Annual Feast of Infant Jesus Shrine Celebrated with Zeal


Annual Feast of Infant Jesus Shrine Celebrated with Zeal

Stanly Bantwal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
 
Mangalore, Jan 14:
The annual feast of the Infant Jesus Shrine Bikarnakatte here was celebrated on Friday January 14 at Carmel Hill with pomp and gaiety. Archbishop of Delhi Vincent Concessao presided over the solemn festal Eucharistic celebration along with more than 50 priests.

Fr Clifford Fernandes, spiritual director, St Joseph’s inter diocesan seminary here preached the homily. Fr Clifford in his well developed homily appealed the packed congregation to fill with zeal to proclaim the Resurrected Christ. He cited various personalities from the Old and the New Testaments who were filled with zeal and gave witness to God.

"We should make efforts to experience Jesus and live a life fitting to our call; once we experience Jesus our life will be changed,” he said. He also said that meeting and experiencing Jesus Christ will help us to worship one God, to do the will of God, to be pure in heart, to forgive, to be just, to serve and be generous, to proclaim the Gospel, and to have intimacy with God. Bro Prakash D’Cunha animated the Liturgy while Fr George Santhumayor OCD, superior proposed the vote of thanks.
Representatives of the youth associations of the various deaneries were involved in the liturgy.

The other masses of the day were presided over by Fr Stephen Pereira OCD (Konkani), Fr Biju (Malayalam), Fr John Sequeira OCD, director, Ryshivana (Konkani) and Fr Archibald Gonsalves OCD, provincial, Karnataka-Goa Province of the Carmelites Order (English), Fr Alban D’Souza , parish priest, Pakshikeri Church (Konkani mass for the sick), Fr William Martis (Konkani) and Fr S Abbu D’Souza, SVD (Kannada ).

Around 25,000 devotees of Infant Jesus participated in the Eucharistic celebration which were held throughout the day. About 12,000 thousand were present for the evening festal mass alone.

Over 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, zeal to have intimacy with God were reflected upon by different preachers. Each day was dedicated to different groups like family, benefactors, professionals, children, workers, missionaries etc.

The last day of the novena was dedicated to the youth.

 

  

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Comment on this article

  • Claire, Mangalore

    Sun, Jan 16 2011

    Very nice, very happy to see these pictures. Wonderful efforts to the Glory of God. Happy Feast one and all.

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  • Lloyd D'souza, Dubai/Surathkal

    Sat, Jan 15 2011

    I Really Miss This Mass and Novena's of Infant Jesus Shrine. Jesus Bless All.

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  • Valerian Dalmaida, Mangalore/Abu Dhabi

    Sat, Jan 15 2011

    I was also confused like you because I did not know the living God, the Resurected Lord. That is why Jesus said," Is it not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?" (Mark 1224). "We should make efforts to experience Jesus and live a life fitting to our call once we experience Jesus our life will be changed,” Fr. Clifford said.Instead of asking "who should save this earth", begin with yourselves, take your call to save human and earth, because God is speaking to you, whom shall I send? and the answer should have been, send me Lord, here I am. While doing this, have faith in the words of God, whom no one has seen and you will see the fruits of that faith and enjoy them. Change starts with me and I can see the whole world a changed one. May Infant Jesus Bless you.

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  • Eric Coelho, Mangalore

    Sat, Jan 15 2011

    I am really confused of todays religion whether it is Christianity, Hinduism, Islamism which has become more of show business to the greater extent commercialised. We have never seen God but we shower him with so much of love, flowers, costly gifts and prayers. We have seen God's creation i.e., human and nature but our respect to human and nature has become zero. In the name of money we have lost respect to human and in the name of development we have destroyed natue and amassed wealth. What has God or Infant Jesus got to say as they are sure to receive their daily prayers and the living human and nature nothing. Who is going to save this earth.

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  • Alwyn, Mangalore - USA

    Fri, Jan 14 2011

    The very qualities of child-like simplicity, trust, humility and dependancy that characterize children need be contemplated, accepted and eventually adopted in our own lives as we live and struggle in a world of challenges and contradictions. Not so much 'childish' as child-like in nature, through prayer we humbly ask the Holy Infant to wean us of our need to control our family, friends and own personal lives as He teaches us to surrender all things to His will. With trust and faith in His words: "Ask and you shall Receive, Knock and the door shall Open", we actively place our needs in His little hands in the hope that He will continue to show us what it means to be more like Him. In this respect, as our encounter with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords deepens, the lessons taught and shown to us through this particular devotion become even more crucial to our ability to successfully navigate through a chaotic world.

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  • joegonsalves, Mangalore

    Fri, Jan 14 2011

    Devotion to Infant Jesus is on the increase and any number of people from Mangalore flock at Bikarnkatte to attend the weekly services every Thursday. Mangaloreans have to be grateful to The Carmelite Fathers for spreading the devotion to Infant Jesus on a grand scale.

    I join several others in thanking Almighty God for the gift of Carmelite Fathers to The World and more particularly to Mangalore.

    Joe Gonsalves

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  • Maxim Dsouza, Mangalore

    Fri, Jan 14 2011

    For the LORD Most High is awesome,
    the great King over all the earth. He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.[b] God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
    the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.Sing praises to God, sing praises sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earthsing to him a psalm of praise.

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