PANJIM: On Good Friday 2020, grey clouds cast a shadow over the Se Cathedral in Old Goa. It was almost in keeping with the sombre reality of a lockdown that had enveloped the State. As 2021 dawned and restrictions were eased, there was hope things would change.
Yet, just when the faithful in Goa were gearing up to attend the services of the Holy Week in person, fear has crept in over the rise in COVID cases. The Catholic faithful in the State missed Easter celebrations in 2020 and spent almost half of that year without access to Mass in person.
They were allowed to attend Christmas services last December amidst restrictions.
As Easter 2021 approaches, many are caught in a dilemma. Some are contemplating following the services of the Holy Week from home, like they did in the previous year; whereas there are others who are going ahead with their plans of attending Masses at their respective churches that will have a restricted crowd.
“Last year we could not attend Good Friday in person. I don’t want to do that again and we have taken the vaccines now and there is limited numbers,” said Filomena Da Silva, a housewife from Porvorim.
Against this backdrop, the year gone by has had a huge bearing on the faithful.
“There has been an undeniable unavoidable change which has affected the outlook for the faithful. The most obvious one is that the majority of the catholic population were denied the normal Eucharistic life. Last year they had to deal with being deprived of access to the sacraments. This is a big deal because this is very important to people of all ages,” said Nicholas Rodrigues, a catechist from Margao, who lamented that children too have missed out on the regular catechism classes and parish youth programmes.
“Even now, you can go for Mass but the Sunday Eucharist, for example, used to also be about the congregation attending mass together as God’s people. I am talking about a full mass and the experience of the entire congregation singing with the choir. These may be small things but it has been a big part and parcel of our lives and since the pandemic, we have constantly been adjusting. That fear of COVID is still in the air and you can’t escape it,” he added.
Another priest concurred with this view and spoke about how he was sympathetic to the senior folks, who complained to him that not attending the Holy Week in person is still something they are having a hard time processing. He, however, added that they managed to hear the confessions of these people, which provided them some relief.
“It’s not all negative. There is always a silver lining. The year has provided more quiet time to people from a spiritual point of view. When they attend mass virtually, there is no distraction; there is a sense of oneness with God. When people started returning to the church, be it for daily mass, feast mass etc, and they spoke about the time they spent at home, it was all about that connection they had with God and how this helped them during the pandemic. They now have other anxieties, be it about COVID, their financial future but they all have put their faith in God and they look up to Jesus in their time of suffering,” he added.
Fr Romeu Godinho, of the Diocesan Catechetical Centre, Old Goa asked the faithful to hear what Pope Francis recently said on this. He further added “Jesus is the life and hope for shattered and battered humanity”, in a message to the catholic faithful in Goa.
Pope Francis led Palm Sunday services in an almost empty St Peter’s Basilica because of Coronavirus restrictions for the second consecutive year
“For the second time we are living in the context of the pandemic. Last year we were more shocked, this year we are more tired, and the economic crisis has become heavier. In this historic and social situation, what is God doing? Jesus takes up the cross; that is, he takes on himself the evil that this reality brings, the physical, psychological and above all the spiritual evil, because the Evil One takes advantage of this crisis to sow distrust, desperation and lies. And what must we do? The Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus and his first disciple, shows us the way. She followed her son and took on herself her own part of the suffering, of the darkness and bewilderment, and she walked on the road of the Passion, keeping alive in her heart the lamp of faith,” said the Pope while addressing the worldwide audience for the internationally televised ceremony.
As people in Goa reflect on Pope’s message, there is another area where there has been a change. That is when it comes to family gatherings in the time of Easter, especially when it comes to meeting grandparents. “This used to be an annual affair but in many cases, the grandparents are missing out on meeting their family members and that has been quite tough for them to accept. “We used to have a grand celebration on Easter. All the cousins would meet up, sometimes family members from out of the State would visit as well. We will still have a gathering, we met for Christmas but with the cases going up again, it will be a smaller one this time. It won’t take away the essence of Easter though,” said Joseph Fernandes, a retired senior citizen from Mapusa.
