterous life, his/her house was excommunicated. There
were instances when some were denied church burial and buried outside
because they had defied the church.

When I visited my friend in Curtorim in 1968, the Padr Vigar preached the
following at the Sunday Mass sermon. This was during the period when mini
dresses/skirts were in fashion. They were so short that as one of the
Konkani comedian singers puts it in one of his songs “Bardez thavn Saxtti
dista!” (You can see Salcete from Bardez!) The Padr Vigar had reached a
point where he decided to send a strong message to the ladies folk. As he
preached, he connected his point and said: (The sermon was in Salcete
Konkani dialect. I have tried to reproduce it in its original form.)

“Tumi cheddvam/bailo cheddeam/dadleam patkam ghatai. Cheddvam itu-u
(pointing middle of his thighs) moddie istid ghatai ani dadule tenghe paieam
choitori istid esh korn oddum suru kortaii. Agho, istid oddlear kit to lamb
zatolo? Dorjean titulo-o xinvla to! Ani bailo mhunn kit tumi unneo torii?
Itu-u sokol buluzam ghatai ani dadleam nodor ting poddttori maghir odd’ddear
esh korn saddie palov oddttai. Hem tumghe kortub zobor nhum, dadleam patkam
ghalpachem. Tea passot hanv sangot tem borem korn aikaii. Tumgem nesop
zaum dhi moriadichem odik korn jednam tumi Igorje ietai tedonnam.

“You girls and women lead boys/men into temptation. Girls wear so short
dresses (pointing to his thighs) and when men look at their legs they pull
the dress. If you pull the dress is it going to become longer? The tailor
has stitched it that much only. And women are not less. You wear low neck
blouses and when men’s sight goes there, you pull the palu of sari to cover
your chest. This behavior of yours leads men into temptation. Therefore,
listen to me carefully. Dress up modestly, especially when you come to
church.”

Obviously, there was gloom on women’s faces but boys and men’s faces
gleamed. Padr Vigar continued his sermon thus:

“Ani tumi re chedde ani dadule, tumi kit somzotaii? Ar’re sokall huddem
amge Igorje hattlean is (20) kollxe soro haddtaii ani to sogllo soro is
mintti zanvche huddem hopon oita. Ar’re tumi sorean naumtaii? Ham, sorean
naumtai re tumi? Maghir tumge bhailo Pad Igara huddeam ietaii ani paiem
poddon sangtaii: “Padigar, ratim amghe ghoram bhitor sortanch hatt huddem
choinastonnam mhak borem hapailem; boro pilo-o to Padigar.” Dekun hanv
sangot tem aikaii. “Tumi soro pinakai esh mhunn hanv tumkam sangnam.
Pieai, pun sonsot tituloch ani jirot tituloch, ani pion bailam tras
dinakai.” Deva-a axirvad tumcher.

“And you boys and men, what do you think of yourselves? Early in the
morning a consignment of 20 pots liquor arrives behind the church and it
gets sold within less than 20 minutes. Do you bathe with liquor? I am
asking you, do you bathe with liquor? Then your wives come to the church,
kneel down before me and complain: ‘Vicar, last night, upon entering the
house, my husband beat me up badly without rhyme or reason; he was drunk
Vicar. Therefore, listen to what I say. I am not asking you not to drink.
You may drink, but in limits, and don’t trouble your wives. May God’s
blessings be with you.”

The above may sound like a parody but it’s a true fact. As I learned from
my friend, there was significant improvement both in women’s dress and men’s
drinking habits after the sermon.

In the past, churches hired special preachers to preach sermons on Lenten
Sundays. The sixth and seventh Passion plays were not only very sorrowful
but also carried great significance. As mentioned earlier, we have very
good, larger-than-life-size statues in Anjuna church. We were told these
were procured from Italy a couple of centuries ago. In Anjuna, the sixth
passion play takes place on a Tuesday preceding the Maundy Thursday. At
this play Jesus carries the cross on his shoulder.

There were always two sermons – “bhitorlo ani bhailo sermanv” (indoor and
outdoor sermon) on the sixth and seventh Passion play days. The procession
on the seventh passion play day or Good Friday took place in the same way as
on the sixth passion play day. Good Friday was always a special day. The
atmosphere on that particular day would somehow be filled with Divine grace
and power. The sun arrogantly thrust its rays on the earth which made us
feel as though it, too, was burning with anger on that day.

In those days, the priest preached from the pulpit. On Good Friday, just
before the end of sermon, the priest would point towards the black curtain
and say at the top of his voice: “Ho asa Jezu Krist, amchea patkank lagon
khursar umkollta” (Here is Jesus Christ, hanging on the cross because of our
sins.) At that, the curtain would be drawn and every one’s eyes would focus
on Jesus on the cross and at his mother standing at the foot of the cross.
At that particular moment, sun rays would penetrate through stained glasses
of windows high up on the wall and fall directly on Jesus’ face which would
make it look much sadder. Then a cloud of darkness would engulf the whole
congregation.

