Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi
Udupi, Jul 26: Titular feast of two saints St Joachim and St Anne was celebrated at St Anne's Church, Thottam near here on Thursday, July 26.
Herd of faithful folk were present at St Anne's Church, Thottam for the festive Mass. The feast of St Joachim and St Anne, parents of Mother Mary and the grandparents of Jesus Christ, is also dedicated to all the grandparents in the Catholic Church.
Fr Alban D’Souza, parish priest, Stella Maris Church, Kalmady was the main celebrant for the holy Eucharistic celebration, while Fr Lawrence D’Souza, dean, Kallianpur deanery, Fr Francis Cornelio, parish priest, Thottam and other priests from the deanery were the co-celebrants.
Fr Alban D’Souza, in his homily, said, "Jesus was born in a family and through this he proclaimed all families are holy and a source to Catholic Church. A family is a place of faith. We live in peace and harmony in a family. As our parents take their vows during th wedding, they promise each other to look after their children with faith and compassion and thus build a good family. Parents are the first faith preachers to the children. Today we need to teach our children good values and stay firm to the vows given to God and each other. We need our family to be the temple of God. We need to nourish our children with the values of Jesus Christ,"
"A family should have two important treasures, one is, holy Bible and other is, the alter. We should pray together and talk to God through prayer. If we look at our ancestors, their faith towards God was inspiring. They used to walk miles just to receive Holy Communion. They have given this faith to us. Prayer is a tool to talk to God. We see St Joachim and St Anne had brought up Mother Mary in faith and the same faith helped Mother Mary to bring up Jesus Christ. A good tree bears good fruit and the same applies to the family. If we bring up our children in faith, our children will shine like the stars in the sky. Our elders are the treasures of our family. Let us respect them and look after them well, and in return we will receive blessings from God in abundance,” he added.
“Today while we celebrate this feast let us reflect on our family life. Today we have lot of facilities with advanced technology, but the relationship within our family has become sour. There is no proper communication between our families. Let us take this as wakeup call and seek the blessings of our God through this Eucharistic celebration. Let us strengthen the bond in our families and make them temple of God.” he concluded.
Fr Francis Cornelio welcomed and thanked the gathering.
Oswald Vaz and family, Thottam, Bahrain were the sponsors of this titular feast.