CELEBRATING DON BOSCO - 30 JANUARY 2009

We had a great feast of our father and founder, Don Bosco after a novena of reflection and prayer. The attendance was good at the novena and the animation by the different zones and communities were prayerful. On 30 January we had the traditional academy and once again it was a touching moment to pay homage to the Father of Youth. This year special note must be made of our Sunday School children who enacted scenes from the life of Don Bosco.

The smallest among them provided the chorus to link the various scenes enacted. Here is a photograph of that...

And another of the older children enacting the dream at the age of nine...

GROTTO - 29 JANUARY 2009

The blessing of the grotto is scheduled for our parish feast - 31 January - on the day our Archbishop is in our midst and celebrates the mass. We are nearly there. Here are some final pictures of the grotto. The next we post will be of the blessing on the Feast Day.

GROTTO - 24 JANUARY 2009

We are arriving at the finish....this should be done a few days from now. Thank you Mother Mary...

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 25 JANUARY 2009

• Today is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.
• We are in the novena of Don Bosco and it is so nice to see many parishioners making this a moment to reflect on “St. John Bosco and Christian life today” helped by the different preachers and animating groups. Let us continue to attend and grow in our faith. Details regarding the theme, the preachers, and the animating groups are available on the notice-board. Please collaborate with your zonal leaders when they approach you for your assistance.
• The novena mass will be at 7 pm every evening except on Sunday 25 January and Friday 30 January when the mass will be at 6:30 pm.
• Please note that there will be no morning mass this Sunday 25 January.
• After the novena mass on 30 January we will have an Academy in honour of St. John Bosco. All of you are invited to be present. If any of you would like to stage items please get in touch with Fr. Vinod as soon as possible.
• The feast day mass next Saturday 31 January is at 6 pm.
• The next parish council meeting will be held on Sunday 1 February at 10 am. All parish council members are requested to attend.
• Also next Sunday 1 February STI is staging a three-act comedy “Paradise Villa” at 6:30 pm in the Divyadaan auditorium. All of you are invited. Hence, the evening mass next Sunday will be at 5 pm.
• On Saturday 7 February we will have a parish family get-together after the evening mass with games and dinner. The charges will be Rs. 70/- for adults, and, Rs. 35/- for children 12 years and below. Please collect your passes from your zone leaders. It will be a great sign of belonging if as many as possible get involved and participate in the celebration of the novena and the feast.
• Regular scripture classes will resume on Monday 9 February.
• We have begun collecting Church support through volunteers who sit outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass. Thank you for your support of the various Church projects through the amounts you give in Church support.

OUR PARISH NOVENA BEGINS

Dear friends,

We begin our parish novena on Thursday 22 January. Here is a glimpse of the themes and other details:

NOVENA IN HONOR OF ST. JOHN BOSCO 2009

"ST. JOHN BOSCO AND CHRISTIAN LIVING TODAY"

ANIMATING GROUPS, THEMES, PREACHERS

22 JANUARY, THURSDAY - SACRED HEART TRAINING CENTRE - EUCHARIST AND UNION WITH GOD - Fr. Ashley Miranda
23 JANUARY, FRIDAY - SALESIAN TRAINING INSTITUTE - PRAYER AND RENEWAL - Fr. Matthew Coutinho

24 JANUARY, SATURDAY - ZONE B + KILBIL - OPTIMISM AND JOY - Fr. Savio D’Souza

25 JANUARY, SUNDAY - SUNDAY SCHOOL - PROMOTION OF VOCATIONS - Fr. Ivo Coelho

26 JANUARY, MONDAY - ZONE C + NIRMALA CONVENT - INVOLVEMENT OF THE LAITY - Fr. Diego Nunes
27 JANUARY, TUESDAY - TANMAY - WORK AND TEMPERANCE - Fr. Wyman Gonsalves

28 JANUARY, WEDNESDAY - YOUTH + DON BOSCO BHAVAN - SOLIDARITY WITH THE MARGINALIZED - Fr. Nelson Falcao
29 JANUARY, THURSDAY - ST. JOSEPH NOVITIATE - ROLE OF MARY AND THE SAINTS - Fr. Solomon Rapol
30 JANUARY, FRIDAY - DIVYADAAN - SPIRIT OF INITIATIVE AND COMMUNION - Fr. Valerian Pereira

31 JANUARY, SATURDAY - FEAST OF ST. JOHN BOSCO - ZONE A + MARIA VIHAR - Archbishop Felix Machado DD

• The daily mass with the novena prayers will begin at 7 pm (except on Sunday 25 January and Friday 30 January when the mass will be at 6:30 pm).
• On Sunday 25 January there will be no morning mass.
• On 30 January there will be an Academy in honor of St. John Bosco after the mass.
• The Feast Day mass will begin at 6 pm.
• The rosary will be recited everyday 20 mts before the mass. Confessors will be available every day half an hour before the mass.

GROTTO - 22 JANUARY 2009

So here is what the grotto looks like - its moving and God willing we'll soon have it ready...

