AGASSAIM: The feast of St Anne was celebrated today at St Anne’s church, Santana-Talaulim, with religious fervour and gaiety. Devotees from different walks of life flocked the site to offer cucumbers and flowers along with their varied intentions.
This feast, which is popularly known as ‘Touxeachem Fest’, had people from different faiths thronging the site throughout the day, either seeking favours or thanking God for petitions granted. Among them were countless couples offering praises for the gift of a child.
At the festive Mass, while delivering the homily, Fr Alfred Vaz, the parish priest of Se Cathedral and dean of Old Goa deanery, reflected on three important aspects in the lives of St Joaquim and St Anne. “For being childless for several years,” he said, “the couple with deep trust in God prayed unceasingly, made sacrifices and finally offered their newborn child Mary to God.”
Fr Vaz advised the faithful not give up hope, but pray incessantly during difficult and challenging times. “When we pray, let our prayer be not only oral and lip service, but simultaneously wrapped with fasting and sacrifices,” he added.
Focusing on the childless couples, Fr Vaz they need to learn to give and instead of considering such couples as an object of ridicule, he appealed the assembly to pray for them.
The parish priest of St Anne’s church, Fr Johnsie Pereira informed that people, irrespective of religion, flock this church during the novenas and feast day seeking various favours, especially the gift of a good spouse and a child. “And when they receive what they seek, on the feast day many devotees come and give testimonies during the Eucharistic celebrations,” he added.
Fr Pereira said that this trend of sharing testimonies help deepen faith of others in the congregation. “This practice should continue as quite often we tend to forget to offer praises to God when our needs are fulfilled,” he mentioned.
A couple present for the festive mass, Jacinto and Celina Pereira from Colvale, informed that they were childless for the past five years. “Fr Johnsie, who was earlier our parish priest in Colvale, prayed over us and interceded to St Anne. We were blessed with a baby boy, Charles Baptist Pereira, and today we decided to thank God for granting our petition through St Anne,” Celina informed.
