St. Sebastian Church

Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh/Old Testament) to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BCE. The name “Jonah” means “dove” in Hebrew, but Jonah’s character is anything but dove-like. He was chosen by God to bring about moral peace in Nineveh (Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, who destroyed the ten tribes of Israel, 721BC). In this book we see that Jonah does not like pagans and if God saves them, Jonah does not feel like paying the price for it, for he was a Jew. How are we to understand that God saves everyone if, at the same time, he repeats throughout the Bible that Israel alone was chosen, that it alone has the word of life, it alone has the  savior, that all that God demands (circumcision, or later baptism, or Eucharist, or sexual prohibition) is absolutely necessary in the order to be saved? Was Jonah really to take up this mission of  God? In this article we will not go through the pages of the book of Jonah but we will see some implications for our life and for our society.

Read more

2020 has been a very difficult year for most of us. And I can definitely say with complete confidence that 2021 will end up the same way considering the situation in the world right now. Home isolation has had its plus points . Mom managed to successfully improve her cooking skills and all of us blew up like balloons!!!! Not that its a bad thing but I’ve noticed that our concern towards our Health has significantly deteriorated.

Now what do I mean by health? According to Google search health Is a state of physical , mental and social well being. But when I sat down and really thought about it I realised that I can only call myself a healthy human being if I can manage to survive a global Pandemic like the one we are currently facing. Why do I say this? Working in the medical field I see patients everyday. And most of them have horrible health. Diabetes, high pressure, alcoholic liver are the main problems seen in most Goans. And guess what? The simplest and most inexpensive cure to most of these medical conditions is, EXERCISE !!!! Read more

Tadev: Dev boro dis dium, Simao titiv, Itle sokallim tum khoim vetai?

Simao: Dev tuka kurpa dium, Tadev. Hea disanim, ho ‘Lockdown’ vo ‘Curfew’ asa nhoim, taka lagon sokallim vochun dud ani vortoman-potr haddunk bhair sorlam.

Tadev: Titiv, tum ghora voch, tujem dud ani potr hanv haddun ditam, mhaka tor dusreo anikui vostu haddunk zai. Hanvem tuka kitlech pavtti sanglam, tuji kosli goroz asa ti mhaka fon korun sangunk.

Simao: Tuka chodd Dev borem korum tadev, Tum mhaka zaito adaracho zala. Fon korunk vaitt distalem, dekun hanv bhair sorlom. Read more

The Church all throughout the year celebrates the feast of saints so that we could imitate the virtues of the saint and become one. The month of June is known for the famous saint, The Saint Anthony of Padua. Everyone in Goa knows this wonderful Saint because of his miraculous nature especially when we lose something, we first remember St. Anthony.

St. Anthony of Padua was born Ferdinand Martin Bouillon on 15th August in Portugal. At the age of 15 he decided to become a Canon Regular of Saint Augustine. Seeking a life of solitude and devotion. Inspired by the Franciscans martyrs, Ferdinand obtained permission from his Augustinian superiors to leave the Canons Regular & joined the Franciscans in the year 1220, and took the name Anthony. Read more

Mogall Firgozkaramno,

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Hi Inglez mhonn’nni zaitea kallachi. Ti aiz pasun khori asa. Dor monis vavr korta taka sogllo vell vavr korit ravunk zainam. Nam mhonn tem mon’xak borem. Tea pasot vavr kelea uprant thoddo tori vell visov gheunk zai vo ani kitem mon’xachem mon xant korpa sarkehm korunk zai. Hi adli mhonn’nni vaddleleank mhonnloli, punn ti atam chodd korun bhurgeank sor kel’li amkam mellta. Bhurgem sogllo vell aplim pustokam gheun xikunk bosta zalear tachean tem bhes borem korunk zainam. Thoddo tori vell khellun sarunk goroz.  Kitem tori dusrem ani vegllem korunk zai. Tednanch ki uprant bhurgeachean anik ek pavtt aplim pustokam gheun odik borem xikunk zata. Heach pasot xallent disak chear-chear periods zatoch interval asta. Ti-tin mhoineani xallent sutteo asta. Oxem zalem mhonntoch bhurgeank xikxonn korunk odik nett mellta. Read more

With a thankful heart, we could all have a better Easter this year unlike last year when we couldn’t even get out of our houses. Things have changed for the better as the much awaited vaccine is out and the SOP’s are being implemented. But in spite of all this, the second wave has arrived and it is not something that can be taken lightly. Apparently we have been taken aback as we all had that relaxed feeling that everything was clear. We were sort of cautiously optimistic about the end of the pandemic in view of increasing vaccine availability and decreasing numbers of infected cases after the peak in January. We were made to believe that the virus dies off in hot weather conditions, but that has not been the case for us in these hot summer months.  Cases and case positivity has begun to increase again, whether due to variants, pandemic fatigue or both, it’s anybody’s guess. This definitely throws up a question whether the end was as near as we all gleefully thought. Amidst happiness and relief that people that people are feeling, there is also confusion and fear. Some people are wary of stepping out of their homes and there are others who are eager to throw up a party.  Expectedly a mixed bag of emotions after a year of this dreaded pandemic. Since March 2020, when the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic, daily uncertainty and contradictory information has been the norm. Read more

Due to the prevailing conditions caused by the pandemic, this year’s TREZEN/ FEAST of St. Anthony will be held in our St. Sebastian Church, instead of the Chapel, from 1^st June, 2021 to 13^th June, 2021.

Daily mass will be at 6:00pm, preceded by Rosary and Litany at 5:30 pm. The traditional Blessing of the Banner (MADDI) will be conducted on Friday, 31^st May, 2021 at 12:00pm (noon) at the CHAPEL in Tolebando. The statue of St. Anthony will then be taken in a procession at 12:30 pm from the Chapel to our Church. Kindly take note and inform others as well.

When one is baptized, one receives the Holy Spirit and becomes a child of God. Through this sacrament one is initiated into the church. But later when one attains the age of discretion, the sacrament of confirmation is administered to him or her. It is believed that through confirmation one receives the Holy Spirit. As we grow up we all as humans sin or we accept the invitation of temptation so much so that we not only sin against God and humans but we also sin against the Holy Spirit which we have received at baptism and renewed or re-strengthened at confirmation. Read more

It is true of any special event, that 40 days seems like ages, when one has to wait for that event to happen. In the intervening time preparations go on, finer details are seen to making that event extra special, then it seems as if 40 days have just gone by. This has been so for me, and may be you also during the Lenten season, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. But for us the intervening period has been grace filled with daily mass, sacrifices, fasting, abstinence, stations of the cross, sacrament of reconciliation and holy week services amidst restrictions and uncertainties. Finally even our homes have been blessed. Read more