Vivian DeSouza sdb
WADALA, MARCH 28, 2012: The Parish of Our Lady of Dolours saw a keen participation in several Lenten practices, in the run up to the Holy Week and the Easter Celebrations. It all began with the Night Prayer Vigil held on March 20. It was animated by Fr. Bastin and his music ministry team, aided by the Parish Prayer Group Ministry. To a near full church that stayed on from 7.30 to 11.00pm, Fr. Bastin took them on a journey of repentance through his teachings on the Love and compassion of the Lord, on forgiveness, snippets from the movie: "The Passion of the Christ" and the comments from the Director of the movie, to heighten the sacrifice of Jesus and the power of evil. The evening ended with an adoration service followed by a healing moment with the laying on of hands and blessing with Holy Water.
On March 23, a public holiday on account of Gudi Padwa, while folks would like to take the day out and chill off, two bus load of parishioners, the young and the elderly, made their way to our parish church of Jyoti Mata at Virar, to conduct the Way of the Cross service during the day. The first stop was at the Church of St. James, Agashi, where we said the Divine Mercy Chaplet and other devotions. We then proceeded to Jyoti where Fr. Vishwas had made all the arrangements for our group. Fr. George welcomed us on arrival and set out for us a sumptuous breakfast. Then followed the Way of the Cross with reflections, prayers and hymns that helped us participate in the sufferings and pain of the Lord on his journey to Calvary and his eventual crucifixion. Fr. George was kind enough to give us a short reflection on the significance of Lent. This brought us lunch, where we had a good meal prepared by a parishioner for all the ninety two participants. In the afternoon we prayed the Rosary with the sorrowful mysteries interspersed with hymns and reflections, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The concluding Eucharist was celebrated by Fr. Vivian D'Souza, who accompanied the group on this journey of faith. After tea, we said our goodbyes and proceeded to the church at Arnala. After reciting prayers for two Stations of the Cross there, we proceeded back to the parish. It was an enriching though tiring experience.
On March 24, a sizeable group of parishioners joined in the Walking pilgrimage that is traditionally organized during this Lenten season. The Pilgrimage began at 10.30pm from Cross Maidan and concluded with mass at the Mount Mary's Church. The group of parishioners began their pilgrimage with a prayer service at the Church and then led by the Parish priest Fr. Godfrey D'Sa, made their way through the village, Sarkar Nagar, Naigaon, Tilak Bridge and joined the main group at Our Lady of Salvation Church, Dadar. Throughout the journey the faithful sang hymns and recited prayers. All in all it was a devotional experience.
On Sunday we had the Missions in Konkani from 10.30am - 4.00pm preached by a Redemptorist, Fr. Henry. In the evening, we had the commencement of the English Missions, preached by Redemptorist Frs. Shane Vaghese and Stanny. This Mission will be right through the week, concluding on Saturday evening. On Sunday we have the Marathi Missions from 11.00am - 4.30pm.