The year 2022 is already a month old. Enthusiastically and with a lot of hope we all moved into the New Year with a sense of feeling that the worst was behind us. It appeared that the days of lock down and restrictive movement of people caused by the pandemic during the past two years or so would soon be a thing of the past and confined to history books. The pall of gloom appeared to have blown away, when all of a sudden, the emergence of the Omicron variant of the Corona virus dealt a bodily blow and brought us back to square one. Apparently this variant spreads at a faster pace and only God knows how long we all will have to live under restrictions and fear. We need to be alert and take all necessary precautions and follow the SOPs and guidelines issued by the Government and Health Authorities.

In the midst of it all came the Election Commission’s announcement for the forthcoming Assembly elections of Goa, which are due to take place on 14th February,2022.We are witnessing a literal scramble for election tickets from the aspiring candidates. So much so that everyday there are some doing the acts of ‘jumping frogs’- jumping from one political party to another only to get that party ticket to contest the elections. Self- interest and a corrupted mind-set has put the motto of service to common man’ on the back burner. Political business in full swing. Even those not allotted the party tickets, have resigned from the party and are challenging to contest as independents, confusing the electorate even more. We all need to be alert and exercise our voting rights with utmost caution. We should not be swayed by false and empty promises but vote and elect the right candidates, who will work for the welfare and well-being of everyone. A lot of inducements in cash and kind are being offered to influence the voters. We need to remember that our votes are sacred and should vote without fear or favour. Even our Archdiocese’s Social wing,’Council for Social Justice and Peace’ has given a call to elect good and deserving people to represent us in the Assembly. Let us pray to God for a clean and peaceful election in order to get a good efficient Government, which will work for the welfare and well-being of one and all.

Our Archbishop, Filipe Neri Ferrao, celebrated his birthday on 20th January. We wish him well and seek God’s choicest blessings on him always.

The Feast of our patron, St. Sebastian, will be celebrated in our Church on Sunday,27th February,2022.Let us hope and pray for safe and normal Liturgical services during the Novenas and the Feast.
Please stay safe and exercise caution in these difficult times.

Until we meet again

Felix Dias
-Editor-