If one looked around, he would find tears rolling down many peoples’ cheeks.
Not only that, one could also hear many sob loudly and say “Saiba bhogos,
ami patki amchi kakut kor” (Forgive us Lord, we are sinners, have mercy on
us.) When one heard this, it would send a shriek down the spine and create
certain kind of fear in one’s heart. Small children would get frightened,
cling to their mothers and wonder why their mothers cried. Yes, at that
very moment the whole congregation would drown in sorrow.

The population in parishes was limited. The parish priest and his assistant
knew almost all the family members. This being the case, it was difficult
to bluff the parish priest or his assistant. As he preached the sermon, he
looked around and knew if anyone was absent. Many parishioners had fixed
places in the church and this made the priest’s survey easier.

A good pregador (preacher) charged Rs.5.00 to preach sermon at a vesper or
feast or at the Sixth or Seventh Passion Play during the Lent. Fr. Peter
D’Souza from St. Joseph High School, Arpora was a famous preacher in those
days. He mesmerized Christians with his proficient Konkani and examples
from the pulpit, especially at the “Satvo Pas” (Seventh Passion play). He
was thin, tall and had a powerful voice so much so that the elderly often
compared him and his sermons to those of Fr. Agnelo.

RETREAT

In the past, besides Sunday mass, there were also several holy days of
obligation like All Saints Day, All Souls Day, the feast of Our Lady of
Immaculate Conception, etc. The people then made sure that they never missed
a mass on these days, which was considered a mortal sin. Similarly, they
cleansed themselves by confessing as often as they could and received Holy
Communion regularly. Once in a while, they also attended Retreats and
revised their lives. Due to Portuguese rule, travel outside Goa was not
easy if not impossible. Priests held retreats in Churches. Parishioners
sometimes inter-exchanged parishes during retreats.

The most famous Retreat places were the Retreat House on Baga hill, Bom
Jesus Cathedral in Old Goa and seminaries – Saligão and Raitura. Catholic
Schools run by priests like St. Anthony’s High School at Monte de Guirim,
Don Bosco High School in Panaji, etc. also held retreats for students and so
did some convents. Retreats were good exercises for the mind and soul,
especially to growing children. They served as spiritual maintenance of our
temples (bodies).

Although people were God-fearing and clean-hearted, we didn’t come across
any miracles in those days neither did we hear of any apparitions. The only
two examples that we have are Blessed Joseph Vaz and Venerable Agnelo
D’Souza, who led saintly lives. In recent years, the fervor of Retreats has
again caught up with the Christian world and people travel far and wide to
attend closed-door retreats, which is a very good sign. We also hear of
many miracles, apparitions, etc. taking place among the devotees attending
the retreats. If this is true, especially at present times when values of
life have gone down drastically and faith is fast deteriorating, it’s indeed
wonderful news!

We had some outstanding priests in Goa. Here is an example:

Continued ………………

Moi-mogan,

Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA

We had some outstanding priests in Goa. Here is an example:

FR. FILIPE NERI MENDONÇA

St. Joseph's High School, Arpora was established in the year 1887. In those days it was called “Collegio” (Matriculation was one of the highest qualifications at the time.) It is the first English medium school in Goa, imparting education till date. Its motto was inscribed in Latin “Cibaria Necessaria Sumite Et Abite” which means ‘Take the Necessary Food and Depart.’ The school has completed 120 years of its fruitful existence. The founder of this institution was Fr. William Robert Lyons, a scholar and visionary.

Fr. Lyons started this institution in a house in Arpora, Bardez, Goa with few students. It grew in strength, popularity and standard with the passage of time. He got the school recognized by the University of Bombay in 1897.
The school sent its first batch of students for Matriculation Examination in 1900.

Fr. Lyons, a pioneer of English Education in Goa, died in 1925. Fr. M. A.
Lobo took charge of the school and worked with sincerity and dedication till 1937.

Fr. Felipe Neri Mendonça, an outstanding educationist and a strict disciplinarian, took over as the Principal in 1931. He was responsible for constructing a new school building which was inaugurated in 1937, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the school.

Students from different parts of Goa, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, acquired qualitative education in the school. They excelled in studies, sports and co-curricular activities. The school became a nursery for eminent professors, doctors, engineers, lawyers, business executives, etc.

