St. Sebastian Church

It is mid-November as I write this article, but my mind has fast-tracked to December, not because of the close of this year which has whizzed by, but because of Christmas.

I am a senior citizen so my thoughts are not about what to buy myself or what to do for Christmas, rather they go in slow motion (Senior citizen style) to the yesteryears when preparations began in November itself.

Those were the days of large families; we for example were 7 of us, with my mum, and one earning member, my dad. It’s a wonder how in those days the head of the family provided for the new clothes, shoes, accessories, gifts, decorations, the star, crib, Christmas tree and more especially as the ingredients for the “Kunswar” and meals for family and visitors on that day. Read more

We have been dogged by the rising inflation ever since attaining Independence. The prices of goods and services keep spiralling up, making any increase in income ineffective. Have you noticed how your expenses creep up to equal your income?

What if the same inflation helps you earn more money? Incredulous, are you?

While traditional investments such as Fixed Deposits punish you with inflation, equity markets reward you. Let’s read Neil’s story to unravel our sixth Money Mantra! Read more

Behold, a Virgin shall be with a child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call him –Emmanuel- which means, ‘God with us’. Every 25^th December we celebrate Christmas, the Nativity of Jesus Christ.

Christmas is an occasion to share our love, our happiness and joy with others.

It is the best time that we can renew ourselves. These days however, do we see Christmas in its true sense or is it something else altogether? Read more

Sometimes we are told, “The Church means, ‘the Body of faithful Christians’ (Refer 1 Corn. 11: 18 and verse 22) It is not the Building”. (Not from our Parish Priest or Asst. Parish Priest)

In the above given two statements, don’t you think, the first has validity while the second is invalid? Therefore, objectionable to God?  Read more

60 vorsanche piraier sirvis kortolo monis retire zata. 10vek pavun board exam dilea uprant school-ache dis somptat. Dezembr-achea mhoineant 31ver calendar-achem voros sompta. Kosloi kariakrom somptanam nimannea item-k pavtanam oxem mhonntat, “All good things come to an end.” Ani titlean kariakrom sompta. Punn teach borobor fuddle pautt ani ek bhett zaunchi mhonn anvddetat. Read more

There is an hour, a minute, a second which you will remember forever – when you know instinctively on the basis of the most inconsequential evidence, that something is wrong. Something sad, an event none can bear has taken place. Someone just breathed for the last time. Death comes like a thief. When, where, how…. these are the questions which have no answers. It is one of the most difficult things that all of us will have to deal with in our lives, when a member of our family, a friend, a loved one, leaves us, never to return. Otilia Clovis Da Costa, our dear friend and the Read more

The Catholic Church commemorates 1^st November as “All Saints Day”, A day prior to “All Souls Day”. Why does the Church celebrate this special day? when we have the entire calendar earmarked by the days of Saints?

On this day Catholics honour all those who have entered heaven. Who is a Saint? A Saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness or closeness to God. However the use of the term “Saint” depends on the context and denomination. In Roman Catholic and other denominations the doctrine says all the faithful deceased in heaven are considered to be Saints. Generally all Saints day is a Catholic Holy day of Obligation meaning all Catholics are required to attend Mass. Other Countries have different rules according to the Bishops Conferences. Read more

My bond with the Souls in Purgatory began in the 1960’s when the smooth flow of life with its fun and laughter got disturbed. My older brother got ensnared in bad company, vices, and alcoholism. This habit of alcoholism did not exist in our family, so for me personally it had a damaging effect. Day time was unpredictable and every night was to be dreaded. His returning home late at night, after night duty, in a drunken state caused much concern and sleepless nights. Being of little faith then, I saw this as a punishment from God, sending us minor tragedies, making life unpredictable, stressful, and unhappy. Read more

We’ve all probably heard the quote, “You are what you eat”. Here I would like to emphasize on the fact that, it is we, who are responsible for choosing what we want to eat or what we want to feed our families. Dietetics is too vast a topic, yet we ought to know a few basics. If our bodies are human machines food is our fuel.   How well we eat, affects how well our bodies work. Thus balanced diet is that which can provide balanced energy required for use by the body and for storage. We often hear of various types of diets. Well then, when does one need to follow them?

To make it easier for one to understand, I would categorize dietetics into, normal diet, preventive diet, restricted, and special diet. Read more

Stacia Tauscher once said “we worry about what our child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that they are someone today”. Children’s day! A day dedicated to all the lovely children across the country. Also referred to as ‘Bal Diwas’ and is celebrated on the 14th of November in honour of the birth anniversary of our country’s first Prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as he had great love and affection towards children. Read more