THE FEAST WITH A DIFFEENCE The village feast is celebration of unity and joy of the Parishioners, including those beyond geographical borders. The pandemic of Covid-19 has turned upside down on its head, our centuries old customs, traditions and rituals. The circumstances have restrained our normal routine and practices beyond our imagination and forced to resort to electronic media to continue our beliefs and strengthen our faith
The thought that it is Divine message for humans to look inwards and introspect because of our waywardness and sinful life is a wrong hypothesis. Such scourges, diseases, accidents, natural disasters, wars, famines have occurred periodically in the past and have killed more much people. It is humanity, man that is responsible for calamities for manipulating nature for his selfish greed . However the society also bounces back with inspiration and love of Divine The guilt complex associated with not following normal routine should not be the obsession .Pope in his communication has dispensed with Sunday obligation, sacrament of penance and receiving of Holy Communion. The church now is brought into every home, even the though our places of worship are shut and regular services are suspended for general public. The often repeated hypothesis that is the over emphasis on external celebrations took precedence over faith and belief is misconception, misplaced error of judgment .The faithful in the past attended to services, novena masses, choir and reading practices ,praying of rosary, salves, vespers, sacrifices, sacrament of penance in preparation, charitable causes, and other rituals whether bound by traditions or custom. Hence they cannot be accused of pretense and loaded with guilt complex, just because such activities are not be permitted . Is it to be presumed that all these years the religious observations and faithful were hypocritical. To attribute loving and understanding God as handing down retributive punishment is figment of pure imagination and accuse God as responsible. The external part of celebrations, merriment cannot be divested of religious obligations they are part of togetherness and not exclusive of each other .The Church too did not curtail on externals , decorations lighting , fireworks, special souvenirs, TV transmissions ,sound system , alvorado or Music, festive dinners around the Church etc and formed integral part of celebrations. Standing outside Church on Sunday mass was very much detested but on the feast day sitting in Pandal and way beyond was acceptable justification. Taking part in Eucharistic celebration without receiving Holy Communion, confession were considered incomplete and inappropriate, not anymore under circumstance participating remotely now spiritually. It took days, if not months to put arrangements in place. The preachers were form outside the Parish, so that word of God was more attentively listened to as was argued that familiarity breeds contempt. Parishioners were dressed in their finery bests, attended dances ,Dramas invited guest and relatives and there was celebrations, festivities and merriment on the day, People thronged at the fairs, children loved joy rides and other amusements, buying exclusive, traditional sweets and other articles of common use on sale and it was evening with a difference for 7/10 days for everyone even to the on lookers soaking in the happy crowds People from surrounding areas like Velim ,Assolna, Cuncolim, Navelim, Orlim etc were part of religious services and fairs and amusements It is one time experience in our life time to refrain both from religious and external activities ordained by fear and anxieties and Govt. directives as preventive measures for our general good and welfare The feast has very much affected resource mobilization of the Parish, organizations, Panchayat, clubs and also entailed loss of income and economic deprivation to all others involve led in rendering services and goods, coming as far as from Mumbai and beyond to eke out a living .It is the unjustifiable rationalization that only the believers of faith are being targeted by infectious spread .It has spread along all spectrum of faith and population of all ages We need to appreciate and recognize that the feast to- day has been celebrated in a different way and the faithful have been touched and reached in an unprecedented, unique manner. Good times do not last forever nor do bad times, it is a cycle of change of events. The minimum number of Parishioners from different wards of the Village labored to conduct services to fill the void created by times. The directive to open the places of worship is very rigorous and rigid as per SOP laid down by Church as mandated by Govt. authorities. Other religious events like weddings, funerals, celebrating of anniversaries are now totally and unthinkably private affairs, confined to immediate family. It is wrong presumption that religious activates connected with feast etc must take precedence over celebrations and merriment.’ Hotels, Bars and restaurants, cinema halls, Dramas, dances music, shows , sports events, and other avenues of enjoyment and relaxation are also on complete hold. Both aspects have to be adjusted to fit the times .We need not feel guilty and torment ourselves that Divine has punished the world to remind them to change our ways of sinfulness and thread the path of righteousness and justice . In fact it is Divine providence that vaccine is on the verge of being discovered in the shortest period of medical history, when earlier it took between 15 to 25 years to find solution to scourges of Small pox, Spanish flue, plague, T,B, measles, leprosy, typhoid, cholera etc. Humans have abused the nature and tried to manipulate it, which has backfired in attempt to act God Nelson Lopes Chinchinim