The school was renowned for its annual athletics meet, which was the most popular sporting event in the whole of Goa until Fr. Mendonça passed away.
The highlight of the meet was the ‘drill’ with magnificent tableau, which was taught and conducted by Fr. Mendonça. He just stood at a point with a whistle in his mouth and guided the drill without moving an inch from the spot or doing any visible actions. The lead boys followed his eyes. Fr.
Peter D’Souza assisted Fr. Mendonsa in conducting the ‘drill.’ During the tableau Fr. Mendonça enacted and displayed recent universal events then.
People from far and near thronged around the ground to witness the tableau performed by the Arpora boys, as they were fondly known, and the air was filled with a thunder of applause every time an act was performed. I never missed the annual athletic meet.

The Government of India conferred the prestigious National Award for Excellence in Education on Fr. Mendonça for his valuable contribution on the field of education in Goa. He was the first Goan to get National Award in the liberated Goa. He passed away in 1966.

Subsequently, the school was handed over to Diocesan Society of Education and presently the school is administered by this Society under the care of Archbishop Rev. Fr. Filipe Neri Ferrao.

The idea of a Catholic college was actually conceived by the veteran educationalist Msgr. Filipe Mendonça, the then principal of St. Joseph High School, Arpora. He felt that with dawn of liberation a new climate was created in Goa favorable to the development of university education. His idea was welcomed by the archbishop patriarch, D. Jose Viera Alvernaz.

Msgr. Gregorio Magno Antão, the chancellor to the patriarch Curia initiated the idea to the Internuncio in New Delhi. A step further was the seeking of the approval to the project from the University of Bombay. It proved to be a Herculean task before the budding idea could be transformed into a reality. With initial difficulties overcome, the Archdiocese of Goa embarked on the ambitious scheme of starting the first university college in north Goa. A vacated high school building in Bastora, a few kilometers from Mapusa, would serve as a provisional arrangement for a modest beginning of what is today - St. Xavier’s College in Mapusa.
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Fr. Mendonça was one of the pioneers of English schooling in Goa. We salute you, Fr. Mendonça for your contribution to the Goan society without which Goans would be poorer, especially in education. May his soul rest in peace.

We also had some priests, who recently received God’s call earlier than expected. Here are a couple of examples:

FR. FREDDY J. DA COSTA (1953-2004)

Here is a priest who did more than he could during his short lifetime:

In a horrific tragedy, Fr. Freddy J. da Costa died on the spot when their car collided head-on with a lorry at Haveri, near Hubli, in the early morning hours of May 17, 2004.

I have no words to express Fr. Freddy’s work. He was gifted with several skills. He was a living institution. He did not confine himself to religious matters alone. He got involved in many social and educational organizations. The type of the work he was involved in was not something that anybody could accomplish. He packed more years of living into his 51 years than destiny gave him. He was one in a million!

The unexpected death of Fr. Freddy has deprived the Goans and the Church of one of its most gifted priests. He was a man of integrity and transparency who was an exemplary parish priest at several Goan parishes, a teacher at the Seminary and an adviser to the die-hard Konkani enthusiasts. His deep pastoral sensitivity gave him an insight into many people’s lives with whom he developed strong and trustworthy friendships. The Church has lost a much loved priest and, for so many of us, Konkani lovers, the tiatrist fraternity, the musicians, the Konkani authors, a true and loyal friend.

Fr. Freddy had an easy manner and was at home with people from every walk of life. He had the gift of making you feel that you were the most important person in the world when talking with him. A person of great seriousness but at the same time extreme good humor, Fr. Freddy was ever ready to defend his strongly held Catholic beliefs but was also gracious companion, a reconciler who believed in the ‘dignity of differences.’ Those who worked with him found Fr. Freddy a loyal and trusted colleague. He had an incisive mind and the gift of clearly explaining difficult concepts and issues of importance to the community.

Fr. Freddy was a dynamic priest. After teaching Konkani and Hindi in the Saligao Seminary for several years, and as Chaplain of Our Lady of Candelaria Chapel at Porvorim, Fr. Freddy served the Bambolim and Siridao Parish as Pastor. During his pastoral life, he gave no reasons to believe that he neglected his pastoral duties though he was immersed in various social and cultural activities. On the contrary, he leaves behind an outstanding example to Pastors to break themselves from parochialism. He fulfilled his pastoral activities in ways that were new and creative. His mere presence would infuse life in the people who surrounded him. In Siridao, for example, he had organized more than 200 youth in the Parish who were with him to support all Parish activities.

As a priest, Fr. Freddy has done yeomen service in the religious field. In whichever parish he served, he always did it with dedication. He loved his flock and in turn they loved him. The raising of the monumental Shrine of the ‘Fulancho Khuris’ at Bambolim will remain concrete proof of his organizational skills. It is one of the few examples of his untiring and sincere efforts towards his people. He utilized all his talents in a creative way and always grew in the spring of love.

Fr. Freddy not only organized activities in the Parish for its various groups, but he made it a point to be present at all of them. He had a magical touch whereby he could do a number of things and do them to the best of his ability.

