St. Sebastian Church

Grandparents are a family’s greatest treasure, the founders of a loving legacy, the greatest storytellers, the keepers of traditions that linger on in cherished memory. Grandparents are the family’s strong foundation. Their very special love sets them apart. Through happiness and sorrow, through their special love and caring, grandparents keep a family close at heart.

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. Well it was time for the St. Sebastian Catechetical Association to sprinkle a little star dust over the lives of our Parish Grandparents. Grandparents Day was organised at the St. Sebastian Chapel Hall soon after the Catechism Mass at 10 a.m. The grandparents were welcomed with hot tasty soup to kick off the party followed by a welcome song by the students of pre- communion and communion group. The very auspicious and symbolic day was marked by the cutting of the grandparents’ day cake. Two Grandparent couples were requested to cut the cake on behalf of all the Grandparents. Read more

The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Our lady of Sorrows on September 15, the day after the feast of the Holy cross to show the close connection between Jesus’s passion and Mary’s sorrow. This advocation has its roots in the gospel. Our Lady of sorrows teaches us that our sufferings, united to Christ through her sorrowful heart, can become bearable. Devotion to our Lady of Sorrows became a standard devotion in the Church around the 14th century. It was revealed to St. Bridget of Sweden that devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s seven sorrows would bring great signal graces. Why do we pray the sorrows Rosary? We pray this Rosary to learn to suffer with love, as Mary, the mother of Jesus did. The 7 sorrows Rosary leads us to understand our suffering, sins, and sorrows. Doing so helps us to live a life of joy in the lord, so that we can serve others. Read more

Simao: Dev boro dis dium Tadev. Saikol gheun khoim vetai?
Tadev: Dev tuka kurpa dium Simao Titiv.Bazarant vetam, thoddim pustokam gheunk  zai.
Simao: Saikol sintidan choloi, aiz kal kitlexech obsoeg zalele amim polletanv.
Tadev: Oi Titiv. Mottoram rosteancher koxei toren choloitat, xist mhonnleli mat punn nam.
Simao: Tum kitloi bore toren choloilear passun, tuka dusreanim uddoilole obsoeg atam chodd zaleat.
Tadev: Oxe toren,te apunn dusreanche jiv sonkoxttant ghaltat mhonn mat tori chintinant.
Simao: Ek mottor cholovpi aplo Ani aplea mottorant aslelea lokancho jiv trasant ghalta.
Tadev: Rosteancher vhoddle-vhoddle fondd poddleat, tankaim lagun obsoeg vaddleat.
Simao: Obsoeg ghoddonk anink ek vhoddlem karann mhollear,soro pieun mottor cholovop.
Tadev: Sarkem tujem,hem Sarkem bond zaunk zai.Sorkaran hacher khor kaide ghalunk zai.
Simao: Chintlear vaitt dista.Pieun-pieun tum movza marta anim uprant mottor cholovun,dusreanche obsoegan jiv kaddta. Read more

It is well known that SSVP supports the needy both spiritually and through charitable works. SSVP Aquem conference focuses on a vision to recognize humanity and dignity of the poor and their power to make a change in society.
The society has been supporting the needy and the deserving on a case to case basis – rag-pickers, pavement dwellers, and migrants. The society gives aid to some families in Aquem and adopted families in Ambaulim. Funds have come in through the generosity of many of our parishioners, friends and well-wishers, offertory in our parish and the ‘millers’ collection. We take this opportunity to thank our parish and other donors. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. It is in giving that we receive. Read more

Mogall Firgozkaramno,

John 10/11(a): Jezu oxem mhonnta, “Hanv Boro Gonvlli.” Him Jezuchim utram zaite pavtt amkam vachunk ani aikunk melltat. Jednam Jezu Apunn Boro Gonvlli mhonnta, tednam To apunn konn To zanna zaun mhonnta. Aplo vavr ani hea vavrant aplean kitem korchem To bhes boro zannam. Boro Gonvlli mhonntoch aplea menddrank sodanch borea chorvak vhorunk zai. Boro chorov sodit raunk zai ani thoim chorovta astanam aplea menddrank rakhunk zai. Jezun to vavr bhes boro kelo. Read more

