Bishop Gerald Lobo Administers Sacrament of Confirmation to 49 Candidates in St Lawrence Church, Moo

By Dr. Eugene DSouza
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi/M’Belle, 20 Oct 2024: Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 49 candidates out of whom 46 were from St. Lawrence Parish, Moodubelle and 3 from St. Lawrence Basilica, Attur-Karrkala on Sunday, 20 October 2024 during the 07.30 am Holy Mass concelebrated by the Bishop along with Fr. George D’Souza-Parish Priest of Moodubelle, Fr. Rickson Monteiro-Assistant Parish Priest., Fr. Edwin (OFM Cap) and Fr. Lawrence (OFM Cap) both from Assisi Nilaya. 

 

The candidates who were to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation came in procession to the church through the main door and occupied the rows of pews reserved for them in front of the main altar.

 

The main theme of the homily delivered by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo was the importance of Prayer as the holy church prepares itself for the grand jubilee year in 2025. Referring to passages from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, Bishop Gerald Lobo stressed on the significance of prayer. He referred to the faith and prayer of Abraham, Moses, King David and various Prophets who used prayers to be close to God and to profess their faith in Almighty God.  In the New Testament, the Bishop said that Jesus Christ Himself has been the best example of prayer. He narrated various incidents in the life and mission of Jesus Christ during which He prayer to the Father starting with His public life till His death on the Cross. Another best example of prayer is Mother Mary who surrendered herself to the will of God through her prayer. 

 

After the homily, the Bishop administered the Holy Sacrament to the 49 candidates individually in the presence of Fr. George D’Souza and God Parents of the candidates-Clement Castelino and Mrs. Maria Barboza.

Following the end of the mass, in his message, Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo highlighted about the concluding stage of  the Synod  which has been in session  at the Vatican since 2023. He stressed on the instructions of Pope Francis with the theme “The Church that Marches Together”. The Bishop said that the Pope emphasizes on  the fact that all the faithful should manifest unity, involvement and mission. He spoke on the importance of building solid and devout families from the grassroots level. The Bishop also stressed on the importance of increasing vocations as the diocese has been facing the shortage of priests to meet the spiritual and temporal requirement of the parishioners.

 

Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo expressed his gratitude to Fr. George D’Souza and Fr. Rickson Monteiro for their cooperation during the three-days-long Pastoral Visit and the parishioners for welcoming him and participating in various meetings.