December 2018 · Christmas seasons make these special times of the year for us. One of these...
Transcript of December 2018 · Christmas seasons make these special times of the year for us. One of these...
My dear parishioners,
"What Child is this
Who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come Peasant, King to own Him
The King of Kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
This, this is Christ the King...."
This Carol summarises the
beginning and destiny of the
Babe of Bethlehem.The whole
of Christmas is an attempt of
the Church to relive the story
o f S a l v a t i o n H i s t o r y
beginning with the start of
creation and split into BC and
AD due to the Birth of the
Messiah.
Christmas conjures warm images of a Baby,the
Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, the Angelic hosts and
lowly animals. This domestic scene typical of the
days of yore instils in us the sentiments and
blessedness of God's plan and purpose.
Often we get lost in the razzle and dazzle, the
glam and the glitter, the sweet and the nectar of
the storekeeper and the chocolatier. And
somewhere in the heap of our thoughts and
presents, lies the Babe
who is actually the star
of the season.
The Advent Season
liturgy seeks to refocus
our attention on the
essentials and prepare us
for the true meaning of
Christmas... ie the Love of God made visible in
Jesus His Son. This love is to be spread far and
wide, beyond our immediate horizon to the back
of beyond: to the poor, the
weak, the oppressed, the
prisoner, the widow and the
orphan.
This understanding of the true
meaning of Christmas should
grip our hearts and propel us
into the brand new 2019 -
ready to face the possibilities
and challenges of justice,
peace, compassion and love,
only then will our vision-
mission of “reaching out to the young and the old,
the poor and the needy with love and security” be
a reality.
May the New Year be doubly blessed by the Lord
and His Blessed Mother. May St. Vincent De Paul
continue to intercede for us. Happy Christmas
and A Happy New Year 2019.
Fr. Austin Norris
Parish Priest
December 2018
s we wait in joyful anticipation of the birth of
our Lord, Jesus Christ, let us go beyond the Acustomary preparations for Christmas. Let
us look beyond Christmas trees, stars, lights and
sweets. These are valuable as outward expressions of
our joy. But we have to be careful that these do not
become the sole purpose of our celebrations. The core
of Christmas is to remind us that Jesus came in to this
world to free us from sin.
The “O” Antiphons - see article inside - are a
wonderful reminder of the essence of Christ – serving
as a link with the roots of our faith and calling out to
Him to come again. We are sure those of you who
know the “O” Antiphons will be happy to be
reminded of them. To those of us who have a hazy
understanding of them at best, this is a good article that
sheds light on them.
The coming year 2019 is dedicated by UNESCO as the
International Year of Indigenous Languages. We have
some surprising facts for you. We would like to invite
our parishioners to shed light on any indigenous
languages in our country that require to be preserved
for posterity.
The Editorial Board wishes all our parishioners
A Very Happy Christmas and
A Prosperous New Year.
From the Editor's Desk
hristmas carols, Advent wreaths, Christmas
trees, Midnight Mass and Christmas sweets – Cwhether they are family or Church customs,
the many traditions associated with the Advent and
Christmas seasons make these special times of the year
for us.
One of these traditions is the O Antiphons: seven
responses, or antiphons, that are sung or recited to
introduce the canticle of Mary (the Magnificat) at
evening prayer from December 17 to December 23, the
octave before Christmas. These antiphons are based on
Isaiah's prophecies and refer to the different ancient
titles given to the Messiah and call out to Him to come
again:?
O Sapientia, O Wisdom, you come forth from the
mouth of the Most High. You fill the universe and hold
all things together in a strong and gentle manner. O
come to teach us the way of truth.
O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses
in the burning bush and you gave him the Law on
Sinai. O come and save us with outstretched arm
O Radix Jesse, O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign to the
peoples. Kings fall silent before you whom the peoples
acclaim. O come to deliver us and do not delay.
WHAT ARE THE "O" ANTIPHONS?
O Clavis David, O Key of David, and sceptre of the
House of Israel, what you open no one else can close
again and what you close no one can open; O come and
lead the captive from prison; those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death.
O Oriens, O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of
eternal light and Sun of Righteousness. O come and
enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow
of death.
O Rex Gentium, O King whom all the peoples desire,
you are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come
and save man whom you formed from clay.
O Emmanuel, you are our King and Judge, the one
whom the peoples await and their Saviour. O come
and save us, Lord our God.
We can bring these responses into our own prayers, as
simple reminders throughout the day of the One
whose coming we are joyfully expecting, as
introductions to our own prayers of praise of Jesus, or
as words of thanksgiving for God's faithfulness
throughout the ages and our lives. Regardless of how
you incorporate these ancient words into your Advent
prayer life, let them speak to you, and maybe they will
become part of your family traditions.?
