News: Prescilla Philip
Pics: Dilip Correa, Joachim D’souza
Oman, Apr 1: Spiritual trance… a lenten treat welcoming the holy week, was celebrated at St Peter and Paul Church, Ruwi on Friday March 27 hosted by Mangalorean Catholic Centre of the Parish (MCCP) and Goan community of Oman; jointly coming together as Konkani community of the parish, that started at 7am concluding at 12 pm.
The day was designed with reflections of Mother Mary’s seven sorrows, a soul talk through the preparation of confession, walking with the cross depicting Via Dolorosa, procession lead with palms swinging and singing Hosanna to the king of David our Lord Jesus Christ… creating a serene ethnic way of soul cleansing inviting the holy week and Easter.
Konkani catholic faithful in specific, trudged a grueling and arduous walk, in scorching heat in the perimeter of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, while a troupe enacted few scenes, believed to have happened on the first Good Friday, 2000 years ago. The walking pilgrimage by the general public carrying the cross at few stations gave a feeling of personal involvement and a deep sense of passion that Christ went through for liberating mankind. The fall of Jesus under the weight of the heavy cross, crucifixion and burial dramatization moved many to tears, even as some stood bare feet at the end of a fulfilling spiritual experience of 40 days of prayer, fasting, abstinence and repentance.
Non Konkani speaking faithful also joined the celebration because we believe… Jesus is felt, understood or lived not with language, status or creed… but only with one belief… ‘He is our Redeemer’. The script for way of the cross was specially written for this epistle highlighting the modern world and Jesus with us… suffering for us, and redeeming us from the tempting harsh world.
The 7 sorrows of Mother Mary was a passion filled presentation, that lead each and every one into tears, present at the holy venue. The reflections offered through sermon by the spiritual director Fr Wilson, was an eye opener for each one of us for a direct soul dialogue to cleanse ourselves making way for liberation, thus we prepared ourselves for a meaningful holy week and Easter through our renewed hearts. Mangaloreans and Goan communities’ choir complemented well to conserve the feel of the holy passion. This proved the unity of the church serving in the vineyard of the Lord that is much needed when the church is facing persecution in many parts of the world.
The first time of its kind at the parish level was this spiritual day observed with a complete reverie for the entire parish community… and every person involved from the Konkani Community (MCCP and GCO) being the organizers of this spiritual event, were well applauded and blessed for such a lenten treat that will be remembered by many, for years to come.
Wish you all a happy, fruitful Holy Week and Easter.