PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 26 APRIL 2009

• Today is the Third Sunday of Easter. On Wednesday 29 April we keep the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena – Doctor of the Church.
• May 1 is the First Friday of the month. In the evening at 6:30 pm we will have Eucharistic adoration and it will be followed by mass at 7 pm.
• The Easter blessing of homes in the parish will continue this week. The schedule has been fixed in consultation with the zonal leaders. On Tuesday 28 April and Thursday 30 April in Zone A. The remaining homes in Zone B will be blessed next week. The blessings will be done from 6 to 9 pm.
• Fr. Ashley Miranda from STI celebrates his birthday on the 1 May. We accompany him with our prayers and thank him for his constant availability and animating presence in our parish.
• May is a month of special devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary. This year we will recite the rosary at our grotto every evening at 6:45 pm. We can show our love for Mary by joining this devotion in greater numbers and also attending daily evening mass during the holiday season. For those who cannot attend the grotto rosary it will be nice to recite the rosary in our families.
• On Tuesday 28 April, 8 novices from Tanmaya will make their First Religious Commitment as “Ursulines of Mary Immaculate”. We thank them for their active contribution to our parish in catechesis, mass animation and other services during their years of novitiate and pray that they will grow in fidelity to the Lord who has called them.
• Please assist the collection of monthly Church support done through volunteers who sit outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass.

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 19 APRIL 2009

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. On Saturday 25 April we keep the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist.

Children from our parish will be receiving their First Holy Communion both here in Don Bosco and also at Dominic Savio chapel, Satpur. The Solemn Eucharistic celebration here will be at 9 am. Please continue to pray for these children that they may grow in their closeness to Jesus. Please note there will be no mass at 7 am this Sunday 19 April, the evening mass will be as usual at 6:30 pm.

The Easter blessing of homes in the parish will begin this week. The schedule has been fixed in consultation with the zonal leaders. On Monday 20 April and Friday 24 April in Zone C; on Thursday 23 April in Zone B. The blessings will be done from 6 to 9 pm.

The collection for the Easter Triduum – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday amounted to Rs. 22,988/-. Thank you for your generosity. As is customary part of this collection will be sent to the Bishop’s House from where one part is allotted for the Christians in the Holy Land and the rest for other diocesan needs.

FR. VINCENT VAZ RETURNS TO GOD

With deep sorrow our parish mourns the passing of Fr. Vincent Vaz - Professor at Divyadaan - who has been helping us in our parish in Nashik for the last 10 years. Here are two little pieces about this stalwart who died 'with his boots on' - serving till the very end with pastoral zeal. May his soul rest in peace.

Update (22 April)
Read something more about this wonderful man - VV as he was popularly called on the blog of Chris Valentino. Thanks Chris - you have said so well what so many of us thought...Truly one more star in the sky!!!

Update 2 (26 April)

And here are some pics of the mass celebrated in the Divyadaan chapel with the body of Fr. VV.

PARISH NOTICES - EASTER SUNDAY, 12 APRIL 2009

Today is Easter Sunday – the day we commemorate the Lord’s Resurrection. It is a celebration that will last 50 days ending with the Solemnity of Pentecost. We wish all of you the abundant blessings of the Risen Lord. The Easter Sunday morning mass will be at 8 am. There will be no evening mass.

Next Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday and 5 children from our parish will be receiving their First Holy Communion.

The Eucharistic celebration will be at 9 am. They will be having an intensive week of preparation beginning from 14 April. On 17 April they will approach the sacrament of reconciliation. Please accompany these children with your prayers as they prepare to receive Jesus.

Please note there will be no mass at 7 am next Sunday 19 April, the evening mass will be as usual at 6:30 pm.