(Courtesy: Loyola Press & The Catholic Herald)
aiting in line can be one of two
experiences. See if you identify with the
examples below:??WFirst Example: Waiting in Dread??You're standing in line at the post office or the grocery
store, waiting for your turn. You're tapping your foot
and keep looking at your watch. You don't want to be
in this line. Before long, you begin to think, “Oh,
I can't wait for this to be over!” Often
times, the other people in line with you
feel the same way! No one speaks to
anyone else. Clearly few are
enjoying the experience; the
impatience or irritability you feel
might even be visible on your face.
Such an experience of waiting in
line can seem isolating, almost
lonely.??
S e c o n d E x a m p l e : Wa i t i n g i n
Excitement??Now think about the times when you waited in
line at an amusement park, to buy tickets to see your
favorite cricket team, or to hear your favorite band. In
these instances, the waiting is much different. People
are excited and you might even be talking to some of
ADVENT WAITINGthem about the ride you're getting ready to
experience, the sports team that you love, or the band
you're about to hear.?
This second example is the kind of waiting we are
called to in Advent.
Waiting in Joyful Hope
At Mass, after praying the Lord's Prayer, we hear “as
we await the blessed hope and the coming of our
Savior, Jesus Christ.” This prayer reminds
us that during Advent, we wait in joy, in
hope, and in anticipation for the
wonderful event we are about to
e x p e r i e n c e – t h e f e a s t o f
Christmas, the coming of Christ
into our lives in new ways, the
return of Christ in glory at the end
of time. As the Church, we wait
during Advent and look forward to
celebrating the fact that God loves us
so much that he sent his Son into the
world to save us. This waiting is far from
empty; rather, it is full of the hope that God promises
us as we prepare for Christ in the feast of Christmas.?
- D. Todd Williamson
thThe SSC training session was held on 15 November,
2018 at St. Theresa's School basement. I was delighted
to see a number of youth present from various parishes
of Bandra. The session started with an ice-breaker
where each of us was placed into a group. Each group
would represent a family, with each member of the
group was assigned a role, e.g. mother, father, child. To
make the role playing more effective, each group
(family) took on a family name.
The senior members were a joy to be around and they
were very lively. They were warm and friendly in
making the youth feel welcomed. After the icebreaker,
Fr. Savio explained that as seen in the icebreaker, each
family was different as was the case with each parish. ??
BANDRA DEANERY SCC TRAINING SESSION??Father delivered a meaningful talk about the link
between the SCCs and the NYGs. He beautifully
explained that the SCCs guide the youth who form part
of the NYGs just like parents' guide their children. He
reminded us that our Catholic Faith stands on the
traditions of The Catholic Church and the decrees of the
Pope. ??
He explained how the SCCs and NYGs came into
existence and highlighted the fact that the youth are a
part of the Community family, stating their importance.
He mentioned that just like every member in a family
plays an important role, similarly the SCCs and NYGs
form a part of one big family. He reminded us that the
Holy Father wants every youth to be a part of the
Church.
-Janice Gonsalves
ome December and preparations for
Christmas start. I recall when we were young Cseven siblings - five brothers and two sisters -
how mum would take the two of us shopping to buy
dress material as she would stitch our dresses at home.
The boys would go to Bob Tailors to stitch new shirts.
Then came the list of ingredients for the sweets. Mum
prepared all the sweets at home - plum cake, thali
sweet, gram sweet, cordial, sojee sweet, milk cream,
marzipan, nankaties, nevries and kulkuls -the list was
endless, half gone before Christmas. It was fun as all
put their hands together with the mixing and stirring-
no mixers and grinders! Grinding was done manually
on the grinding stone. All this would go on daily till
late at night even though we had to get up for the
Christmas Novena. We saw that we collected the
coloured coupons for those who attended, as we were
given a gift at the Christmas party for all the Catechism
children in the parish. After sweet making, the
decorations would start with making of the crib and
the hay was brought by one of the boys from the tabela
at the foot of Mt. Mary's steps. Of course, the wheat
was planted a month in advance. The lights and the
star in our veranda shone brightly.
Christmas Day at last! We all
attended the mid-night
mass,after that a party at
home,all waiting to have
the sweets.Then in the
morning the distribution
and exchange of sweets
with our neighbours. The
Chris tmas lunch was
sumptuous as we had a big
spread of food -vindaloo,
sorpotel, chicken or pork roast,
duck moile, pulao and lots of
salads.
NOW though we do meet for Christmas
lunch with our children and grandchildren, we
don't prepare sweets in such an elaborate way but do
recall the fun we had with Mum and Dad and keep
beautiful past memories in our hearts.
