PANAJI
The jubilee celebration of the 425 years of St Thomas Church at Aldona began on a spiritual note with the inaugural mass held on January 3.
The theme chosen for the celebration was "Loved by the Father, sent by the Son, renewed by the Spirit, the Church on mission”. Archbishop Patriarch of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao was the main celebrant for the inaugural mass.
In his homily, the Archbishop thanked the Almighty for the 425 glorious years of the Church’s faith journey. He recalled in gratitude the contribution of many priests, religious, laity, units and associations of St Thomas Church towards the growth and vitality in faith of the parish during the past years of its pilgrimage of faith. He said the seeds of faith sown by the priests, religious and lay faithful of the yesteryears have been free gifts bestowed upon us.
The inaugural Eucharistic celebration which coincided with the Feast of Epiphany wherein Jesus is revealed to mankind is a sign for us to embark fervently on the journey of faith, drawing strength and inspiration from the Eucharist, the Word of God and Prayer.
His Grace further enlightened the faithful to follow the teachings of the word of God and to let go off hatred, anger, indifference towards others. He also mentioned that we faced a lot of challenges due to the ongoing pandemic but Jesus- the light of the world illuminating our faith journey helped us to overcome them.
Parish Vicar Fr Tomas Lobo expressed his gratitude to all those who extended their help and support for the start of the 425 years jubilee celebrations. He also thanked the Archbishop and the con-celebrants for their presence and prayers at the Eucharistic celebration.
A memento with the logo of the jubilee year was presented by the Parish Priest to the Archbishop at the end of the celebration. CCRTV provided a live coverage of the inaugural mass.
