Filomena Giese <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Yes, we Goans had Martyrs too. But unlike the > Martyrs of Uganda, Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, the > Philippines, Mexico, etc. etc. they are not destined > to get the honors of the altar. snip > As Srinivasan so shrewdly pointed out, the saints > that Rome wants for India and Indians are still > European. > > It keep us us on our knees, praying for favors from > white folks. Rome does not want it known that it > was Goan missionaries who built the Church up in > India and even other countries like Sri Lanka > during the difficult, early days, not only > Europeans like Xavier.
Filomena, After reading the above posting, all I can say is that Goa has not produced a saint either because: 1) Goans have not yet grasped Christianity or 2) because the Vatican simply does not have saintly Goans to recognize. Unlike you, I do not think the Vatican sees things in white and er, not so white. I grew up in Tanzania. All the carvings of Jesus at church were made of ebony. On my first trip to Goa, while I was still a pre-teen, I was stunned to find Jesus portrayed in every village church as a white man with long hair. To make matters even stranger, one day my relatives told me that they were bringing St. Francis home. I was awe struck. How would they manage to do that? My relatives told me not to worry, they brought St. Francis home every year. One evening two men dressed in altar boys clothes arrived carrying a wooden statue. After prayers, boiled grams were passed around. Then the menfolk got bidi's and feni and everyone left. The house was blessed for another year! Where did these people get this idea from? I wondered if the people at the prayers would spend the same amount of money to help a dying beggar or his child. Did these good Christians not see anyone in need, on the way to work? Maybe only I could see the poor because: 1) I was a tourist and 2) the nuns in Tanzania drilled into us that one had better chance of blessing after you reached out to help the least of your brothers....... On our first trip to Italy, the family chose to go and see St. Francis' tomb. After all, he was the village saint. St. Francis' Monastery is a spectacular complex, perched above Assisi. After viewing the elaborate crypt, we were about to leave when the guide asked us, "where were we going?" He explained that the real body was lying in a crypt exactly below the first one. When we went down one level, we saw another crypt. There they guided us to a second (secret) level below where there was a simple grave. The scene was complete with monks praying. After I got out of the monastary, I asked the guide what the stacked crypts were all about. He explained that the local princes use to raise armies and fight each other all the time. As part of the spoils of war, they would sometimes carry St. Francis' body to their castle. The belief was that he would bring wealth and happiness to the owner of the castle where his body was. That's when I remembered the villagers in Goa. It seems they had thoroughly understood and accepted the Latin way of Christianity i.e. if you bring home St. Francis, the house will be blessed with wealth and happiness :-) So if Goans long ago accepted and followed each and every aspect of Latin Christianity, then we have to rule out the possibility that they have not grasped the nuances of the religion. Thus we are left with only the last choice. The reason we have no saints is probably because Goans have not produced anyone in the last 500 years that's worthy enough for the Vatican to recognize. Mervyn BTW people, if you send me your view points, I will read and reply to your mail. Anyone can send me a 'cut and paste' job. Those I ignore. ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
