St. Sebastian Church

After the hussle and bussle, the dust has finally settled down. For sometime now, the buzz revolved around only one topic, i.e. ELECTIONS for our Goa Assembly on last Valentine’s day, February 14th.After a lot of debates and scrutiny of all the candidates, all of us have finally made our choice and voted. I am sure many of you were in a dilemma, not to find a suitable candidate of your choice but finally compelled to choose between evils. Many a times, presence of an honest and sincere candidate evokes lukewarm response as people feel, supporting them could lead to helping the worst of the lot due to splitting of votes With so much of party-hopping and switching of affiliation like the chameleons, people were angry and disgusted with the aspiring candidates. Self-interest and greed for money and power was evident to such an extent that several constituencies had candidates in double figures. So many candidates contested as Independents, solely because they were denied party tickets to contest. In spite of dwindling interest and contempt towards the present corrupt politics, a good percentage of voters came out to vote and exercised their democratic right. Hats off to you because in the end even one vote can make a difference. It is said that,”We do not get government by the majority, but we get government by the majority who participate”.The fate of all the candidates is now sealed in the EVM machines and the draw of this Electoral Lottery will be held on 10th March,2022.Hope and pray that the right candidates get elected, in order to give us a clean, fair and efficient, people-friendly Government for the next five years. Read more

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar Near Jericho (Lk 18,35-43)

35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth[a] is passing by.” 38 Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to Him; and when he came near, He asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” 43 Immediately he regained his sight and followed Him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

In this gospel passage we see five types of people:

• The blind beggar.
• The large crowd.
• The Onlookers.
• The Scribes and Pharisees
• The Apostles

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Facial injuries often involve the hard and soft tissues of the mouth. Sometimes an entire tooth is completely knocked out/ dislodged from its socket, due to accidents, sports or injuries .These avulsed teeth are considered a dental emergency and require immediate treatment. Avulsed permanent teeth may be replanted i.e. returned to the socket. Deciduous / milk teeth are not replanted due to the risk of damaging the developing permanent tooth germ underneath. Dental avulsion is a real dental emergency in which prompt management (within 20-40 minutes of injury) affects the prognosis of the tooth. Read more

Tadev:  Dev boro dis dium Simao. Titiv.Tuzo sobhav aiz chintest-so dista.Kitem zalam tor?

Simao:  Baba Tadev mhozo sobhav,Marsachi 10 tarikh padun chintest astolo.Mhojea sarke Goenchem borem dekhli,halinch zal’lea venchnnukancho nikal eit-sor,amkam xanti aschinam.

Tadev:  Somzolom tujem.Punn titiv,nikal jahir korunk itle dis kiteak lagtat? Venchnnuko Febrerache 14 ver zal’leo nhoim?

Simao:  Oi, zal’leo,punn Goenche sangata dusreai Prantanim venchnnuko chalu asat Ani sogleo somptokuch,nemam pormonnem nikal sangatim diuncho poddtta. Read more

Forgiveness is the greatest human virtue. Forgiveness is the key to moving beyond your past and unlocking the treasures of the future. It transforms you and moves you into a brand – new world that is beyond your wildest dreams. Love, prosperity, peace… it’s all there for you. All you have to do is reach out and grab it. Forgiveness can change one’s life. It causes things to move fast. It’s hard to move forward if you are constantly looking backward. The anger that you are holding on to is a form of energy that gets bottled up inside you. It becomes twisted and strange, makes you sick and prevents you from moving forward in your life. Soon, the anger is all you can think about and it becomes your entire focus. You live it, breath it, dream it and drink it in, every day. You can stuff it down deep inside yourself, but it’s still there (the anger) quietly like a poisonous snake ready to strike at any time.  Read more

Sào Sebastiao or Saint Sebastian, Patron Saint of our Parish Aquem, was a renowned personality of his time, who underwent lots of suffering pain, torture only to safeguard our faith.
He was a true disciple of Jesus. He proclaimed Jesus and faced death due to his open confession of Christianity.
A brief history of his life. He was born in Narbonne France in 256 AD and was martyred in 288AD in Rome, Italy. According to the traditional belief he was killed during the persecution of the Church. He was tied to a tree and shot with arrows, but he survived this attack, and as per the book he was rescued by Saint Irene, of Rome, who treated him of his wounds and he was healed. Read more

Migration is not an uncommon Biblical theme. Migration is so central in the Bible because it is central to human experience. In fact I would say that we humans are a migratory species.

In the old Testament we have Abraham and Sarah who are commanded to migrate from the land of UR to the land of Canaan (Gen 12 : 1 – 2). Whether following the “pull” of a promised future or the “push” of conflict economic distress or famine, Abraham and Sarah’s descendants also lived lives shaped by migration. Joseph the grandson of Isaac was sold by his brothers along the trade line that went to Egypt only to be rejoined by his father Jacob and his brothers later because of famine. The Israelites had their own migration experience for over forty years and God wanted them to recall this always, “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you and you shall love him as yourself.” (Leviticus 19 : 34). Read more

Ash Wednesday is a solemn reminder of human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God and marks the beginning of the penitential Lenten season. It is commonly observed with ashes and fasting. But how did this tradition come about ?

There is no mention of Ash Wednesday in the Bible. But there is a custom of donning ashes as a sign of penitence that predates Jesus. In the Old Testament, Job repents “in dust and ashes” and there are other associations of ashes and repentance in Esther, Samuel, Isaiah and Jeremiah. By the 10th century, the monk, Aelfric started the practice, which dates to the eighth century, to the period before Easter, writing, “Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent our sins during the Lenten fast.” By the 11th century, the practice was widespread throughout the Church — until Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, threw the practice out in the 16th century because it was not Biblically based. There’s no Lent in the Bible, either, though many Christians see it as an imitation of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and battling with Satan in the desert.

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S- St Joseph Convent was inaugurated on 22nd Dec 2021, with Sr Faria as the Superior General and we Eight Sisters in the Community…

T- The Psalmist says, the Lord will build a house for us and He will watch over our city,

J- Jesus the Lord, has indeed built a house to live in Love and Harmony…

O- Open to the Spirit, may problems be negligible, Blessings be more is our Magnificat, Read more