Good News of Great Joy

Posted on December 2, 2019December 2, 2019 by stdiogoschurch | No Comments

'The Word became a human person, and full of grace and truth, lived among us' (Jn 1:14)

A child's innocent, sweet smile brings joy and hope even in the most dire situations. A child's smile dispels darkness because it ushers in another world. A child is a cause of joy, a messenger of hope. It brings good news. For us human beings the birth of the saviour seems too wonderful, yet we know this is exactly what happened more than two thousand years ago in that stable of Bethlehem. And the poor, humble shepherds were the first ones privileged to receive the good news. God's love for man was so great that He could not leave him in his miserable sad state of being a slave to sin and to the powers of evil, Jesus in Emmanuel, 'God with us' God's purpose in creating us was that we live in Him by loving Him and loving one another. That means we have a great responsibility to recognise His presence in us and in our neighbours. The ideal way to celebrate Christmas is to make room for the saviour of this world and in our lives. Christmas is not a time or season, but a state of mind. To have the real spirit of Christmas is to love, share and be at peace with God and others. When we open our hearts to the lonely and the frustrated and extend a helping hand to the poor and the sick, we have spirit of Christmas.

How am I going to celebrate Christmas this year? Only with a beautiful dress and new pair of shoes? By making a crib and hanging a star? By making some sweets? Are we not going to clean our heart with a good confession? And empty it to receive Jesus? Can we keep Jesus there only or are we going to share the good news of the Lord with great joy? Let Christmas be Christmas this year! Wishing you all a Christ filled Christmas!!!

Fr. Anand da Gama Pais

We Are All Missionaries

Posted on October 18, 2019October 18, 2019 by stdiogoschurch | No Comments

On 20th October, all over the world we celebrate the ‘Mission Sunday’. These men and women who have left their families, security, comfort in order to proclaim the gospel to the whole world. These men and women have taken seriously the commission of Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations. We celebrate their heroic witness to faith, love for Jesus Christ and the Church and their deep love for all people.

When we hear the words ‘Mission Sunday’ we often ask rhetorically ‘can the appeal for money be far behind? The answer is “no”. We appeal for money to support the missions. We ask you to give generously and become engaged in the works of the missions and share in the missionary work of the Church. Today we have the opportunity to pay a call on the generous help and be a part of this missionary effort. What is most significant in what each of us do by our prayers and offerings is that we won’t enjoy immediate results or public recognition. Responding to Mission Sunday is a great act of faith in our giving and praying the good that we participate is hidden from our eyes. What we sow today will be reaped by others on some distant place. We must be content with the belief that God’s grace will multiply our generosity and prayers, so the word of the gospel will continue and grow.

We can in our own way can make a significant way, even today, by our own exemplary lives. God has given us our body, and we can use our mind, ears, eyes, tongue, heart, hands to proclaim Christ. Whether in our homes where we live, in schools and colleges where we learn, in offices where we work, in the Church and society where we can be a true witness. People who look at us, see the radiating Christ. This Christ in us will bring many people more closer to Him. Even the non-believers will be drawn towards Him. Jesus clearly indicates that in our missionary work, we are protected by the Father’s love. Be a good missionary and God will bless you hundredfold!

-Fr. Anand da Gama Pais

Rosary is the Gate To Heaven

Posted on September 3, 2019September 3, 2019 by stdiogoschurch | No Comments

In Luke 7, Jesus observed a huge funeral procession in Nain. The entire town was present. He observed the young men and women weeping. He observed the pastors and apostles weeping. He observed the elders weeping. He observed the fathers weeping. He observed the children weeping. He observed the sadness on people’s faces. Nothing seemed to move Him, until He saw the mother. The Bible says He had compassion when He saw her and immediately raised her boy from the dead. (Luke 7:12-15). It was the cry of a mother that moved the Heart of God. Still today, mothers who cry before the Lord for their families, for their marriages, for their homes move the Heart of God. When mothers stop praying their families (especially their children) perish. Satan gets a foothold and starts to destroy the home, yet when they return to their rightful place as the anchor of the home, demonic strongholds get demolished. In Psalms 17, 36, 57, 63, and 91 God’s role is likening to that of a mother. As a mother protects, upholds and defends her children, so does God also protect us under the shadow of His wings. We find refuge there and can hide there until the danger is over.

A mother’s role is so vital that a father cannot get his prayers answered if he dishonours/ disrespects her (1 Peter 3:7). Because, of this favour over mothers, they are also the most attacked persons in the home. The devil is terrified of mothers (the powerhouse in the home). Yet the Lord has put inside mothers grace and resilience to overcome any situation. Today, as the woman of the home, consider yourself blessed. Consider yourself highly favoured and consider yourself victorious, praying the daily rosary with all your entire family, when you pray, the daily rosary. “Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother. Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God, passes through the Blessed Mother.”

-Fr. Anand da Gama Pais

St. Teresa of Kolkata: An Icon of the Good Samaritan

Posted on August 1, 2019September 3, 2019 by stdiogoschurch | No Comments

St. Teresa of the Gutters, as she is commonly called, was one of the greatest missionaries of the twentieth century. She spoke the universal language of love that is intelligible to everyone. With all the fibres of her being, she preached through action. She went everywhere to serve Christ in the poorest of the poor. With the witness of her life, St. Teresa reminds everyone that the evangelising mission of the Church passes through charity, nourished by prayer and listening to God’s word. She proclaimed the Gospel living her life as a total gift to the poor but, at the same time steeped in prayer. Her life was a radical living and bold proclamation of the Gospel. “As you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me” (Mt 25:40) St. Teresa highlights the deepest meaning of service – an act of love done to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, prisoners, is done to Jesus himself!

The figure of St. Teresa of Kolkata is well known all over the world. Her personality and humanitarian work have been broadcast through every form of the media. She had been favourite subject of countless biographers and hundreds of books have been published about her in nearly all languages. She was born on 26^th August 1910 in Yugoslavia as the youngest of three children and was baptised Agnes. Her father Nikola Bojaxhui and mother Rosa Drane Markit were both natives of Albania. St. Teresa was always cheerful, hardworking, charitable and generous, and had a notable talent for organisation. She founded the missionaries of charity through which she continued with her ministry to the poor while bearing witness to the joy of loving and serving. She won the Nobel Prize for Peace and the Bharat Ratna is 1980. She accepted all these “for the greater glory of God and in the name of the poor.” She always labours and spoke out to uphold the dignity and value of every human life.

On 5^th September 1997 she was called to her heavenly reward. Let’s imitate her in all her goodness, the icon of the Good Samaritan. Reflecting on the pastoral theme “Go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37) be a Good Samaritan to others.

– Fr. Anand da Gama Pais