In describing Fr. Freddy as multifaceted personality during the homily of the Funeral Mass, Fr. Cristovão Caldeira, a close friend of Fr. Freddy compared his life to the ‘Unfinished Symphony’ composed by Schubert. “His life as a priest, his involvement in socio-cultural movements, his contribution to Konkani, the public relations he maintained with peoples of all religions, a dramatist, journalist, a social reformer, etc., has become a part of his unfinished life but definitely a harmonious one,” he said. In the years to come Fr. Freddy had nurtured many dreams which today will remain unfulfilled with his untimely death. The absence of his towering personality may have left a void but his unforgettable memory will definitely inspire many to fill in this vacuum left by him.

Fr. Freddy loved the Goan soil and its environment, Goa’s cultural ethos and the Konkani language. He was a pastor par excellence, whereby he always looked forward for collaborative efforts in making his parish grow. In his death, the Goa Archdiocese has lost a talented priest; among the priest fraternity, a fellow priest has been lost and in the field of journalism, a prolific journalist has passed away.

He will be remembered for his 22 years of dedication to his much cherished ‘GULAB’ – the only Roman script Konkani family magazine.

Fr. Freddy was born on July 20, 1953. He did his primary studies in his native village Varca, Salcete. He joined the Minor Seminary of Saligao at the tender age of nine, completed the six-year Humanities Course there and joined the Major Seminary of Rachol for Philosophical and Theological Studies. He was ordained priest on April 24, 1976. After finishing his Pastoral Training Course at Pius X Institute, Old Goa, he was appointed Prefect of Saligao for 14 years. He has an M.A. in Sociology. He was a member of the Board of Studies of GBSHSC, and a member of their textbook committee.

More than 300 priests concelebrated the funeral mass, the main celebrant being Archbishop Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao, flanked by other 2 Prelates namely; Archbishop Emeritus Henry D’Souza from Kolkatta and Bishop Cypriano Moniz from Assansol.

May Fr. Freddy be an inspiration to all of us. May his soul rest in peace.

FR. ALEX D’SOUZA

Fr. Alex D’Souza of Pilar Society and hailing from Macazana, Salcete was also killed in a tragic accident which occurred on December 26, 2006 at Sjuma village in Sangrur District in Punjab. Fr. Alex, who was the vice-principal at St. Xavier’s High School run by the Pilar Society in Sirsa, Punjab, was traveling along with five staff members in a Punjab state transport bus, which collided with a truck. He was the only son of Miguel & Esperança.

The sad and sudden demise of the 33-year old (Christ’s age on earth) Fr.
Alex, did not only cast a gloom on the entire congregation but shattered his parents’ lives, as he left this world much earlier than thought. Death is not a question of age but a mortal certainty of our temporal abode on this earth. This ascertains the reality that death is resolutely blind to one’s age and stature.

Fr. Alex was a wonderful priest. He was liked by all. Some of the Anjunkars told me his mother was uncontrollable on the funeral day. She wailed continuously and compared her son to Jesus because of his age and repeatedly murmured: “Devan dhilo; Devan velo.” (God gave; God took away.)
Keep in mind, for the parents their children always remain children, no matter whether they are married or ordained. Here was a priest who was born to a mother and died like any one of us. His love for his parents and their love for him was the same as ours. This is why we say priests are also human beings like us.

Fr. Alex resided in Anjuna church while he studied B.Ed at the Goa University in 2005. The sad news of his passing away shocked Anjunkars because he was closely associated with St. Michael’s Convent High School at Vagator, Anjuna. As a deacon, he played with Gaumvaddy boys.
ACADEMIC: Fr. Alex spent about a month giving practice lessons at St.
Michael’s at Vagator. He gave very good lessons with appropriate motivation. His aids for the lessons were creative. He would spend plenty of time in the school library to prepare for the lessons. He would spare no pains to make his lessons very interesting. With his friendly approach, he easily managed to come down to the level of the students, particularly in case of the weaker ones. At the end of the lesson the response was generally excellent. It was no wonder that Fr. Alex secured a distinction at the B.Ed examination!
Co-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: Fr. Alex would help in any co-curricular activity conducted at the school. At one of the school concerts, he put up an interesting play on “King Ashoka” with quite a big caste comprising students; he encouraged even the weaker and shy ones to perform. The result was a wonderful play under the skilful direction of Fr. Alex, the dramatist.
Anjunkars still remember the beautiful hats, which he had made for the Portuguese dance “Corridinho”.
THE PERSON – THE PRIEST: For all of us who came in contact with him, Fr.
Alex will always remain a smiling, jovial and ever ready to help and motivate others. He was a holy priest and a friend to all.
Fr. Alex was beginning to walk in the footsteps of the late Fr. Freddy but God had His own plans.

Nearly 100 priests from the Society as well as the Goa diocese participated in the Eucharistic service. May Fr. Alex’s soul rest in peace!

