Media Release
Canada, Sep 9: The feast of nativity (Monthi Feast) was celebrated on Saturday September 6 at St Thomas More Parish Calgary NE with more than 300 devotees of Mother Mary gathered for the eucharistic celebration and thereafter reception in the hall.
Mangalorean community of Calgary was proud to celebrate the divine feast that everyone felt a sense of Mother Mary’s invisible presence throughout the celebration.
After the blessing of corn at the foyer by Fr John Pinto, the parish priest of St Thomas More Parish, followed the procession to the church by singing favorite hymn “Sokkad Sangatha Melyan” and showering of flowers to the statue of Mother Mary.
The mass was celebrated by Fr John Pinto, pastor of St Thomas More Parish. The homily was preached by Fr Malcolm D'Souza, pastor of St Marks parish. In his message, he highlighted Mary's role.
He said, "Mary gives her answer. Full of faith and confidence in the heavenly message and entirely submissive to the divine will, the Virgin Mary replies in a spirit of complete and absolute abandonment: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy word." This "Fiat" is Mary's consent to the Divine Plan of Redemption. It is like an echo of the "Fiat" of the creation of the world. But this is a new world, a world infinitely superior, a world of grace, which God will cause to arise in consequence of Mary's consent, for at that moment the Divine Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, becomes Man in Mary: "And the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us."
All faithful joined the vibrant children's choir led by Jeevan Menezes, Cheryl D'Souza and many other families in singing with their melodious voices, the joyful and spirit filled hymns throughout the celebration.
After the Calgary Konkan youths played the skit on The Marian Apparitions at Lourdes were reported in 1858 by Saint Bernadette Soubirous, From February 11 to July 16, 1858, she reported 18 apparitions of "a Lady". Bernadette was out gathering firewood with her sister and a friend at the grotto of Massabielle outside Lourdes, when she reportedly had the first of 18 visions of what she termed "a small young lady" standing in a niche in the rock. Her sister and her friend stated that they had seen nothing. On her third visit, she said that the "beautiful lady" asked her to return to the grotto everyday for 15 days.
At first her mother had forbidden her to go, but Bernadette persuaded her mother to allow her. The apparition did not identify herself until the 17th vision, although the townspeople who believed she was telling the truth assumed she saw the Virgin Mary. Bernadette never claimed it to be Mary, calling what she saw simply "Aquerò" (or rather "that thing"), white veil and a blue girdle; she had a golden rose on each foot and held a rosary of pearls. Bernadette's story caused a sensation with the townspeople, who were divided in their opinions on whether or not Bernadette was telling the truth. She soon had a large number of people following her on her daily journey, some out of curiosity and others who firmly believed that they were witnessing a miracle. Lourdes became a national issue in France. This skit was directed by Calgary Konkan youth, Master Craig Martis.
It was a fun-filled occasion in the city of Calgary. Every one enjoyed the evening with delicious Mangalorean style food prepared by various families.