THANKS…

• To Archbishop Felix Machado our main celebrant this evening for helping us enter into the Easter mysteries and for his inspiring words…
• To our brother priests who came to administer the sacrament of reconciliation…and who celebrated and concelebrated in the services at Satpur, in Nirmala Home for the Aged and here…
• To the different zones who helped in the animation and liturgical preparation on the days of the Paschal Triduum – Zone B and Kilbil cmty on Maundy Thursday, Zone C and Nirmala convent cmty on Good Friday and Zone A and the Maria Vihar community for this evening’s Easter Vigil service…
• To Fr. Vinod and all the musicians and singers of the choir for bringing melody and harmony to our Eucharist this evening and during the Good Friday service; to the brothers of Divyadaan for doing the same during the Maundy Thursday eucharist…
• To Mr. John Borde our sacristan for his quiet efficiency in ensuring our liturgies run smoothly with order and decorum…
• To Mr. Russell Murdeshwar, Mr. Claud Noronha and Mr. Raul Goveia for decorating the Church during these days with simple motifs that led us to understand the symbolism of the Easter Triduum...
• To Br. Johnson, Ms. Sushma Shrivastwa and the altar servers who did their ministry with due solemnity…
• To all the readers, commentators of our Paschal Triduum …
• To the different zones and religious communities who animated the Adoration at the Altar of Repose, the Way of the Cross and the other liturgical moments in these sacred days…
• To all those who helped prepare the hall, arrange chairs and to the ushers who ensured the smooth and decorous celebrations we have had…
• To all those who should have been thanked individually and have been forgotten …
• To all of you present here who in one way or other, assist us spiritually and materially, making our celebrations (on solemnities and on ‘ordinary days’) encounters with the Lord…

We have celebrated the Easter Triduum together with due solemnity and fervor…recalling God’s gift of love in the Eucharist, His Passion, Death and Resurrection…

Frs. Nelson, Diego and Matthew would like to extend their Easter greetings to all of you. May the Risen Lord help us experience newness and hope in the season when we contemplate his rising to new life !

Don Bosco Parish Nashik,
12th April 2009

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 5 APRIL 2009

• Today is Palm Sunday. The blessing of palms and procession will take place at both the morning and evening mass.
• We are entering Holy Week - a week in which we prayerfully recall the events of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the most solemn of all weeks in the Church year. It is therefore fitting that we participate in all the liturgical services of the Easter Triduum – Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday – with attention and a prayerful spirit. With the exams of our children coming to an end many more of us should be able to attend.
• On Holy Thursday the Evening mass of the Lords’ supper will be celebrated at 6:30 pm. During the mass we will make a special collection of food grains for the poor. We will then take the Blessed Sacrament in procession to our Altar of Repose at the STI chapel. There we will spend time in adoration: from 8:30 pm SHTC and Zone C; from 9:15 pm Tanmaya and Zone B; from 10 pm STI and Zone A. It would be nice if each of us spends this time in personal prayer even beyond the time slots allotted to our zones.
• Good Friday is a day of Fast and Abstinence. We will begin our Way of the Cross at 8 am from the STI grotto. The different zones and religious communities will help us reflect on the suffering of Christ. The evening Liturgical Service of the Lord’s Passion will begin at 6:30 pm.
• Our Easter Vigil service will begin at the entrance of the parish on Saturday at 10:30 pm. The main celebrant for the Easter Vigil will be our Archbishop Felix Machado. Please bring candles for the service. The Easter Sunday morning mass will be at 8 am. There will be no evening mass. Please see the notice board for other details. All those involved in the various liturgical services are requested to make the required arrangements and attend the scheduled practices.
• Our Lenten season was very meaningfully celebrated by many of the parishioners who attended the mission that was held on the Fridays in Lent and ended with our Reconciliation service last evening. Our special thanks to all those who animated, collaborated and participated in the various prayer moments. The deepening of our faith will be God’s reward for our generosity in giving time to the faith dimension of our life.
• Those who have not done so already are requested to hand in your animations for the Way of the Cross on Good Friday as soon as possible to Fr. Matthew.