APPRECIATION OF PRIESTS’ SERVICES

In the past, people were God-fearing. They lived a simple but happy life because they believed in God. They worked and lived for the day, exactly as we have been taught to pray, viz. “Amcho dispotto giraj aiz amkam dhi …”
(Our Father, give us this day our daily bread …) They didn’t bother about tomorrow or generations to come and to make a provision for them.

There was not much evil around in those days. The biggest evil of today – money - was in shortage, which is why the saying, “money is power; power corrupts”, did not generally apply then. Prior to money, it was solely the usefulness of things that counted, so a man had only what he needed. But money enabled a man ‘to enlarge his possessions’ more than he needed and caused scarcity.

On the whole, life style was plain. Everyone’s mind was near pure temple.
There hardly was a place for devil’s workshop. One got what he/she saw - nothing less nothing more. There was love, affection, support and cooperation among family members, which resulted in fruitful outcome.

However, gradually, ‘money evil’ took over the society, so much so when the elderly noticed money-steered behavior, they remarked: “Tacher duddvancho devchar bosla.” (Money evil has possessed him.)

They say, if there is peace in a family, there is peace in a ward; if there is peace in wards, there is peace in a village; if there is peace in villages, there is peace in towns and cities; if there is peace in towns and cities, there is peace in a state, and if there is peace in states, there is peace in a country. Today, we lack the very basics of life which is why we face so many problems and end up washing dirty linen in public.

Religion is nothing but a way of life – a discipline. It is based on principles and ethics. We have different types of ethics – work ethics, business ethics, religious ethics, and so on. There is no difference between educational and religious foundation. If we forget the alphabets or numbers we can neither write nor calculate. Similarly, if we forget the very basics of our religion that we learned in our childhood, how can we be good Christians and practice our religion?

Religion is installed in us in our childhood and we follow it naturally as we grow up. As adults, it is up to us to follow the religious principles and ethics or discard them; nobody can force us; not even our parents.
Having molded children’s character in their early stage of life, parents can only watch and either appreciate good results or feel sorry for them. At the most, parents may advise their grown up children but they cannot impose religion on them – at least not at present times. Our ancestors were not highly educated but they followed their inborn instinct and lived their lives accordingly. They lived happily without saying a word against religion and left the justice to God.

Every child is christened with baptism after which he/she is taught the catechism and given the knowledge of the religion. It is the priest from whom we receive the First Holy Communion. He is also the one who unites us in the holy matrimony and accompanies us to the cemetery when we are dead.

In the past, we had Parochial Schools in Goa where a mistir (teacher) taught children to read and write; he also taught them music notes. Priests also helped in the teaching process. Gradually, over the years, these schools disappeared but schools run by the Archdiocesan Board of Education sprang up all over Goa. The Board has under its umbrella more than 150 Catholic institutions imparting education in the State.

Besides some of the most famous Catholic-run schools like St. Anthony’s High School, Monte de Guirim, of which I am an alumnus, St. Britto’s High School, Mapusa, Don Bosco High School, Panaji, to name a few, which have been forerunners in promoting education, here are some of the diocesan-affiliated schools, majority of them area wise, spread all over Goa:

