by Susan D'costa
KUWAIT, SEP 28, 2016: Exuberating, motivating, enlightening and engaging would be the appropriate description for the Bible Quiz - that attracted over a thousand catechism children in the North Arabian Vicariate - organised by the parishioners of Saint Therese Church in September.
The children spent part of their summer break studying the Miracles of Jesus, as narrated in the four Gospels, which was the mandated portion by the organisers.
In the elimination round, on September 2, the 1000-odd youth competed in a written contest. Twenty eight toppers were then selected and grouped into four teams, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each team had seven participants.
In the mega quiz on September 24, four teams competed with each other, displaying a great knowledge of Holy Scripture. The quiz had seven different rounds, namely, Ice breaker, Identify Miracles, Knock and you shall receive, Miracle quotes, Audio-visuals, Miracle reflections and Rapid fire.
Team Luke took home top laurels in the mega quiz, and were awarded the championship and rolling trophy. Anjali Maria from the Winning Team said, "This quiz has made me realise how Jesus has worked miracles in my life too."
Teams Mark, Matthew and John came second, third and fourth respectively. "I was happy and privileged to be a part of the bible quiz; together, with the kids assigned to me, I felt a special closeness to God," Vincent Rego, the coordinator of Team Matthew, said.
"The Word of God is our ultimate guide to Heaven and our children have realised this at such an early stage. We thank the parish for seeking ways to help our children to use their vacation to acquaint themselves with the Gospels," Mavis D'silva, a parent of one of the participants, said.
Father Francisco Pereira, Father Johnson Nedumpurath and Father Lionel Braganza were present for the mega quiz. Father Nedumpurath reminded the participants at the onset to count their blessings, "Our life is a miracle, every moment is a miracle. We don't count our miracles, the whole world is a miracle for which we thank and honour God like his Son Jesus thanked and honoured his Father."
Father Pereira added that we should focus on honouring God through our actions. "It is not enough to know the miracles," he said. "We should learn to honour God and give thanks with all our lives. Learn from Jesus to pray to and honour God."
Father Braganza addressed the participants in the end and encouraged them to grow in the knowledge and love of God. "A competition is not about winning trophies, but loving Jesus and knowing him. People may know a lot about God but very few love God. You participants have shown that you know God and love Him," he said.