By Alban D'Souza
Kuwait, Sep 8: "Let us celebrate with joy the birth of the blessed Virgin Mary that she may intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ."
Mary, by a special grace, was selected to become the Mother of Jesus, through Immaculate Conception. Her birth is the prime cause for the immense joy and happiness we share on this special day. As the Divine Mother of God; Mary being a flawless example for purity, modesty, chastity, humbleness and obedience, unceasingly was forthright and archaic to the Almighty’s will. In order to commemorate this occasion on September 8 being her birthday, we venerate her for her explicit nature and for the gift of our Lord, whom she bore and gave to mankind.
The nativity of Mother Mary, popularly known as ‘Monthi Fest’, has a unique quality of fetching all Christians under one big roof for celebration. Since this feast falls on the season of the harvest, it is termed as the feast of new harvest.
The celebration of the birth of the Most Holy Blessed Virgin Mary begun with the 9 days Novena, dedicated to the Blessed Infant Mary, on August 26. The novena was conducted by different community units of the parish under various different topics by our evry own spiritual director, Fr Xavier D’souza, Guest priest-Fr Stephen Claude Mascarenhas, Fr Antony Lopez from Holy Family Cathedral Church-Kuwait City, Fr Noel Almeida from St. Daniel Comboni Church, Abbasiya. The novena held, created a dinstint atmostphere of spiritual replenishment and a festive mood.
The 9 days Novena culminated by the festive mass which was held on Friday September 4. The mass was preceded by the procession with the Bambina of the Blessed Infant Mary and later with the strewing of flowers. The mass was celebrated by Fr Stephen Claude Mascarenhas, Fr Franklin, Fr Antony Lopez and Fr Xavier. The sole intention of the entire celebration was to join together as one family in soul and mind, take part in the celebration of this auspicious occasion and share in the joy of the Birth of our Lady.
A large multitude of Konkani speaking people gathered from different parts of Kuwait. The church was completely packed and there was a tent put up outside the church to accommodate the rest of the people. The estimated crowd was about 1700. The sermon emphasized on the importance of love in a family and on the origin of the Monthi Fest in part of Mangalore by a Goan priest, Fr Joachim Miranda. The melodious choir of the parish led the gathering to a whole different level of spirit full presence of the Lord. The Vote Of Thanks was delivered by Mrs. Helen Clara Fernandes, the Secretary of the Konkani Committee-Ahmadi, specially expressing gratitude towards all the donors, well wishers and benefactors who came forward to celebrate the event.
The celebration ended with the benediction of the Blessed sacrament. Fr Stephen Claude Mascarenhas led the crowd into a spirit full praise and worship session and the presence of the Lord was truly felt in the midst of the people who gathered. It was a fitting tribute, considering the love, affection and veneration that the faithful expressed towards Mother Mary.
Thereafter the gathering was redirected to have lunch popularly called as the 'Noven Jevan'. This meal primarily symbolizes the unity and love that people, irrespective of their origin, joined together to share the meal as one family. The delicious food which included the traditional mean–Alu Dhento, Sone ani Thendli and Karamaso Salad with the scrumptious ‘Vorn’ was catered by M & M Confectionery and was served by Kuwait’s reputed Charity Show organizers, UMK.
There was a short program conducted after the lunch with music by DJ-Russel Fernandes, dance, housie-housie, auction of the raffle coupons and lucky draw and the program ended with Baila. It was a vibrant and an eventful evening, regardless of the extreme Kuwait heat. It is the unity, dedication and commitment of the Konkani committee members that led to the grand success of this event.