PANAJI
The annual Lenten Walking Pilgrimage was held at Sancoale on Sunday in the early hours of the day, even as the Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao called on the participants to pray for the good of the world and peace in Ukraine and Russia.
At the beginning of the mass, the Archbishop while highlighting the sacrificial aspect of the walk, reminded the faithful about the sacrifice Jesus Christ offered for the salvation of the world by "humbling himself before us."
He also emphasised the exemplary life journey of St Joseph Vaz and St Francis Xavier who transformed the lives of so many people. He specially offered the pilgrimage for peace in Ukraine and Russia, besides praying for the blessings on all the faithful.
Hundreds of people began their journey to the venue from as early as 1.30 am. The number of participants were, however, restricted to follow the covid SOPs. People moved in from two centres in the South and two in North. The Archbishop himself walked with the people from Goa-Velha to Sancoale.
In his homily, the Archbishop explained the temptations of Jesus and how he remained faithful to his Father in Heaven by refusing the so-called glory and riches that Satan offered.
The Archbishop while applying this to life said that "so many times we are confronted with such temptations, we are called to compromise on our values, faith." But these things do not give us happiness, these things do not last, it brings more emptiness than joy. Christ offers us eternal joy, he added.
He highlighted that the faithful have to keep on the road of truth, righteousness and charity, prayer and thought for others. He called the faithful to live in communion with each other, to live humbly at the service of God and each other.
At the end of the Mass Fr Ligorinho D'Costa, the convenor of the event, thanked God for His blessings in making the walking pilgrimage a successful one.
He thanked the Archbishop for inspiring the people to participate in this pilgrimage. He offered his special thanks to government officials, the police, Fire Services department, Collectors, Additional Collectors, engineers, Pwd etc for all their support.
He also thanked the Directorate of Health, doctors, ambulance drivers, nurses and other volunteers who helped in the safe organisation of the event.
He thanked the Diocesan Youth Centre, Diocesan lay Apostolate and Diocesan Centre for Social Communications Media for their role in the organisation of the event.
He also thanked the choir conducted by Fr Mario Costa, parish priest of Sancoale and all other coordinating team members. He specially thanked the press and electronic media for covering the event for the benefit of the public. See