St. Lawrence High School (DSE), AGASAIM – 2218789 St. Anne's Institute, (DSE) AGONDA – 2647093 Mae de Deus High School (DSE), ALDONA - 2384229 Sacred Heart High School (DSE), ANJUNA – 2274366 Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School (DSE), ARAMBOL – 2292612 Regina Martyrum High School (DSE), ASSOLNA - 2773393 Our Lady of Candelaria High School (DSE), BAINA – 2515093 St. Aloysius High School (DSE), BENAULIM – 2772595 St. Jude's High School (DSE), BETALBATIM - 2880035 Our Lady of Grace High School (DSE), BICHOLIM – 2362040 St. Theresa of Jesus H. School (DSE), CANACONA - 2643327 St. Theresa's High School (DSE), CANDOLIM – 2276550 St. Theresa's Higher Sec. School (DSE), CANDOLIM – 2276998 St. Thomas High School (DSE), CANSAULIM – 2754241 Sacred Heart of Jesus H. School (DSE), CARMONA – 2745383 Holy Cross Institute (DSE), CAVELOSSIM - 2871606 St. Joseph's Edn. Institute (DSE), CHANDOR - 2784470 Mount Mary High School (DSE), CHINCHINIM – 2863616 Mount Mary High Sec. (DSE), CHINCHINIM – 2862548 St. Bartholomew's High School (DSE), CHORAO – 2239421 Infant Jesus High School (DSE), COLVA – 2780911 St. Xavier Vidyalaya (DSE), CORGAO(Maina) – 2241195 Our Lady of Perpetual Succour High School (DSE), CORTALIM - 2550732 Our Lady of Health High School (DSE), CUNCOLIM – 2763858 Our Lady of Health High School (DSE), CUNCOLIM – 2763858 Our Lady of Carmel H. School (DSE), CURTORIM - 2786422 Immaculate Conception High School (DSE), DABAL – 2618272 Our Lady of Desterro H. School (DSE), DESTERRO (Vasco da Gama) – 2522412 Our Lady of Rosary School (DSE), FATORDA - 2741275 St. Anthony's High School (DSE), GALGIBAGA – 2632226 St. Andrew's High School (DSE), GOA – VELHA – 2218613 Saviour of the World High School (DSE), LOUTOLIM - 2777050 St. Francis Xavier High School (DSE), MACASANA – 2787802 St. Rita's High School (DSE), MAINA (Curtorim) - 2786294 St. Anthony's High School (DSE), MAJORDA – 2754060 Fr. Basilio Andrade Memorial Higher Sec. School (DSE), MAJORDA – 2754332 St. Xavier's College (DSE), MAPUSA - 2262356 (Office) St. Xavier's Higher Sec. School (DSE), MAPUSA – 2250233 Our Lady of Rosary H. School, Fatorda (DSE), MARGAO – 2741275 Our Lady of Merces H. School (DSE), MERCES – 2235797 St. Xavier's Higher School (DSE), MOIRA - 2293679 St. Joseph's High School (DSE), NAGOA (Bardez) – 2275657 Rosary High School (DSE), NAVELIM - 2737940 Rosary Higher Sec. School (DSE), NAVELIM - 2722436 Rosary College of Commerce and Arts (DSE), NAVELIM - 2736864 Mae Dos Pobres High School (DSE), NUVEM - 2791178 St. Anthony's High School (DSE), PANCHVADDI – 2309594 Our Lady of Divar High School (DSE), PIEDADE(Divar) – 2280155 St. Elizabeth's H. School (DSE), POMBURPA – 2295218 Our Lady of Snows High School (DSE), RAIA - 2777236 O.L.of Victory Primary School (DSE), REVORA – 2299294 Santa Cruz High/H.Sec. School (DSE), SANTA CRUZ - 2228378 Fr. Agnelo Konkani Primary School (DSE), SANVORDEM(Curchorem) – 2650642 Our Lady of Rosary Primary School (DSE), SIRIDAO - 2219622 St. Joseph's School (DSE), SIRODA – 2306512 Our Lady of Socorro Primary School (DSE), SOCORRO - 2413523 Mother of the Poor High School (DSE), TILAMOLA – 2662539 St. Rock's High School, (DSE) TOLECANTTO (Velim) - 2773292 Don Bosco High School (DSE), TUEM - 2240247 / 9 Our Lady of Lourdes High School (DSE), UTORDA - 2755603 Our Lady of Lourdes High School (DSE), VALPOI - 2374534 St. Mary's High School (DSE), VARCA - 2745009 St. Andrew's Higher Sec. School (DSE), VASCO DA GAMA - 2513048 St. Andrew's Institute (DSE), VASCO DA GAMA - 2510201 St. Xavier' High School (DSE), VELIM - 2773597 Marina High School (DSE), VERNA - 2783959

Can you imagine Goa without these plus various other Catholic/Private Schools? Anjuna itself has two Catholic-run educational institutions – Sacred Heart of Jesus High School and St. Michael’s Convent High School.

My heart bleeds to write here that school dropout rate in Anjuna is one of the highest on the coastal belt – 35%! Can we blame the Board alone for this? I don’t think so. We must blame ourselves and strive to improve the situation by controlling our children better and convincing them that education pays in the long run rather than encourage them to go for easy money by saying: “Xikon konn feliz zala vo Degree zoddun konnank sirvis mellta?” (Who has prospered by studying or who gets a job by earning a
Degree?)

It is the priests who have sacrificed their lives, brought about drastic improvement in villages and towns in Goa and brightened our children’s future. The result can be seen in our children’s overall progress who took up important positions in various fields. Thank you Church for giving us priests who uplifted our society.

The only kind of luxury that priests enjoyed in the past was ready made food prepared by the “kuzner” (cook) but sometimes when he was sick or went on an emergency, they had no other alternative but to help themselves. Once, when I was around 6 years old, I went in the church kitchen to drink water from an earthen “moddko” (pot), which was located beside the kitchen door. I was surprised to see the Padr Kur grind massala on a “ghonnsunno” which was on the other side of the door. Priests even washed and ironed their own clothes. Priests are human beings like us, graced yet frail, who do what all of us are called for - to search for God and to respond to Him at every moment of our lives. They grow up the same way we do and learn household work like anyone of us.

Speaking of ready made food, we had a hefty parish priest in our church in the mid 1950s. He was so fat that he could hardly enter the machilla
(palanquin,) which is why the pede always cursed him, and so did the “kuzner” because he was asked to cook a variety of dishes.

