House blessing after Easter In Goa there is a new twist to this ritual. Only the priest can do this blessing of the house, The number of houses have increased and people are kept waiting. They want the inmates to be present and then accompany them to the next door neighbour at least. They issue envelopes for donations without insisting any identification. Earlier there were lists and the total amount could be counted and be accounted for They sermonise that it is not the blessing of the house, rooms etc ,but the people living therein If that be so the sprinkling of Holy water during the mass would have served the purpose Earlier they used to bless all the rooms, well , outhouse etc Of course they have their own discretion when they visit certain houses Earlier it was intended to be a pastoral visit to all houses, To day they recite mechanically structured prayer and disappear as quickly as possible, in order to complete the task assigned for the day People are also wondering about the spiritual aspect of this ritualistic approach and what the need is about it in present times Bombay it is learnt that they are sprinkling the holy water by themselves and could recite the structured prayer at the particular time convenient to all The priest has no time exchange any niceties, however even briefly, Only limited houses could be carried out on a day and thus prolong the exercise to be more fruitful, At present, no priest pays a visit to the parishioners even once during his tenure of service. It is time to alter, change, modify this ritual, which is loosing its spiritual significance, apart from the burden cast on the priest to accomplish it in a great hurry Nelson Lopes chinchinim
