Moodubelle Parishioners welcome New Year 2017 with Adoration and Solemn Mass

By Eugene DSouza
Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 01 Jan 2017: As people were eager to say good bye to the old year 2016 and welcome the New Year 2017, the parishioners of St. Lawrence Church, Moodubelle gathered in the church to thank God for all His blessings and good things that He had showered on them during the last year and praying for  good things in the coming year through an hour long adoration of the Blessed Sacrament followed by the solemn feast mass in honour of  Mary Mother of God.

 

The Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament began at 6.30 pm on Saturday, 31 December 2016. The service of Adoration was conducted by Fr. Lawrence  Cutinha, Assistant Parish Priest of Moodueblle. The hour long Adoration service was interspersed with singing of  Sacramental hymns by the choir, invocations, prayers, reading from the Gospel, homily and a short documentary on ‘Auto Raja’, the reformed auto driver of Bangalore who dedicated himself in the service of  the sick and destitute.

 

Fr. Lawrence Cutinha emphasised on the theme of dedicating oneself in the service of others as Mother Mary did.

 

The solemn feast mass was concelebrated by Fr. Clement Mascarenahs as the chief celebrant  along with Fr. Lawrence Cutinha, Msgr. Mathew D’Souza, Fr. Edwin D’Souza, Fr. Naresh Lobo and Fr. William Andrade (OFM Cap).

 

 

In his homily, Fr. Clement Mascarenhas explained how Virgin Mary is the Mother of God as the New Year day is being celebrated as the Feast of Mary Mother of God.

 

The liturgical feast  of the Blessed Virgin Mary is being celebrated on January 1st, which is the Octave of Christmas.  Only Christmas and Easter enjoy the privilege of an octave, which is an eight day extension of the feast.  The honouring of Mary as the Mother of God can be traced back to the Council of Ephesus in 431.  By the 7th century, January 1st was observed as a celebration of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

In the 13th century, the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ had come to replace the feast honouring Mary; however in 1751, after a push in Portugal for an official feast day celebrating Mary’s divine maternity, Pope Benedict XIV allowed Portugal’s churches to devote a feast to Mary on the first Sunday in May.  Eventually, the feast extended to other countries, and in 1914 began to be observed on October 11.  In 1931, Pope Pius XI extended the feast to the entire church, and in 1974, Pope Paul VI removed the feast of the Circumcision of Christ from the liturgical calendar and replaced it with the feast of the “Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God”, bringing Mary’s feast day back to the first day of the year.

 

Following the end of the mass, Fr. Clement conveyed the greetings of New Year 2017 to all parishioners.

 

As the people came out of the church, family members and friends were seen exchanging greetings of the New Year.

 

The YCS conducted certain games and gave away prizes for  the winners of various competitions conducted during the Christmas season.