The first day of July 2022 dawned as usual leading us to the routine of the early morning hustle and bustle. In the midst of it all, came the shocking and very sad news, that our beloved shepherd, Archbishop Emeritus Raul Nicolau Gonsalves had breathed his last. He completed 95 years of age on 15th June this year. After being ordained a priest on 21/12/1950, Archbishop Raul Gonsalves, Shepherded our Archdiocese for 37 long years in his capacity as Auxiliary Bishop, Bishop and finally as the Archbishop. He was an Indian prelate, the first Catholic Goan to be the Archbishop of Goa and Patriarch of the East indies. Our late Archbishop led the Church of Goa through uncertain times following Goa’s Liberation in 1961 and the financial reorganisation of the Archdiocese and its economic stability has been credited to him. He also constituted the first Diocesan Pastoral Council and prepared a historic pastoral plan for our Archdiocese focusing on the establishment of Parish pastoral councils and small Christian communities in our Parishes. He led the Church of Goa in welcoming our late Pope St. John Paul II to Goa in the year 1986. His willingness to do what he could, and leave in the hands of our Lord, what he knew he could not do, were the highlights of his qualities. At the time of his death, he was a priest for 71 years and a Bishop for 55 years. He was laid to rest in the Se Cathedral, Old Goa on 4th July, where hundreds of faithful and members of the Church hierarchy gathered to bid a tearful adieu. May the soul of our beloved Archbishop Emeritus Raul Gonsalves enjoy heavenly bliss. Read more

22nd August

Mary is both a queen and a mother, but she is more a mother than a queen. Mary’s Queenship and “mothership,” or motherhood, spark to life simultaneously. In the very moment Mary becomes a mother at the Annunciation, she also becomes a queen. The Archangel Gabriel tells Mary that her Son will sit on “the throne of his ancestor David” and that “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:32-33). Since Jesus is a king, and since He is conceived in the womb of Mary, and since in Israel the mother of a king was always a queen, (the daughter not necessarily so), Mary becomes a queen. Some texts from the early centuries of the Church call Mary the “domina,” the female of “dominus,” Latin for “master” or “Lord.” Read more

23rd August

St. Rose of Lima, the first person born in the Western Hemisphere to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. She is the patron saint of Peru and all of South America as well as of embroiderers, gardeners, and florists.

Born into a noble family, Rosa (the name by which she was always known) was drawn to penitential practices and a spiritual life at a young age. Her mother wanted her to marry and initially refused to allow her daughter to pursue religious life. To deter suitors, the beautiful Rosa cut off her hair and blistered her skin with hot peppers. The struggle between them lasted 10 years, during which time Rosa made a perpetual vow of virginity, taking St. Catherine of Siena as her model. In 1606 her mother relented and allowed Rosa to become a Dominican of the third order, though her parents did not permit her to live in a convent. Instead, Rosa chose strict enclosure and contemplation and withdrew to the seclusion of a hut in the family garden, where she endured a life of severe austerity and asceticism. She regularly wore a crown of thorns, practiced fasting, slept only a few hours at night on a bed of potsherds, self-flagellated, and experienced numerous visions, particularly of the Devil. Though she was largely a recluse, Rosa was devoted to the sick and hungry in her community and often brought them to her hut to care for them. She was skilled in needlework and sold her fine lace and embroidery and the flowers that she grew in her garden to help her family and to raise funds for the poor. Her funeral was an occasion of public honour, and many miracles were said to have occurred after her death. Read more

10th August

Saint Lawrence, (Lawrence also spelled Laurence) one of the most venerated Roman martyrs, is celebrated for his Christian valour. He is the patron saint of the poor and of cooks.
Lawrence was among the seven deacons of the Roman church serving Pope Sixtus II, whose martyrdom preceded Lawrence’s by a few days: they were executed during the persecution under the Roman emperor Valerian. It is said that Lawrence gave the church’s treasures to the poor and the sick before his arrest. Although Lawrence was probably beheaded, St. Ambrose of Milan and the Latin poet Prudentius, among others, recorded that he was roasted to death on a gridiron, remarking to his torturers at one point, “I am cooked on that side; turn me over, and eat.” Many conversions to Christianity throughout Rome reportedly followed Lawrence’s death, including those of several senators witnessing his execution. The Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the Walls), Rome, was built over his burial place. He is named in the canon of the Roman mass. Read more

As the month of August draws near, the one date that comes to mind is the 15th of August, which evokes two titles – “Mother India” for Independence Day, and ‘Mother Mary’ for Assumption Day.

With simple faith I believe in the Assumption of Mother Mary, body and soul into heaven, because it is the Dogma of the Church. And also because Mother Mary’s apparitions have always been of a beautiful lady, speaking to children in their own language, instead of a misty figure in the sky.

Since I am not qualified to write on the Assumption of Mother Mary with authority, I did a search on YouTube and came across the following, easy to understand, explanation, which I hope helps you.  Read more