We are entering into the month of November, the penultimate month of this eventful year 2021. For us, Catholics, this month begins with All Saints Day on the 1st and All Souls Day on the 2nd. In fact this full month is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. It is also dubbed as the ‘Month of the Dead’. On All Saints Day, we honour and pray, not only to the souls who have attained Sainthood on Earth, through official recognition but we firmly believe that all our faithful deceased in Heaven are also considered to be Saints. All Souls Day is a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed. We believe that those who have died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls, remain in purgatory, until they are finally free of their guilt through the intercessory prayers of their family & friends on earth. It is precisely the reason why this day is dedicated to prayer and remembrance so that the faithful on Earth can offer Masses and prayers in order to help cleanse these souls to fit them for the vision of God in Heaven. For us in Aquem, visiting the Cemetery to pray for the souls of our loved ones, is a lot more convenient than the good old days, when we were under Navelim Parish. It was on 21st May 2006 that our cemetery finally became a reality. On 3rd November we are celebrating the 19th Anniversary of our Church elevation Day. It was on 03/11/2002, that our St. Sebastian Chapel was elevated to the status of an independent Church of St. Sebastian, Aquem. As we are aware, we were earlier a part of the Navelim Parish, until the dawn of this historic day.

A lot of people have fallen prey to the dreaded disease of Cancer. A lot needs to be done to tackle and fight it. 7th November is observed as National Cancer Awareness Day in India, to make people aware of this disease and make the relevant treatments more feasible. We all need to lend a helping hand in this worthy cause.

Among the special days in November, 14th November is celebrated as Children’s Day in India. This day is the birthday of India’s first Prime Minister, J. L. Nehru, fondly known as Chacha Nehru, who had great love for children. This day is celebrated to raise nationwide awareness about children’s rights and to make India a better place for the citizens of tomorrow. In all our effort is needed to make this successful.

This year the Feast of Christ the King will be celebrated on 21st November, which is the final Sunday of the ecclesiastical year and also the Sunday before the First Sunday of Advent. May Christ, our heavenly king, reign in our wills, in our hearts and in our bodies to obey the laws and precepts of God, spurn natural desires and love God above all things and most importantly serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls.

Our loving and ever energetic Vicar, Fr. Andrew Pereira celebrates his birthday on 30th November 2021. On my personal behalf and on behalf of all the members of PORMOLL Editorial Board I extend our warmest greetings and best wishes on this happy occasion.
May your birthday be nice in every way and may God grant you His blessings TODAY and every day.

Until we meet again.

-Felix Dias