- Gwen D'Souza
Traditions at Christmas
200g flour/Maida 2 eggs beaten 150g powdered sugar1tsp cinnamon powder 250g chopped dry fruits soaked in a little rum overnight or more 150g butter½ tsp baking powder
* Sieve the flour with baking powder * Cream butter & sugar till it becomes creamy & fluffy* Add beaten eggs then mix with flour* Knead it to form a smooth batter * Roll out the dough & cut out circles * Line a few pie shells or cellophone muffin moulds with this* Fill each one with the marinated dry fruits * And seal with another layer of dough of any Christmas shape eg star, Christmas tree, etc * rick on top with a toothpick so that the batter does not puff while baking * Bake the pies in a moderate oven for 20 mins * Optional - while serving can sprinkle icing sugar on top to give it a snowy look
Christmas Sweet Pies
- Colette D’Souza
he Parish of St Vincent de Paul celebrated
its Platinum Jubilee this year - a
c o m m e n d a b l e m i l e s t o n e i n a n y Tinstitution! As part of the Platinum
celebrations several programmes were organised
throughout the year. A gala musical was staged on th thNovember 17 and 18 in the School Quadrangle,
which drew a large appreciative audience. The thchief guest for November 17 was Rev. Bishop
Bosco Penha, Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop
Archdiocese of Bombay. On the following day, thNovember 18 , the chief guest was Rev.
Fr. Aniceto Pereira, Rector, St. Pius X Seminary,
Goregaon, Mumbai.
Rev. Fr. Austin Norris, the Parish
Priest, in his introduction
explained the title of the
musical – “You will never
grow old”. It has been scripted
by Fr. Austin Norris with its
c h a r a c t e r s , m u s i c
and songs to reflect the typical
journey of a family that has a
strong Catholic upbringing and
maintains its Catholic tradition
with an emphasis on Gratitude.
So with a clash of cymbals from the live Band in
attendance - the play began! The characters
played their roles well and were extremely
amusing - Rudolph Alves, who played the lead
role as Henry, wins over the audience completely
with his ready wit and flamboyance. He is joined
by his equally well-versed cast—Marian Pereira
as Eliza, Dorelle Fernandes as an extremely
effective narrator, Stuart Bocarroas the father of
young Henryet al. There were several dance
sequences which involved a host of young people
ranging from six-year old children to teenagers.
The costumes were well designed and added
glitter to the show! Priests of the Parish: Rev
Celebrations of the Parish Feast of St. Vincent de Paul 2018‘A Musical - You Will Never Grow Old'
Fr. Ashlyn Chand and Rev. Fr. Xavier Pinto played
their part ably in their true role as priests
celebrating the marriage of the young couple and
the golden wedding of the parents respectively as
the play progressed!
Alison Rosario was the compere for the show and
also played a key role in the drama. All the other
actors were a lively, vibrant group who generated
spontaneity and enthusiasm and even
encouraged the audience to come on stage and
dance the waltz – an eternal favourite
emphasising the theme 'You will never grow
old!'
Several prizes were won by the
audience including some for
lucky programmes. Awards
were distributed to some
parishioners for meritorious
s e r v i c e t o t h e p a r i s h .
Sponsorship banners were
displayed and the colourful
programme was well designed.
An Apostolic Papal Blessing by
Pope Francis that has been bestowed on
the “Parish Priest, Fr. Austin Norris, Parish
Clergy, Religious and all the Parishioners of St.
Vincent de Paul Church in Khar West, Mumbai on ththe occasion of the 75 Anniversary of the Parish's
Foundation invoking through the intercession of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, an abundance of Divine
Graces, September 30, 1943 – 2018.”was received
from the Vatican and read out by the Parish Priest,
Fr. Austin Norris as he blessed the audience. The
musical concluded with the lilting tunes of the
perennial favourite `You Will Never Grow Old”
as the audience literally danced their way home,
filled with hope and happiness!!!
- Serena Franklin
UNESCO has dedicated 2019 as the International Year
of Indigenous Languages to raise awareness of the
urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote
indigenous languages.
There are some 6,000 -7,000 languages in the world
today. Yet 97% of the world speaks only 4 % of these
languages, while only 3 % of the world speak 96% of all
remaining languages.
2019 – INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES
A great majority of those languages, spoken mainly by
indigenous peoples, will continue to disappear at an
alarming rate. The loss of languages and their
associated history, traditions and memory would
considerably reduce the rich tapestry of linguistic
diversity, worldwide.
Courtesy: UNESCO
SPOT THE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES OF INDIA
Answers: Wadari, Kolhati, Golla, Gisari (spoken by nomads of Maharashtra, Karnataka & Telangana), Moran, Aiton, Tangsa (Assam), Mavchi, Haldi, Korku, Pauri (other tribes).
