Mangalore: Annual Feast of Infant Jesus at Bikarnakatte on January 14

Report: Stanley Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jan 13: The annual feast of the Infant Jesus will be celebrated on Friday January 14, 2011, at the Infant Jesus Shrine, Bikarnakatte in the city. Archbishop of Delhi, Dr Vincent Concessao, will be the chief celebrant.

Thousands of devotees of the Infant Jesus participated in the Eucharistic celebration and novena. ‘And they were filled with zeal’ is the theme taken for this annual feast, as this year is dedicated to the youth. During the last nine days of novena, themes like Zeal to honour God, Zeal to do the will of God and Zeal, to repent and reconcile, Zeal to be pure in heart, Zeal to  be just, Zeal to evangelise, were reflected upon by different preachers.  Each day was dedicated to different intentions like family, benefactors, professionals, children, workers, missionaries etc. The last day of the novena was dedicated to the youth.
 
There will be eight masses on the feast day i.e., Friday: 6.00 am (Konkani), 7.00 am (Malayalam), 8.00 am (Konkani), 9.00 am (English), and 10.15 am Mass (Konkani) for the sick, 11.30 am (Konkani), 12.30 pm (Kanada), and 6.00 pm festal mass (Konkani). There will be a special prayer service in Kanada at 1.30 pm.
 
The Infant Jesus Shrine here has become one of the prominent centres in this part of the world, where thousands flock to pray to the Infant Jesus, and this was evident during the novena days.  The history takes us back to the 17th century, where the Carmelites in Prague had to stand the hostility of the Lutherans. It was then that providence came to their rescue.  It was in the year 1628 the princess of Spain, Polixena, a great benefactor of the Friars, presented her wedding gift - a beautiful statue of the Infant Jesus, to the Prior. However, in the year 1631, the Carmelite monastery was plundered, and the statue of the Infant Jesus was cast upon a heap of rubble. Strange but true, years later, a Carmelite priest, Fr Cyril, discovered the statue in a heap of trash. He placed it at a respected place and began to pray. He dedicated a room in the monastery to the Infant Jesus, and allowed the faithful to come and worship Jesus. Many faithful were healed. This was the humble beginning of the devotion.

The devotion that began in a small way, thereafter, spread rapidly throughout the world. The genesis of the devotion to the Infant Jesus at Carmel Hill here takes us back to some 56 years. The Belgian Carmelite missionaries, who were in the city, began the novena prayer to the Infant Jesus in the small chapel on Thursdays. The present shrine was inaugurated and blessed on January 11, 2006, to accommodate the increasing number of devotees.

Many devotees regularly visit the Infant Jesus Shrine. Every Thursday, thousands of devotees participate in the Eucharistic celebration and novena services held throughout the day. The Shrine fathers are also available for confessions and counselling to cater to the spiritual needs of the devotees. The Charismatic Prayer sessions are held in the Shrine on Tuesdays at 6.00 pm, and every first Sunday of the month, from 4.00 pm to 7.00 m in Konkani, and every Sunday from 2.00 to 5.00 pm,  in Kannada. Every Sunday at 7.30 pm, The Prayer of the Church with the faithful is held at 7.30 pm, in the shrine. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed on every First Friday for the full day adoration. The shrine is open for prayer from 5.30 am to 9.30 pm. Infant Jesus Shrine is publishing a Konkani monthly ‘Naman Ballok Jesu’.

The Carmelite Fathers at the Shrine have invited everyone to visit the Shrine on the Feast day.