St. Sebastian Church

Every human being likes to be thought as the best and get good opinions of the world around us. In doing so we always tend to gain some brownie points over others. We all want to have the best of things. May be we want to acquire latest and newer gadgets such as mobiles, bigger cars, still bigger houses, and so on, which I feel is natural. But in doing so, most often than not, a majority of us make the big mistake of comparison, comparing our possessions and our features with that of others. Such a mindset leads to disappointment and more often than not, gives rise to a miserable state of mind. Comparison diverts our focus away from God. God only created masterpieces and not clones and duplicates. Let’s admit that even identical twins are not completely identical. We compare ourselves with others’ looks, their wealth and possessions and in some cases even their religion. Even our children are not spared and we pressurise them and expect them to fare better than the other neighbours’ children, only because of this silly comparison.In the eyes of God, we are all unique in our own special ways. Let us be grateful for what we are and for what we have  and move on with our lives without complaining. Remember not to compare, as comparison leads to jealousy which in turn leads one to sin. God has blessed us with different and unique talents. Let us make good use of these talents for the greater glory of God, our heavenly Father.  Read more

Holy Saturday is the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday in the Catholic Liturgical Calendar. It is a solemn and reflective day that marks the time when Jesus Christ’s body lay in the tomb before His resurrection on Easter Sunday while Christ’s followers held a vigil for Him outside of His tomb.

A vigil is held on Holy Saturday in memory of the hours that Jesus lay dead in the tomb. During this vigil, the faithful sit in silence and meditation, remembering Christ’s suffering and death. A special Mass is held after the vigil. Read more

The Resurrection of Christ, a central doctrine of Christianity, is based on the belief that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the third day after his Crucifixion and that through His conquering of death, all believers will subsequently share in His victory over “sin, death, and the Devil.” Through His death, we receive new life. Because Jesus died for our sins, we get to receive His righteousness. He takes everything we deserved upon Himself and gives us everything earned by Him. As the saying goes, “everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Here’s the truth – there is no resurrection without crucifixion. Read more

April the 7th is GOOD FRIDAY

GOOD FRIDAY – THE DAY OF THE Murder; the day of the shadows, when humankind tried to cast darkness over the light of the world. Jesus died on the cross. Never take this for granted.

Jesus’ death was a totally different ending than what His disciples expected. While we look at their betrayal, denial, and abandonment, let us look at ourselves and our relationship with the God of the Universe, who held nothing back. Jesus came to save us. He died for our sins so that one day we can be with Him for all eternity. We are told this over and over and over again, but it doesn’t seem to impact us to bring about change in our life. It is time for us to PAUSE at this 12th Station for a long time and not jump to the next. Read more

St. Mark, the Evangelist also known as John Mark is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark.

Mark is the Latin word Mars meaning consecrated to God.

He was born in Cyrene in 12 AD and he died on 25th April 068AD in Alexandria Egypt. He was one of four namely Mathew, Luke, and John. Read more

Xerostomia or dryness of the mouth is a clinical manifestation of salivary gland dysfunction. The term is derived from the greek word (xeros) meaning “dry“ and (stoma) meaning “mouth”. Clinically, different degrees of Xerostomia exist. Sometimes the patient complains of a dry and burning sensation. Sometimes there is complete lack of saliva. When the deficiency of saliva is pronounced there is severe alteration in the mucous membrane and the patient may have extreme discomfort. The mucosa will appear dry and inflamed or most often pale and translucent. The tongue may show inflammation, fissuring and cracking and in severe cases, areas of denudation. Soreness, burning and pain of the mucous membrane and tongue are common symptoms. Read more

Slipped disc / prolapsed disc is an extremely painful problem where bones, muscles and nerves are affected. It’s very common problem not only in Goa, India, but the whole world faces this problem.

Cause of slipped disc/desiccated disc (My view): Main cause of backbone diseases is due to weakness caused to our spinal column – muscles – nerves, blood vessels, ligaments and cartilages. The causative factors for development of weakness are numerous, such as wrong dietary habits, indulgence of excess junk – fast – negative foods which are devoid of valuable nutrients like antioxidants, mineral, vitamins, phytonutrients, live enzymes etc. such foods including excess animal protein and foods loaded with unnatural chemicals makes not only our spinal column weak, but the whole body suffers significantly. In such scenario we can easily succumb to trigger factors such as sudden jerk, coughing, lifting medium weight, mild accidents etc. These are exciting factors, but main cause is WEAKNESS to the whole back. Similarly continuously driving scooter on rough roads with erected speed breakers can make your whole back weak. Read more

Mogall Firgozkaramno,

Aiz 19ver Febrer-ache, Bhag. Sebastiao-achi porob korunk soglleank ek vhodd kuxalkai. Jevonn khann aslearuch fest nhoi. Punn festa borobor anik dusreo ier vostu bi ekdom gorjecheo.

“It is not the quantity of meat, but the cheerfulness of the guests, which makes the feast”. Oxem Edward Hide mhonnta. Sodam baxen, punn he pautt odik sompeponnan festachi toiari korunk. soglleank mell’lem. Adle von he pautt bore baxen Novenam ani tache borobor vochunk Igorje bhailean-bhitorlean nettounk, sevadhorm korunk, misa uprant vaddeachem canteen, bhurgeanchem kermes, S.S.V.P. hanchem Jumble Sale korunk odik umed zali tem polloun ekdom kuxalkai disli. Bhurgim toxim vaddlolim sod’dam ekthaim ietalim tem odik borem zalem. Read more

We are back in a celebratory mood, getting into our best moods to celebrate the Novena and the Feast of our Patron, St. Sebastian. We can proudly claim that our Patron Saint, who had converted many people, especially soldiers, was a person of great help and support to his fellow brethren. Despite being given the post of captain under Emperor Diocletian, he secretly encouraged other soldiers to be true to their Faith and Christian values. On this occasion, we need to take a leaf out of St. Sebastian’s life and learn to be cheerful in living a Christian life, acquiring a sense of duty to glorify God and loving and helping others to lead a devout life. As a matter of fact, there is nothing more beautiful than someone, who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others. Read more