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HOLY WEEK CELEBRATIONS AT PUSHPASHRAMA
Lord by your cross and resurrection you have set us free!
Our whole Christian faith revolves around this principle of Christ’s
death and resurrection! And this commemoration reaches its peak when we
celebrate the Easter Triduum i.e. The Maundy Thursday, the Good Friday
and Easter. Therefore to celebrate this paschal mystery of Christ, we
the community of Pushpashrama set our best foot forward to bring to this
celebration, its immense importance and prominence in our Christian
faith.
Having kept the Palm Sunday, we celebrated the feast of our Lord’s
Supper and priesthood on Maundy Thursday. The mass was held at 6: 30 PM
on the day our state exercised its voting rights. The mass was
celebrated by Fr. John Lobo and a meaningful homily on priesthood and
vitality of Eucharist in our lives was preached by Fr. Augustine Robert.
Priests from Dhyanavana also concelebrated in this holy mass. The feet
of 12 men were washed commemorating the event of our Lord’s washing the
feet of the disciples. Bread and wine was distributed to them. After the
communion rite, the Eucharist was transferred to the repose altar and
thus adoration was held till midnight. The cross and all the statues
were covered with violet clothes and the altar was laid bare. The
adoration was conducted by the brothers, the OCDS and the nuns of the
Holy Cross congregation. Bread was distributed to the people and they
departed in silence to their respective homes.
On the following day, the Passion of Christ was enacted by the brothers
along with the cooperation of the people at 8: 00 AM. A large crowd
congregated for this event and this enactment also moved many people to
tears. It also brought out at the same time, the message of how we are
crucifying our Lord in our times. After the event, Buttermilk was
provided to all the people gathered there. The Good Friday service was
held at 5:00 PM. In this grave and sober atmosphere, the homily of Fr.
Anil added further depth to the significance of our Lord’s crucifixion.
The service was led by Fr. Oswald Crasta. The cross was venerated and
the communion which was kept in reserve in the repose altar was
distributed to the people.
The next day marked the solemnity of the solemnities – the Lord’s
Resurrection. The Easter vigil mass was held at 9: 30 PM in our shrine.
Being clad with the solemn vestments, the priests from the community of
Pushpashrama and Dhyanavana gathered outside the shrine for the blessing
of the fire. The fire was blessed, the paschal candle lit and with the
air of festivity, the light of Christ filled the whole church. Fr. John
Lobo sang the exultet melodiously and the people joined in response. The
mass was celebrated by Fr. Augustine Robert and the homily was preached
by Fr. Oswald Crasta very meaningfully. During the Gloria, the scene of
Christ’s resurrection was portrayed beautifully with light and sound in
the tomb prepared by the brothers themselves. The holy water was blessed
and the brothers along with the fathers renewed their religious vows of
Chastity, Poverty, Humility and Obedience. The solemnity was further
exuberated by the wonderful choir. Cakes were distributed after the mass
and the joy of Jesus’ resurrection exemplified when people greeted each
other the Easter greetings. The Easter mass was celebrated on Sunday at
8:00 am. Fr. Rovel from Dhyanavana celebrated the mass and preached the
homily. Thus Easter 2019 came to an end in a grand note and joy of
Christian faith was rekindled!
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