Most priests then served the parish on foot - very few made use of machillas or palanquins – we have two of them in our church – but this particular parish priest insisted on being carried in a palanquin even to the place where the new paddy sheaves are blessed, which is hardly two hundred meters from the church. Well, there are always exceptions. Luckily for the pede, he lasted in our church only for around a year.

If you want to know how priests and nuns serve the downtrodden, you have to visit remote areas where the missionaries function. In 1989, I accompanied a priest and a nun in a remote area in the Karnataka State. They traveled deep into a jungle in a jeep where there was not even a proper road; the driver just kept driving the 4-wheeler over the rocks. Finally, we arrived at a place where over 100 children were waiting for us, most of them barely clad. They lived in thatch huts. One adult girl taught them in a large thatch hut.

What did the missionaries carry for them? Three basketful each bread and bananas! It was the biggest gift they could receive perhaps in days. I could read the hunger on their faces. Tears rolled down my eyes when I saw their plight. They were angels in the form of poverty. I felt so much for them that I couldn’t return home without sharing with them.

Yes, these are the priests who are not only doing service to humanity but helping us help the downtrodden and needy. They walk bare feet with them and give them company. They feed them and clothe them and keep them alive just to be blamed for forcible conversions, which are not true; I have seen it with my own eyes. If the missionaries don’t reach them, there is every possibility you will find a pile of bones when you visit the place next because they are shut off from the world. They are the lost sheep in the jungle which is found and looked after by none other than our priests who are God’s instruments. Mother Theresa was such an instrument for the downtrodden in India.

If you want to support a cause, please do so by all means, but don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does. You give/offer something to a person or a church or an institution with an intention. The moment it (the gift/money) leaves your hands it becomes somebody else’s property/responsibility; so, don’t worry about it. If that something is misused by somebody else, he/she will be accountable for that. Remember, you gave it because you could afford it; so, don’t even think about it again. Do we ask for an account of a gift given to a person on his/her birthday or anniversary, or reclaim it?

Even the living saint, Mother Theresa, was blamed for receiving donations from the underworld. She received what was given to her to support the poor and the downtrodden.

Life in the olden days was already difficult and to make matters worse a priest would sometimes be posted to a remote area where he couldn’t even have proper meals but he never complained; he accepted the posting anywhere in the name of God.

So, why don’t we appreciate the good work of a priest? If he falters, we don’t hesitate to criticize him. We would rather crucify him than reward him. Just because a priest or a few priests make mistakes, we shouldn’t blame all the priests.

In the past, speaking against a priest meant speaking against God. In those days nobody dared to speak against religion because it was considered a sin.
Even if a priest made a mistake, which was very rare, nobody raised fingers or talked against him. They left everything to God by saying: “Zonn eklo zoddttechea disa aplea patkanchem farikponn dhitolo” (Each will answer for himself/herself on the Day of Judgment.) Today, the norm is totally different. People have become so wise that they criticize priests and our religion in public thinking that public will appreciate their washing of dirty linen. What they don’t realize is that they make a fool of themselves in the eyes of the public and open the door to our enemies who do not only have a hearty laugh at our foolishness but also grab the opportunity, look us down and give us a bad name.

Priests have a life, too. They are not angels. They are human beings and are mortals like us. Our religion teaches us to “forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. Just because a few priests may have gone astray it does not mean that every priest is the same and we should resort to defame all priests. If a priest is bad, God will take care of him. If we speak ill of him, the others will benefit from it. Keep in mind that children watch and follow us. If we plant the seed of hatred in our children’s mind, how can we expect them to join priesthood? As we know, the number of priests has been on the decline recently. If our children stop joining the priesthood, a time will come we will not have any priests, and, maybe one day we will have no religion. When we do not have enough priests, who will run our religion?

We have a Konkani saying: “Sogllinch bottam ek sarkim nhoi” (All fingers are not alike). There were a few cases which could be counted on fingers where priests had gone astray. In such cases the Church nullified the Holy Order and stripped the priest of his cassock but sometimes the cassock was left in order to save public embarrassment.

Priests are doing a great job. As stated earlier, once upon a time every “bhattkar” family had a priest; that competition does not exist any more.
If you want religion to guide you, you just have to put up with what you have.

God has devised our body in such a way that every action is unique. For example, when we point a finger at others, automatically three fingers point at us, which makes us more culpable than others. Let us keep this in mind when we point a finger at others.

CHURCH SUSTENANCE

Almost every church in Goa has/had property attached to it, which was colloquially known as “Igorjechem bens” (church property or temporal goods).
Besides mango trees, jackfruit trees and other fruit bearing trees, the property mainly had coconut trees. As is the practice, coconuts were plucked once a month and sold to the public and so were the bye-products like chudd’ttam (leaves), pid’de (stems), povieo, (spathes), etc.