GOLDEN JUBILEE OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE HEART OF MARY
he Daughters of the Heart of Mary gratefully thank
God for calling them “To followHim and find Tfreedom, to love as He loved and bring peace, to
spend their lifetime for his Kingdom, to want it to grow and
increase.”
Fifty years in Chuim is a Golden Celebration of blessing and
thanksgiving of “walking hand in hand with each other, for
sharing with the burdened their pain, for comforting the
people who suffer, helping them in need for no gain”.
With hearts overflowing with gratitude the Dhm of Chuim
Community celebrated the Holy Eucharist with the Priests,
His Lordship Bishop Savio Fernandes, and the faith-filled th
community of St. Vincent de Paul on Sunday, November 4
2018.We thanked the Lord for His abiding presence and
inspirational guidance of our mission in the St. Vincent de
Paul Parish and in the extensive urban slum communities of KharDanda.
In this bicentennial year of Marie
Adelaide de Cice, foundress of
the DHM, the school children of
St. Elias excelled in portraying the
h i g h l i g h t s o f t h e F r e n c h
Revolution of 1789 the context in
which the DHM Society came into
being.Through their acting these
school children surpassed the
stature of the French nobility and
culture, the French hierarchy, the
Army, the Court scenes and the
milestones in the life of Marie
Adelaide de Cice. The DHM
Society came to life as lived in the early years and we were awakened to the reality of our times when we first
arrived in Chuim. The women and youth of the Khar Danda community enacted their daily struggles and
participation in their families and in work place. The simple yet unique history of the mission of the Dhm was
flashed before us with our partners in the Parish, local Government, like minded agencies, collaborators and
benefactors.
- Sr. Gracy Fernandes, Nirmala Niketan
- Carolyn Mendes
QUIZ WINNERS FOR OCTOBER BULLETIN
1) Clint Mathias VIII 2) Brandon Coutinho Std VII3) Celeste Cardozo Std IV4) Ethan Cardozo Std VIII
Std 5) Joe A. Banze III6) Ashley A. Banze Std VIII7) Aneira D'Souza Std II
Std
Name :
Std. :
Address :
Rush your answers by20th January 2019
Milestones October - November 2018
BAPTISM
MARRIAGE
FUNERAL
21-10-2018 Krystal Xavier Pereira s/o Xavier & Pooja
11-11-2018 Amariah D'Souza d/o Paul & Gloria
18-11-2018 Aiden Leon Fernandes s/o Reagan Rameses & Leann Greta
03-11-2018 Denzil Lino Dias & Anne Marina Williams
02-10-2018 Albina Vincent Almeida (64 years) Bharat Rahivashi Sangh Gazdhar Band, Santacruz (W)
28-10-2018 Oven Thomas Fernandes (50 years) 58-A, Chuim, Dr. Ambedkr Road, Khar.
31-10-2018 Cicil John D'Souza (73 years) 101, Vaidehi Apts. 33-B, Azad Nagar, Andheri (W).nd19-11-2018 Raju Ramaswami Armugam (72 years) 12B, More Niwas, 2 Floor, Chuim Villaage,Khar.
21-11-2018 Vincent Joseph Fernandes (71 years) 26, Chuim Village, Khar.
FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLYPublished by Rev. Fr. Austin Norris and the SVP Editorial Team (264 97116)
Carolyn Mendes, Rudolph D’Souza, Serena Franklin, Janice Gonsalves, Nisha Shenoy
Forthcoming Eventsnd 2 Dec 2018 : Advent begins. Community - wise Advent Wreath Prayersth 7 Dec 2018 : First Friday
th 16 Dec 2018 : Confirmation Class Visit/Recollectionrd 23 Dec 2018 : Catechism Children's Partyst nd 21 - 22 Dec 2018 : Confessionsnd rd 22 - 23 Dec 2018 : Christmas Bazaarrd 23 Dec 2018 : School Christmas Partyth 24 Dec 2018 : Christmas Eve. No evening Mass. Carols at 10.00 pm followed by Christmas Massth 25 Dec 2018 : Christmas Day. Masses at 7.30 am and 9.15 am. No evening Mass (Day of Obligation)st 31 Dec 2018 : New Year's Eve. Holy Hour at 11.00 pm. Mass at 12.00 midnight
st 1 Jan 2019 : New Year's Day. Masses at 7.30 am and 9.15 am. Evening Mass at 7.00 pmth6 Jan 2019 : Filing of PPC nominations.
th 13 Jan 2019 : Parish Picnicth 26 Jan 2019 : Republic Day
Printed by : Ganesh Offset, Dadar. Tel.: 2437 86 88 Email : [email protected]
Wishing all our dear Parishioners
A Happy and Joyous Christmasand A Healthy Prosperous and
Unifying New Year 2019Frs. Austin, Xavier & Ashlyn