the goan I network
OLD GOA
Government authorities may have strongly discouraged mass gatherings in a bid to prevent a possible spread of Coronavirus, but that did not stop several thousands of devotees from thronging the Bom Jesus Basilica at Old Goa since the past nine days to participate in a 17th century novena attributed to Goycho Saib, St Francis Xavier, himself.
Global concerns over Coronavirus were echoed in the world-famous Basilica, when Fr Sebastiao Mascarenhas, Superior General of the Society of the Missionaries of St Francis Xavier (Society of Pilar), exhorted the packed congregation on Thursday not to fall prey to fear and panic, but to pray and believe in God’s grace to save them from the disease and other evil.
Delivering his homily as the main celebrant at the High Mass on the ninth day of the Novena of Grace, Fr Mascarenhas admitted that whenever sickness and disease comes on our land, the general reaction is to panic.
“But God delivers His promised people and we have to turn away from sin and must repent and believe in the graces of God just as St Francis Xavier believed and preached.”
“While praying for Coronavirus disease, we need not fall prey to fear and panic, but believe in God’s Grace which can save us from all evil and for that, prayers were very important. We must also seek conversion of our lives from sinful ways to living in the light and grace of Jesus Christ.”
Fr Mascarenhas then recalled how a plague had wiped out the population in Old Goa a few centuries ago, but God delivered and restored the holy place in his infinite glory.
“This is the only novena which is celebrated like a feast during Lent and St Francis Xavier said if people partake in the nine-day Novena of Grace, repent for their sins and receive communion, they would be steeped in the Grace of God.”
“St Francis Xavier was filled with the Grace of God and hence, he could accomplish all that he did in just 10 years of his arrival in India, a legacy that served, cured and helped the sick to be restored to health and normal life.”
The Novena of Grace has been attributed to St Francis Xavier, who appeared in a dream to a dying Jesuit priest, Marcello Mastrilli, in Italy on January 3, 1634, and told him that he would be restored to health and that he should start the Novena of Grace. The miraculous cure gave impetus to the Novena of Grace, which spread throughout the world.
Rector of Bom Jesus Basilica Fr Patricio Fernandes later thanked the gathering and all those who collaborated in the various services during the Novena of Grace.
After the High Mass at 9.30 am, hundreds of people participated in a penitential Way of the Cross to the Our Lady of Rosary Church.
