The death of Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas is a great loss to all those who were closely associated with him. He was a simple, humble priest, very dedicated and devoted to his priestly vocation. He was a store of knowledge in church history and could narrate history from periods to years, dates to personalities. To me, he was a talking encyclopedia who shared valuable information whenever we sat together. Very fragile and soft spoken, the priest was never hesitant to welcome anyone wanting to talk to him. Don’t go by the way people judge you; tum tuzo vaur chaluch dor: He advised me once, when I was depressed and expressed my displeasure. His words enthused me till date, but now that he has passed away, I feel my old self again.
Fr Nascimento has written a number of books; in the series: ‘Follow Me’, his very first book released on 30-12-2007, he depicts the history of all the churches in Bardez and pays tribute to all the priests who dedicated their lives to the services of God. The book is the best gift I have received from him after its release to cherish his memory, now that he is gone.
Death is a ruthless enemy of man, it’s inevitable. Time is unpredictable. These two factors separate us from each other bringing grief. Nonetheless, we are not here to stay and within the time frame God has given us, we must do the maximum we can what is placed within our capacity of doing. That’s what Fr Nascimento did in spite of his high diabetes and failing health, he never gave up his search for information and has left behind, with great pains and research, a treasure trove for posterity to remember him. And like in his footsteps, as he rightly captioned his last series of books ‘Follow Me’, let his works be preserved that the history of the Church remains significant for the future generations to come.
