Udupi: Titular Feast of St. Lawrence Celebrated after a gap of one year in Moodubelle

By Dr. Eugene DSouza
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi/M’Belle, 10 Aug 2021: The Titular Feast of St. Lawrence was celebrated with great devotion and fervor on Tuesday, 10 January 2021 at 10 am after a gap of one year in St. Lawrence Church, Moodubelle. Last year due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the feast could not be celebrated as there was lock down and all the religious services were suspended in the church. Hence, the celebration of the Titular Feast of St. Lawrence this year had a special significance.

 

There were nine days Novena prior to the Titular Feast commencing from 1 August 2021. Prior to the celebration of the solemn festal mass, Fr. George D’Souza, Parish Priest of St. Lawrence Church, Moodubelle distributed the candles of honour to all the mud-dhom of the feast. He also distributed special candles to the sponsors. Charles Quadros, Secretary of the Parish Pastoral Council read the names in the list of donors.

 

The solemn Feast Mass was concelebrated by Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes, Parish Priest of Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi and also Dean of Udupi Deanery as the chief celebrant. The priests from other churches within Udupi Deanery  participated in the feast mass.

 

 

In his homily, Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes said that suffering is a part of life. Without suffering, one cannot understand the joys of life. He further said that the modern children do not understand the sufferings that their parents and grandparents had undergone. There was a spirit of sharing in earlier days when people used to be happy sharing their things. But the modern children find it difficult to share as they have not been trained how to share either their things or their time as they are busy with modern gadgets like mobiles. Speaking about the life of St. Lawrence, Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes said that, he was a saint who shared the wealth of the church with the poor and destitute. Recalling the  great personalities in history such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and St. Mother Theresa, Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes said that they all sacrificed their lives for the good of the people and country.

 

At the end of the feast mass, Fr. George D’Souza expressed gratitude to Rev. Fr. Charles Menezes and priests from the Udupi Deanery who had participated in the feast mass, the Assistant Parish Priest, Fr. Cyril Lobo, Vice President Gerald Fernandes, Secretery Charles Quadros and all those who have been rendering their service in various capacities to th4 church and the parish.