The nine-day Novena begins at St Lawrence Church, Bondel with the unfurling of a flag

By MSB
Pics: Stanly Bantwal
Bellevision Media Network

Mangaluru, 02 Aug 2023: The Nine-day Novena prior to the Annual feast of St Lawrence’s Church, Bondel, began on Tuesday, August 1st with the unfurling of St Lawrence’s flag here at the church premises at 5.00 p.m.

 

Parish Priest Rev. Fr Andrew Leo D’Souza welcomed the guest Rev. Msgr. Ferdinand Gonsalves with a flower bouquet. Rev. Msgr. Ferdinand Gonsalves, Vicar General of the Diocese of Udupi., hoisted the flag and gave an official node to the novenas and feast of St Lawrence. - Addressing the gathering, the Rev. Msgr. Ferdinand Gonsalves said St. Lawrence and the many other saints and martyrs of the Faith have been our inspiration because they showed us how to live as true Christians, not scared or intimidated in the face of darkness. Lawrence accepts every prayer and pours blessings on devotees. I hope that in these nine days, a lot of miracles will happen here. He wished all gathered a pleasant year ahead with the blessings of St Lawrence.

 

Rev. Fr. Andrew Leo D’Souza inaugurated the novena with guests and priests, followed by the invocation of God’s blessings with a prayer that thanked the gathering and assured prayers for all devotees.

 

 

Rev. Fr Andrew Leo Dsouza Parish Priest, Rev. Fr Peter Gonsalves - Principal St Lawrence English Medium School, Rev. Fr Lancy D’Souza - Asst. Parish Priest, Rev. Fr Ravi MSIJ, Rev. Fr Theo Pinto, Mr John D’Silva Vice-President Parish Pastoral Council, Mr Santhosh Misquith - Secretory, Mr Prakash Pinto - Shrine committee convener, were present on the occasion. Dr Preethi Keerthi D’Souza compered the whole programme.

 

The theme of the feast for this year: “Family life is God’s plan. Let us make it as a gift of grace.”

 

The novena of the first day began with Adoration with the Eucharistic celebration. Rev. Msgr. Ferdinand Gonsalves, Vicar General of the Diocese of Udupi, was the main celebrant, Rev. Fr Andrew Leo D’Souza, Rev. Fr Ravi MSIJ, Rev. Fr Theo Pinto celebrated the mass.

 

Rev. Msgr. Ferdinand Gonsalves called on the devotees of St Lawrence to be firm in their faith. The faith of Abraham is living faith. We need to do what our father, Abraham, did. We need to believe that God can do the impossible and that nothing is too hard. Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, if God had not spared Isaac’s life (Genesis 22).

 

Moses acted in faith to lead the Israelites through the Red Sea. God always responds to the faith of His children. Exodus 14:22. David’s faith was so strong that he was willing to believe that the Lord would go with him and enable him to defeat Goliath (1 Samuel 17:36-37).

 

Through sacrifice and endurance, Mother Teresa reminds Christians and those of other faiths that God is the God of love. Faith brings you closer to God and to each other. Faith is the glue that holds the family together. It is the foundation of everything.

 

The melodious hymns by the choir from Bajal Parish under the leadership of Mr Simon added beauty to the celebration. 

 

Through the intercession of St Lawrence, let us make our life fruitful.