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 18 JANUARY 2009

• Today is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.
• There will be regular scripture class on St. Paul on Monday 19th January at 7:30 pm. It will last half an hour.
• Our collection for our Christian brothers and sisters in Orissa amounted to Rs. 12,000/-. It has been suggested that we target a bigger amount and then send it to the “Bishop's Kandhamal Relief Fund”. If you have any suggestions on this matter please meet Fr. Matthew personally.
• We have begun collecting Church support through volunteers who sit outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass. We trust that each family will be able to contribute at least Rs. 100/- per month. Thank you for your support of the various Church projects through the amounts you give in Church support.
• We begin the novena of Don Bosco on Thursday 22 January. Our theme this year is “St. John Bosco and Christian life today”. The themes of each day will help us discover how Don Bosco offers us ways to live our Christian life more fully. The novena is a grace God offers each of us to grow in our faith. Details regarding the theme, the preachers, and the animating groups are available on the notice-board. Please collaborate with your zonal leaders when they approach you for your assistance. From 22 to 29 January the novena mass will be at 7 pm every evening except on Sunday 25 January and Friday 30 January when the mass will be at 6:30 pm. Please note that there will be no morning mass next Sunday 25 January.
• On 30 January we will have an Academy in honour of St. John Bosco after the evening novena mass. If any parish groups wish to present items please contact Fr. Vinod.
• On Saturday 7 February we will have a parish family get-together after the evening mass with games and dinner. The charges will be Rs. 70/- for adults, and, Rs. 35/- for children 12 years and below. Please collect your passes from your zone leaders. It will be a great sign of belonging if as many as possible get involved and participate in the celebration of the novena and the feast.

THE GROTTO - 14 JANUARY 2009

Here are some more pictures of the grotto. One can see that the work proceeds slowly but surely...

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 11 JANUARY 2009

• Today 11 January is the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord and the end of the Christmas season.
• There will be regular scripture class on St. Paul on Monday 12 January at 7:30 pm. It will last half an hour.
• We thank all those who organized the special Christmas celebration for the catechism children last Sunday, especially the Sunday school teachers. The children had a wonderful mass celebrated by Fr. Vinod and then some great fun at the games that followed. Regular classes have now resumed and parents are requested to ensure the presence of their children for this important part of their faith formation.
• This is the last day of our collection for our Christian brothers and sisters in Orissa. We will be counting the amount on 12 January 2009. We are in touch with the “Bishop's Kandhamal Relief Fund” and will send the money to them.
• We are planning to revamp the collection of Church support from this year after consulting the parish council. We trust that each family will be able to contribute at least Rs. 100/- per month. Henceforth church support will not be collected by the zone leaders. The amount will be collected by a volunteer outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass.
• We are happy to welcome the newly ordained priests of our province – Frs. Christopher George, Ajit Munis, Mayank Parmar and Clifford Morais - to our parish on 14 January. We will have a time of interaction with them at 6 pm after which we will have the novena prayers and mass at 7 pm. All parishioners are welcome to this special celebration.
• St. Patrick’s parish Devlali is organizing a Konkani drama on Friday 16 January. For further details please see the banner at the entrance. Tickets of Rs. 50 and 75 are available at the parish office after the masses.
• Looking ahead we have the novena of Don Bosco (22nd – 30th January) coming up and the celebration of our Parish Feast on 31 January. Details regarding the theme, the preachers, and the animating groups will be put up on the notice-board. Please collaborate with your zonal and area leaders when they approach you for your assistance. It will be a great sign of belonging if as many as possible get involved in the celebration of the novena and the feast.

THE GROTTO IS IN PROCESS - 4 JANUARY 2009

Some time ago we posted pictures of the grotto...Here are a few more to keep you abreast with how it looks today...Please pray that the work goes on smoothly. We need the continued blessings of our Blessed Mother...

This is what it looked like on 4 January 2009...

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 4 JANUARY 2009

• Today we keep the Solemnity of the Epiphany. We recall the manifestation of Our Lord to the nations praying that we too are able to experience his manifestation in a tangible way. The Christmas season continues till next Sunday when we keep the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord.
• This Sunday 4 January there will be a special Christmas celebration for the Sunday catechism children at 4 pm. The celebration will begin with mass and the party will then follow.
• The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Saturday 10 January 2009 at 5:30 pm. All parish council members are requested to attend this meeting where planning for the parish feast will be done.
• This is the last week of our collection for our Christian brothers and sisters in Orissa. We will be counting the amount on 12 January 2009. We are in touch with the “Bishop's Kandhamal Relief Fund” and will send the money to them.

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 28 DECEMBER 2008

(Sorry for the delayed posting but better late than never - Keep in touch with what is happening in the parish - Thanks - Fr. Matt)

• Today we keep the Feast of the Holy Family. We pray for all families in our parish and in the world that following the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth they may become cradles of love and care for all their members. On 1st January we keep the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God. It is also World Day of Peace and signals the start of the New Year 2009.
• There will be no evening mass on Wednesday (31st December). The solemn New Year mass will be celebrated at 11 pm. At 10 pm there will be a moment of prayer to thank God for the year gone by and to seek his blessings on the year ahead. On 1st January there will be a mass at 8 am. There will be no evening mass. Other details regarding the mass schedules are available on the notice-board.
• This Sunday there will be regular Catechism class. Next Sunday 4th January there will be a special Christmas celebration for the Sunday catechism children at 4 pm.
• January 2nd is the First Friday of the month. There will be no morning mass for school children. There will be Eucharistic Adoration from 6:30 to 7 pm followed by mass.
• The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Saturday 10th January 2009 at 5:30 pm. All parish council members are requested to attend this meeting where planning for the parish feast will be done.
• During the masses of New Year’s Day you are all welcome to make your contribution of food grain and other gifts for the poor and needy. It will be a tangible sign of our desire to share God’s gifts with those less fortunate. Our collection for our Christian brothers and sisters in Orissa continues till 11th January 2009. We are in touch with the “Bishop's Kandhamal Relief Fund” and will send the total amount to them. Mr. Henry Menezes will be coordinating the collection and sending of the funds.