An administrative body known as ‘Fabrica’, erected according to the Canon Law, administered the worldly goods (moneys, assets, buildings, properties) of a Church and assisted the Parish Priest in the promotion of worship and other apostolate and works of charity as well as looked after the maintenance of the Priest(s) and personnel working for that Church.

The income was restricted “titloch koko, titlench memem” (limited [food]).
There was hardly any extra money which could be misappropriated. By the 1970s and 1980s, many churches, including Anjuna Church, sold “Igorjechim bensam” (church properties) or converted the properties into small plots of say five hundred square meters and sold them to interested parties for a good price, thus bringing in a considerable income for the church.

TO ERR IS HUMAN; TO FORGIVE IS DIVINE

In the olden days, everything was done in limits; even the income was limited. So, the chances of misappropriation were less. We are all human beings. Anyone can err; even priests, because they, too, are human beings like us. No wonder, the good old saying: “To err is human; to forgive is divine.” The devil didn’t even spare Jesus. He tempted Him thrice:

1) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the
devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The
tempter came to him and said: "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered: It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

2) Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: `He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him: "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

3) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him: "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

During our childhood, a priest was treated with the highest respect because everyone accepted him as God’s representative. Whenever children and/or adults came across a priest, they reached his hand and kissed it devoutly.

Each one of us is responsible for his/her actions and will have to account for our sins on the Final Judgment Day.

In one of Prince Jacob’s dramas, he compares a marriage to a hotel (read
restaurant.) When asked by his friend how, he explains:

You go to a restaurant, go through a menu and choose a dish. By the time the dish arrives at your table and you begin to eat, you see the others sitting on the next table(s) eat something different which looks more attractive and you wish you had ordered that dish, and so on. The same is with marriage. When you look at other women, you wish you had married them but it’s too late.

And now, many think of the religion in the same way, blame the clergy/religion and move away from the church under one pretext or the other, sometimes in search of a new religion. Religion is not a dish which you can change every time you notice someone perform it differently. You either follow it or don’t. If a person was not able to lead a good life and find happiness during his/her life time, what guarantee is there he/she will find happiness in another religion and that, too, in his/her last phase of life? He/she might as well make mends and use of the remaining time to improve himself/herself and fall on the right track.

I have come across people who spoke deadly against the clergy and the church, denied existence of God, stopped going to church and even attacked priests physically. However, when they suddenly lost their eyesight or were partly paralyzed or suffered from incurable disease like cancer, they returned to God, placed rosaries around their necks 24 hours/day, and prayed to God more than anyone else. Well, they were fortunate to have a chance to repent for their sins and fall back on the track. Not everyone is lucky to get a chance like that.

PRIEST AT A FUNERAL

A priest/bishop who may have baptized you, given you the First Holy Communion, conferred Chrism on you and even celebrated your nuptials/Ordination may also attend your funeral – keep in mind these days mothers and fathers bury their children instead of vice versa.

In the olden days and even now the moment a priest arrives at a home to take the dead body to the church/cemetery, close relatives burst into cries and scream at the top of their voices: “Padr Vigar/Padr Kur tuka sasnnanche svatek voronk eilo ghe moje maim [at funerals the word ‘maim’ is also used by a wife to refer to her dead husband]; atam tum amkam kednanch portun mevchinam ghe maim, adi.” (The Vicar/Curate has come to take you to your everlasting place; you will never again meet us now, etc.)

The priest takes courage, cuts through the crowd and enters the living room where the dead body is usually kept in front of home altar. Sometimes it becomes difficult for him to conduct prayers. One of the elderly persons takes charge of the mourners and keeps them under his control until prayers end. The priest requests the mourners to keep silence while he prays and then accompanies the dead to the church where a Mass is celebrated (there was no Mass celebration in the church until the end of the1960s. The coffin containing the dead body was brought to the church, briefly opened for the ritual and immediately taken to the cemetery for burial.)

The body is then taken to the cemetery where again the priest performs the ritual, prays and asks God to forgive the dead person by saying: “Dhoniam amcho bhav/bhoinn (munxeachem nanv ghevn) chukla zalear tum taka bhogos ani tacho othmo tujea sorga rajeant ghe. Tacho othmo raji aslo Dhoniam tujea utrak pall divnk punn tachi kudd oskot asli.” (Lord, if our brother/sister (takes name of the person) has erred, please forgive him/her and receive his/her soul into your kingdom. His/her soul was willing Lord but his/her body was weak.”

A priest baptizes, welcomes us in the church and serves us throughout our lives. He also leads us to our final destination – the cemetery. Before placing the dead body in the grave, he says the following and reminds us of our end:

“From dust you came, to dust you return.”

That’s all for now from Dom’s antique shelf for this Lenten season!

Moi-mogan,

Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA