by Elvin Saldanha
Melbourne, Sep 15 : The Mangaloreans residing in Melbourne, along with the Bishop of Mangalore Diocese, Rt Dr Aloysius Paul D’souza, under the Sponsorship of Melbourne Konkan Community (MKC) Australia, gathered at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Mission Church, Hoppers Crossing at 11.45 am on Sunday, the 9th of September 2012 to celebrate the Monthi Fest in all its joy and vigour.
To begin the celebration, all the children with flower baskets proceeded to the statue of Mother Mary and offered the flowers with the accompaniment of hymns (Sokkad sangata melya and Moriyek hogolsiya). The Holy Eucharistic Celebration began with the procession to the church, and was presided by Bishop Aloysius and concelebrated by Rev. Fr. Prakash Cutinho (P.P. of St. Joseph Catholic Chuch, Nothcote) and Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes (National Director for YCS /YSM India).
In his Homily Bishop Aloysius highlighted the main features of the Feast and focused on the role of the family in the Church. He also said how Mother Mary is a model for our families and how we can follow in her foot steps by being obedient to God’s will and accept the challenges in upbringing our children as God’s gift.
The choir was beautifully co-ordinated by Br Prakash Menezes SVD and Elias Mascarenhas. Master Elroy Mascarenhas, Delilah Cutinho and Clement Lobo accompanied the singing with their beautiful musical talents. The hymns were melodious and laudable. As a symbol of new harvest, fresh fruits and vegetables were offered during the preparation of the gifts.
After the Holy Eucharist, the congregation joined together in Mossfiel Primary School Hall to celebrate the day. His Lordship Bishop Aloysius led the Angelus and prayed the grace before meal. The gathering was treated with a delicious vegetarian meal with tasty Vorn. The cultural programme, in the form competition between five different groups (Udenthichin Neketra, Goddgodo, Karavalichi Laran, Kinkule, Kodyalche Kale), each with fifteen minutes of variety entertainment, commenced after lunch. Stanley D’cruz (President of Mangalore Catholic Association of Sydney), Wilson Kalakar and Br Prakash Menezes SVD were the judges.
Meena Sequeira compered the entertainment part of the program.
The result of the competition is:
Winner Team – Goddgodo
Runner up 1 – Karavalichi Laran
Runner up 2 – Kinkule
Participation 1 – Kodyalche Kale
Participation 2 – Udenthinchi Nekethra
Elias Mascarenhas carried on the Felicitation programme for the Bishop and Andrew Elsbury (Member of Parliament) was the chief guest. Fr. Prakash Cutinho welcomed the august gathering and congratulated MKC for its efforts in bringing together the Mangaloreans for this celebration. The choir melodiously sang the welcome song for the Bishop and then Br Prakash read the Felicitation Letter (Man Patr) to the Bishop. Valerian Menezes (President of MKC) presented the same to the Bishop. Also, a memento was presented by Jossy Fernandes. Stany Martis (Secretary of MKC) handed over the memorial gift to Mr Andrew Elsbury. In his message, Bishop accosted the Mangaloreans to speak our mother tongue Konkani and pass it on to our children.
Valerian Menezes conveyed the vote of thanks for all those who worked behind the scene to make this day a memorable one. Stephen D’Souza was the compere for the overall programme and he graciously managed the programme along with humour and spot prizes.
The whole programme came to an end with the Baila Dance and the people meeting and sharing and photographing themselves with Bishop.
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